Rating: 
Summary: Great graphics, poor realism.
Review: When I first bought this game, I was expecting something just a bit more. The last NHL game I had played, created by EA Sports, was NHL 99 - viewed today, by most standards, as an "old" game. (Since playing NHL 2001 I have actually gone back to playing NHL 99 several times!) The graphics, for NHL 01, were amazing, almost life like and the cheesy (but funny) expressions of the players from NHL 99 had been replaced with excellent frowns and smiles. However, the good portion of the game stops right about there. I wasn't nearly as pleased with the game as I was expecting to be, mainly for one reason - the realism. Instead of realistic checking, players go head over heels, goalies allow way too many goals, and the overall A.I. is WEAK! The biggest problem I've had so far has been the difficulty settings. I have the difficulty setting maxed out (All-Star) and am playing as only an average team which has, so far, won every single game in the season I've played in. That is completely unrealistic. For any major gamer who loves hockey but also wants a challenge (like me) - Don't expect much with this title. The graphics will cover up the bad spots at first, but after you learn the A.I. moves and stratagies, it'll be goal after goal after goal.p.s. Don't even try playing the game using a full 20 minute period - the score will be outragous, sometimes 28 - 10! Unless of course you like winning every time. I've been playing EA Sports Games since the days of 1991 for Sega and PC, and their performance has gone from simulation to arcade. Not my style... Ice
Rating: 
Summary: Great Hockey game, with a few quirks
Review: You don't need an "oh my god" computer to enjoy this game. I played it with a Celeron 333 with 128MB of RAM and a TNT Ultra 2 (hint: video card means a lot more then processor speed). The graphics look great in this game. They have the faces to most NHL players. They fixed some of the game play issues in this version of NHL 2000. The largest two fixes were: The inside-outside-shoot (old sega move) doesn't work 95% of the time. The other main fix was you can't just skate down the center of the ice, split the defense and get a great scoring chance. However, they are some "bugs" with the game. The most irratating is the goalie spreading his legs on a shot going to the far post. The puck slides under his legs into the net. Its irratating since its a very stoppable shot. The other "bug" is that one of the few ways to score consistently is a one-timer. That's where you pass the puck and the reciever just cranks the shot without ever gaining control of the puck. A issue I had was the All-star level just made the computer faster. I'm sorry but Tie Domi will never catch Pavel Bure in a footrace. It just won't happen. All in all this is a great game. If you don't understand hockey just sit down and play 20 games and you'll know the rules and how they work. The game is the best ... I spent last year. I can't wait for 2002 to see what they can do next.
Rating:
Summary: Great Hockey game, with a few quirks
Review: You don't need an "oh my god" computer to enjoy this game. I played it with a Celeron 333 with 128MB of RAM and a TNT Ultra 2 (hint: video card means a lot more then processor speed). The graphics look great in this game. They have the faces to most NHL players. They fixed some of the game play issues in this version of NHL 2000. The largest two fixes were: The inside-outside-shoot (old sega move) doesn't work 95% of the time. The other main fix was you can't just skate down the center of the ice, split the defense and get a great scoring chance. However, they are some "bugs" with the game. The most irratating is the goalie spreading his legs on a shot going to the far post. The puck slides under his legs into the net. Its irratating since its a very stoppable shot. The other "bug" is that one of the few ways to score consistently is a one-timer. That's where you pass the puck and the reciever just cranks the shot without ever gaining control of the puck. A issue I had was the All-star level just made the computer faster. I'm sorry but Tie Domi will never catch Pavel Bure in a footrace. It just won't happen. All in all this is a great game. If you don't understand hockey just sit down and play 20 games and you'll know the rules and how they work. The game is the best ... I spent last year. I can't wait for 2002 to see what they can do next.
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