| | Face Off
It may not be a simulation game in the strictest sense, but NHL Rivals™ 2004 comes closer than anything else available. The game so realistically combines play with team management that I’m confident it’s as close to playing pro hockey as I’m going to get … at least, without actually strapping on a pair of skates and getting onto the rink. First stop on our tour of game features: Open Ice mode, which offered me the chance to brush up on my stick checks and passing skills in a practice environment. With my teammates helpfully trying to body check me into the hospital, I quickly learned how to skate, shoot, and score.
“Just try to get one past me.”
One of the most important features in any console sports game is control: the more control you have over your options, the more exciting and meaningful the action. You’ll have more control with NHL Rivals 2004 than any hockey gamer has ever experienced. The face-off is a great example of the game’s control features. The face-off—the moment most characteristic of hockey—is an event that console games often find difficult to emulate realistically. The results are either a foregone conclusion or completely random. NHL Rivals 2004 solves this problem by using a kind of rock-paper-scissors method to determine face-off outcomes. Select the face-off move you’d like to try (win clean, block and kick, or tie up the sticks), and hope that your choice beats what your opponent selected (a face-off helper pops up to remind you which choices trump others). The result is a tense and satisfyingly believable clash.
Once the puck is in play, it’s every team for itself, with you in total control of all your team’s athletes. Pressing the A button switches control to the team member closest to the puck. Maneuver your active athlete with the left thumbstick while selecting his actions with the right thumbstick, both triggers, and the controller buttons. Clear the puck from your defensive area automatically by pressing Y, or stick-check with the X button; the B button lets you fake out the opposition. Make a pinpoint pass to a teammate, quickly and easily, without disrupting the flow of the game. Using the left thumbstick to control your player’s direction, you can execute a pinpoint pass using the right thumbstick, so skating left while passing right or even using the boards to angle your shots is a piece of cake. You can even pivot a player 180 degrees (he continues skating in the same direction, but changes facing), so you can back-check like a pro! 
Rivals on the rink.
Strategic Initiative
Now confident that I wouldn’t embarrass myself in front of the cheering fans, I examined the playing options. Single Game is just that, one exhibition game; you can also play entire NHL seasons, postseason series, and special tournaments. Naturally, I opted for Instant Rivalry. Moments later, the organ music was rising through the arena as the L.A. Kings stared malevolently across the rink at the Anaheim Mighty Ducks. My Ducks lost the face-off, and after some minor skirmishing, the Kings scored. The remainder of the period wasn’t much better for me—my wings kept getting pinned against the boards!—but I enjoyed listening to the voices of veteran NHL announcers Sam Rosen and John Davidson discussing exactly what my team was doing wrong. The best part about this mode is how it lives up to its name! The game cranks up the level of aggression between rival teams as players check and rough harder and mix it up more often. This grudge behavior isn’t limited to the teams—rivalries between individual, well-known players get carried onto the ice as well: these players single out one another for special attention, sometimes forgetting that they’re trying to win a hockey game as they snarl at, stick, and rough up their rivals.
After changing my team’s lineup, I looked over my strategic choices. You can change your strategy on the fly, and to counteract the Kings’ dominance of the first period, I opted for triangle Attack, zone Defense, high wings on the Breakout, and high Offensive Aggression. I also killed the icing and off-sides rules, opted for looser penalty calls, turned on the Player Fatigue option, and set the player injuries to normal. Once I took the lead in the second quarter (was there any doubt?), I eased up on the offense and protected my lead with a more aggressive defensive stance. The number of gameplay options is amazing, and the ability to change strategies on the fly contributes to the game’s high level of realism. 
Looks like someone’s headed to the box.
Power Play
NHL Rivals 2004 delivers all the gameplay options and realism any fan of the game could ever want. The unique player roles bring the game’s enforcers, snipers, and agitators to life right before your eyes! And if that isn’t enough to send you running to grab this game, think about this: NHL Rivals 2004 is one of the games headed directly for XSN Sports, so when you’re tired of delivering can-opener hits to a virtual opponent, you can opt to take on Xbox players worldwide.
Now, if you’ll excuse me, my NY Islanders are aching to whoop the tar out of the NY Rangers, and I don’t want to disappoint the fans … By Jason Carl |
