Need some convincing

[old man]

I've played EA since NHL2000 but, for the past 2 years, have been a loyal Hitz guy. I found it to be A-1. Plus, after NHL2002 I found EAs game to be fading fast. So did I few others so i've read. (Luckily, as I said, I found Hitz). But, as it looks like I may have to pick up 2005 if I want any hockey this fall. I've played it a few hours (XBox) and the skating/shooting drove me absolutely nuts. This was awkwardly done and I have a hard time getting passed it. It looked nothing like the fluid hockey i've known. Naturally I kept comparing it to Hitz and that wasn't fair IMO. Will these be improved in 05 b/c the other stuff looks good and the franchise mode seems great. My buddy swears by 2004 but it may be a slow transformation for me.

[Sakic19]

You can't compare EA to Hitz, both are aiming for sim now, and both are trying to get their game to be a good sim. They both have their problems, and they both have their good points. Hitz goalie animations we're good, but they still needed quite some work. EA's dynasty mode was good as well, but still work needs to be done on it. Hitz was a very fun game for me, but 2004 was more fun. Without a Hitz 05, a lot of people are going to end up dissapointed.

[Flyermania]

oldman,

I can tell you that I have never been as pleased with a video hockey game like I have been with 2004. EA/Blackbox really did a great job turning the series in the right direction, and hopefully it will continue with 2005. If not, I will be more than content keeping 2004 locked on my hard drive. :D

p.s. I have a boatload of addons for 2000 if you're still looking....arenas, jerseys, etc.

[Gee-Off]

4 Words: ESPN NHL Hockey 2K5 (Well 1 word and 3 pseudo-words)

It's the highest rated hockey game 2 years running for a reason.

Edit: note to self: put on flame-retardent gear before posting this in EA forum

[Jimbo66]

Originally Posted by capnlarge

4 Words: ESPN NHL Hockey 2K5 (Well 1 word and 3 pseudo-words)

It's the highest rated hockey game 2 years running for a reason.

Edit: note to self: put on flame-retardent gear before posting this in EA forum

I wouldn't be so cocky and sure of one's self now if I were you. The media can manipulate ANY title to be the "number one" game blah blah blah, but All I'm seeing outta the sega guys for 05 is implements of standard things that are already a part of NHL2004. Seems sega's more worried about copying EA this year than actually doing anything "original" and that CANNOT be good by anyones stretch of imagination..(unless you count useless crap like Darts and shuffleboard breakthroughs(wasted disc space on unrelated hockey crap that coulda improved the apeish looking player models or the hunchback of norte dame skating physics)..........so if you love NHL2k5 more power to ya but brotha the gap is so close now between the two NO CAMP has ANY right to tune off on the other cause you really can't go wrong with either..........

[old man]

Originally Posted by Flyermania

p.s. I have a boatload of addons for 2000 if you're still looking....arenas, jerseys, etc.

Sounds great. Can you email'em to me?? I'll prob. need a tutorial of how to do them...again. :D I'm also getting 2001 in a few days and I just know you've got loads of stuff for that. 2001 was the first game I ever put add-ons into and fell in love with it. I know, once I get used to them, it'll be a snap.

If you like 2004 that much i've gotta give it a go again. I'll be getting 05 for the XBox so (i'm sure) that kills any add-ons or rating adjustments. Oh well, at least i'll be able to put my created players into exh. mode and they'll be there for all my season instead of having to re-make them every time. Of all the stuff I loved about Hitz that drove me f'ing crazy.

[Flyermania]

I sent you an email with an idea I had...let me know what you think. I have jersey and arena updates (all teams) for both 2000 and 2001, and many goalies updates for both as well (Toronto for sure). I can extract the HNIC addon from my 2001 game and send it your way too if you'd like.

As far as 2004 goes, I personally really like it. I have good rosters/settings that provide a really decent game....enough to make me stop playing 2001, which was a big step for me! ;)

[DrezzXIII]

Comparing NHL2004 to ESPN2K4 to Hitz2004 is like comparing apples to oranges to bananas.

It all depends on what you like. I love all three games all for different reasons.

I like the presentation and fluidity of EHN2k4, but its repetition and inconsistencies in graphics aggravates me. Plus the bugs that need to be ironed out - but every game has bugs - its too bad with 2k4, because it SHOULD have been the better game, and would have been without the rushed effort.

I like the improvements made to EA NHL 2004, and the fact that attention is being paid to the gamer for once. Yelling in deaf ears takes awhile to get the message across, but finally its getting there. There are a lot of inconsistencies everywhere in this offering, but really, after 2002 and 2003, the game can go nowhere but up. This game shows a lot of promise (2004) but it feels very clunky. Its like a good solid car with a nice exterior but needs a lot of work under the hood. The ESPN offering is the opposite(the engine is a dream, but the car looks like a junker/sleeper car). With some work, both games could be unbeatable.

For replay value, Hitz is where its at. You can't beat its multiplayer mayhem, and if you don't like the arcadey-ness, you can adjust the sliders and have a more realistic offering. Its monkey-easy to use too, which makes it appealing. The limits are in its rosters and create-a-player, but I'm sure the new Hitz will improve on it. Dynamics and mechanics are probably the best - you can go from all out impossible hits, to realistic looking ones with a slider. How cool is that - Midway figured it out - how come EA and ESPN are trailing behind in that aspect?

Anyway Gerard, that's my 2 cents. You could probably pick up NHL 2004 in a bargain bin for less than 20 bucks, and I would suggest doing so with an open mind and a lot of practice. Mess with the sliders until you get things to a comfortable level. I agree that the skating sucks, but the other facets of the game are still really enjoyable. And the AI is vastly improved.

Try it out. And use Randy's rosters. They're the best and most realistic, bar none.

[Flyermania]

Originally Posted by Drezz

Try it out. And use Randy's rosters. They're the best and most realistic, bar none.

Thanks Drezz! :D

[LeaFanatic]

Originally Posted by Drezz

The limits are in its rosters and create-a-player, but I'm sure the new Hitz will improve on it.

Missed the memo? Hitz is kaput. :(

NHL Hitz was the best hockey game I ever played, well maybe second to NHL 2k3 but at least I can play Hitz with four buds and have all of us enjoying it.

I'm split between ESPN and EA this year because frankly ESPN just pisses me off how they screwed up 2k4 so badly after how good 2k3 was and I hate that game with a passion. And EA has just been too out there for me these past years but ever since they got Blackbox things have really been looking nice. So it'll be tough.