''NHL Hitz 2003'' is an ice hockey video game published by
Midway Sports. One version was developed by
Black Box Games and released on the
Xbox
Xbox is a video gaming brand that consists of four main home video game console lines, as well as application software, applications (games), the streaming media, streaming service Xbox Cloud Gaming, and online services such as the Xbox networ ...
,
PlayStation 2
The PlayStation 2 (PS2) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Sony Interactive Entertainment, Sony Computer Entertainment. It was first released in Japan on 4 March 2000, in North America on 26 October, in Europe on 24 Novembe ...
,
GameCube
The is a PowerPC-based home video game console developed and marketed by Nintendo. It was released in Japan on September 14, 2001, in North America on November 18, 2001, in Europe on May 3, 2002, and in Australia on May 17, 2002. It is the suc ...
in 2002. The other was developed by
Exient Entertainment and released on the
Game Boy Advance
The (GBA) is a 32-bit handheld game console, manufactured by Nintendo, which was released in Japan on March 21, 2001, and to international markets that June. It was later released in mainland China in 2004, under the name iQue Game Boy Advanc ...
. It is the second game of the ''
NHL Hitz'' series. The Game Boy Advance version can be linked with up to three other systems for four-player play.
Gameplay
Players have the option of playing three periods in one, two, or three minutes in length. To begin the game, a center, a winger, a defenceman, and a goalie are picked for each team. Prior to each period, substituting the players or simply leaving them in the game is an option. There is an option for a mercy rule that will end the game as soon as the team reaches the limit of goal differential. As an example, if the mercy rule is set to five, as soon as a team leads the game by five goals, that team automatically wins. It can also be set to one goal, similar to overtime. Another nuance to the game is the option to make players who lose fights leave the game. The game is also meant to mainly be a hard-hitting,
arcade-style game with wildly exaggerated player movements and actions. For example, players can check other players through the glass and into the stands, but won't stop play. Also, goalies can actually stick-handle the puck around, and take a shot on the other net, sometimes scoring. Also, the rosters are shortened to mainly starters and fan favorites (such as
Tie Domi and
Bob Probert), with far fewer free agents. There are also many mini-games to play.
Franchise mode
The tournament is to complete goals in the game to get experience points, which are like stat points. When players win more, they get better equipment, like sticks for accuracy and power, goalie pads for better rebound control, and more. They create a team with the goal of joining the NHL, and they start off picking the team, logo, etc., and then create seven players. As the player progresses, beating teams will result in the teams getting harder, but at the same time their team will improve too. When they start winning games, three more players will eventually ask to join the team, and the player can customize them. There are eight rounds with 5-6 teams in each one around the globe. In the last few rounds, the player will face NHL teams and players and be awarded with the trophy if they emerge victorious. They are faced with a worldwide quest, taking on teams internationally in places such as
Brooklyn
Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...
,
Maui
Maui (; Hawaiian language, Hawaiian: ) is the second largest island in the Hawaiian archipelago, at 727.2 square miles (1,883 km2). It is the List of islands of the United States by area, 17th-largest in the United States. Maui is one of ...
,
Monte Carlo
Monte Carlo ( ; ; or colloquially ; , ; ) is an official administrative area of Monaco, specifically the Ward (country subdivision), ward of Monte Carlo/Spélugues, where the Monte Carlo Casino is located. Informally, the name also refers to ...
,
Stockholm
Stockholm (; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, most populous city of Sweden, as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in the Nordic countries. Approximately ...
, and
Montego Bay
Montego Bay () is the capital of the Parishes of Jamaica, parish of Saint James Parish, Jamaica, St. James in Jamaica. The city is the fourth most populous urban area in the country, after Kingston, Jamaica, Kingston, Spanish Town, and Portmore ...
.
Season
A season mode is available. If the player-controlled team qualifies for them, a full playoff schedule will begin. This time, however, there are more individual awards made by the creators. There are also end-of-season awards created by the makers of the game, such as trophies for the player who wins the most fights or delivered the most hits.
Reception
The game received "favorable" reviews on all platforms except the Game Boy Advance version, which received "average" reviews, according to the
review aggregation website
Metacritic
Metacritic is an American website that aggregates reviews of films, television shows, music albums, video games, and formerly books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created ...
.
[ '']GamePro
''GamePro'' was an American multiplatform video game magazine media company that published online and print content covering the video game industry, video game hardware and video game software. The magazine featured content on various video ...
'' said of the game, "If you take hockey seriously, no need to apply here. But if you're looking for rowdy, raucous action backed by unusual staying power and that familiar Midway gameplay, you'll savor the smell of what ''Hitz'' is cooking."
Notes
References
External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Nhl Hitz 2003
2002 video games
EA Black Box games
Exient games
Game Boy Advance games
GameCube games
National Hockey League video games
PlayStation 2 games
Video games developed in Canada
Video games developed in the United Kingdom
Xbox games