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NHL 2001 Review
Jon Lenaway
00/12/0000
Sports fans don’t usually look at the seasons in terms of Spring, Summer, Fall, and Winter, but rather in terms Baseball, Football, Hockey, and Basketball seasons.
As the NHL is currently into its pre-season games, EA Sports is already in mid-season form with the new version of their ever-popular NHL Hockey series. Everything youâve come to expect from the EA line of sports games is in NHL 2001 from the smooth controls, to the detailed stats, and slick presentation.
Of course, you get your regular updates of team rosters, along with the new expansion teams from Minnesota and Columbus. Also added this year is a challenge mode. By completing certain tasks within a game like scoring in 30 seconds, taking 15 shots in a period, getting a hat trick, etc. you earn points to use toward improving your custom designed player. Another feature that really stands out is the momentum meter, which is a nod to their NCAA Basketball games. If you are pouring on the pressure, making big hits, and headstand saves, the momentum swings in your way putting a little more zing into your players. Playing great hockey in front of your home crowd can reward you with all of the cheers youâd expect to find in a real arena, as you take a great shot or flatten your opponent into the boards.
Fighting this year is more akin to the old Rock âem Sock âem robots as players stand back and punch like mad until it is over. While this isnât exactly the most realistic videogame representation of hockey fighting, it certainly is a lot of fun and keeps the game moving at a speedy pace (with button-mashers usually victorious).
Controlling your players with the Dual Shock controller is a breeze and is extremely easy to just pick up and start playing. You can do well in this game only ever knowing about the pass, shoot, and speed buttons. This makes it easy to turn on the game, throw your friend a controller, and get into some hockey almost immediately. Of course, there are also advanced moves for you to master including faked shots, dekes, and spin moves.
As always, EA Sports has delivered a shiny package on the presentation side as well. The announcers seem competent, and do not lag behind the play too often (though it happens). Like most sports games, youâll most likely tire of hearing the same phrases overtime but this wonât really change until you see a game like this on a console with a hard drive. Crowds react well to the on-ice action, and the sound effects are mostly convincing.
The graphics in NHL 2001 is where you can again tell the PlayStation hardware is ready for an update. NHL 2001 certainly stands its ground against 989âs NHL Faceoff 2001, but may leave you yearning for more especially if you have played hockey on Dreamcast or have seen the shots of NHL 2001 on the PlayStation2. The players animate well and control smoothly, but they tend to look quite blocky.
Comments
Overall, NHL 2001 is a great finale to the EA Sports hockey series. Dust off your multi-tap, invite over some friends, crack open a few cold ones (of course I mean sodas for you youngsters), and have a great time.
