Rating: 
Summary: NHL 2001... A++++ on this exam.
Review: After over a year or craving a new computer I finally bought the bullet and went out and bought myself a 1 gig, 256k, 64mb graphics card, fully loaded computer. What was the first thing I put to the test... NHL 2001.First a little history... after playing the original Sega version of NHL years ago when our sole mission was to see how many fights you could get into (yes, the good old times when you could pair Wendel Clark against Wayne Gretzky just by hitting him after a goal), and eventually upgrading to every SEGA version thereafter, I finally tried the original PC version. It was fantastic. I eventually upgraded to Nintendo 64 and was sligthly disappointed - feeling like I had to move around too much to do things and didn't like to wait to save. Now that I upgraded I said what the hell, lets try it one more time. On the processor I have and I am sure on at least the recommended 400 or above, graphics are smooth as silk, little actions that are done (intros, coaches bench talks, etc), don't interfere with performance and you can easily skip them, options are quick, can use the mouse through the menu paths, etc. As for gameplay, its a big step up from years past and in my opinion even the N64 version of NHL 2000. Rookie level is still a little easy at first, so I immediately stepped it up to the middle level. That was even a little easy and the advanced option seems good (though still slightly a little easier than I would like). Wish there was more levels, but its great otherwise. Gameplay definitely gets an A+. As for the little options - career mode, etc.... they seem great. Naturally I haven't played a full season YET, but want to see how everything comes together at the end of my sim year. When you dump players into draft mode initially (for any new season), I don't like the draft function, which moves way to quick and could have been done better. Either way I bought it for gameplay. In short, assuming you got the computer to handle this load (some 600mbs + of HD space required) and I highly recommend a good graphics card, I give this game an A+++.
Rating:
Summary: The Minnesota Wild are here!
Review: As a long suffering Minnesota NHL fan, it is a great year for us and the new Minnesota Wild NHL team! As a long time EA sports NHL game fan (since back around 1992 on my old Sega system), I have been rolling with the times and updates. Last years NHL 2000 for the PC was amazing! Now, with the addition of the MN Wild and Columbus Bluejackets, as well as the addition of other game updates, this buy is a no brainer! I put my pre-order in and will be waiting by the mailbox for this game to arrive. I have never anticipated the arrival of a PC game as much as this one. Time to get WILD with NHL 2001! Online gamers...bring it on!
Rating:
Summary: He shoots and he scores!
Review: Get ready to cross check people into the boards. Prepare yourself for hard hitting hockey action. This has to be the best Hockey game of all time. The graphics are unbelievable and the game play never gets boring. Instead of a one year season there are franchises. With the franchise mode you can start your own power house dynasty. There are so many features to this game. You can even create your own jerseys and upload your own logos. It also brought back its old friend, the face uploader. They added many features to the game itself, such as the momentum bar, which can turn the game around. Plus there is also a hard hit feature which will make opponents flip all over the place. The game is so realistic and is just a blast to play. You'll feel good when you fling the puck behind the goalie and watch the red light go on. This game has everything a hockey fan can want. So buy this game and start on your way to the Stanley Cup.
Rating:
Summary: Ever wanted to play in the NHL?
Review: Haven't we all at some time wished we could embody our favorite player, or at least play along side of him. Well, that time has come. You can now put yourself into the game like never before. Take a photo of your face, digitize it, fix it up the way you want and . . . put it on a player. Play on Yzerman's right wing, get the puck right off the face off, charge in past Bourque and whip a pass over to Federov on the other wing. It's amazing! You have all the great features of the previous series on NHL games, and now you can customize jerseys, logos, in game music, and custom players taunts. You know, when you just want to really let the other team how bad they are. THIS IS A MUST HAVE GAME! This was possibly the best use of $... that I can ever remember, it more than pays for itself in the sheer adulation you get the first time you put one by Hasek.
Rating: 
Summary: A mixed bag....
Review: Having played the NHl series since 1994; my expectations where therefore pretty high. However, even though the game looks and plays good; there are some glaring problems that can not and should not be denied. First, there are way to many shots on goal. The amount of shots resemble an allstar game. Secondly, the comtrols are a bit tricky to master. The color commentary is a joke and this is something that they could consider getting rid of. For 19.99 it was not bad and not especially expensive at all. However, I had expected allot more and ended up feeling very disapointed.
Rating: 
Summary: ABSOLUTELY HORRIBLE...worst ive ever seen by EA
Review: i agree with the person (forget who) who gave this game only one star. its impossible to play more than 5 min. due to its constant crashing back to the desktop while playing. if u dont believe me, just go to the homepage for this game and see hwo many ppl r askin tech support to help them since the game keeps crashes. anyone who says they can play fine without problems r liars. dis game stinks becuz its impossible to do anything with it....a pure waste of money....
