Customer Reviews

Sega Sports NHL 2K3

5 star:		(19)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

If it's in the game, its in NHL2K3.

A hard-core NHL player on the EA side of the tracks since NHL94 I finally broke down and shelled out the [money] for Sega's shot at hockey on PS2. Initially I was impressed by the ESPN features and definitely floored by the depth of the user options, GM choices, etc. The gameplay is smooth, the offensive and defensive strategies and plays are incredibly fluid and the true hockey fanatic with seasoned experience will really be able to get the most out of this game.

The graphics off-the-ice are impressive, the players faces are also top shelf but the game play graphics aren't as fluid as EA's and the moves aren't as realistic. You can't have it all... you can tell just by the size of the manual that more thought went into NHL2K3 and their first attempt at hockey on the PS2 is definitely a sign to watch out EA, because SEGA has your number. I enjoyed the fact that there weren't all gimmicks like NHL cards, cheat options and choose your own celebration. All this including gamebreaker and dynamic dekes are [bad]. Anyway who knows and follows hockey is acutely aware that you have to play 60 minutes (or 15) to win. NHL2K3 does it self a favor by putting all its flavor on the ice and the ESPN brand helps the whole game's realism. If only EA could learn from this.

A CBC Hockey Night in Canada graphic environment would probably take NHL2K3 to even better heights, maybe for next year. ESPN's dedication to hockey is definitely falling off due to their acquisition of the NBA. Don Cherry, hotstove, etc.

To sum it up, I've got both NHL2003 and NHL2K3 but it looks like I'll probably trade in EA's title and go for the Cup with Sega, ...

For those of you like myself who are fed up with EA's atrocious offerings to the hockey masses the last few seasons well say hello to your new hockey guru's at Sega. NHL 2K3 is the closest thing to a hockey simulation ever to grace a console or PC. While this game is far from perfect and loses out to some of EA's developments the game surely will compete for a good share of the hockey market.

Having been a loyal follower of EA's yearly installments (I purchased every single addition of the NHL series since the first one on Genesis back in 91 and I have had each one up to 2002.) I grew disgusted with their improvements. They abandoned the traditional hockey feeling the games represented and moved to a satirical arcade like score fest. 2002 was so ridiculously bad I played it for maybe an hour before I put it on eBay. So naturally when NHL 2003 hit the shelves I was tempted bt I held out for Sega's addition. And boy was it worth it.

2K3 has so many neat features it would make the "Dynamic Deke" boys at EA's heads spin. The franchise mode alone is worth the price. Following in EA Madden's football series (something NHL never did) the franchise mode isin depth and adds so much to your season it is outstanding. Like the NFL 2KX series the franchise allows you to sign free agents, draft players, make trades, etc.. Salaray is done on a points system with each team having a cap they can spend. Your roster is realistic to league standards and you have a minor league system that stores prospects and utility players. Something Ihave never seen before but always thought would be neat is the addition of unsigned talent to each team. Every team has a selection of 5-7 players or so who are unsigned. In a pinch you can sign one of these players, and some of them are pretty decent, or you can offer their rights in a trade. Add that feautre to a 9 round draft and man talk about realism. The player rating system is pretty generous and many mediocre players are graced with 80 or higher marks. Overall though the players are pretty realistic to their real-world counterparts.

Some other great features I find exciting about the game is the depth of the game strategy system. You have numerous otions for fore checking, back checking, defensive zone breakouts, neatral zone movement, and attack zone. You can trap or play a free flowing game. There are countless posibilities of strategy and to top it you can assign a certain strategy to each individual line. THat way your main line can play aggressive while your checking line is defensive oriented. This is great if you like to play realistically and cycle lines according to game situations. Star matchups are easy now with the ability to set them before the game so if you prefer a certain line out against their number one unit you can set it before the game and set how important that line matchup is. The addition of being able to change your offense and defense seperate from each other is a great way to prevent getting trapped on a change and keep good D out with your weaker lines. The only flaw with that system is changing lines on the fly is tricky with the button configurations. Pressing up cycles your offense and down is defense. This is tricky if you are carying the puck since you have to take your finger off the analog stick and that leaves you vulnerable while you cycle around. You can also switch strategies on the fly with the play. So as you can see the francise mode offers tons to tweak and add to your seasons yet the only downfall with spending lots of time on these menus is you better get used to the National Hockey Night theme song from ESPN because that is the ONLY music in the menues and it cycles about every minutes or so.

