NHL 2000

• Platform: IBM PC Compatible
• Release Date: September 01, 1999
• Genre: Sports
• Style: Hockey
• Similar Games: NHL 98 (IBM PC Compatible), NHL Breakaway 98 (Nintendo 64), Wayne Gretzky's 3D Hockey (Nintendo 64), NHL Hockey (Sega Genesis), NHL 98 (Sega Saturn), NHL All-Star Hockey (Sega Saturn), NHL 97 (PlayStation), NHL 98 (PlayStation), NHL Powerplay 98 (PlayStation), NHL Stanley Cup (Super Nintendo Entertainment System), NHL 96 (IBM PC Compatible), NHL Breakaway 98 (IBM PC Compatible), NHL Hockey [CD-ROM Classics] (IBM PC Compatible), NHL Powerplay '96 (IBM PC Compatible), Wayne Gretzky's 3D Hockey (IBM PC Compatible), NHL Powerplay 98 (IBM PC Compatible), NHL 96 (Super Nintendo Entertainment System), NHL 97 (Super Nintendo Entertainment System), NHL 98 (Super Nintendo Entertainment System), NHL 95 (Super Nintendo Entertainment System), NHL 95 (Sega Genesis), NHL 97 (Sega Genesis), NHL 98 (Sega Genesis), NHL Hockey (Sega Game Gear), NHL 97 (Sega Saturn), NHL Powerplay '96 (Sega Saturn), NHL Breakaway 98 (PlayStation), NHL Powerplay '96 (PlayStation), Wayne Gretzky's 3D Hockey (Arcade), NHL 97 (IBM PC Compatible), NHL '94 (Sega CD), NHL 96 (Sega Genesis), NHL '94 (Sega Genesis), NHL 94 (IBM PC Compatible), NHL All-Star Hockey (Sega Game Gear), NHL Hockey (Intellivision), NHL '94 (Super Nintendo Entertainment System), NHL 99 (PlayStation), NHL 99 (Nintendo 64), NHL 99 [CD-ROM Classics] (IBM PC Compatible), NHL Breakaway 99 (Nintendo 64), NHL Blades of Steel '99 (Nintendo 64), NHL Blades of Steel (Game Boy Color), NHL Blades of Steel '99 (PlayStation), NHL 2K (Dreamcast)

Roots & Influences

This game is based on the sport of hockey as played in the National Hockey League in North America. Hockey games for home computers exploded in the late 1990s with multiple titles available. One of the earliest hockey games for the home computer was 1988's Superstar Ice Hockey on the Commodore 64, and one of the earliest titles available for any home system was Activision's Ice Hockey, released in 1981 for the Atari 2600.

Review: Overall

NHL 2000 is simply an awesome game. If you're a hockey fan and don't mistake this game for a hockey broadcast on ESPN while you're playing it, then you must be holding out for photo-realism. Since that won't be available for a long time, I'll take this version for now.

Electronic Arts has always produced great hockey games. In fact, I'd say they're better than the John Madden series in terms of recreating the sport with an eye for fine details. From the Jaws theme which plays when the San Jose Sharks are on a power play in their home rink to slapshots which can shatter the plexiglass above the boards, this series of games has always been peppered with great little moments, and the 2000 edition is no exception.

Before you even play a game there is a wealth of detail to explore. If you're in the middle of a season or tournament you can check out tons of stats. If you think you're a Scotty Bowman in the making, you can head to the coaching section and tweak your team's strategies. Want to play a little more dump-and-chase on offense? Prefer the neutral zone trap? Set it up for your team. You can also practice your plays, which is fun. You get to skate around your empty home arena with your team divided in half and practice shooting and passing to your heart's content. It's weird hearing only the swoosh of the skates on the ice.

Once you get into a game, though, it will knock your socks off. Bill Clement and Jim Hughson provide the play-by-play and color commentary, and they are simply great. You start with a long shot of the arena and the closing seconds of the national anthem. You see a split screen with each goalie and his pertinent stats on each side while the announcers talk about them and then you see the players skating around before the face-off. You can skip through this and other animations by hitting A if you want. I find it fun to watch because it makes me feel like I'm watching a hockey game on TV and have suddenly been given the power to control one of the teams.

The players are really well rendered. You get to see plenty of close-ups of their faces; Electronic Arts did a great job of capturing their likenesses. While they're not perfect and they kind of remind me of marionettes for some reason, they're still astounding to look at. Every time there's a stop in the action during the game you get to see close-ups of the players as they skate around. When there's a penalty you even see the offending player argue with the referee, who doesn't want to hear it and tells the guy to get in the box.

The gameplay overall is just great. The players look very realistic as they skate around the ice, and the game takes real life physics into account so that you can't just turn on a dime and start skating in the opposite direction if you want. The big hit button is fun; opposing players go down hard when they're hit. If you want to have some more fun, you can hit other players after the whistle has blown, but be careful or you'll get called for a penalty.

The crowd is really into the game. They cheer and scream when the action gets intense and even chant every so often. Given the lackluster crowds in the John Madden football series, this is a nice touch. The Madden games have also lacked in the commentary department, but NHL 2000 in contrast has two guys who won't shut up, which I like. They give you facts about the players' early careers and talk about how they're doing in the game and season so far. Pop-up graphics also give you plenty of information every so often, which just adds to the real-life feel.

My only gripe with this game has to do with the clock. You can set the periods to last for anywhere from five to 20 minutes, but the clock always counts to 20 minutes and goes quicker depending on how short you set the period, which means the minutes fly by four times as fast if you're playing with five-minute periods. I prefer to have the clock show five minutes if that's what I selected. It's hard to gauge how much playing time you really have left in the game if it's getting close to the end and you're thinking about calling a time-out or pulling your goalie. Penalties are also over very quickly after they begin, which is frustrating when you're on the power play.

Overall, though, this is a fabulous game with tons of features and as realistic a look and feel as I've seen in a sports game yet. Don't pass it by if you're a hockey fan.

Review: Enjoyment

I simply love this game.

Review: Graphics

Electronic Arts says that "If it's in the game, it's in the game," and they're right with this title.

Review: Sound

Marvelous. The play-by-play is great, the crowd is great, the sounds of the game are great.

Review: Replay Value

Play a season, go through the draft and sign free agents, and then play another one. Or have some fun with a tournament.

Review: Documentation

The book does an adequate job of explaining everything, but it does neglect some areas.

Production Credits