When 100 experience points are earned, the team owners reward the GM with more money for upgrades. Some of these include profit margins, attendance figures, winning percentage, trades, and Stanley Cups. Every move the GM makes earns him or her experience points. Gamers become the GM of an existing NHL franchise or a created team for up to 20 seasons. In addition to these are the European Elite leagues from Sweden, Finland, and Germany, and online play for the PS2 and PC.ĭL: The dynasty mode in NHL 2004 will take franchise modes to a new level. The new touch-sensitive directional passing will allow players to rim the puck around the boards and make bank passes.ĭL: There are the exhibition, tournament, season, playoff, and dynasty modes. "Bruise control" will allow players to hit in any direction, including backward-skating hip checks. Another big improvement is the total control that the user will have this year. With the new board tie-ups and a more controlled style of play, players will have time to set up plays behind the net and on the side boards. Players will be aware of loose pucks and reach to pick them up. Defensemen will no longer get caught up ice. Some of the major improvements for 2004 are defensive AI, player awareness, and game flow.
There were too many breakaways last year, and it felt like there was too much up-and-down play, with pinpoint passes and no time to set up plays. GS: Where do you think there was room for improvement? How much of an impact did this have on NHL 2004's development?ĭL: Right from the start, the goal of NHL 2004 has been to get back to an authentic simulation brand of hockey that is also lots of fun to play.
This year, we have refined the manual deke and made it easier to use. Goalies would try desperation saves when they were down and out. For the first time in a hockey game, a player could manually deke the goalie and get the goalie to bite. GameSpot: What do you feel were the best elements of last year's NHL game?ĭavid Littman: The best aspects of last year's game were the ability to manually deke and the overall shooter-goalie confrontation. We recently spoke with David Littman, an assistant producer on the game, to see where the franchise is headed. Developer Black Box has worked to refine the game's impressive core and then build on it with the addition of some unique features.
Electronic Arts' hockey franchise has been steadily improving with each new installment over the years, and the upcoming NHL 2004 may be one of the most aggressive tweaks to the series yet.