billservo's Full Review: NHL 2002 for PlayStation 2
Last year's NHL installment was the first on a next-gen system. While that fact alone made it palatable for most gamers, NHL 2001 wasn't the best sports game in town, although it remained the PS2's best hockey game for that year. Compared to PS2 efforts like EA's own Madden and FIFA games NHL 2001 just didn't accomplish all it set out to do.
With an additional year of development EA's been able to change that. NHL 2002 has all the bells and whistles of the best sports games of the year and then some. NHL 2002 isn't a brand new game, but an improvement on the solid gameplay base fans are used to with some extras that make it state-of-the-art. EA's brand of hockey is still more simulation than arcade, but this time around that simulation is much more accurate. Last year's game had us pulling off goal-guaranteeing one-timers and dekes against a sleeping AI calling for unbelievably high-scoring games. This time around AI gets a noticeable overhaul in defense, requiring well-executed play to achieve the same effect. This level of realism, or difficulty, is still user selectable allowing players to continually challenge themselves. Default difficulty settings (Easy, Normal, Hard) are set much better than they were before so players can spend less time tweaking and more time playing. But those who do want to customize their experience will be in hockey heaven. The game allows you to set nearly every aspect of the game, from puck friction to game speed to hit recovery time. Most of these settings really don't need tweaking, though I'll admit that the default hit recovery time felt a little slow.
Players also react a little slowly when there's a free puck around. While the hit recovery can be tweaked, this problem can't. Some AI players who lose the puck or just happen to be around don't seem to react to the presence of the puck near them. For players with less awareness this could make sense, but it happens with players who are right over the puck too often. Most players will end up switching to take control anyway so this doesn't ruin gameplay, but it does get annoying.
The rest of the AI is solid, bolstered by the return of the emotion meter. As a team continues to perform well by keeping control of the puck, landing big hits, or repeated shots on goal there emotion meter goes up which makes them play even better. Players who don't like this can turn its effects off, but anyone who's played a sport knows that there's definitely some realism in this. A team doesn't get free goals out of this, but players get more focused, allowing them to shoot better, pass better, and handle the puck better.
Puck handling in 2002 is improved outside of the emotion meter, too. Players will reach out for a bad pass or kick a puck up to the skate if its under them. This is all automatic, but reduces the amount of puck "jumping" you'd usually see. Just as in real life, different players have different levels of puck control. In NHL 2002 this ability is actually dynamically modeled per player. When a player has control of the puck, the highlight under that player darkens or lightens with the amount of control that player has. Better players will have a darker highlight almost as soon as they get the puck while less skilled players need to hang onto it for a while before they have full control. This is a huge improvement for players who may not know how good a particular athlete is when they have to decide whether to go for a full out body check, or just try to pry the puck off the guy.
The control to do all this is mostly unchanged- a good thing for returning players. Through the years NHL's control has been tweaked to near perfection. There are minor improvements, like tighter pass control and backwards skating, but the mechanics haven't changed. Passing got a minor facelift with the saucer pass, but, like shooting, this feature doesn't take advantage of the pressure sensitive buttons requiring a longer button press and a raised stick before action is finally taken on a shot.
When taking a one-on-one shot, gamers will be treated to perhaps the most dramatic gameplay enhancement in NHL 2002: the breakaway cam. On a one-on-one the camera switches from its above the ice view to a shoot off view, complete with motion blur. You can turn this off, but it does allow you to more accurately place the puck during a shot mirroring the heightened level of focus a player might have when approaching the net undefended. This seems gimmicky, but the transition is so well done that it doesn't take away from the flow of the game at all.
Other visual gameplay enhancements include player icons. Instead of just showing a players name and position under the current skater, NHL 2002 also shows player icons to quickly describe the skills of that athlete. An icon like "Big Hitter" will let you know if you go with a slapshot or turn around for a wrist shot. If you don't know the player you're controlling this makes a huge difference since you'll be playing to that skater's advantage.
