NHL Hitz 20-03 Preview

Mike Modano takes the pass, spins and fires a blast from 15 feet out. The puck ignites, leaving a trail of flame as zeroes in on the upper corner of the net. In the background, cowboys and horses watch with unabashed enthusiasm.

Hold on there pardner ­ cowboys and horses? And of course, a group of cowboys are sitting in the balcony above the saloon, occasionally doing the wave. The hockey action is taking place in the horse corral; complete with textured dirt covered by a thin, translucent layer of ice.

The game is NHL Hitz 20-03, by Blackbox and Midway, for the Xbox, PlayStation2 and GameCube. Hockey purists, beware ­ this game will deliver hockey in a manner that will blow you away, from the fast pacing of the four-on-four action (three players and a goalie), to the power-ups and fisticuffs (a.k.a. fights).  Fans of the Hitz series will know what to expect, Midway has added improvements across the board, which will make this easily one of the best hockey games on the market.

For the uninitiated, you pick a team, then select a starting line. Each player comes with power ratings, but since fatigue can be a factor, you must select your lines carefully. Then the puck drops and the game begins. The venues can be rather tame, or they can be extremely creative ­ all the way from standard arenas to rinks in horse corrals, a circus or on the moon.

The control schemes have been kept extremely simple to maximize game play, but the action moves so fast that players will be stabbing controllers at a fervid pace to keep up. Perform a nifty little spin move to fake out would-be defenders. However, if that defender is cruising up to your avatar looking to crush, not to simply check the puck away.

Body checks are vicious, slap shots are electrifying and fights deliver knuckle-blistering punch combinations that delight the casual viewer and pump up the player.

New features include a franchise mode; a hockey school mode (a tutorial); a multiplayer tournament mode for 16 players; an enhanced season mode with in-depth stats, trades, NHL calendar and playoff tree; a fully 3D-modeled crowd that is 10 times bigger; improved goalie logic, team play styles that mimic real-life counterparts, motion-capture animation for more realistic-looking checking; and a second sportscaster to describe the action.

NHL Hitz 20-03 is bigger, better and much badder than its predecessor. Graphically the game is bright, colorful and features wonderful special effects. The animation is very well done and the sound is absolutely solid. The puck is highlighted so you can keep track of it easily.

The new venues may not improve the game, but they certainly add to the entertainment value of the game setting.

This is one of those games that make console gaming a lot of fun. The game upgrades make for a better gaming experience, but also help NHL Hitz 20-03 break away from the competition.