Rating:
Summary: True Hockey
Review: I bought this game over a year ago now, and although I stopped playing it about 4 months in, I tried it again last month, and I'm glad I did! This game has a ton of options and fun stuff, like alternate jerseys, momentum shift meter, and good animations in between plays. The Season mode is where this game really shines, where you can choose (of course) short, medium, and long seasons. If one of your players has been scoring a couple of goals a game for a while, that player will gain an ability to shoot harder, just like the stars in the game. The crowd animations are sub-par, although no computer game has really captured that effect well as of yet. The players are very well made, and their movements aren't artificial or odd. I recommend this game to any hockey fan, there is something for everyone. This is a great bargain, even though you may find the rosters outdated, it's still great nonetheless.
Rating: 
Summary: Another Winner
Review: I didn't think EA could do much to improve on NHL 2000, but my recent purchase of NHL 2001 has shown me just how limited my thinking was. 2000's graphics were fantastic, but they pale beside 2001's, which are more fluid, more detailed, and sharper. I am amazed at how improved the graphics are over a game that blew my mind a year ago. The off play sequences (players chatting, coaches instructing their lines, etc.) are pretty cool, and they combine with great arena sounds and visuals to present ipmressive realism. So far, I have found the game more difficult than 2000 (players complained universally about how easy 2000 was), the AI seems improved, the computer players are more aggressive and smarter, and the goalies are good. Also on the plus side, the game is MUCH more customizable than 2000. Virtually every game option (period length, skills, fighting, penalties, game speed, speed burst, etc.) works on a slider, so that should keep the game challenging. 'Face in the Game' is back, as well as some cool third jerseys and all of the GM options that were available on 2000. The online option has been given special attention, too, so that should be more stable than it was with 2000. My major complaint (the reason why I only give it four stars) is the new 'create a jersey' option. I assumed, mistakenly, that I could invent a franchise and insert it into my league play. This doesn't appear to be the case. Unless you import a logo, you are limited to nine or ten default logos that you can place on jerseys that already exist for NHL teams. You can't insert these teams into your season. Very disappointing. Anyway, this game is a genuine improvement on NHL 2000, and is certainly worth picking up if 2000 has become too easy or if you're interested in fast hockey action with beautiful graphics and loads of gameplay options. Highly recommended.
Rating:
Summary: 4 and a half stars--Better than NHL 2000 most ways
Review: I first got NHL 2000 from a free software giveaway, and I was hooked from the start! So when I got the chance, I grabbed NHL 2001 and played it quick. A lot of things are different. First, there's the addition of Minnesota and Columbus, as well as the International teams (It felt great to lead the Blue Jackets to the Stanley cup in their first year, and to make the U.S. team world champions!) There has also been a lot more detail added. My favorite feature is at the beginning of every game--You see the players walk out from the locker room with determined looks on their faces and go flying out onto the ice. The detail is just amazing, and the facial expressions on the players is the best part. It's great to deliver a crushing body check to Marty McSorley and watch his grimace close-up on slow-mo replay as he goes tail over teakettle onto the ice! Three things I miss from 2000: 1) No video replay (too many times I've been scored on by players in the goal crease 2) No helmet-popping hits (it was so much fun to check a guy so hard his helmet went flying) 3) No checking players through the glass--At least, I've never been able to do it. I also don't care for how slow the gameplay is on my primitive computer--I ache to try it out on a faster machine.
Rating:
Summary: 4 and a half stars--Better than NHL 2000 most ways
Review: I first got NHL 2000 from a free software giveaway, and I was hooked from the start! So when I got the chance, I grabbed NHL 2001 and played it quick. A lot of things are different. First, there's the addition of Minnesota and Columbus, as well as the International teams (It felt great to lead the Blue Jackets to the Stanley cup in their first year, and to make the U.S. team world champions!) There has also been a lot more detail added. My favorite feature is at the beginning of every game--You see the players walk out from the locker room with determined looks on their faces and go flying out onto the ice. The detail is just amazing, and the facial expressions on the players is the best part. It's great to deliver a crushing body check to Marty McSorley and watch his grimace close-up on slow-mo replay as he goes tail over teakettle onto the ice! Three things I miss from 2000: 1) No video replay (too many times I've been scored on by players in the goal crease 2) No helmet-popping hits (it was so much fun to check a guy so hard his helmet went flying) 3) No checking players through the glass--At least, I've never been able to do it. I also don't care for how slow the gameplay is on my primitive computer--I ache to try it out on a faster machine.
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