Reviews / previews
Sid Meier's Civilization notwithstanding, there's simply
no other computer game or series that keeps me
coming back more often than EA Sports' NHL titles.
And as good as these have been in the past, this
year's version, NHL 99, is bigger, better, and more
enjoyable in almost every way.
NHL 99 offers exhibition, season, and playoff modes,
as well as shoot-outs and coaching drills (for honing
your skills). The game includes all 27 NHL teams
along with 18 international teams.
Gameplay is basically the same, with several new
features that help improve the overall quality of each
game. Shot deflections are much more prevalent this
year, for starters. Shoot a puck and any teammate
between you and the goal will automatically try to get
a stick on it. Because of this feature, I saw a dramatic
increase in goal scoring at both ends of the ice. In
fact, through two full 26-game seasons (at Pro and
All-Star levels), I managed to win only four games via
shutout.
Rebounds are still a great way to score, though
straight one-timers (without a deflection) are an
exercise in futility. Breakaways are pretty tough also,
but only for your team-the computer seems to score
at will when it gets a breakaway.
Some of the game's other notable new features
include the ability to force your goalie to cover up the
puck, a video-goal judge feature that checks
questionable goals, and a ref that will toss your center
out of a face-off if you get too anxious with the pass
button. Also, this year the AI will actually retaliate for
those after-the-whistle chucks, and the ref will call
penalties. The fighting option can be fun at first, but it
gets pretty repetitive after a few games.
The Voodoo II-enhanced graphics are superb, but the
other graphic modes are pretty good, too. Using a RIVA 128ZX-based card on
a P233 MMX delivered respectable image quality and performance, and the
software renderer looked decent and moved along nicely on the same
machine.
Difficulty levels are fairly well stepped, but
the difference between Pro and All-Star has
more to do with the number of hits than
anything else. On All-Star, you will be
hard-pressed to hold the puck for more than
a second or two before a computer player
clobbers you.
EA claims that the game supports up to 12
players over IPX, TCP/IP, and modem links.
Because I didn't even know half that many people who actually had the game
at the time of this review, however, I was unable to test that claim. The game's
remote-league feature is a neat idea, but accessing it over modem or Internet
links is a slow, clunky process.
The game has a few other flaws, including
the fact that you can't change difficulty
levels or period lengths during the course
of a season-simply ludicrous. Shot totals
are still way too high, and the game still
computes the goals-against-average
statistic incorrectly when you play 5- or
10-minute periods. Finally, the
play-by-play this year seems pretty sloppy
and is often just downright bad:
commentary is rife with random, mistimed, mixed-up, and factually incorrect
quips from Jim Hughson and Daryl Reaugh.
Still, these shortcomings detract little from NHL 99's overall quality. Its
excellent gameplay and new features make it even more enjoyable than its
previous incarnations.-- Mike Ryan / GamePro
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