Control is a little less than spot-on. If you're familiar with EA hockey games you'll pick this one up readily enough. It is all pretty solid but feels just the least little bit off when it comes to timing. Microsoft has highly touted their advanced passing system and pivot controls. The advanced passing lets the player skate in one direction while passing in the other. This is accomplished by employing the right analog stick as a directional passing control that is an addition to the 'A' button basic pass. It works alright but in the heat of battle can be hard to execute. Practice may show the full worth of this feature. Pivot is a facing change control. It allows the player to skate backwards. This I could probably use some more time with to fully explore its tactical uses on the ice.

The game's AI is pretty good. Goalies especially are hard to reason with and will make gamers work for the points they score.

In the end analysis, NHL Rivals 2004 is a good first effort for Microsoft. The Live enabled play is a big plus. The rest is not on par with Rivals' rivals (sorry, bad pun) like EA, ESPN and Sega. But if Microsoft continues to work on the franchise, they stand a good chance of winning converts. Definitely at least give it a rental and see what the future may hold.