Controls with Puck Shoot Clear/Flip puck Speed burst Deke/Role move Create seasons. Dominate tournaments. Become a legend. www.xsnsports.com TM Basic pass Pivot Pinpoint pass/ Drop pass (click) On-the-Fly Coaching Move Pause game Stick check Dive/Block shot Speed burst Body check/Role move Switch player Controls without Puck Pivot Advanced switch player/ Switch to last defenseman (click) On-the-Fly Coaching Move Pause game 0903 Part No.
Other Important Health and Safety Information The Xbox Instruction Manual contains important health and safety information that you should read and understand before using this software. Avoid Damage to Your Television Do not use with certain televisions. Some televisions, especially front- or rear-projection types, can be damaged if any video games, including Xbox games, are played on them.
INTRODUCTION Avs and Red Wings. Leafs and Canadiens. Oilers and Flames. Some teams just weren’t meant to get along. Welcome to NHL Rivals 2004. Whether you’re a die-hard hockey fan or you’re just starting your rookie season, this is the fastpaced, hard-hitting action you’ve been wanting.
ON SCREEN User Profiles When selected, each player is surrounded by useful information that can help you plan line changes and strategy. Player Role Icon Your user profile is where your controller and gameplay preferences are kept. Your profile will be saved to the Xbox hard disk. Speed Burst Meter Player Role Icon This shows your current player’s Player Role. For more on Player Roles, see pg. 15. Player Fuse You can create a new user profile by selecting User Profiles from the Options menu.
CONTROLS WITH PUCK Controls without the Puck “Gimme the puck! Gimme the puck!” Unless you’re a total puck hog, you’re going to spend a little time skating without the biscuit. Here’s how you make yourself useful. OK, you got the puck.
PASSING Shooting Good puck movement can be the difference between controlling the game or spending three periods with a dumb look on your face. You’re in position—all you have to do is beat that goalie. Here’s what you have in your toolbox: There are four types of passes in NHL Rivals 2004—basic, saucer, pinpoint, and drop. Basic Pass When you have the puck, select a direction with L, and press A . The puck will skim along the ice to the nearest player in that direction.
CHECKING Advanced Controls You’ll check on both ends of the ice, but good checking is especially critical on defense. There are a few different ways to check in NHL Rivals 2004. We’ve covered enough of the game-control basics to get you on the ice in NHL Rivals 2004, but two control features deserve indepth explanations: Pivot Control and Right Thumbstick Control.
CONTROLLER OPTIONS Fighting and Fuses When it comes to control, you can never be too picky. To adjust your controller options, press Y on the Assign Controller screen just before starting a game. You also can access these settings during a game by selecting Controllers from the Pause menu and then pressing Y. Fighting is a part of hockey, so you’d better know how to recognize the signs of a simmering player and how to handle yourself when someone decides to blow off a little steam in your direction.
FACE-OFFS Hockey is one of the few sports in which possession goes up for grabs every time play stops. Win the face-off, and you control the puck. Control the puck, and you control the pace, tempo, and, very likely, the outcome of the game. In NHL Rivals 2004, think of face-offs as a game of Rock, Paper, Scissors. When the ref drops the puck, you can press one of three buttons: A (win clean), B (tie up stick), or X (body block). Your opponent has the same three options.
ROLES AND SPECIAL MOVES Snipers These guys excel at finding a happy home for the puck in the back of an opponent’s net. Snipers aren’t the most physical players in the game, but their finesse and accuracy make them formidable threats to any goalie. Spin-Around Snipers can execute this move with the puck to evade opposing players. Stick Clip This move without the puck lets snipers disrupt the shots of opposing players. Balanced Control doesn’t stop with the individual player.
This is a conservative defensive play in which each player is responsible for covering a zone. Combination This is a normal defensive play that allows players to leave their zones when the opponents are overloading other zones. Box This is an aggressive defensive play in which the defense wings and defensemen form a box. The center is allowed to move freely to help the other players.
INFRACTIONS AND PENALTIES Hockey games can get a little wild, but there are rules. You can bend and break them at your discretion, but you might earn a little time in the penalty box for your troubles. Infractions Penalties Penalties are what happen when you really break the rules. More serious than infractions, these will land your player in the penalty box. Infractions aren’t as serious as penalties. Generally, they lead to a stoppage in play, and the puck is brought back for a face-off.
SEASON MODE NHL Rivals 2004 gives you the chance to manage your favorite team through a full NHL season. Conduct a fantasy draft, manage team rosters, make trades, earn awards, keep up on the latest news from around the league, and even create your own players. To begin a new NHL season 1. From the Main Menu, select Game Modes. 2. Select Season Mode. 3. Adjust your Season Settings. 4. Select at least one team to control. 5. Press > START to begin your season.
XSN SPORTS Take NHL Rivals 2004 Beyond the Box XSN Sports combines the power of Xbox Live with the connectivity of the Internet to bring you a whole new gaming experience. You create the seasons; you dominate the tournaments; you become the legend. We make it possible. Xbox Live is a high-speed or broadband Internet gaming community where you can create a permanent gamertag, set up a Friends list with other players, see when they’re online, invite them to play, and talk to them in real-time as you play.
XBOX LIVE Voice Capabilities Quick Match Find an opponent immediately without specifying game criteria. (Note that Quick Match games are not ranked.) Using an Xbox Communicator, you can chat with your opponent while you play online. See the instructions that came with your Xbox Communicator for more information. OptiMatch™ Create and host a game, or specify criteria for the game you would like to join. Create a Game Create a new game to play over Xbox Live.
XBOX LIVE 1. During a game, press Pause menu. > START to bring up the 2. From the Pause menu, select Network Options. 3. From the menu that appears, select Player List. 4. Select a player. 5. Highlight Send Friend Request, and then press A to send the request. –or– Highlight Remove from Friends List, and then press A to remove that player from your Friends list.
HOCKEY BASICS Credits You’re ready to stop reading and start playing. That’s respectable. Here are the basic things you’ll need to know if you want to hold your own out there.
WARRANTY Get an Edge on the Game! Warranty • • Microsoft Corporation (“Microsoft”) warrants to you, the original purchaser of the Game, that this Game will perform substantially as described in the accompanying manual for a period of 90 days from the date of first purchase. If you discover a problem with the Game covered by this warranty within the 90-day period, your retailer will repair or replace the Game at its option, free of charge, according to the process identified below.
