From the initial boot, you can see that Sega Sports has definitely taken increased advantage of the ESPN license this time around. The presentation here is second to none, with the ESPN logo draped everywhere and a spot-on television "feel" to all aspects, from the front end menus to the music to the in-game action. Gary Thorne and Bill Clement are providing the commentary this time around, and the amount of work put into this area alone put rival offerings to shame. The commentary is varied, insightful, amusing on occasion - very well done. During stoppages in play, they'll focus on a certain key player and drop a few facts about him and his role on the team. During replays, they'll call the play correctly - with a few minor exceptions - and dissect how everything unfolded. Big hits, penalties, goals and saves all receive the same treatment, and it's a spot-on television experience. Heck, they'll talk about the puck bouncing in from different body parts on the goaltender, that's how much detail Sega and Kush Games crammed into this title.

While the ESPN-branded presentation is unmatched, it's nothing if the core gameplay isn't present. Now, Sega could have simply recycled last year's AI and gameplay and still lay claim to having the most advanced gameplay on the market, but thankfully, that didn't happen. Pinning against the boards is still implemented here, and the annoying over-effectiveness of the pokecheck has been toned down in ESPN NHL 2K4. With a better balance of speed, puck passing and improved goaltenders from Pro difficulty upwards, the CPU plays a much tougher brand of hockey this time around, while performing maneuvers that you'd previously only seen on CBC's Hockey Night in Canada or on ESPN 2. For example, I was on the penalty kill against the Red Wings and have dumped the puck down along the boards into their end. Hasek came out for the stop behind the net, and left the puck there for his D-man to pick up. Chelios stopped cowering behind Hatcher long enough to get the puck, hold it behind the net while his teammates prepared for the breakout, then headed up the ice. Just like real life, and executed perfectly - and moments like these are everywhere in the game! Unlike EA Sports' NHL series, in ESPN NHL 2K4, big hits actually mean something when they occur. You won't see a player give an upper bodyshot to an opponent only to see said opponent fly ass over teakettle in a completely unrealistic manner, not here. Checks are solid, meaty, and will send guys into the bench if timed correctly. The only time you'll see guys doing a flip is if a hipcheck is properly executed. When it's done right, it's a thing of beauty with real value. It's not all about the hitting, it's about staying within yourself, playing the position with intelligence, and making the hit if the opportunity presents itself. Run around like an idiot and you'll get caught out of position.

The Skybox serves as the NHL equivalent to ESPN NFL Football's "Crib Mode", where everything you earn is in one room for you to play with. ESPN NHL 2K4 has gone crazy with the unlockables. Old school jerseys like the '82 Vancouver Canucks Hallowe'en "V", classic teams like the 30's Ottawa Senators or 80's Jets and Oilers, classic masks, even new modes of play like outdoor rinks in Saskatchewan. By performing certain tasks during the game, such as scoring a hat-trick, putting together an unbeaten streak during a season, or winning a playoff game, you'll earn points to put towards these cool bonuses. In fact, ESPN has included a full-on Skills Compeittion where you can earn points as well. Puck accuracy contests, speed-skating obstacle drills with the puck, and Hardest-Shot competitions all are great fun, and true to the All-Star Weekend flavour of the NHL. Hardest-Shot is my personal favourite, where you use the left analog stick to move towards the puck, and flick the right analog stick backwards and forwards, Tiger Woods-style, to fire the puck. The faster you flick, the harder the shot - but you also have to be moving in the correct position. Add to that moving pucks as the skill level goes up, and you have a mode of play which will keep you entertained for hours.

If you think you're good enough, take your matches online against opponents around the globe. I played numerous games online over the weekend, and with only one significant exception, experienced nearly no lag whatsoever. Online supports all of the game modes, including the skills competition, and you can choose beforehand whether or not a game will count towards your overall record. The options here aren't laid out as intuitively as they should be, unfortunately, and there's a lot of hunting around in different menus to find what should be set out more intelligently. I also experienced a consistent problem with my control settings not carrying over into the online arena - when I set my controls to Advanced and saved those settings, they'd always show up as Intermediate during the game. A pain in the ass, and something Sega needs to patch with the first online roster update. Speaking of which, since all NHL teams are just starting their training camps, don't expect to see any roster updates until the exhibition games are completed - but once the puck drops for real, if Sega doesn't treat NHL with the same respect that NFL receives, ie. immediate roster updates, I'll be very choked indeed, and so should you. On that note, why the hell doesn't the Xbox or PS2 versions support an online league like the ESPN NFL Football 2K4 does on PS2? It's not a matter of it not being feasible - EA Sports and Sega Sports have both done it on PS2 with Madden and NFL 2K4, respectively, and Microsoft achieved it with NFL Fever and their XSN service. This is a slap in the face to NHL owners everywhere, and whoever is responsible for this glaring oversight needs to play goalie in a real NHL game with no mask or padding as punishment for this. Utter, utter crap.

Non-existent league support aside, this is a damn good game. The control is spot-on, player ratings make a huge difference in checking, skating and passing, and it just feels like real on-ice action. ESPN NHL 2K4 has ironed out most of the wrinkles from last year, and turned the presentation up to 11 - you won't find a better playing, better looking, or better sounding hockey game available. With proper online league support, I'd be happy to hand out the coveted Gaming-Age "A" grade to ESPN NHL 2K4, but I guess that must wait until next year. Still, it's the best hockey game out there. Period.