Oversized players zip around on undersized ice. Every match is 3-on-3, and it perfectly replicates the excitement of today’s NHL overtime. The polygonal graphics may not be crisp anymore, but that gameplay still is. A button for body and stick checking on defense. A button to pass, to shoot (hold for a slapper), to deke and to protect the puck from poke checks on offense.

It took two games for me to get used to the controls again. I dug up my Playstation 2 last night, strictly for research purposes, for the first time in over a year.

Intensive research shows: NHL Hitz 2003 holds up, and the hits(z) keep coming Thought making Gretzky’s head bleed was pure joy? You haven’t lived until you’ve knocked Jeremy Roenick through the glass, then centered the puck for a one-time goal. While I’m not immune to the charms of those games - I’ll gladly play any of them today - none of them will ever make me as giddy as NHL Hitz 2003 does. And it certainly isn’t the monolith that the NHL games of today are. It wasn’t the classic perfection of NHL 94. It wasn’t an early pioneer like Blades of Steel or the NES’ Ice Hockey. The Hitz series, published by Midway as a companion to games like NBA Jam and NFL Blitz, hasn’t endured quite like other hockey games. So it may not surprise anyone that my favorite hockey video game is NHL Hitz 2003. For whatever reason, if it isn’t for everyone, there’s a good chance it might be for me. And of course, hockey is my favorite sport. Catch me on the right day and I’ll argue that Dollhouse was better than both Buffy and Firefly. I’ll tell anyone who will listen that the best rock record is a science-fiction punk album called Death By Television. I’ve always been a sucker for the cult classic. Some refer to it as “NHL Hitz 20-03,” but for the sake of simplicity, we’ll drop the hyphen. Enjoy a fun take from Tony Abbott ( on the very fun Midway title NHL Hitz 2003.

For the first time in this series, PHT invites a guest contributor. Every week, PHT will remember a hockey video game (or games).

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