dashblast's Full Review: NHL Hitz 2002 for PlayStation 2
The other day, I went over to my friend's house and noticed that he was playing some hockey game on PS2. I looked over, and one of his players was engulfed in flames. I asked him why his guy was flaming, and he said that he was on fire. I asked how he got on fire, and he told me that your players will get on fire if they score a hat-trick (3 goals). The next thing I did was ask what the significance of the fire was. He answered by telling me that fire heavily increases your player's stats. At that point, I knew I had to explore this game because it seemed to me like a mix between NBA Jam and NFL Blitz (both Midway games also).
Sure enough, the next day I went to my local Blockbuster® and rented NHL Hitz 2002. As soon as I got home, I rushed over to my PS2 and loaded Hitz. I was quickly bothered because it took a whole minute for the game to load up. This was astonishing to me because I've never had to wait close to that long for a PS2 game. Anyway, once the game was done loading, a video came on the screen of the Colorado Avalanche playing some other team. The quality was amazing, and the video was great because there was the song Rollin' by Limp Bizkit in the background.
Since I had never played this game before, I looked up the controls. The controls were really simple and it only took me one glance to remember them. I picked my team, the Detroit Redwings, and started playing on Rookie difficulty level. The game was so fast paced, and the stadium atmosphere looked so real. To me, the game was an instant success.
Gameplay: (10)
The gameplay itself is incredible. Within a minute I was able to score, and my team was so easy to maneuver. I played for many hours at first, and checking people, getting into fights, and doing dekes (spins) was so great. Every time one of my players got on fire, or I got on team fire (score 3 one-timers), I couldn't contain myself I was so happy. I couldn't get enough. I must've played like 20 consecutive games (each game is 9 minutes) with plenty of different teams.
Graphics: (10)
The graphics are also superb. The stadium atmosphere looks so real, and every minor detail is carried out. The players jerseys are all filled in with such precision, the number, the last name, it's all there. From the fan sitting in row 5, all the way to the water bottle on top of the goal, this game's graphics are top notch.
Sound: (10)
You can hear absolutely everything with such accuracy. I swear that when you ice-skate in the game, you'll think someone is ice-skating right near you. There is a sound for everything. Skating, checking, stopping, scoring, cheering, booing, getting on fire, punching, and of course the announcing, it's seriously all there.
Value: (8)
The only bad thing about this game, is the value. I thoroughly enjoyed the game while I had it, but when I returned it I didn't mind because I got all I needed out of it. I am pretty sure that you cannot enjoy the game for more than a weekend straight. I played, I bought teams, I traded players in Franchise mode, but it got boring. With a game like Hitz, that's so easy to learn, it's hard to find joy after mastering it in 2 days. I'm sure if I were to have bought this game, I would have gotten sick of it after a maximum of 1 week.
People that like NHL Hitz 2002 probably already played NFL Blitz and NBA Jam, but if you haven't played them, then you absolutely should. Hitz is for people who like fast paced games, hard hitting action, and above all, entertainment.
This game is well done. You'll have some good fun filled hours competing with friends or just by yourself, and to be honest, there are only a few minor things I would change. But, all and all, you can't play the same game of hockey with only little things changing each time (i.e. the score, and what teams you play with).
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