Sega Sports(tm) NHL® 2K2

Fortunately for us the Dreamcast’s gradual downfall into console oblivion has inspired game designers to release this platform’s finest sports titles and although it would have been nice to see even more titles, the offerings are worthy of a last hurrah.  Case in point, NHL 2K2, one of the best hockey games seen in quite a long time.  Hard to believe?  Please read further, sports fan.

Skipping two years, the NHL series picks up with the 2001-2002 season and that includes fresh new talent (such as Rookie of the Year Chris Drury) and an overall more fluid gameplay.  All the things that needed to be worked out in the last game have been improved; presenting a much more action packed game.

The main menu screen reveals four playing modes and one thing game players will notice is that there is no Franchise mode--a mode that definitely would have been a true hockey fan’s favorite.  Still, the modes that are there (Exhibition, Season, Playoffs and Tournament) aren’t too shabby.  And each mode can be used in the multiplayer game option (but more on that later).

Exhibition mode is great for practice, since the game has no Training mode either, but it’s a good place to start.  Season mode sees your chosen team through either the 82 game or 42 half game season that leads up to the playoffs and lastly the Stanley Cup. You can even forget about the season games and go straight to the playoffs in the Playoffs mode.  And Tournament mode sets up four or even sixteen team tournament for a game of elimination.  The best part is that you can change the difficulty setting (Rookie, Pro and All-Star) to increase the challenge for all three game modes.

NHL 2K2’s controls are still a bit complicated but never irritatingly so that you won’t know what to do . . . after all, game players can learn a lot playing the Exhibition mode.  Switching players during the game is a breeze not to mention performing dekes or knocking an opponent down.  In fact, the game feels more fluid and its transition from quick animation of players getting scolded by the referee and back to the game is flawless.  It’s amazing how much the game resembles an actual televised game in this sense--this is quite an improvement.

The game’s graphics have also been improved and they look particularly stunning!  Players are perfectly detailed during close ups or confrontations such as fist fights or when the camera angel is changed.  Although they don’t look anything like the actual pros, the players are certainly something to admire.  And even the audience is rendered nicely enough and doesn’t look like they were pasted on wonderfully realistic surroundings like the last game.

As the boisterous clamoring of the crowd rises above the muffled music that occasionally comes through the speakers, coaches shout their commands loud enough to be heard.  Then someone scores and the crowd goes wild.  This is the perfect example of how sound in a game should work and NHL 2K2 pulls it off accurately.  And the announcers, who always seem to be aware of everything and remember everything, keep the banter at a thankful minimum.  Although the guy that offers the trivia tidbits seemingly has no sense of timing.  Who wants to know which coach was sent to the hospital for a hernia when the game is at a nerve-wracking face-off?

The multiplayer aspect of the game is still quite fun despite the absence of on-line multiplayer gaming that has been featured in most of the Sega Sports games such as NBA 2K2.  You can, though, play against a group of friends (did somebody say party game?) using four controllers and playing through Tournament mode (or any other of the four modes for that matter) until there’s one winner.  And adding to this, you can also trade some players.

NHL 2K2 is as good as a hockey game can get--although a Franchise mode and an on-line multiplayer mode would have made it the ultimate hockey favorite--and it shows it in the newly improved quality of graphics, sound and fluid gameplay.  Sports fans and Dreamcast owners looking for a true hockey game should experience NHL 2K2.

Gameplay: 9.5
Anyone who remember the NHL game of two years ago will notice immediately how faster the gameplay is and how smoother the game’s action feels.  The transition between the game and its animated Replay moves without a moment’s hesitation giving the game a televised quality to it. 

The controls themselves are more simplistic in nature this time around, allowing more room to experience the unique styles of different players or the full control over starts, stops, dekes and even slamming into opponents.

Graphics: 9.1

The graphics are definitely in top form in NHL 2K2, and although many of the familiar pros look nothing like their in-game counterparts, the game still looks too good to care about that.  Players, during close-ups are nicely detailed from their uniforms down to their scraped kneepads.  Even the audience looks good . . . and they’re not stiff cutouts either.

Sound: 8.9
Adding to the visual experience is the wonderful sound that adds to the realism of actually being in a hockey game.  Scoring results in the audience cheering wildly or whistling loudly.  Coaches can be heard barking commands (though much of what they say can be heard clearly through the keyboards and announcers).

The running commentary is dead-on and is always aware of mistakes and which player had been close to scoring.  There’s also a commentator that always chimes in a few trivia facts about hockey or players of the past.  The facts are great, yet they feel out of place during a face-off.  Sometimes the same fact keeps coming up and becomes too annoying to ignore.

Difficulty: 9.0
There are only three difficulty settings (Rookie, Pro and All-Star) but Rookie should be a sufficient enough challenge until you’ve mastered the game enough to warrant a change in the difficulty setting.  Believe me, though, that won’t be happening all too quickly. 

There are also times when the game’s CPU goalie seems unfairly too skilled at blocking shots, in fact, he’s so good that he can block your shot even from a great distance.

Concept: 9.2
In addition to the full control over players, there are small details added to enrich the gameplay.  Violent fistfights erupt when opponents loose their nerve or get hit one too many times from a certain player.  Various pros have their own distinct behavior or styles and it shows up here in the game (such as Colorado Avalanche’s Chris Drury whose victory slide has become his trademark).

You can also take full control of the goalie, which starts off under the computer’s control.  Taking control of the goalie means more work and the controls aren’t very hard to figure out yet the challenge is trying to guess when an opponent is going to shoot.

Multiplayer: 8.7

You can go up against a friend in all four game modes, making this the ultimate hockey lover’s party game.  Fitting four controllers allows game players to go head-to-head two at a time and the winner of the match takes on the next opponent until one team remains victorious. 

Still, the game lacks the on-line play option featured in other Sega Sports titles and its absence is sorely missed here. 

Overall: 9.6
Sega Sports has done it again, this time even outdoing themselves with a slightly more polished game.  NHL 2K2 is, without a doubt, one of the finest hockey titles ever to come out of the Dreamcast.  Its flaws are minor blips on the screen while what is featured in NHL 2K2 is sports excellence at its finest. Dreamcast owners and hockey fans everywhere that want to treat themselves to a good sports game should buy this immediately.