Being branded with the same ''Midway'' logo that also appeared on the ultra-popular NBA Jam and NFL Blitz games does not do this title any justice in any department whatsoever. What NHL Hitz 2002 does for hockey, neither of the previously mentioned titles do for their respective sports, and while they're fun, simply don't compare to the pure enthusiasm, confidence and flair of Hitz. Hockey needed something like this in the worst way. And while Jam and Blitz may be considered outrageous in comparison to their real-life counterpart sports, Hitz is not as far off from real Hockey. Besides players combusting into flames after scoring three goals. And the constant checking. And the aliens. And the lack of penalties. But who needs those things?

The beauty of NHL Hitz lies not only with it's sheer amounts of pain (which is all you should be expecting from a Midway sports title), but with it's steaming piles of authenticity. Every team in the National Hockey League is available for play, as well as several unlockable teams, but more on that later. Each team features approximately six of the more popular players of their franchise, not including all of the real-life goalies in the NHL. All NHL, Nike, and official-looking logos are present, and each team has their own stadium, but the only difference between the rinks is the team logo at center ice. Each player is ranked in statistical attributes according to real-life performances such as speed, balance, shooting, passing, and aggressiveness. Each team is ranked on offense, defense and goaltending respectively, based on that team's players and their ratings.

Ultimately, the realism ends here. Only three general hockey ideas make it through after Midway turns Hitz into an all-out brawl: team work, scoring more goals, and hitting people. While of course hitting people is the most focused upon, do not underestimate the need of teamwork in this title; passing is essential in the offensive facet of the game, and one-timers (passing to a player who instantly fires a slapshot without hesitation) will net you more goals than you'd think. The players are large and fast-moving; the rinks are smaller than you'd expect, so it's not difficult to move up and down the ice quite quickly. There are four players per team in play at any given time; three free-moving players, plus a goalie.

The name of this hockey game isn't possession of the puck; while it's important that you have the puck in your offense and away from the opposing team as much as possible, it will never be with you long, so it's important to get off some decent shots as quickly as you can in Hitz. It's also imperative that you keep the opponents away from your goal, for they tend to gang up on your goalie and unleash high-powered shots on unoccupied rebounds. By effectively and repeatedly hitting the opponents in the head, through the glass, and into the boards, you can keep control of the game and the puck. Midway's line of pseudo-extreme sports games requires the player to be aggressive to retain control of a game, and Hitz is a superb example of that.

Most importantly, the game is fluid. In a sport that only stops for fights and an out-of-play puck, it is absolutely vital that every experience runs smoothly. Unless you're looking for an exact hockey simulation, there's much fun to be had here. Goals are not a rarity in Midway's version of hockey, but more of a form of currency; there will be plenty to go around, just make sure that you have more when the third period is over. Face-offs unravel like a basic rock-paper-scissors game; you can try several methods of winning the face-off, such as a poke-check to grab the puck, to hitting the opposing player to gain possession. Quite an interesting way of doing it. Your teammates are generally intelligent creatures as they move up and down the ice, checking opponents every now and then, doing their little part.

What one can expect from the gameplay is essentially what Midway served up in Jam and Blitz; the aforementioned fast-paced, hard-hitting action that requires pure aggressiveness above all else, strategic use and careful monitoring of the turbo button (a trademark of Midway sports), and finally a flair for something new and different that replaces the general rules and regulations of real hockey. The turbo button turns out to be mighty important; it can mean the difference between catching up to an opponent on a breakaway and checking him to the ground, or watching him score the game-winning goal as he burns you if your state of turboness is a ''lack there of'' one.

Controls are never awkward and always responsive, no matter what setup or arrangement the player uses. Offensively, one button is always designated to shots, be they slap shots or quick backhands; they're measured in power by how long the player holds down the shoot button before releasing. The longer the button is held down, the more powerful a shot will be. However, rarely in a game will you have the chance to wind up and let a real screamer rip, because chances are, you'll be face-first on the ice before you get the stick on the puck. It's often more important to get off a quick shot before the defense can react then take your time. Another button will be your passing button, and that's that; when it's pushed, the puck will be passed to either a player you're facing, or to a player up the rink. Next up is your deek button, which is quick spin used to evade an enemy checking you; sometimes extremely effective, other times worthless, depending on the difficulty and aggressiveness of the opponents. Defensively, each of these buttons will be mirrored with a helpful maneuver used to regain possession of the puck. These moves range from poke-checks to checking; the most effective is always the all-out check, which will usually send your opponent onto his back, jarring the puck loose. Used on both ends of the floor is the all-important turbo button, which not only significantly increases the effectiveness of these tactics, but also makes your players noticeably faster. Again, standard Midway fare.

