NHL Rivals 2004 Preview

Over the past few years, Microsoft has been making a concerted effort to establish itself as a true contender among the major players in the sports game industry. Building upon its already-existing sports franchises, like the NFL Fever, Inside Pitch, and NBA Inside Drive series, Microsoft will soon debut its first entry into the sport of hockey with NHL Rivals 2004. NHL Rivals aims to be more of a simulation of the sport of hockey, but it has some new features that should help make it unique. We recently got to spend some time playing an early version of Rivals 2004, and, though the game still had some rough spots, it showed some promise as well.

NHL Rivals' control scheme is set up similarly to other simulation-style hockey games, but there are a few key differences. When in control of the puck, aside from the standard pass, shoot, clear puck, deke, and speed burst functions, you also have a pivot function and pinpoint passing. Pivoting is exactly what it sounds like: When you hit the pivot button, your player physically turns around and skates backward. This is useful for protecting the puck if too many defenders are coming in for the kill. Pinpoint passing is basically a right-analog passing system that lets you tap the stick in the direction of the player you want to pass to, causing your player to pass the puck accordingly. From our experience, the controls felt pretty responsive, and the control scheme seemed to work quite nicely.

The game also employs a special role system, with specific moves assigned to each type of player. Roles are divided into four categories: balanced players, who are well rounded on the ice; enforcers, who are your typical tough-guys that start fights when necessary, and generally deliver the big hits; agitators, who are players that tend to take penalties and interfere with the opposing team, rather than starting fights; and, lastly, snipers, who are pure goal-scorers that are capable of finding the back of the net from seemingly out of nowhere. Each player has different maneuvers on the ice, designed around that player's role. When controlling a sniper, for example, you can perform nifty little spin moves to avoid defenders, and you can fake out goalies. When playing as an enforcer, you can deliver a massive can-opener check, or you can simply crash through a defender when you're controlling the puck. Though it appeared that the role system wasn't quite finished in the early version we played, it seems to be shaping up well and should hopefully add a nice dynamic to the game.

NHL Rivals will contain the basic array of game modes you would expect from a modern-day NHL game, like exhibition, playoffs, tournament, and season modes. There will be no franchise mode in the game, but the season mode will let you make trades, edit lines, and create players while you take a team through a full NHL season. The game also features a new type of gameplay mode called the "instant rival mode." The instant rival mode is similar to exhibition mode since it lets you jump right into a single game between two teams. However, in this mode you play a game that features two specific teams who are either division rivals or engaged in a long-standing feud. You'll see matchups like the Penguins versus the Capitals, the Red Wings versus the Avalanche, the Stars versus the Oilers, and the Kings versus the Coyotes. The matches are chosen at random, so you'll never quite know what sort of matchup you'll get.

In addition to these modes, NHL Rivals 2004 will also feature full Xbox Live support, including support for the new XSN network. All of the basic Xbox Live functions will be available in the game, including quick match, optimatch, friends list, create-a-game, online rankings, recent players, and downloadable content. The online mode also features a new type of game that can be played between six different Xboxes, called pickup game. Pickup game is a three-on-three hockey game where you and five other players select specific players and play--as them--over the course of the game. The match takes place in an outdoor rink, so you won't be seeing any crowds or hearing any announcers. Once you've chosen your player role, the game begins, and it's up to you and your teammates to design the plays that will win the game. Rivals' XSN support will offer all of the available features, including online leagues and tournaments, as well as stat and transaction tracking via e-mail.

In terms of graphics and sound, Rivals seems to be coming together well, though the developer will, hopefully, continue to refine a few issues. The player models look very nice, and many of the marquee players have had specific faces designed for them. The game also seems to have a fair number of generic facial maps as well. While many of the in-game animations look good, the current version of the game has some disjointed movements that the developer will hopefully remedy with additional transitional animations. The in-game audio also sounds very good at this point, with some great effects used to represent skates grinding against the ice, players getting smacked into the boards, and pucks hitting the metal edge of the net. Rivals' commentary is provided by John Davidson and Sam Rosen. While it doesn't quite seem complete yet, the commentary is definitely shaping up to be on par with some of the better efforts found in today's NHL games.

At this point, NHL Rivals 2004 has the potential to be a great hockey game. Its gameplay system seems very solidly designed, and the full scope of Xbox Live support should give it lots of longevity with hockey fans. NHL Rivals 2004 is scheduled for release on November 18.