EA serves up another hat trick

EA has been making amazing hockey games since the creation of the company. Well, the newest version, "NHL 2003," is slower than Disney on Ice, the camera is too close to the action and the hits are about as hard as a "Celebrity Boxing" match. Luckily, EA has added hundreds of different gameplay and display options that let you customize the game to your liking.\nOnce you speed up the skaters and add a bit of aggression, you realize that this is the best hockey game ever created. The graphics and sound make people think they are watching ESPN, but watching is just part of the fun. But be forewarned: as soon as you pick up a controller, it may be weeks before you put it down.\nThis is an obvious plus for some people, but "NHL" is bad for all of you out there who may have jobs or homework. Once you start a franchise, those season games that are won, or lost, in the last seconds make you just want to keep playing until you can no longer hear the announcer say, "This one's going into overtime." Plus it's 3:30 a.m. and you have a test in a few hours.\nAnother great thing is that no matter how good you are, the season stats will usually be pretty realistic. Unlike every other sports game, no matter what difficulty the setting is, I usually go almost undefeated for an entire season (including baseball) and rack up trophies like nobody's business. But with "NHL 2003," players go on hot and cold streaks, and sometimes Patrick Roy just isn't as good defending the goal one night than another. \nThe only bad thing about this game, though, like many sports games, is the color commentator. The play-by-play man is outstanding, but the other guy says the cheesiest comments known to man. Some of them, maybe one or two a game, are funny, but the hundreds of others are almost impossible to listen to over and over again. Comments after someone scores like, "That's why he gets to ride shotgun on the way home," are just so random and stupid. But the soundtrack is the savior in the audio department. Replays of one-timers with songs by Queens of the Stone Age, Papa Roach and Jimmy Eat World in the background are an amazing touch.\nSo if you are a fan of hockey, then get this game right now, but if you are just a fan of good games...well, get this game right now.