Now for the game. The overall presentation of the game is well bland and boring. The intro is nothig flashy and way behind EA's intros. The commentary is boring and poorly constructed but at least it is not as moronic as EA's has gotten. Many times the comments have nothing to do with what is going on in the game and the color guy never seems to answer the play by play mans questions. Game emotion is also pretty low as the crowd rarely gets into it and the annoucers rarely get jumpy. It's bearable though and you don't really notice it. Music and cut scens are also pretty weak but hopefully these will get improved upon with later additions. The gameplay makes up for everything though. Gameplay is outstanding. It is a medium tempo not the lightning fast EA addition. Plays can be set up and the speed burst works but no more blowing past defenders with ease. Puckhandling is crucial and passing is a challenege that needs to be mastered. Shooting doesn't always seem to go as aimed but this depends on how your player is positioned. Backhands are significantly weaker than forehand shots ect.. One timers are effective but harder than past EA games. The fights up the board are also neat because you can actually cycle the puck now effective and it works. Goalie movement is great and puck control is very realistic. No longer can goalies dive on the puck for a cover then fire it out. If a goalie goes down and covers the puck to pass out he needs to drop the puck to his stick which takes time and usually leads to turnvers. Defensive play is solid but still lacking at times. On the default difficulty setting I blew out Pittsburgh with the Leafs 12-2 and was scared that this was too easy yet the next game was a respectable 4-2 win over Ottowa and games have been much closer. Raising the difficulty level another notch or two makes the game very challenging.

All in all NHL 2K3 in my mind blows EA out of the water with a superb franchise mode and great gameplay. They are lacking in presentation but that will change once the franchise picks up some popularity. I haven't even tried some of the other features in the game like the challenge modes, etc.. If you are hockey fan and are looking for a great hockey sim this is as good as you are gonna find on todays market. If you like massive scores and crazy lighting fast games pick up NHL Hitz or 2003 from EA but if you want a traditional hockey game that matches the quality of Madden and NFL 2Kx pick this up you will love it and hate ESPN's Hockey Night theme music forever!!!

I have to agree with all the reviews here: This game simply rocks!! It may take two or three games to get used to the feel of the game especially for those who have grown accustomed to EA's games, but once you settle in and realize that you are playing an authentic game of hockey with realistic scores and intelligent opponent and teamate A.I. you will be amazed. The physics of this game are almost perfect and some of the goalie animations will leave you shaking your head in disbelief. This games flaws are minor and as the other reviews have stated, exist mainly in the presentation department. With some play by play improvments and better cut scene animation this game would be perfect. As it is now it is without a doubt the best hockey game ever released for a console. An absolute must have for any fan of hockey.

After being an Ea sports fan for years i thought i would never switch. I bought ea and after about a hour i couldn't wait to see nhl 2k3.

The realism just blew my mind away. Sega has finally done it and beat ea in a great simulation hockey game. The first thing i noticed was the huge improvement on the goalies ai..if you can score easily then you are a true hockey player. The clairity on the ice was incrediable you can actually see the players skates leaving marks on the ice with each press of the legs.

My favorite item though is the fact you can dress, scratch, and send players to the minors. So if they aren't cutting send them down for about 3 weeks and you will see a huge difference when they come back. Also free agents aren't just out there to be picked up. Every team has i guess what you would call a salary cap. You have so many points and every player demands different amounts of points and years for a contract.

If you want to truly be a Gm and Coach and player this has got to be the best game out in years. 5 stars is all it would let me give, but it deserves more

I'm addicted to this hockey game. The level of options and choices is amazing. First off you get to choose what time of view you want : if you liked Wayne Gretzky Hockey you can have the Horizontal layout , if you liked EA Sports games on Genesis you an have the 3/4th overhead view , if you want a 100% overview you can have that , and if you want a tight look you can go with the Rink view : you can also adjust the tightness of the camera zoom and that is a huge factor. The goalies are relatively tough to beat and there doesn't seem to be any HUGE glitches ( NHLPA '93 wrap-around , NHL 95 fake in and shoot it at post , etc. ). Also adjusting Puck Friction , Hitting Power , Shot Accuracy , Goalie Skills and other stuff means that the computer will be able to adjust and make it harder on you once you get really good. Another sweet thing is on deflection goals when you replay them about 99% of the time you'll actually see a stick redirecting the puck instead of it mysteriously shifting direction in mid-air around a player. Until Video Games look EXACTLY like a real game this game is the best hockey game ever and will be hard to upgrade.

