10 replies to this topic

[Clock]

I've just purchased Sega Sports NHL 2K3 for Xbox and I've had a go, but I have no idea what I'm doing, hell I don't even know the rules of hocky!

I want to understand the game and be able to beat the AI before I attempt it on Live against people who can laugh at me.

Any tips or instructions or just anything..... I've read the manual and it seems very complicated. Hocky just isn't a popular sport in the UK, but as most of you are from North America you must be able to help me a bit.

Maybe play it with me on Xbox live and help me. That would be so cool.

[liquid_sky]

your from the UK, i assume you know the rules of "football" correct? Think of hockey in a way of being "football" on ice.



ill try to find you some websites in the meantime. you reminded me that i need to get nhl2k4 or espn nhl hockey (new titles will take a whilee to get used to )

[liquid_sky]

http://www.bstokebison.co.uk/guide.php

if you need anything else just pm me or wait for ze_ro to come around

[Clock]

Thanks and Wow, what a great site for Brits to learn about Hocky - good find. I've already stuck it in my favourites as I need to spend a bit of time reading through it carefully and digest the rules of the game.

I also need tips for playing the Xbox game itself.... If anyone else has it.

[liquid_sky]

you should go try to see a game sometime if any of those places are close to you, im not good on geography

[Clock]

Ice rinks are thin on the ground here in the UK, although where I live we were fortunate enough to be one of the few places that had an ice rink, but it went out of business and got demolished and it's now a superstore.

There is no ice rink near me now.

[Ze_ro]

Heheh, yeah, I know lots about hockey... You might want to be careful with 2K3 though, because Sega's hockey games are quite a bit more realistic than EA's games. You can't just charge the net and get a shot, you'll actually have to make the effort to get past the defense.

Since hockey is kind of a broad subject for me, I'd be glad to answer any questions about it, but explaining all of hockey in detail is a little much for me to type in here, and that previous link does a good job anyways.

Although I've never actually played 2K3 (I've played lots of 2K2 though), I'll try to give some hints anyways. You really should make sure that offsides, icing, and penalties are off until you get to understand the game well. Offsides are really confusing at first, and when it comes to a video game, they sort of slow down the action. Going online might force you to play with them though, so you might want to get a good understanding of them before playing online.

Another part of hockey that is difficult for newcomers is defense... if the other team is coming at you, you're probably best off NOT to switch players. Let the computer control your defensemen at first so you can see what they do. If you're controlling a defenseman, the best thing to do is to try to stay between them and the net, match their speed, try to poke check the puck away from them (this worked extremely well in 2K2), or get in their face and knock them down. Charging at the offensive player is a bad idea, and they'll often just step around you and have a clear route to the net.

Never try to control the goalie yourself until you get REALLY good at the game. Seriously. I still don't even bother trying to control my own goalie. Of course, when your goalie stops the puck, you get control of him anyways. Try to pass the puck to an open player... this may seem obvious, but giving the puck away this close to your net can lead to very easy goals. Also, if your goalie is smothering the puck (he's down on the ice), you can either keep it there and force a faceoff (generally a good idea if the other team is aggressive and in your face), or you can try to stand up and pass it with your stick. You can push the puck with your hand too, but a stick pass will work a LOT better. Three more things about goalies... don't try to hit them or you'll get an interference penalty (although sometimes aggression like this can be used to intimidate the other team), and if your goalie is doing REALLY badly, you can always pull him out of net and put in your backup goalie. The backup goalie isn't usually as good, but changing goalies can sometimes stop a flood of goals when you need to. Lastly, if the game is almost over, and you're down by a goal or two, you can make the risky move of pulling your goalie. You'll get an extra attacker, but you'd better make the most of it, because your net will be an easy target.

Once you get the hang of playing and you understand most of the rules, turn on penalties and try to get the hang of playing short-handed or on the power play. If you're short-handed, you should play very defensively (in order to kill the penalty). If you get the puck, dump it down the ice as soon as possible (icing is not enforced for teams that are killing a penalty). Of course, on the power play, you should be playing aggressively since you have an extra man. You should be careful about playing TOO offensively though, because if the other team is good enough, they can sometimes get past your whole team and get a breakaway. That's very bad, and getting scored on while you're on a power play is very bad for morale.

