NHL 2004 brought the best "defensive" play I've ever seen in any videogame.
EHM 2007 and NHL 2004 are the real Holy grail for me
These are the 2 I play on my laptop along with NHL 99. I mostly play 04 modded now when I want to actually play a game but EHM most of the time. If you've never played, it's highly worth checking out (but it's not being sold anymore).
Realized I found NHL 2004 from this thread in an earlier post, right before one of my finals. I actually did alright in that class... could have done a lot better had I not been preoccupied with that game all weekend. Super fun.
Ahahah thanks for posting this. Great nostalgia moment.
NHL99 was my first hockey game and I absolutely loved that intro as a kid.
98 was my first but I still think that 99 is the best intro for any sports game, I played that game so much.
My favorite has to be 2002 ainec. I had all the challenges and easter eggs, along with jokes thrown in there by the commentators. It was right at the point where graphics had evolved enough to really enhance the gaming experience yet still had that arcade feel.
I just love that game
ESPN NHL 2k5 was probably the best until NHL 2009 came out and really got the realism(relative of course) going. Also the side games were a blast. The 2K series deserves cred because 2005 was infinitely better then NHL 2005 all the way to 2008. Sadly their best game came on a lockout year.
Wayne Gretzky and NHL hits - instant multiplayer living room fun.
How can anyone say NHL06 was one of the best?
That one had the worst roster EVER. All the Swedes were 90+ overall because of the Olympic gold. And I don't mean Lidstrom or Sundin... I mean people like Tony Salmelainen.
How can anyone say NHL06 was one of the best?
That one had the worst roster EVER. All the Swedes were 90+ overall because of the Olympic gold. And I don't mean Lidstrom or Sundin... I mean people like Tony Salmelainen.
I was in a car accident a while back and ended up playing NHL '06 for my Xbox the entire time i was recovering. Since it was a head on collision, this ended up being multiple weeks...
Best? As long as you stay offline to avoid glitching, NHL 12 is a fantastic hockey game striking a good balance between simulation style hockey and fast, fun paced action. It's full of depth in its game modes and has plenty of content to keep you playing for a long time. The online modes are fun too, but your experience will vary depending on who you face.
The most fun game from the 2D era had to be NHL 94. In the early 3D era, NHL 98 was by far the most fun, with blistering fast game speed and some hilarious cheat codes. Honourable mention goes to Wayne Gretzky's 3D Hockey. In the PS2/Xbox era, it's hard to knock NHL Hitz 20-03 as possibly the greatest arcade-style hockey game ever made. ESPN NHL 2k5 was absolutely phenomenal as a sim-style game, while NHL 2003 and NHL 06 both had their merits as arcade games... one featuring breakaway cams, ridiculous celebrations, and strange crowd antics, with the other featuring some crazy dekes. In the 360/PS3 era, it's hard to top NHL 08 for fun. The game featured insanely fast paced action and ridiculously hard hits. I still hop on every now and then to play a few offline games when I get bored of NHL 12.
NHL Open Ice. NBA Jam, NHL style, 2 on 2. Tons of fun. NHL 95 was pretty awesome as well.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Tkachuk4MVP
NHL 94 NHL Open IceMutant League Hockey (Sega Channel baby!)
Wayne Gretzky's 3D Hockey
I get a little misty eyed thinking back on the days when I would play these games on endless loop.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Boston BROin
NHL 12 is the best hockey game ever made. Hands down.
But for nostalgia factor and fun times?
NHL Open Ice
Yes, I LOVED NHL Open Ice! My roommate and I played that for hours on end on the original PS our sophomore year in college!
My buddies and I still play Hitz (I have 2002, 2003, and Pro from PS2) and I never tire of those. We actually play a lot of NHL12 with 5 guys and we got bored so I popped in Hitz Pro and they LOVED it. Everyone had so much fun just running around hitting and scoring after having to play positionally correct hockey in the EA games haha
While it's nice to stroll down memory lane, if the question is which NHL game is the best the answer is simply the latest game on the market, NHL 12. It is the closest gameplay to the real thing to come along yet (it still is clearly not perfect and perhaps it never will be).
Older games are just being thrown around for nostalgic reasons and not because they are literally the best NHL video game someone could buy today.
Older games are just being thrown around for nostalgic reasons and not because they are literally the best NHL video game someone could buy today.
I'd disagree...NHL 2004 with the mod and online especially is a lot more fun and tighter/real than the newer NHL games. I mean the newer ones get boring in less than an year, me and a large group of others have been playing NHL 2004 since it got modded in 2009 and it still gets updated....that wouldn't happen if it wasn't fun. NHL 95 (or is it 94?) also gets updated and played regularly but it's old graphics so not the same thing but probably fun as well.
Believe me, NHL 2004 is the best thing EA did in terms of gameplay and interface, the reason was because a different studio made that game, it went downhill after that until PS3/360 came out and those haven't really improved much since NHL 10.
I think the videos show it all and they aren't even on the better ai settings:
96/97 mod of 2004
modern mod of 2004 (video is old version from 09/10 season)
3v3 NHL Arcade on the marketplace on Xbox and PS3 is like the modern day NHL Hitz, I love it! Obviously I always play the new NHL installments every year and those are great too, but I like to keep a nice balance between playing realistic hockey games and arcade ones that are more just geared on fun. Unfortunately I haven't played some of those old greats a lot of you are talking about, but I love the NHL Hitz series and still have my 2002 disc with my custom maxed out stats team on it!
While it's nice to stroll down memory lane, if the question is which NHL game is the best the answer is simply the latest game on the market, NHL 12. It is the closest gameplay to the real thing to come along yet (it still is clearly not perfect and perhaps it never will be).
Older games are just being thrown around for nostalgic reasons and not because they are literally the best NHL video game someone could buy today.
best does not=most realistic
best=most fun user experience, which is all preference
I actually don't enjoy the newer NHL games and most new games for that matter because the experience is not the same as playing old school video games with a next to none learning curve.
I like all the crazy **** you could do in the older NHL games, if I want the real thing I will just, you know, actually go play it.
Ice Hockey
Blades of Steel
Mutant League Hockey (Boy oh boy was this game ridiculously fun)
NHLPA '93 (beat the hell out of the original NHL Hockey, but NHL '94 and beyond all blew it away)
NHL 94-98 (that was the last hockey game I bought for a console)
Worst:
the Gretzky, Lemieux, and Hull-branded games
Realized I found NHL 2004 from this thread in an earlier post, right before one of my finals. I actually did alright in that class... could have done a lot better had I not been preoccupied with that game all weekend. Super fun.
