NHL 2001

Ice hockey has always revelled in its bad-boy image, with a large majority of the audience only interested in watching opposing players engage in confrontation and inevitable combat. Body checks at combined speeds of over 20mph, 'accidental' hacks and blatant attempts to initiate mass brawls in full view of the hapless referee all provide an interesting and entertaining aside to the rather less enjoyable pursuit of guessing where the puck is.

It's probably for this reason that ice hockey games fare relatively well with the UK gaming public, especially compared to other sports largely defunct in this part of the world, such as American football or baseball. Consequently, EA Sports has always included scrapping in their numerous NHL titles, and they certainly aren't about to stop doing so now.

The gameplay in NHL 2001 is extremely slick, with players gliding over the ice with consummate ease. In fact, you can easily look very good without being very good at all, with players twisting, turning and accelerating at the touch of a few buttons. Scoring is still a rather random affair, with your shots-to-goals ratio dependent on both the skill levels of the player and the efficiency with which you power up your shot. In any case, the more shots you manage to hit, the more you're going to score.

So with all the latest stats, fast and furious hockey action, an excellent physics engine, lots of atmos and tear-ups galore, how can you go wrong? Well, it should be noted that if you already own NHL 2001, $30 is a lot to pay for a glorified update. If there are any gripes with how the game plays, it's that some people may find it a tad repetitive, and it's irritating that goals are due more to chance than your skill in front of the net. But whether you're a die-hard fan of the sport or not, you're likely to be impressed.

Hockey is a game of ebbs and flows, and EA captures that with NHL's all-new "momentum" meter this fall. Make a few good plays, and your players will get juiced. Make a blunder and morale drops, along with players' performance. There are new tools to swing the game in your favor too, particularly with your star players who now wield cannon and "one-footed wrister" shots.

Aside from the fundamentals of hockey, 30 NHL teams (expansion teams from Columbus and Minnesota included), 20 international teams, licenses galore, NHL 2001 features a lot of original features to get excited about. Thanks to the power of the PS2 all your favorite NHL players will display emotion on their faces (mostly anger, what other emotions do you ever see in hockey?) and through body language (that's right, hitting and fighting is what we're talkin' about). The most anticipated new features are better player models, motion-capture and updated physics. Fresh ways to score include "cannon shots" and one-footed wristers. Icons will let you know who's in a slump and who's hot. A Fantasy Mode with dispersal draft and multiplayer season play are possible as well. EA has this slated for a fall release.

As it nears completion we can tell you that EA's newest hockey game is absolutely breathtaking. This game comes so close to recreating the feel of a hockey match, it's scary. The animations are amazing--players rub their jaws after a fistfight and grimace during hard hits. Fast gameplay didn't take a backseat to the graphics either--it's deep as ever, with season, draft and shootout modes, in addition to selectable uniforms and tons of stats. This is gonna rock come November.