If you're having trouble scoring, the move you really should learn is the one-timer. The way this works is that you get two people on opposite sides of the net, one with the puck... you pass to the other player, and he does a slap shot immediately as the puck comes to him (one-timer meaning that he only touches the puck once). The manual for the game probably explains this somewhere, since it's a fairly important play in hockey. Generally just press/hold the slap shot button while the pass is on it's way. This is generally the best way of scoring in most hockey games.

That's about all I can think of at the moment... if you have any more questions, feel free to ask.

--Zero

[Clock]

Good post Ze_ro. That all sounds like good information. I will do as you say, and turn off all those bits to simplify the game to begin with.

I have to say that the game felt good and has slick presentation, it's just a shame I had no idea what I was doing. I've got to learn what the different lines are and how to use them. It's a lot to take on in one evening, so I will do what I can and just keep plugging away.

[Ze_ro]

Oh yeah, I forgot to mention that you should probably turn off line changes for the first while. In real hockey, you change lines to deal with different parts of the game, but for a beginner, they'll just be an added nuisance.

You usually have four lines of offense, and a few more of defense. As they play, they'll get tired, so you have to change lines once in a while. You can change offense and defense lines seperately, so if your defense is tired, you can safely change them while you're on offense. You can also dump the puck into the opponents end to buy yourself some time for a line change (this is called changing "on the fly")... although you'll want to be careful to avoid icing the puck if you have that turned on. In general though, the easier way is to just wait for a stoppage in play, and change lines then. It's not usually necessary to change on the fly unless the play is lasting an extremely long time (6-8 minutes or so is a pretty long play... if you have penalties and offsides and such on, plays will probably only last around 2-3 minutes), and your players are noticably slower. Also, your team is completely rejuvenated at the start of a period.

The first offensive line is your strongest, and will have your highest scoring players on it. The second and third lines probably won't be as powerful, but you'll have to juggle them to make sure your better players don't get too tired. The fourth line is commonly called the checking line. Usually the tougher players on the team are on this line, and they'll do a better physical job, and are often the best choice when you need defense to protect your lead. To simplify things more, use the first line if you need goals, and use the fourth line if you need to prevent goals.

Defensive lines don't carry as noticable a change... although your better defensemen will be on the first line. You also have seperate lines for penalty killing and power plays... you'll probably have two different lines with the first one being the better (although you probably won't notice a huge difference here either). You don't have to change goalies within a game unless one of them is really struggling... they won't get tired through the course of a game (at least, I've never seen any other games where they do).

You can set line changes to "auto", which will have the computer automatically change your lines when it deems them necessary. You might want to be wary of this, since games are notoriously bad for choosing poor times to change lines. I'm not sure if 2K3 is bad for this or not, but I've seen games where your team will suddenly change lines in the middle of a good play. Most of the time, it's a minor annoyance, but there's always a chance it could cost you a goal.

It's probably also worth mentioning momentum as well... pretty much all modern hockey games include this as a feature. Generally, as each team gets more (or less) confident, the momentum of the game switches. You can sort of exploit this to your advantage... if you're losing the game, you can start some fights to try to motivate your team (and intimidate the other team). Scoring a goal will often affect the confidence of your team, and sometimes ruin the confidence of the opposing goalie. I've played many games where the score was tied until halfway through the third period, and I scored 3 or 4 goals quickly because I broke the goalies confidence. Scoring goals, winning fights, and playing physically (without getting penalties) can all add to your momentum.

Hope that helps

--Zero

[holy_fluck]

If playing online be weary of who you play against because some people if you are beating them, they just quit (WildFan) I hate losers like that and I hardly play the game anymore because they would always quit because they are losing to people with a not so great record

[Clock]

holy_fluck said:

If playing online be weary of who you play against because some people if you are beating them, they just quit (WildFan) I hate losers like that and I hardly play the game anymore because they would always quit because they are losing to people with a not so great record

Do you actually have this for the Xbox with a live connection? If so I'd love to play and maybe you could give me pointers. I never quit a live game whatever the circumstances, it is unfair on other players.