NHL 2K3 is definitely the best hockey game available right now. The gameplay is what sets it apart from all the rest. It is very realistic. There aren't many huge checks that knock the player to the ice unlike NHL where the players fly all over the ice. The scores are also realistic. Each goal is crucial because there won't be many by either team if they are fairly matched. This also differs from NHL where the final score is 13-11. The largest goal differential I have had so far is 4-0. The AI in this game is well done and really adds to the gameplay. The computer players always go for the loose puck and also do a great job of blocking passing lanes when two of your players are headed to the other teams net. All of this contributes to making every game quite exciting. However, this game is not perfect and NHL does have advantages in certain areas. The graphics are OK, they don't really add or detract from the game but the graphics in the NHL series are certainly better especially with how accurate the players' faces look. In 2K3 they aren't as recognizable. The announcing in 2K3 also could have been better. It is somewhat repetitive and boring. They don't make bad jokes like in NHL. Overall, this game is as fun as they come and if you are searching for a great hockey game look no further than NHL 2K3 from Sega Sports.

This is the best game yet for Hockey! I even know WAZ, Hdruery32, and PenaltyBox, who are listed in the Thanks list in the Manual for the game (I dont know them personally though). WAZ has an amazing site will over 100 screenshots of the game that are just plain amazing, and about 10 movies of the game. He just made one for the PS2 version of this game and it is the best! The graphics for this game are great. The ESPN Style is really nice, and the board pinning was a great add to the game. All real goal horns except a few..... Some goal songs... And everything else is what this game has! I mean, the last time EA actually made a decent hockey game was in 2000 for NHL 2000. Then 2001 was ok, and 2002/2003 just blew my EA gaming experience. Treyarch has done a wonderful job on this game, and I am glad! I have thanked them very much. I even have made custom covers for this game I am so excited! This game is going to be awesome for the XBOX!! I just know it! Have any questions about the game?? I can answer them all. Just ask, and Ill answer!

I've spent way too many hours playing most of the PS1 & PS2 hockey titles. I enjoyed all the releases of FaceOff for PS1, but the PS2 version of FaceOff was the first hockey game I actually returned for a refund. Although I haven't played FaceOff 2003, everything I've read suggests that the games is dead in the water. EA Sports NHL Series was, in my opinion, all flash with not much fluid game play or strategy.

I bought Sega's NHL 2K3 and I've finally found a game that is realistic, hard, yet fun to play. The graphics aren't what you'll see in EA Sports, but they are nonetheless, excellent.

2K3 plays as a realistic SIM to the point where you may question the enjoyability of the realism. A good example is pinning on the boards. 2K3 allows you to pin opposing players on the board and you elbow, kick & tussle for the puck. It's very realistic. It's also pretty boring. Therein lies the real excellence of the game. If you don't like pinning: Turn it off. The degree of customization 2K3 provide is amazing.

I got very frustrated that most of my centering passes would be intercepted. It was happening constantly. Over time I learned to pass more effectively, but another option would have been to tweak the "Pass Intercept" slider, to make your passes automatically less likely to be picked off.

The game has the normal collection of bugs, but most of them are pretty subtle and none of them are game breakers.

NHL 2K3 is the Hockey game of choice for PS2.

This is the best simulation of a hockey game ever made.It is not perfect but it is 10 times better than EAs NHL 2003.The gameplay is just incredible.You can now pin or be pinned against the boards and kick the puck to a teammate,or freeze it for a faceoff.There are tons of options to tweak everything you can think of.There is a deep franchise mode as well.As for the camera angles it never seems to get close enough for my liking but the ESPN presentation is done well.The announcers are just OK and there is no online play for the PS2(only on Xbox)

NHL 2K3 blends the realistic style of hockey with okay graphics, and makes it an enjoyable experience. I will first startwith the faults: 1 no curves on the stick blades(no order)
2 player scale could be improved
3 Graphics need to be sharper
4 you can't edit the equipment that players were. (There are like 5 helmets, 4 skates, 4 sticks, 2 visors etc.)
5 you cant put created players into franchise mode
Now the Pro's
1 gameplay is magnificent
2 different varities of equipment
3 up to date rosters
4 certain moves like sidestepping and pinning someone up against the boards are in affect
5 player faces are very good
6 puck elasticy and speed are accurate
7 player acceleration and speed are good, can be changed
8 the fighting is not terrific, but better than NHL 2003(NHL 2004 will have a new fighting engine which allows players to grapple and grap and wrestle, instead of button mashing, plus goalies can fight)
9 the hitting physics are very realistic
10 the ratings are good. players are not just rated on stats like in NHL 2003, but in their contributions to the team on offense and defense. here is an example:
NHL 2003: Scott Stevens-85 NHL 2K3:
Scott Niedermayer-86 Stevens-94
Martin Brodeur-90 Nieds-90
Jamie Langenbrunner-78 Brodeur-99
John Madden- 78-82(somewhere) Langenn.-86 (i think)
Madden-84-87
MUch Better

All in all this game is very good. I don't think it's really much better than NHL 2003 though; rent both before buying, or wait until fall for the new one's