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

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

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

Reception

Aggregate score

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

Review scores

Publication	Score
	GameCube	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]

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