ESPN Hockey 2004

Just picked up the recent EGM and they had nothing but praise for this game, IGN gushed over it too; though their review was lacking critical feedback on how it played on Live.

Me, I didn't know the sucker was even available yet. So sometime this weekend, godwilling it's in stock, I'll be getting a head start on the season.

Mheh, to hell with EA sports.

NHL 2K...just as EA's game promted me to run out and buy a genesis when that sucker came out, sega's gem featuring the commentary from Bob Cole and Harry Neal begged me to get the uber cool Dreamcast. My heart broke when I came home to canada last month and learned some bastard stole the Dreamcast & that game I left for him* to enjoy.

While I don't quite dig the ESPN look, very partial to Hockey Night In Canada's style, the gameplay of Sega's game outshines EA's turd easily. Something I learned when regretably picking up the hokey NHL 2003 for the cube last year.

*him being my brother.

absolutely love this after giving it a few hours of my life the past week. I wish the instruction manual was complete, instead of opting for a web based alternative, because knowing the in's and outs of the franchise mode before diving in would be nice.

I've yet to play on live. I won't jump in until I get used to playing the bastard and winning. My season is going poorly so far. My canucks have only eeked out a tie in addition to the two losses suffered so far.

What's cool though is each and every one of those games, regardless of the outcome, was nail biting fun. Something that couldn't be said about my experience with EA's game...where I'd find myself dominating the cpu, or real human for that matter, with a 20+ margin in goals by the end of the game. Of which, I'd find myself bored watching the clock run down until I could go on to the next slaughtering. I'm lucky to even get two these days.

Goalie passing is ass. That's the only flaw that irks me right now. One of which has costed me a tie...because the fucking goalie let out a wimpy assed pass, it got intercepted, and dumped into the wide open net. Now I just hold onto the puck for face-off's.

I see myself finishing a season easily with this game. I opted out of EA's franchise mode a quarter way through last year because of how depressingly lame things were turning out. I know the guy has skills, and is improving his game, but Marcus Naslund is not a 162 goal guy...yet alone a 162 goal in 23 games kind of person.

So, way to go sega for doing some more good. EA, go fuck yourself.