I said that Sega's NHL 2K3 was favorite hockey game of the new generation, which is true, but Hitz Pro is so high up on my list because of the things it does right which no other hockey game has even come close to doing, and that would be giving me the feeling of scoring a goal as if I had earned it and had not been cheated. The scoring engine alone makes this game incredible and puts it above all other hockey games out there. When I first played this game at E3 in 2003, I thought it was just another NHL Hitz arcade fest, but after sitting with it for a while, I realized it was MUCH more than that. When it finally came out some months later, I had forgotten pretty much all about it, but then it all came back to me when I scored my first goal in a REALISTIC and satisfying way. How can a game which is really an arcade game, have the most authentic scoring system of all time, yet those other "sim" hockey games can't even come close? That's going to be a question for the ages until Next Level is allowed to make their own sim game. Sure the game still has that acradey feel to it, but you know what, I don't care, I have more fun with this game today than I ever did with any of Sega's or EA's latest offerings.

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