Midway Sports has been known for its over the top sports series; titles like MLB Slugfest, NHL Hitz and NFL Blitz have stretched the boundaries of each professional football league, allowing superhuman plays, heart-stopping defense and bone-crushing hits to become synonymous with the Hat Trick, the Grand Slam and the Hail Mary. With the series quickly becoming a fan favorite, the reaction was more than vocal when Midway announced that the sports division would return to a more realistic format. Well, with the release of NHL Hitz coming today, fans shouldn’t have very much to worry about, because the sports franchise seems to be progressing rather nicely. Using up-to-date rosters from the NHL (as of July 21st of this year, that is), NHL Hitz hosts realistic 5-on-5 hockey action on ice in accurately modeled stadiums from around the league. Rules and penalties have also been enforced within the new Hitz, meaning that players can potentially expect to have a ref call them on a poorly made play such as icing. I can start to sense a little panic in the air, but don’t worry guys, the spirit that made Hitz such a classic is still there. Players on both sides of the puck, including the goalie, can step up and lay the thunder on any unsuspecting fool. Don’t expect to be able to pull anything fast on the computer either; it has no problem beating down egotistical players, especially if the gloves have to come off. Novices to the ice shouldn’t worry about picking up the game. Scotty Bowman and a host of NHL Stars, including Eric Brewer and Nicklas Lidstrom introduce the basics of the sport and of Hitz in hockey school. Here, players learn the essentials of how and when to deke, stick check and guarding the puck, amongst others. Players can also play pickup games in 3 unique arenas: a local frozen pond, a rink at a city park, or a roller hockey game in a parking lot. Featuring a host of characters, including a number of mechanics, union workers and skate punks, this mode lets players leap into a match in a number of seconds. For fans of the sport, the typical season and playoff modes for Lord Stanley’s cup are merely two modes that should satiate your thirst for success. Considering that each team has a number of unlockable items, including classic jerseys or equipment, fans should have plenty of things to keep them occupied. On top of that, there’s a deep GM mode that allows a player to bring an unknown draft team into the league with the dreams of dominating every other squad, and for PS2 owners, the prospect of broadband multiplayer games with tournaments and other undisclosed features. Oh yeah, and did I mention that you can also play as the Czech, Finnish, Russian, Swedish or USA national teams? Team die-hards will be happy to be able to pick out their favorite players, thanks to detailed character models. As I said earlier, stadiums are built based on their real-life counterparts, but the animation of what happens on the ice is much more realistic. For example, typical Hitz elements, like sending players crashing through the glass looks much more painful. While there is a hard rock soundtrack, the much more impressive facet about the sound has to be the interactive actions by the crowd. Blow out a team, and the crowd will be happy, but slightly bored. Play as the visiting team, and expect to get jeered with every play. Squeeze out a close match and get ready to hear the place erupt. Skating onto shelves today, NHL Hitz should do a great job of continuing the Midway Sports Tradition. Check back here for a full review! Questions or comments about the upcoming release of NHL Hitz Pro for all next-generation consoles? Talk to us! [ E-Mail Jeff 'Linkphreak' Haynes ] [ Comment in our Forums ]

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