Metacritic Games

NHL 2K3 (Xbox)

More than just familiar faces and numbers, Sega Sports NHL 2K3 delivers player realism down to size, skill, and behavior, resulting in individuals that exhibit accurate styles of play. Now grinders battle for pucks in the corners, elite players see the ice and create opportunities, and fast skaters exploit their speed. The all-new Franchise Mode lets you capitalize on player accuracy to develop a team that plays your brand of hockey. Now you can draft hotshot rookies, trade for players who compliment your team, compensate for injured players, and more. Then put that precision to work on the ice by anchoring lines with key players and rotating those lines to create the match-ups you want. Bringing it all together is a new ESPN broadcast system where scores, highlights, and more are presented in the network's famous style. [Sega]

Sega of America
Sports
Players: 4
E (Everyone)
Developer: Visual Concepts / Treyarch
Released November 19, 2002

Overall Metascore

This is a weighted, normalized average of all individual scores given by critics, on a scale of 0 (worst) to 100 (best).

89 / 100

Critic Reviews

100	Yahoo! Games Treyarch has done a masterful job with this game, satisfying the needs of serious hockey fans without losing sight of the fact that a sports game has to be fun.
100	GamePro If you’re looking to play hockey of the NHL variety, to tackle pro challenges and use real-life strategies, NHL 2K3 will thrill you as much as watching your team heroically survive a five-on-three penalty kill.
95	Operation Sports It looks fantastic, sounds fantastic, and possesses unrivaled gameplay – online or off.
93	Game Informer It's a brilliant design, and a generation ahead of where EA is today. [Dec 2002, p.142]
92	GameSpy The biggest difference between 2K3 and its competition, though, is the game's physics. Players move like they're actually on ice.
91	Gaming Age With AI that is light years ahead of EA Sports, a simulation experience that's second to none, and a fun - if somewhat fickle - online experience with Xbox, the serious hockey gamer should only look at one title this year.
90	Armchair Empire It’s clear that Sega used the learning experience of the Dreamcast’s SegaNet online gaming to its utmost advantage, because the seamless and lag-free gameplay provided by NHL 2K3 is simply fire-on-ice marvelous.
90	All Game Guide EA's "NHL 2003" is a solid game, but 2K3 is a gem. The intelligent play of the computer players in 2K3 -- unparalleled by any past or present -- makes NHL 2K3 the best hockey video game to date.
89	IGN If you are a fan of hockey or if you want to try hockey on a level beyond Hitz and NHL 2003, then this is absolutely the way to go. And it doesn't hurt that it's online!
89	Official Xbox Magazine Smooth framerates directly translate into smooth gameplay. [Jan 2003, p.65]
88	GameSpot The new additions, excellent gameplay, and Xbox Live support make this the best hockey game of the year.
85	GamerWeb Xbox The game is an amazing hockey simulation with great artificial intelligence and online play as well as an acceptable graphics and sound department make NHL 2K3 the absolute best hockey title available.
83	XenGamers It still has some issues that need addressing for 2K4, but even a flawed NHL 2K3 is leagues better than EA Sports' latest.
80	Play Magazine NHL 2K3's biggest accomplishment is without question the AI: it is absolutely brilliant - especially the goalie. [Jan 2003, p.84]
80	TotalGames.net SEGA Sports certainly know how to make their titles as exciting as possible – the music plays, the lights flash, the audience is pumped up, all you’d need is a hotdog and you’d have the perfect hockey experience!
80	Cheat Code Central This game is fantastic but it's buggy online play has really kicked the crap out of the overall value.
80	Total Video Games An absolutely brilliant game to play – really enjoyable, really addictive and instantly playable.