NHL 2K3

The audio commentary is dead-on, and it is another area of the game that ESPN gracefully intrudes. The style of analysis and play-by-play really immerses you into the world on the ice as the commentators shout excitedly for goals and find interesting things to say about the way the teams are playing by both praising them and pointing out deficiencies. Also present is the ESPN-branded SportsCenter theme and its hockey broadcasts. This addition definitively polishes the title giving it even more of a feel of a live, professional broadcast. "Da-da-da, da-da-da!"

The only possible drawback to the game is the overwhelming sim quality and the sheer amount of detail. During player creation you have an extensive number of options to tweak in order to fully round out the character. Instead of merely choosing the position of the new player in a single menu screen, there's the irksome need to cycle through new menus to find the proper character template you want. It can be a little tiring to deal with the huge number of options and the level of realism and difficulty found in the gameplay, but mostly the game does a good job of allowing people who want to play quick, arcade-style hockey to make the appropriate changes. Fans who don't wish to play a sim-style will have to take some time cycling through the changes they want, but the play on the ice still won't resemble NHL Hitz, that's for certain!

For hockey fans salivating for a near-perfect translation of their beloved game, or for gamers who like the simulation qualities found in the Sega Sports next-gen games, NHL 2K3 is a great acquisition. Frankly, I found this to be a tremendous game. Hockey has always been a great fit for converting into video games since the days of Blades of Steel on the NES. It's a simple game on the surface, but beneath it, there is a subtle complexity that can really grab you if you go looking for it. A plethora of menus and a more-than-necessary simulation element notwithstanding, NHL 2K3 is a serious good time.