Who's more qualified to face off over hockey sim NHL 2003 than Canadian rockers Default?
If you believe the stereotypes, Canadians are polite simpletons who enjoy bottled beer and love ice hockey. "All the clichés are true," sighs Dallas Smith, lead singer for Vancouver-based nü-metalers Default, as he and guitarist Jeremy Hora sit down with NHL 2003 (available for PS2, GameCube, Xbox). While the band's Great White North heritage makes them a natural fit for electronic puck action, the latest version of Electronic Arts' best-seller brings Default's involvement to new heights--enter the right code (see Period 3) and they literally become a part of the game. Cool, eh?
PERIOD 1: GET THE PUCK OUTTA HERE
Thirty seconds after the game starts, both Hora and Smith have
chosen teams (the frontman calls the hometown Vancouver Canucks, while
Hora snaps up the Los Angeles Kings), mastered puck control, and
started scoring. Apparently, it really is in their blood.
Hora: We've played all the previous versions, but not this
one. The moves are better; the goaltending looks better.
Smith: There was a while on tour when we weren't judging
distance between cities by hours, but by the number of hockey games we
could play on the bus.
Hora: We're big hockey fans. But every kid in Canada dreams
of being big in hockey.
Default manager Brian Coleman: What about curling?
Hora: [Angrily] Curling is not a Canadian sport. It's
for people who can't skate.
PERIOD 2: SLAP SHOTS
It was Rodney Dangerfield who noted, "I went to a fight the other
night, and a hockey game broke out." Fortunately, NHL 2003
doesn't
disappoint here. After each player scores a few goals, some
fisticuffs break out (on-screen, that is)--much to the delight of the
staid band members.
Smith: The fights aren't planned; they just seem to
happen.
Hora: It's cool. You get to move around, press buttons to do
uppercuts, things like that. The losing player goes limp-wristed.
Smith: It questions my masculinity.
Hora: Fights are important. Bragging rights, you know.
PERIOD 3: ICE TO SEE YOU
Default not only appear on the game's bone-crunching soundtrack,
but they get in on the action, too. Type a band member's name into the
"Create Player" mode and--surprise!--the guys are hidden
characters. And who couldn't win the Stanley Cup with a moody
alt-rocker as
goalie?
Hora: I'm pretty damn impressed. Let me just make him more
like me [adjusts his on-screen alter ego's attributes to Wayne
Gretzky-like levels].
Smith: Hey, why is your player wearing jeans?
Hora: You know, they used the Barenaked Ladies in a game a
few years back, I think.
Smith: We could kick their asses, though.
SUDDEN-DEATH OVERTIME
Smith soundly whips Hora, 6-3, in the first game. But after adding
the Default members to the lineup for Round 2, a technical
glitch (someone must have spilled his Molson on the PS2) prevents
us from properly keeping score. But this doesn't dampen the
players' enthusiasm.
Hora: It was pretty damn cool. I like being goalie--you
could either be the biggest hero or the biggest loser.
Smith: Hopefully hard-core hockey fans who buy this game are
fans of ours, as well. We're telling everyone we know about this.
Hora: It's a better game--
Smith:--now that we're in it.
