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NHL 2001 Review
Anthony Wolfe
00/12/0000
If you’re a Hockey Fan, I advise you to get this game. If you’re a sports fan,I advise you, get this game, If you’re a, Casual gamer, I advise you, get this game. If your…. just CHECK out the review.
Ah, EA Sports timeā¦this is a time when the designers at EA Sports come out with some of the years finest games. Just to review, the EA Sports lineup includes, John Madden
Football, the NBA Live series, the NHL series, the Fifa Soccer series, the NASCAR series, and the F1 series. Chances are, you have played one of these games, rather it is a current one, or one from the past, you have experience the joy and pain of an EA Sports game.
With that said, I would like to bring the focus to the NHL series. Last year, EA Sports release the BEST hockey game available (NHL 2000). It can be disputed that there are not many Hockey games available, but if you look at it, NHL 2000 was the best hockey game of all time. Keyword in that sente is WAS. The team at EA Sports Canada has definitely strived for perfection this year on every game that they have put together, and NHL 2001 is no exception. Improved graphics, gameplay, and physics bring this game to the forefront of Hockey. Although not a perfect replica of real-life, it is a big step closer in that direction.
I would like to start out with gameplay. This game lets you control some of the top players in Hockey, now your job is to win the them. Previous versions of the NHL series
Might leave you thinking that winning is a breeze, but that is where this years changes start to kick in. The AI is better than ever. The players react with more intelligence, and even better, the goalies adapt more to the situation. In previous versions, I would bust open the box, install the game, and just slam all over the computer. It didnāt matter the team, or the opponent, I could score a good 20 goals in a five-minute period. It seemed as if the Goalie just didnāt move, or could easily be faked into a situation. You could use the exact same moves to score; there was not a real deep challenge to the game. Although
Pounding the computer is fun; it got boring really quickly because there was nothing to strive for. I didnāt go to my gaming friends and say, āDamn, I canāt beat the Detroit Red Wingsā; I was saying, āDamn, I canāt beat Liquid Snakeā. But ala, I must have scored to many times on the Dallas Stars, because this year, I was in for a little surprise. I started up the game and of course upped the difficulty to HIGH (or pro, or whatever you want to call it). I pick my favorite team, and started up the game. I noticed that the overall presentation was much better, the intros were a little longer and detailed, and loading time was shorter than in previous versions. As the game started, I got ready to laugh, and drink (Pepsi), while rolling over the computer. Well, the computer had something for me, and it goes by the name of checking, pushing, fighting, and scoring. I won the face-off but BOOM!! I was immediately hit with some thunder. The puck changed hands, Brett Hull, took the puck down with blazing speed, goes to the left, cuts to the right, and all I heard was a Siren. I tried pushing, but all I push, was the limits of gravity (air). Second face-off, I won this one, got it to Shanahan, while I was controlling the puck, I noticed that I had to use my speed burst in order to not catch a stick to the face. I took it down and tried a one-timer (where you pass and shout), wasnāt working, I tried running around the net and shooting, no good. All the strategies I used in the previous versions, were not working on this one. The players were making the effort to stop me, and the Goalie wasnāt putting up with any of my usual antics. To make a long story short, I won the game, but had to go to penalty shots. For a beginner, they are no joke; it takes accuracy and timing to get them in. But I pulled it off by two goals (5-3). It was then, I realized how much NHL 2001 differed from other versions. It gave me the challenge I was looking for, and kept me coming back for more. I am not a big fan of hockey, but I like putting this game on the screen, it gives me a good challenge. You have to come up with a good strategy; you must use your line changes, and also use the formations that are set out for your team. You can be a winner, but it takes a lot more effort this year. Oh and, be prepared to lose fights this year.
Graphically, NHL 2001 shines as well. Last years version, had some of the best PC graphics available, but this year, they are pushed to new limits. Although the models themselves are not as well detailed as say, Madden 2001 for PC, the environment as a whole is better looking. The players on the sidelines do not actively move, but are at least modeled in 3D, the audience still is presented in 2D, but they have their own little characteristics. The Frame rate does not suffer when the action is on. The animations seem to be a bit water down this year though. Sure they are pretty nice, but they seem to go to quickly. Sometimes they show the players walking out of the arena, but the stop it real quick, or at the beginning, they show the players coming out, and singing a little part of the national anthem. As I said, they are nice, but they could be longer, and more detailed. Especially in the Stanley Cup and such. Donāt just use the same animations, vary them up a bit, and make them interesting EA. The Models still have a blocky effect on them, the uniforms look good on the players, but the pad effect makes them blocky. Also it makes the players look like they are really big when they are walking. Like their stomachs are huge, that is the pad effect. In later version, it will be straightened out as it was in Madden 2001 for PC. Also, the faces are not realistic, they try, with the different mustaches and things, but they just arenāt as lifelike as they could be. They look to be random faces, sort of like the faces on Madden 2001 for the Playstation 2. There is no originality or real differences in each face. EA has done a nice job of adding new goal animations, where the players interact with each other (slapping hands, hugging). These work great, and create a more life-like appeal to the game. All in All, the graphics are improved, but far from what they can be, I would like to see the smoothness of games like Madden 2001, put on NHL 2001. There are minor problems, but they can be fixed in next yearās version.
The Sound aspect of NHL 2001 has also been improved. Although, there was not a real problem with the sound before, this year has us howling in joy. It felt as if I were at the game. The sounds fit together perfectly. Even the commentary was great, and that is rare in sports games. The announcers interact with one another well, they tell jokes in between goals, and do a good job announcing the game. The PA Announcer does a perfect job of telling the crowd about substitutions, and changes, and just for kicks, EA added little things, such as, āThere will be a charity drawing during the second intermissionā. That is just great. Like in a real arena, there are all sorts of musical things going on. In between goals and different stoppages, the music blares over the loud speaker. Be it, Rock and Roll, or dark, dark music, EA has made sure that music is represented well. Also, the menu, and intro music is great. It goes along great with the NHL. Ea Sports has really taken care of sound in this game. It presents the game well.
NHL 2001 goes together well as a whole. From the intro movie, to the Stanley Cup. Hockey has been represented to the fullest with NHL 2001. As I said earlier, one can dispute the greatness of this game to the fact that there arenāt very many NHL game available. But that just makes it better. EA couldāve gotten lazy and not added so many details, but instead of just making a game for hockey lovers, they made a game for gamers, and for that, I give EA the up most respect and āpropsā. There are very few flaws with this game, and it is a landmark in EAāS strives for perfection. Great game, Great game.
Comments
Personally, this is a game that I would definitely purchase if I was a sports fan. Even if youāre not into hockey, you should love playing this. Itās just a real fun game. It challenges you, but gives you a close replica to real life.
Itās games like this that make the industry. Put this on EAāS great list.
If you have a PC, and a need for fun, buy this game.
