I was a little skeptical at trying a game beyond that of EA's gigantic line of year-after-year of releases, all of which are great games. There were always things at the back of my mind however that dissapointed me about NHL 2002, 2003, and even previous versions, not giving me the real hockey experience that I hope for in a game. Suddenly, I find NHL2k3 which answers my thoughts with a dead on, excellent hockey game that is sure to please any hockey fan. Several things in this game are apparent which have never been in any of EA's hockey games. 1. You cannot pin a man to the boards, 2. Hand Grabs (Not in EA hockey) 3. The goaltender's saves and actions are brilliant, and surpass that of the goaltender in NHL 2003. 4. Control Schemes are far more enhanced and excellent, things such as pinning a man (as mentioned above), flip passes, side steps, varied different shots, which can all be more under the uses control, depending on the control scheme they pick. Bad Points about this game: The color commentary is poor, repetitive, and laid out poorly. If a player accidently makes a bad pass, the announcer will cut off whatever he is he was saying with a comment: "Who was he passing to?" followed by a couple of seconds of silence. And a lot of the time, the main announcer will question his C.C. partner, who does not respond at all. It's somewhat funny, as if he fell asleep? I can't think of many bad points of this game, other than the learning curve with the advanced control scheme is rather complicated, and steep. If you need a new hockey game, something much more realistic than the over-rated line from Electronic arts, then NHL2K3 is your choice. Go get it!!!
And when that feeling occurs it's NHL 2k3 for me. I admit I do not own the 3rd generation consoles so I don't have any experience with the latest EA installments of the sport. But the earlier ones from EA that I played w... Read Full Review
