Description:
The EA Sports NHL series has always offered high-octane, smash-mouth hockey for fans of the game--and even those who just crave great arcade action. Early incarnations didn't simulate hockey very well, instead offering a sort of XFL version of the game. They were big on action, hits, fighting, and hat tricks, but quite small on niceties such as realism. That was forgivable when gaming was new, but as the graphics and technology grew, EA started hearing from fans of the sport, fans who wanted real hockey--a true simulation rather than an arcade game. When EA Sports started moving in that direction, the arcade fans grew frustrated; they missed their fun arcade action gaming. Finally, last year, EA Sports went a long way toward pleasing both camps. NHL 2001 played like the arcade game loved by most, but offered gameplay sliders that let simulation heads and hockey purists tweak the action to real-world NHL speed and playability. NHL 2001 was almost perfect. Good news: NHL 2002 maintains that near perfection and is essentially the same game as last year. There are new rosters and stats, of course; and the graphics have also received yet another coat of polish--making this, by far, the prettiest PC sports game around. The game plays pretty much the same as before, from the excellent controls and the innovative sliders, to the Face-in-the-Game technology that lets you add your mug to any player you create, to the wide selection of NHL and world teams, to recurring problems such as poor AI quality when the game handles defensive and offensive positioning. You can still install your own MP3 files to replace the default tunes and create your own league. And if that's not all, full and rookie draft options still let you manage your favorite team from scratch. It's all here, same as last year but with a slight face-lift. What's actually new is cheekier commentary. It's still lightning quick and well voiced, only this time it has more mostly not-funny jokes. Even the PA announcer has a few zingers. There's a new camera system that follows the breakaway, called, fittingly, the Breakaway Cam. And there's another in-game gimmick based on trading cards. The Breakaway Cam is exciting, but it can also be alarming and disorienting. It can cause you to lose control in a crucial one-on-one with the goalie. You can turn it off, but, wow, does it ever show off this spiffy graphics engine. The card feature challenges you to perform hockey feats such as hat tricks or a certain number of saves, goals in a season, etc., and it rewards you by unlocking cool features like classic teams, sillier features such as themed rinks, and--hockey purists beware--power-ups like super speed. Another new feature is a fully 3-D crowd, which looks better than it sounds. The audience jumps, cheer, and adds a surprisingly effective immersive quality to the game. The effect is much better than the traditional 2-D bit-mapped crowds of yesteryear. If you like hockey, you have no choice but this game. Sad but true, this is the only PC hockey game around. But at least EA's game is still more than worth the money, even if you're just upgrading from last year. EA, once again, has the coolest game on Earth. --Andrew S. Bub Pros: - The best graphics on Earth
- The best gameplay on Earth, whether you're a simhead or action fan
Cons: - Defensive AI is still suspect
- Some of the new features are annoying
| 
