NHL 2001

Discount Price: $14.99

Accessories:
PC Gamer (1-year)	Games for Windows: The Official Magazine	Mystery Alaska	Mystery, Alaska

Customer Reviews:

Slapshot [Posted on 2002-04-06]
This game is so awsome. With the create your own player thing
you can create yourself and your friends as players or goalies.
If I were to rate the grafics:100%,because there so good.On the
players is a stick,a hammer,or none.The stick he's a great shooter with a great slapshot.The hammer stands for a big checking guy.
If you love hockey you should get this supurb fighting,checking
and scoring hockey game.

Great graphics, poor realism. [Posted on 2002-04-17]
When I first bought this game, I was expecting something just a bit more. The last NHL game I had played, created by EA Sports, was NHL 99 - viewed today, by most standards, as an "old" game. (Since playing NHL 2001 I have actually gone back to playing NHL 99 several times!) The graphics, for NHL 01, were amazing, almost life like and the cheesy (but funny) expressions of the players from NHL 99 had been replaced with excellent frowns and smiles. However, the good portion of the game stops right about there. I wasn't nearly as pleased with the game as I was expecting to be, mainly for one reason - the realism. Instead of realistic checking, players go head over heels, goalies allow way too many goals, and the overall A.I. is WEAK! The biggest problem I've had so far has been the difficulty settings. I have the difficulty setting maxed out (All-Star) and am playing as only an average team which has, so far, won every single game in the season I've played in. That is completely unrealistic. For any major gamer who loves hockey but also wants a challenge (like me) - Don't expect much with this title. The graphics will cover up the bad spots at first, but after you learn the A.I. moves and stratagies, it'll be goal after goal after goal.

p.s. Don't even try playing the game using a full 20 minute period - the score will be outragous, sometimes 28 - 10! Unless of course you like winning every time. I've been playing EA Sports Games since the days of 1991 for Sega and PC, and their performance has gone from simulation to arcade. Not my style...

Ice

VERY GOOD GAME [Posted on 2002-11-22]
This is a quality game. It is better than expected. That Franchise Mode is a very good. The Free Agency and rookies could have been beter, but for a game coming out in 2000, it is not that bad. the gamplay isn't awsome, but it still is fine. The hitting is great. Some of the big hit can flip a guy over. That is A+ hitting. Shooting and passing is good, and the Goltending & Defense are O.K, but they could be better. The Tournement mode is nice, but there could have been more. The CREATE A PLAYEr thing is one of the elite things in this game. It gives you good options, and has auto modes(For example, if you want your player to be a playmaker, then you scroll down on the bar[you'll find it, don't worry] until you get Playmaker. There will be custom settings to the extent that EA SPORTS thinks a playmaker's talent is. You can change it from there). The shootout mode is nothing spectacular, but it is good enough to be a positive factor in this game. NHL 2001 rarely breaks down, and if it does, it will just be something minor. So, for all NHL fans, BUY THIS GAME.

The Pros and Cons of NHL 2001 [Posted on 2003-01-04]
In order to decide whether or not you will like this game, you have to decide what you're looking for in a Hockey game.

If your looking for realism, you might want to try a newer version, for instance NHL 2002 or '03. The scoring in this game is very unrealistic. I have played many a Pro level game where I scored over 10 goals, while my opponent scored around 8 or 9 also. To add to that, the Rookie and Beginner level games are way too easy, in a Beginner game, expect the score to come out around 18 to 2, in your favor. In a Rookie game, expect the score to be around 15 to 5, once again, in your favor.

If you're looking for good graphics, you've come to the right place. The graphics are awesome, especially on the players themselves. Each player looks like he might be a real person, not some sort of ape-man. Also, the faces on each player actually make different expressions, and the mouth actualy says things. To add to this, the crowd actually cheers, and you can see different people in the crowd cheering in a different way. And all of this is done eceptionally well.

so, here's my overview:

Pros:
-Awesome graphics
-Realistic penalties
-Realistic player actions

Cons:
-Unrealistic scoring
-Difficulty levels too easy
-Unrealistic announcing

A WONDERFUL GAME! [Posted on 2003-06-10]
I really haven't checked out earlier or later (due to system requirements being too high) versions of EA Sport's NHL games for the PC, but this will do quite nicely for a long time, even if I do get that faster, better computer someday. As it is, on my Pentium III 600mhz, with 10g hard drive, 256ram, and 4mb 3d video card (pretty low specs these days, but good enough for now), this runs perfectly, and is the ONLY hockey game you really need for the price. I even find it hard to imagine you CAN get a much more realistic hockey game on the PC, at any price.

The graphics in this game are excellent. They rival anything I've ever seen on any PC or console. Some of the cinematic scenes, like at the beginning of a game when both teams take the ice, almost look like a real TV game. Those used during the game itself aren't too shabby either. As one who sharpened his ice skates on previous incarnations of NHL games such as those on the old Nintendo, Super Nintendo, Genesis, and even PSOne, the graphics here blow all the rest off the ice by a long shot.

The opening little "movie" scene itself is a joy to watch again and again, with great music and visuals and even after playing the game so many times, I still love to watch it. It will really "pump" you up for some NHL hockey.

The sound effects, crowd noise (and reactions), and announcers are all great too. Customization galore here. You can play not only all the NHL teams but various international ones as well. You can even create your own team, customize jerseys, and even paste your own picture (or any other) as a face on a player. You can make the game hard or easy and everything in between, there are numerous camera angles you can try, and a great replay system. You can play a quick game, tournament, season, try shoot outs, and before or during play you can try different coaching strategies, shuffle lines, substitute players, the works.

I use a basic digital PC gamepad like the playstation one and it works great, however I wouldn't recommend playing this or many other PC games without one. They are really cheap AND well made however these days (search Amazon for gamepad and you'll have a big choice), so if you're going to buy this, buy a gamepad of some sort also if you don't already have one.

If you are a hockey fan of any sort, you're going to love this. And like playing Madden or NFL Fever and so forth during "off season," you'll be glad you have this game when about the only pro sport available is baseball. The controls are easy once you get the hang of it, and I really can't think of anything negative to say about this title at all. It's not only a great (and fantastic looking and sounding) PC game, but it's a hockey fan's dream come true.

If your system meets the system requirements and you have a gamepad or controller of some sort, and you enjoy the greatest game on earth (NHL HOCKEY), place this in your wish list, go check out some reviews and search for and download the DEMO on the net to play, and soon enough, I'd bet this quickly winds up in your shopping cart. This is a great 3D hockey simulation for the PC and for the price, a true must buy for any sports and/or hockey fan. EA Sports has done it again. Wonderful...

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