In 2002, hockey was pretty much extinct on the gamecube. EA's NHL series wasn't around that year, and neither was Sega's 2K series. Luckily for hockey fans that only have a gamecube, there's NHL Hitz 20-02 to roll around. Whats different about NHL Hitz is that it isn't a hockey simulation game like EA and 2K's hockey series'. NHL Hitz offers a bruising 3 on 3 style of hockey that is a whole lot of fun. Some things that make NHL Hitz unique is that you can do a lot of stuff that you can't do in real hockey. You can hit players through glass multiple times in a shift without the ref blowing the wistle. If you are killing a 5 on 3 penalty, you can hit the goalie down and shoot the puck into the net since you can only have a maximum of 2 penaltes at once, and you hit the goalie down regardless if you've got a penalty or not if he is wandering out of his crease. When you win a fight or score a goal, you'll build up this meter. Once this meter is full you can activate this thing where your players go on fire. Your players will be an extra boost when they are skating down the ice and it seems that every shot you take goes in when you've got your players on fire. My favorite thing to do in this game is get my meter built up and give the puck to my goalie. I'll skate up the ice with my goalie and go for a goal. This sounds outrageos but it's very fun to do and hilarous when you slap the puck with the goalie and score a goal.
NHL Hitz 20-02 has the excellent gameplay that most people remember in a game, but it's graphics and sound aren't as polished as its gameplay is. All of the NHL rinks are in the game, but they don't have their unique goal horns that are in the other NHL games. Also, the player models in this game are actually not as good as the other games. In NHL 2002, Mario Lemieux looks like Steve Yzerman, but in NHL Hitz 20-02 he might not look like the NHL superstar that the Red Wings fans love. The game has a pretty good soundtrack though, the game fits with its soundtrack and is one of the highpoints of this game's sound. Even though the player models aren't up to snuff, the ice looks very detailed and all of the animations in this game look pretty good.
NHL Hitz 20-02 is the only hockey game for the gamecube and even though NHL 2002 and NHL 2K2 aren't on the gamecube. It can't be considered a complete loss because of the arrival of NHL Hitz 20-02. NHL Hitz 20-02 offers a fast style of gameplay that many games will find though the compete with. Serving as the only NHL title on the gamecube in 2002, NHL Hitz 02 delivered fast-paced action that suprised us all.
Those of you that played the Wane Gretzky games are going to love this. This is an umrealistic hockey game featuring big checks, fast pace, a amazing action. The controls are pretty simple, B shoots, A passes, and X che... Read Full Review
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