Modes of play come in a variety of flavours; a standard exhibition game, which is a single affair against another team; a franchise game, where you take control of a team and try to win the Stanley Cup by beating 50 opposing teams; the season mode, with similarities to Franchise, except that it's only 30 games; and finally, a set of mini-games with the feel of Crazy Taxi that come in three different difficulty levels each. Mini-games range from checking three opposing players repeatedly until their assigned health meter runs out to slapping one-timers from a specified target and making a certain number within a given time limit.

In any mode of play, a fight can break out when one player checks another. We are taken to a close-up of the two players, 2-D fighter-style, except with no movement or fireballs or spinning dragon punches. What you have at your disposal when fighting are stomach punches, head punches, a grab button, and the ability to block. Fights are generally easy to win by simply mixing up stomach and head punches. However, there is a heavy penalty for losing a fight; the loser has to go to the penalty box and a bench warmer comes in. This is okay if your team has depth, but can be a killer if all of your firepower is within the starters. Don't take these battles lightheartedly.

By participating in the Season and Exhibition modes of play, one can earn points used to buy many neat little extras available in Hitz. If you win your games, you're given a range of points depending on difficulty, usually from 50-200. After the game, you are given a multiple choice trivia question concerning the history of hockey and geographical locations of teams; if you get these correct, that tacks on some bonus points. What you can buy ranges from extra teams to jerseys to stadiums to player heads. These, for the most part, are extremely cool; some of the new rinks you unlock are the likes of graveyards, and castles, not to mention a moonbase stadium.

Aside from these excellent features, Hitz contains within itself a decent Team Creation mode where you can give your players individual looks, numbers, names, and distribute attribute points in the various categories. Be warned, though; you have a limited number of points, and seven players to distribute them amongst. You can make three very strong starters, but your bench players will be extremely weak. You are also presented with the ability to designate a ''hot spot'' on the ice where your chances of making a goal are increased; when a shot is fired from this location, it appears to be an ''on-fire'' shot.

By using you created team in the Franchise mode of play and successfully winning games and answering trivia questions, you can win as many as seven attribute points to distribute to your players per game. This is extremely helpful if you're lacking depth, or your goalie is a little weak. You can use your unlocked stadiums and player heads on your created teams and players.

Graphically, the game is nothing short of phenomenal. Players are huge, lumbering animals, looking to rip apart the competition; they feature remarkable facial details, as well as authentic looking padding, and jerseys. Animations are the epitome of jaw-dropping; there is nothing more breathtaking than witnessing the classic ''score 3 goals and catch fire'' Midway formula and watching your players combust. Celebrations after scoring are incredible; when a player catches on fire, sometimes teammates will take their gloves off and hold their hand sup to warm them, as if the player were a campfire. This is not only hilarious but original. Checking animations are ridiculous, as well. It's a great feeling to drill a player through the glass, watching him flip over the boards and off the rink, and then jump back in for more action.

The sounds are impressive, if not on a lesser scale as compared to the untouchable visuals. Most notable are the sound effects of the checking and the wildly exciting announcer from the Blitz games who exclaims over big hits and goals, also making silly references to hockey and spouting off humorus metaphors and similes. Music, while offering up the great XBOX ability of ripping music from CDs and using them in-game, is rendered practically useless since music doesn't play during a game, only in the menus. Not really a terrible downfall, just lacking what would have been a bonus.

Perhaps the only *real* downfall of a game like this is that it can grow tiresome if overplayed. It gets quite repetitive after a while, so don't play it to death. You'll eventually want to come back anyhow, but Hitz is most fun with other friends, and since you can still earn points for unlocking bonus features when playing with two players, there's no reason not to have some pals over for some friendly (read: painful) hockey.

El Run Down

Pros:
+ Midway's hard-hittin' view of hockey
+ Fluid Gameplay
+ Tons of unlockables
+ NHL Licensing (obviously)
+ Breathtaking Visuals
+ Decent Audio

Cons:
- May Grow Repetitive
- Doesn't really take full advantage of music possibilities

All in all, one of the best hockey games I've ever seen, both feature-wise and fun-wise. Pick it up if you've got the hardware.