The icons also come into play with one of the big features missing from last year's game, the NHL cards. Players familiar with the Madden series will find this to be almost the exact same. During a game certain events will win you card points. There's tons of these events and their point values vary depending on difficulty of the task and the game difficulty setting. After a game you can use your collected points to buy a deck of cards which can be used in later games. Most of the cards are specific to certain players giving them a slight boost for 1, 2, or 3 periods. Other cards have different effects on the game, like slowing down time or unlocking Easter Eggs. Gamers who want a straight hockey sim will even get something out of this since there's cards that do not affect gameplay at all, but do things like give you new animations after a score. It ensures that you'll have something to come back for even when you think you've mastered the game.
Those that have played through the Playoff, Tournament, or Season games can always make their own entire teams with the improved Create Player tool. This time around you can change almost every aspect of the players from skins color to eyebrows. EA actually went all out on this including one of the most comprehensive statistic editors ever for their player editor. Unlike other editors, NHL 2002 does not limit the amount of skill a player can have allowing you to make some ungodly players.
The models in last year's game looked good, but this year they're even better. We still have all the glare effects off of the helmets, but there's a general improvement in polys for the players. Everything looks much smoother, with almost all of the clipping problems from last year fixed. This is especially impressive because the players' equipment is a separate part of the model. No more sticks going through the hands, except occasionally for the goalie who does have more and bigger equipment on him.
A few more special effects were thrown in, like ice reflections that are obscured by skate spray or scratched ice. Players have more polys (they even have tongues), allowing their jerseys to move a little better, although there is a little jumpiness in this effect. This is minor, and players have greatly improved overall. EA's put in more animations for skaters who score and different behaviors in between play.
The biggest fix is in the framerate, though. Last year's game was suffered some serious chop even at the slowest game speed setting. This time around- even at higher speed settings- the game runs much smoother. Slight slowdown is noticeable in "cut-scenes", but rarely in actual play. The amazing thing is that there's so much more going on that before, too. The crowd is populated with a few 3D models here and there. Spectators that aren't modeled are still given a 3D effect for an added sense of depth.
During the game the camera may go over the 3D crowd showing different reaction animations. Other camera cuts include save cams and big hit cams. Great plays will activate these cams interrupting play with a quick replay. The replays can be turned off, but they do look cool, showing multiple angles and Matrix style effects.
Even sound got an upgrade, with the inclusion of DTS audio. While the DTS in NHL 2002 is not as impressive as EA's SSX Tricky it does feature full 5.1 channel output. Unfortunately, the game doesn't dynamically direct sound to the rear channels, instead piping all ambient arena sound to the rear. Left and right channels maintain the stereo effect expected while commentary is always center channel making it much easier to hear.
Like the previous game, commentary borders on being a stand-up routine. We're not talking Dennis Miller, but still funny. Of course, the commentary gets old once you've heard it all and you can always turn that off, and if you want to hear all the rink announcements, you'll have to. Some color commentary is so long that it ends up going over the stars of the game or goalie announcements.
Sound effects are pretty much the same, with the exception of the annoying cheer button being removed. Checks are still deep and solid, but the actual skate effect and crowd noise sounds too mechanical, especially when hooked up to a sound system. The music still has that alternative edge, this year featuring a Barenaked Ladies exclusive and Sum 41. It's good stuff that sounds like it's meant for the game and just adds to the overall level of polish that the game's been given.
That "polish" is exactly what EA needed. Last year's entry was definitely on the right track, and this year EA stayed that course and nailed it, creating their best hockey ever. Gamers that read my review last year hopefully hung onto their money, because this is the hockey game to have. Those that went out and bought 2001, make room on the shelf- you still need this game.
Epinions.com periodically updates pricing and product information from third-party sources, so some information may be slightly out-of-date. You should confirm all information before relying on it.
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