NHL 2001
Score: 95% ESRB: Everyone Publisher: EA Games Developer: EA Sports Media: CD/1 Players: 1 - 8 Genre: Sports (Hockey)/ Online
Graphics & Sound: The excellent quality of the graphics in NHL 2001 upholds an EA tradition in the long line of NHL games. Only slight changes have been made over last year’s NHL 2000, but then again, only slight changes were needed in the already outstanding graphics. Small details like the way a player leans into his skates when he takes a stride, players’ reflections on the shiny, skate-scarred ice, and reasonably accurate depictions of actual hockey players go a long way toward providing a very realistic looking hockey game in which the gamer just happens to be participating. The crowd, a rare weakness in the NHL line of games, has been somewhat improved into two-dimensional figures that cheer and carry on when the home team scores. Also, the players’ names and numbers no longer seem to peel away from their jerseys, another rare problem in last year’s release. Speaking of jerseys, EA unveiled a new feature in this year’s release: the ability to import logos onto the two custom teams’ jerseys. However, this can only be done with the two custom teams. That wouldn’t be a problem if a custom team could be chosen in Season mode, but such is not the case. You can import your favorite minor league team’s logo onto a custom team’s jersey, but you can’t play a season with a custom team; only single games. On the upside, different graphical formats, including .jpg and .gif, can be used, and the interface allows the user to easily resize and center the image onto the jersey by simply using scrollbars. The whole thing is really pretty easy. However, the logo must be placed into a white circle, square, or triangle which is then superimposed onto the jersey. Not a problem for white home jerseys, but colored away jerseys end up with a big white splotch on the front, inside of which appears the usually irregularly shaped logo. Still, it’s not bad for a first try. And, while there’s definitely room for improvement, it was a blast beating the Dallas Stars with the Baton Rouge Kingfish. The sound quality also needed little improvement over previous versions. It was great last year and it is great again this year.
Gameplay: Any fan of the NHL line of games by EA knows that A.I. is the big question mark each year. Another incremental step has been taken with NHL 2001. And, although not all of the A.I. woes have been remedied, the changes that were made were changes in the right direction. In NHL 2000, simple wrap around shots and any shot made by simply skating laterally across the front of the net before releasing the puck stood a great chance of going in. After getting pummeled by these two relatively simple shots for an entire season, the goalies seemed to have finally learned from their mistakes and opened the 2001 season a little wiser. On the flip side, a really good one-timer that gets the goalie moving east and west is more likely to find its rightful home in the back of the net this year. All goalies were superhuman against one-timers last year. Another improvement in A.I. is the computer’s ability to adjust coaching strategies during the game, at times forcing its human counterpart to make his or her own adjustments or watch their lead slip away in the final period. Also this year, the computer actually pulls its goalie if he gives up too many goals. Last year, the computer would let you score 20 goals and never pull the starting goalie.
Difficulty: NHL 2001 employs multiple levels of difficulty, same as last year. On the easiest level, even a brand new player can quickly meet with some degree of success. On the hardest level, you’d better make some savvy trades, learn to juggle your lines, and employ different coaching strategies for different opponents as well as playing relatively mistake-free hockey on the ice if you want to post wins. The levels are sufficient to avoid becoming overly frustrated while starting out, and still offer a legitimate challenge after gaining experience.
Game Mechanics: The players on the ice don’t instantly respond to the gamepad. They tend to turn in arcs like real hockey players on skates. This helps them to maintain their momentum, but requires that they cover more territory. Or the player can grind to a stop and then begin skating in the other direction. Their loss of momentum causes a small delay between the time of the controller input and the player’s response on the ice. This makes controlling the players a little more difficult, but adds a world of realism. There are also enough different actions that need to be performed by hockey players to require a large number of secondary buttons be used on the gamepad. For example, a player in control of the puck needs to be able to pass, shoot, sprint, dump the puck into the offensive zone, deke (attempt to fake out the defense), and call for a line change. These six actions require at least two primary buttons and four secondary buttons. Defensive players need to be able to sprint, switch control to a different player, poke check, body check, make a big hit, and block a shot (again six actions). A good gamepad on which all of the secondary buttons can be reached with relative ease (and without having to look, of course) is essential. Outstanding graphics and sound, great gameplay, and improved A.I. should make NHL 2001 fun for most any gamer, especially sports fans, and absolutely must be tried by avid hockey fans. I would also like to encourage anyone who is interested to play whole seasons. The ability to trade and make various coaching decisions, as well as developing skill on the ice, makes the game much more interesting and dynamic as the season progresses. You get to see the effect of your decisions as you make your run towards the playoffs, and hopefully the Stanley Cup. The two expansion teams have also been included, so play a season with Minnesota or Columbus if you’re really up for a challenge and want to test your coaching ability to the max.
-The Outdoorsman, GameVortex Communications AKA Greg Brignac
Minimum System Requirements: 200 MHz processor, 100MB drive space, 32MB RAM, 4MB PCI or AGP video xard Preferred System Requirements: 400 MHz processor, 600MB drive space for full install, 64MB RAM, 16MB 3D accelerated video card   Test System: 650 MHz AMD Athlon, 64MB RAM, NVIDIA GeForce DDR video card(32MB), Windows 98 2E, Microsoft Sidewinder gamepad
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