Gaming Target - GameCube: NHL 2K3

Written by Jonathan Nicklas on January 03, 2003

Full Review: So, you wanna know how to spell Canada, eh? It's H-O-C-K-E-Y, eh?

It's no secret that Sega Sports has left Nintendo fans hanging in the past, but thankfully has let NHL 2K3 loose on the unsuspecting public. In short, NHL 2K3 is hockey at its finest, but isn't exactly a breakaway success either.

Graphically speaking, while there's no doubt that NHL 2K3 impresses, the game is still behind the competition. The character models are not far off the competition apart from the facial work, and the ice manages to reflect some objects and scoreboard. The crowd is your typical showing with flat animations but sporting team jerseys as well. However, for once, goalie masks are represented in full glory with the different shapes and sizes like a Czech cage (think Dominik Hasek). Fortunately, licenses are put to good use for all the hockey gear, and all the little subtleties like skate marks are present.

Intro-wise, the presentation stacks up with the best. The home team comes out to all the blinking lights and whatnot, with team logos swerving crazily. Players do some pre-game stretches as well. Naturally, a hockey title wouldn't be anything without some rinkside ads. Oddly enough, however, the coaches are all the same man for each team and it's just not up to standards. Finally, it won't take long to see that the ESPN license has been put to good use all the way through. Also, I don't think I need to explain the NHL license, but there are international teams as well.

Aurally, NHL 2K3 does have some play-by-play and color commentary that inevitably gets repetitive. The announcer repeats the same lines and also seems to have a few language impediments on top of it all. Unfortunately, it seems that Michael A. Carlucci and Danny Mann just don't have enough chemistry or obscure facts to woo you with, and game analysis is rather bland, often only comparing shot totals or other statistics during intermissions instead of actual play. The crowd too, doesn't seem to react to breakaways nearly enough. The sound effects though, are standard stuff and get the job done. With a few authentic hockey beats during faceoffs, the game is fairly ambient, but still could have used some more work. I do like the ESPN themes in the background though.

The compensatory gameplay makes up for it all though. NHL 2K3 is all about strategic hockey, and real physics. The game works intense hockey into play and is formulaic action that simulates the coolest game on Earth wonderfully. All the bells and whistles you've come to expect are fully intact. The powerplay is also a major component for once, and defence is crucial. Rebounds are your best friend. However, there could be more scoring and the goalies seem to be on the top of their game way too often on the middle difficulties and above. In other words, there could be more scoring on both ends.

The artificial intelligence stands out among the best as the opposition pins players along the boards or dumps the puck down. The goalies will attempt poke checks and stack the pads, while players set up offensive formations in powerplays that almost work too well at times. The same can be said for penalty killing and basically the rest of the game.

Aside from hockey rules like offsides and icing, NHL 2K3 also offers a list of parameters to fool around with and is very lenient indeed. You can take the opportunity to adjust nearly everything about this game. Also, player statistics and career info are top notch, and three control schemes for beginners and veterans alike make NHL 2K3 easy to pick up, and in sequence, master diligently. The button modifiers offer secondary functions for the action buttons and it works well cramming as many options as possible into the control setup.

What it comes down to is that NHL 2K3 comes up a bit short in the end. The gameplay modes just don't go the full length in depth, and the glaring omission of skills competitions or a readily available shootout mode is disappointing to say the least. Especially with the memory requirements that go all out to prevent the full experience, the game could have been much better. Obviously, the lack of online play is a big one, and NHL 2K3 has failed to deliver anything extra for the GameCube version. It's easy to feel a bit short-changed while playing.