While previous titles ended up being little more than Pong with men, NHL 2004 reintroduces Slap Shot-style carnage. Slap ShotĬrucially, the most important part of hockey has been given an overhaul: the violence. Multiplayer has been improved too (you can now create online clubs) though there still seems little point in playing someone you can't scream and laugh at. For hardcore players there are new levels of realism, from the Al and puck physics to the tactical options.

It takes time to master, but you do feel more « in control than in any previous incarnation.

It might look identical in many respects but there is a real difference in the way it plays, with much more accessible

EA Sports has gone for a complete redesign. Real Evolutionįor once though, instead of taking NHL 2003, refining it slightly and sending it out into the world with a hefty price tag and a new number on the end. The annual review of NHL is hardly one of the highlights of my gaming year, concerned as it usually is with trying to spot a difference from the previous edition, praising the gloss and fast-paced fun and, finally, advising everyone to buy last year's version on budget. It's the bag of frozen peas I've stuffed down my underpants. No, it's not NHL 2004, great though its depiction of ice rinks are and refreshing as its simple yet addictive gameplay is. Only one thing has managed to cool me down.

It feels like there should be a hypnotically slow ceiling fan spinning above me and Marlon Brando lying in the corner babbling about some horror or other. I'm Writing this in the middle of a heatwave, sweat stinging my eyes and thought processes slowed down due to safety restrictions.

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