NHL 2000  

by EA Sports  Reviewed by: Chad Foster  

Overview

For folks tired of watching the big hits and incredible scores on TV and instead wish they were the ones creating the havoc, EA Sports has your magic pill. People who have played PlayStation hockey games in the past know there are usually two contenders to consider, NHL FaceOff by 989 and the NHL series by EA Sports. EA Sports has been the heavyweight king in the past and is no different this year.

Gameplay

From the opening intro, NHL 2000 shows why it is king. With some great clips and music by Garbage roaring through your speakers, it gets your blood hot and ready for some pounding action. This game has all the features that gamers have come to expect, like exhibition games, seasons, create a tournament, and shootout. If one season just isn’t long enough, they added the ultra-cool feature of extending a season into a full career where you can manage, build, and play a team over a 10-year span. You can build your team by drafting, trading and picking up free agents. They’re officially licensed and so of course have the new expansion team, the Atlanta Thrashers, players, arenas and international teams.

One of the biggest qualms with last year's version was the frame rate, which the developers took note of and improved with this release. It is wonderful to see how realistically the skaters can turn, accelerate and stop. To get a feel for how much they’ve improved, take your favorite player and watch how he glides seamlessly across the ice to score a goal. They also added a big hit and deke button that gives the gamer an extra move or two when trying to score or giving someone a bloody nose. If you don’t know what a deke move is, just glide down the ice on a breakaway and hit the deke button to watch the goalie get faked out. Nifty, huh? If fighting is more your style, they’ve changed it a bit so that you need to go for an all out assault in order to pull off a victory. They’re so fun that I often found myself trying to cause one just to get in a few more licks on the opponent. AI is pretty much the same as last year, with easy being extremely easy and hard being REALLY hard.

Graphics & Audio

The graphics are simply incredible. The shadows aren’t just big black blocks like in a lot of other games and the faces are done well enough that on close-ups you usually don’t need to look at the jersey to see who it is. The player bodies seem more rounded out and even the ice looks incredibly realistic with scratches, etc.

The sound effects are terrific; shots, checks and post-hitting goals sound like the real thing. The roaring of the crowd and soundtrack will seduce you further into the game until nothing outside of NHL 2000 exists. Jim Hughson is back as an NHL broadcaster and this time is partnered with fellow announcer Bill Clement. Their comments are usually on cue and fun to listen to, although I’ve noticed that at times there’s a large gap between them and the action. Despite the good job they’ve done with commentary, eventually like any other sports game you start to hear the same thing being repeated numerous times.

Bottom Line

If you want to own a hockey game, to me it seems like a no-brainer that this is the one to get. If you’re not sure if hockey as a game is your thing then rent it and check out the action and great graphics for yourself. EA Sports is going to have a tough time topping this one next year since there is very little aside from the AI and commentary, which really aren't all that bad to begin with, on which they can improve.

Review Posted On 1 May 2000.