Ah, fall. The air turns crisper, the leaves turn
colors, and the new hockey games come out to play. The newest entrant into the
video hockey arena is Midway, with their NHL Hitz series. Hitz, much like
Midway's other sports titles (Blitz, RedCard, Slugfest, etc.), is an arcade
hockey game, as opposed to hockey simulations like EA's and Sega's NHL series.
Instead of concentrating on attention to detail as the aforementioned games,
Hitz presents a game that is easier to pick up and play, sacrificing some of the
realism of the sport of hockey.
I'll admit that I didn't come into Hitz 2003 expecting much. I rented last
year's version, and was considerably less than impressed. Midway's first attempt
at arcade hockey took the arcade idea much too far, resulting in a play
experience that required more luck than skill, and, as a result, was not very
much fun at all to play. Scores in double digits were common, goal scoring was
based completely on luck, and rubber band AI made skill more or less irrelevant.
Basically, the game bore little resemblance to hockey aside from the ice and the
uniforms, and left me, as a hockey fan in general, and specifically as a video
hockey fan, with a very bad taste in my mouth.
That said, I was very pleasantly surprised that NHL Hitz 2003 is a giant step
forward in terms of gameplay, to the point where I was actually able to enjoy
it, despite the lack of realism. While the no-penalties, fast paced arcade feel
remains (side note: there are actually a couple of penalties in this version,
but they're still few and far between), the arbitrary gameplay has been replaced
with AI that requires skill, not luck, to win. Goals, rather than being
arbitrary, now need to be set up; the skill involved here is not to the level
that one would expect in, say, NHL 2003, but you also won't be accidentally
hitting the shot button from your own defensive end and score a goal.
This shift is also evident in how your players and team get set 'on fire'. Being
on fire is the distinguishing quality of Midway sports games; when on fire, your
players are faster, stronger, and shoot harder for a short period of time. In
last year's Hitz, your team would be set on fire after scoring three one-timer
goals in a row, which would actually happen more often than one would reasonably
expect. In this year's version, you actually have an 'on fire' meter that builds
up as you perform defensive maneuvers like checks and steals. This is actually a
big asset to the game, as it stresses defensive play in addition to lots of
shooting. The other bonus is that you have control over when your player or team
goes on fire, adding a strategic rather than random element to the game.
That's not to say that Hitz doesn't provide a lot of non-stop action, however.
The three-on-three gameplay is fast and furious, with tons of checking (thanks
to the incentive toward defensive play) and shooting, with a little bit of
fighting mixed in. That, too, is not as prevalent as it was in last year's
version, but still there, and more or less unchanged as far as the fighting
system is concerned. Also, the loser of the fight is still benched for the
remainder of the game, which is a play mechanic that I still don't particularly
agree with, but I have less of an objection to it since it occurs less often
this time around.
One major addition to the basic gameplay is the inclusion of some extra modes
that are worth mentioning. Besides the basic exhibition and season modes, you
can create your own team and take them to the Stanley Cup, and there are also
some hockey-themed mini-games included. Granted, neither mode is really worth
purchasing the game to get, but they're nice touches that add to the replay
value somewhat.
Control is standard enough for anyone who's touched a hockey game in the past
few years to be able to pick up easily, and simple enough for new players to be
able to adjust to with a minimum of difficulty. All the major action buttons are
on the face of the controller, and the turbo button is conveniently located at
R1. The only awkward button is L1 for blocking shots and passes, which is just
out of the way enough to forget about in the heat of the moment. That's a minor
quibble, though; in general, the control is as simple as an arcade-type game
would dictate, and that's really a good thing. Even if you've never even seen
hockey before, there's a Hockey School mode (narrated by legendary coach Scotty
Bowman) that will get you up to speed quickly, and the game displays the button
configuration before each match.
Graphically, the game is functional, but not breathtaking. Player faces are
barely recognizable, and there are some jagged edges and slight framerate
problems, but nothing too distracting. Essentially, Hitz performs on par with
most typical PS2 games, so there's nothing to complain about too much. Some of
the hit animations are quite good, but hard to see from a distance; one place
where Hitz could have benefited would be from a cutaway shot like NHL 2002's Hit
Cam, to emphasize the hard hits, but hopefully that will be something included
in next year's take.
Sound is functional as well. Commentary is better than last year's version, due
to the addition of a second announcer. Some of the lines do repeat quite quickly
('Hit me baby one more time!' comes to mind as a line that's a holdover from
last year, and is repeated quite often here), but it's not so annoying that it
will get in the way. Sound effects, on the other hand, like hits, shots, and the
crack of thunder when a team goes on fire are all very over-the-top, as one
might expect from a game like this.
Overall, while Hitz 2003 won't satisfy anyone looking for a realistic hockey
game, and the single player mode may end up getting old after a while, as any
arcade game tends to do, Hitz is a fun and enjoyable game, and would make for a
great 'dorm room' game. If you have lots of different people to play with NHL
Hitz 2003 might make for a worthwhile purchase, since the length and skill level
are just right for a quick pick-up game with friends.
For single players and hockey purists, wait for NHL 2003 or NHL 2K3. However, if
you're a casual hockey fan who doesn't care about the rules and just wants to
pick up and play, give NHL Hitz 2003 a try. If you're like me, you might just
end up being pleasantly surprised.
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Hitz
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