NHL 2004

[Whip 0]

I have been playing this game since Christmas and I find it to be a very exciting game. A lot better then 03. I dont play online cuz thats just a waste of money. I am in my 3rd year of Dynasty. This game is awesome but there is certainly room for improvement. One of the major issues i had with this game is the unreal dynasty mode, its great and fun but its totally inaccurate. I traded for Bouwemeester(sp) and his overall is now 90 after the 2 season he was with me and now hes asking for a new deal of 1 year for 12.9 mill....... WTF and Ryan Smyth wanted to get paid 2 years for 8.9 million even tho his overall was 81. THe contracts is just unreal and another thing is that the potential system is tottally unreal i mean how many guys actually have a potential of 99 in the NHL right now no one has that bright of a future in the league so a player with 99 potential is just fake. Another thing for all the equipment fanatics is the fact that you cant chose what glove a player wears, for the oilers they wear that ugly jofa style glove and you cant do a thing to chagne it while the Thrashers wear Eagles CP95 gloves (heatly uses them).

The dynasty mode needs some serious re editting but other then that things are great and iam loving this game.

Yours thoguhts or comments on this

[kosydar 0]

Not sure why you wouldn't just add this to the NHL 2005 thread and talk about how this stuff needs to be improved in 2005, but I'll bite anyway. Yes, it really does suck how much the players ask for. The best way I've found to keep your team salary competative is to sign free agents for $49.99 million for 6 years, and then trade them to teams with low salaries, getting nothing in return. The game automatically accepts them.

[Vapor 0]

All you need in the game is quick players. Load em up with players like ryan johnson, malholtra, park from minessota, etc, and you will be set

[mack 44]

Game-wise I'd hope that not everyone scores farside low so easily.

[kosydar 0]

I also thought that it was hard to skate with the puck and get open ice. Then when you do get it down into the offensive zone, your teammates just stick together. Hopefully that is fixed.

[kiprusoff*7 0]

I found that when you fake one side go to the other one break aways they let it in everytime.

[mack 44]

That's another one. Go forehand/backhand and it's money 99% of the time, the other 1% being the d-man making a miraculous diving pokecheck.

And I hate how on breakouts the computer always knows where you're going, like you're up against Team Cleo.

[ChiefsHockey 0]

Some camera angles are also messed up. For example, try putting the angle on action and "always up" and notice how you feel like you are skating with the puck across the neutral zone (which is cool) but then feel like you are mile away from the net in the offensive zone.

LOL, Team Cleo.

[Cavs019 708]

buy the upgrades that make people sign for less money and then you wont have that problem.

[kosydar 0]

Shit, thats another thing. The upgrades take forever to get. Even when you have the best marketing or whatever, they'll only sign for like 20% less, tops. When it comes to a $20 million + contract, that isn't too much.

[mack 44]

I had a beef with the upgrades too, but EA is just assuming you're in it for the 20 or 30 years of the Dynasty so I can kind of see their point. Eff that.

[kosydar 0]

Thats the thing. When I do it, I sim the seasons, and at the end of the year, and you only get around 4 upgrade points per year. I think I'm on my 16th season right now, and I'm barely half way full.

[Vapor 0]

I had a beef with the upgrades too, but EA is just assuming you're in it for the 20 or 30 years of the Dynasty so I can kind of see their point. Eff that.

Thats whats so dumb. Most people play a full season. And on average that takes you about 3 months, so tops 5 years, and by that time nhl 2005 is out. They shall fix that

[mack 44]

Exactly, but I don't know if it's ADD or what but I can't take that many seasons. I can do 2, 3 tops. How about less computer trading too? By the time the playoffs roll around I can't recognise half the teams I'm going up against.

[Dan_The_Man_16 0]

I found the passing and backwards skating really bad. Also the hitting engine was pretty bad, I would flick that little stick towards the guuy who I wanted to hit and it seemed like only 1/10 times you would connect. Also a really easy way to score is to come out from the opposite corner you guy shoots (so a righy from the left) and just cut cross crease and you will put in in 99.9% if the time. Once me and my friends figured this out we could slaughter teams like 20-0 in hard mode. They need to fix the AI so they can read playes like that.

[Kobe 0]

All good recommendations but you guys have to realize how freakin hard it is to correct AI stuff like that. If the programmers "blocked" out moves like those then it would be damn near impossible to score and everybody would be pissed because the goalies are so good. It's even more difficult to somehow randomize when a "99.9% money move" should score and when it shouldn't. That would be ideal but all games have to follow an algorithm and it's quite difficult to map out all of the possibilities.

I think the game would lose some appeal if you were able to max out your team's upgrades. You wouldn't have any goals to attain once you have maxed them out and it would be even more unrealistic to have your guys all powered up with +20 attributes (your crappiest player would probably be around an 80).

Anyways, if you guys have seen the E3 reviews and videos then you'll know that the hitting engine has improved. There wasn't anything wrong with it in 2004 imo. Laying a guy out with the bruise control 100% of the time is unrealistic. The AI has also been improved. Players won't "clump" together and gangbang the puck carrier anymore. There's also a new thing called "puck support" or something like that where you can control two players at once and set up for one-timers or outlet passes with more ease.

[Chadd 916]

I hated having to use the analog stick on the PS2 version. I've been playing the game for more than a decade and probably played fewer games of '04 than any other year. Some good ideas but too many things that flat out suck.

[sundinleafs137 13]

I got '04 and hated it, went back to '03. is it just me or does the whole gameplay (ice surface, players, coloring) just look more dull and dim compared to '03. I had it for PC and I'm one of those addon freaks but there was nothing for '04, goalies didnt even have their own helmets. And the 1 thing that has always bothered me is the A.I. When youre beating a team 4 or 5-0 going into the thrid and they only have 16 shots on net, and all of a sudden you cant hit them, theyre all faster, and they score 2 or 3 crappy ass goals for nothing, I cant stand that at all. I just hope they go back to the '03 gameplay style.

[43%burnt 0]

I had it for PC and I'm one of those addon freaks but there was nothing for '04, goalies didnt even have their own helmets.

you must not be looking in the right places. there is a massive amount of stuff for '04. check thunderpuck, nhl depot, and pnhl. i found that the late period surge goes away when you turn off all that hero stuff. you just have to find the right slider settings to get some realistic game play. i think 04 has its down falls, but overall, i believe it to be pretty cool.

[sgazi76 0]

R.I.P. Thunderpuck.

[Eazy_b97 1]

I just hated that new Checking system for PS2, and opted for NHL ESPN. It's not bad, Kind've frustrating for injuries, but whenever I play EA it seems like you can still score with the old cutting across the crease move everytime.

[mack 44]

For those who have NHL 2004 on the XBox, where do you see the length/type of injury for a player? On the PC it's under team reports but I can't find that on the XBox version. Thanks.

[kosydar 0]

Good question Mack...still can't find it.

[mack 44]

It's a pain when you don't know. I traded for Heatley and it turns out he was hurt. This was at the deadline and I didn't get him back until the Conference Finals even though I had 3 medical bars. It's also why Belak saw waaaaaaaaaaay more ice time than he should have when I lost McCabe.

[Harrycaray 0]

i have nhl 2004 and espn nhl 2004, espn is better more realistic, i recommend you try it, nhl 2004 does still have the cut across the crease, we call it cheating move, or the mccarty cause he did it in the finals, very unrealistic how it always goes in, espn is better in all aspects except in dynasty you cant control pratices