NHL 2004

NHL 2004 is an ice hockey sports video game developed by EA Black Box. It is the successor to NHL 2003. The game adds three European Elite Leagues: Germany's Deutsche Eishockey Liga (DEL), Sweden's Elitserien (SEL), and Finland's SM-liiga.

NHL 2004
Cover art with Dany Heatley
Developer(s)	EA Black Box
Publisher(s)	EA Sports
Series	NHL series
Platform(s)	GameCube, PlayStation 2, Xbox, Windows
Release	NA: September 23, 2003[1] EU: October 3, 2003 AU: October 10, 2003
Genre(s)	Sports
Mode(s)	Single-player, multiplayer, online multiplayer

The game was heavily modded during the last 20 years.^[2][3]

Gameplay

The game included many improvements to its gameplay (more realistic puck and rebound control and better checking) and game modes (a completely reworked franchise mode renamed "Dynasty"). In addition to the gameplay improvements, one particular non-gameplay improvement was added. When a team wins the Stanley Cup Finals, a large-scale celebration ensues. It included players skating around the ice holding the Cup over their heads. This then led to the common snapshot of the team and the coaches that holds true in the NHL. A "secret" song ("Shatterday" by Vendetta Red) plays while the animation shows the stats of the players in the picture, ending with the captain. Because of these additions, it was praised as one of the best games in the series to date.^[4]

Reception

Aggregate score

Aggregator	Score
	GC	PC	PS2	Xbox
Metacritic	85/100[5]	87/100[6]	85/100[7]	85/100[8]

Review scores

Publication	Score
	GC	PC	PS2	Xbox
Electronic Gaming Monthly	7.33/10[9]	N/A	7.33/10[9]	7.33/10[9]
Game Informer	9/10[10]	N/A	9.25/10[11]	9/10[12]
GamePro	[13]	N/A	[13]	[13]
GameRevolution	B+[14]	N/A	B+[14]	B+[14]
GameSpot	8.6/10[15]	8.8/10[16]	8.8/10[17]	8.6/10[15]
GameSpy	[18]	[19]	[20]	[21]
GameZone	N/A	N/A	N/A	8.9/10[22]
IGN	8.8/10[23]	8.8/10[4]	8.8/10[23]	8.8/10[23]
Nintendo Power	3.8/5[24]	N/A	N/A	N/A
Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine	N/A	N/A	[25]	N/A
Official Xbox Magazine (US)	N/A	N/A	N/A	8.6/10[26]
PC Gamer (US)	N/A	67%[27]	N/A	N/A
Playboy	88%[28]	88%[28]	88%[28]	88%[28]

Reception

The game received "favorable" reviews on all platforms according to the review aggregation website Metacritic.^[5][6][7][8]

References

1. "EA Sports releases NHL 2004". GameSpot. Archived from the original on 2023-03-06. Retrieved 2023-03-06.
2. Gentille, Sean. "Travel to a land where it's always 2004 and meet the people who refuse to let EA Sports NHL 2004 die". The New York Times. Archived from the original on March 6, 2023. Retrieved December 26, 2023.
3. "NHL 04 rebuilt". TapTalk. Retrieved December 26, 2023.
4. Boulding, Aaron (September 26, 2003). "NHL 2004 Review (PC)". IGN. Archived from the original on June 24, 2015. Retrieved June 23, 2015.
5. "NHL 2004 for GameCube Reviews". Metacritic. Archived from the original on November 11, 2023. Retrieved June 23, 2015.
6. "NHL 2004 for PC Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved June 23, 2015.
7. "NHL 2004 for PlayStation 2 Reviews". Metacritic. Archived from the original on November 11, 2023. Retrieved June 23, 2015.
8. "NHL 2004 for Xbox Reviews". Metacritic. Archived from the original on November 11, 2023. Retrieved June 23, 2015.
9. EGM staff (October 2003). "NHL 2004". Electronic Gaming Monthly. No. 171. p. 138.
10. Reiner, Andrew (October 2003). "NHL 2004 (GC)". Game Informer. No. 126. p. 131. Archived from the original on April 21, 2008. Retrieved June 23, 2015.
11. Reiner, Andrew (October 2003). "NHL 2004 (PS2)". Game Informer. No. 126. p. 121. Archived from the original on April 21, 2008. Retrieved June 23, 2015.
12. Kato, Matthew (October 2003). "NHL 2004 (Xbox)". Game Informer. No. 126. p. 138. Archived from the original on April 21, 2008. Retrieved June 23, 2015.
13. Air Hendrix (September 23, 2003). "NHL 2004 (GC, PS2, Xbox)". GamePro. Archived from the original on February 8, 2005. Retrieved June 24, 2015.
14. Ferris, Duke "G-Wok" (October 16, 2003). "NHL 2004 Review". Game Revolution. Archived from the original on July 7, 2015. Retrieved June 24, 2015.
15. Navarro, Alex (September 22, 2003). "NHL 2004 Review (GC, Xbox)". GameSpot. Archived from the original on March 5, 2021. Retrieved June 23, 2015.
16. Goble, Gord (October 6, 2003). "NHL 2004 Review (PC)". GameSpot. Archived from the original on February 24, 2021. Retrieved June 23, 2015.
17. Navarro, Alex (September 24, 2003). "NHL 2004 Review (PS2)". GameSpot. Archived from the original on May 10, 2019. Retrieved June 23, 2015.
18. Fischer, Russ (October 9, 2003). "GameSpy: NHL 2004 (GCN)". GameSpy. Archived from the original on June 24, 2015. Retrieved June 24, 2015.
19. Mahood, Andy (October 27, 2003). "GameSpy: NHL 2004 (PC)". GameSpy. Archived from the original on June 24, 2015. Retrieved June 24, 2015.
20. Fischer, Russ (October 9, 2003). "GameSpy: NHL 2004 (PS2)". GameSpy. Archived from the original on June 24, 2015. Retrieved June 24, 2015.
21. Fischer, Russ (October 9, 2003). "GameSpy: NHL 2004 (Xbox)". GameSpy. Archived from the original on June 24, 2015. Retrieved June 24, 2015.
22. Valentino, Nick (October 1, 2003). "NHL 2004 - XB - Review". GameZone. Archived from the original on October 6, 2008. Retrieved May 12, 2016.
23. Boulding, Aaron (September 26, 2003). "NHL 2004 (GCN, PS2, Xbox)". IGN. Archived from the original on June 24, 2015. Retrieved June 23, 2015.
24. "NHL 2004". Nintendo Power. Vol. 174. December 2003. p. 146.
25. "NHL 2004". Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine. October 2003. p. 121.
26. "NHL 2004". Official Xbox Magazine. October 2003. p. 80.
27. Morris, Dan (December 25, 2003). "NHL 2004". PC Gamer: 97. Archived from the original on March 15, 2006. Retrieved June 24, 2015.
28. "NHL 2004". Playboy: 37. October 2003.

External links

• NHL 2004 at MobyGames