| Playstation Review | |
| Category | Sports |
| Players | 1-8 |
| Difficulty | Medium |
| Review Date | 10/98 |
| Publisher | EA Sports |
by Jason Zimring
However, I would not quite describe EA's NHL '99 as great. The words good and decent come to mind, but not great. Sure, EA has bested its competition, and NHL '99 is certainly a fun game to play. But in past years, I remember playing an EA hockey game for the first time and thinking "I can't believe how cool this is!" It just didn't happen that way this year.
It's not that EA didn't try. NHL '99 still offers all the old options. You can still play a season or Olympic tournament with all the NHL teams and players. You'll find lots of stats, and there are still a variety of skill levels. The AI puts up a good fight, and once again EA hockey is a superb multi player game (I highly recommend getting a multi-tap for this game - it's tons of fun to take on the computer with 4 of your friends on your side. A real male bonding experience!). But stuff like that is a given with EA.
Graphically, NHL '99 looks similar to NHL '98. This year, EA added more defined player faces ala NBA Live '98, giving the stars more of an individualized appearance. The framerate is pretty good, though occasionally choppy. With a variety of camera angles, there are many ways to see the game (though not all of these are easily playable).
There are also several new options. For starters, you can take the new Nashville Predators through the expansion draft, which means you can pick one unprotected player from each NHL team. At first I thought this was really cool - you know, creating my own team, being there from the beginning of the organization, having the opportunity to capture the hearts and souls of the Nashville video hockey fans by bringing the city a Stanley Cup. But after I went through the draft, I changed my mind. The team I was able to compile was a super power house, and it would have been no fun taking them through a season, effortlessly destroying my competition along the way. The expansion draft was a good thought - it just didn't work out.
Same goes for the new addition of coaching strategies. EA has done a better job than anyone with incorporating set plays into a hockey game. It's easy to call plays on the fly, there are a lot of offensive and defensive sets, and there's even a practice mode where you can hone your skills. I guess my problem is that I just don't like concentrating that much on a video game. I play video games to relax, and I found it much too stressful having to worry about my formations and plays during the game. Plus, anyone who has played sports in real life knows that practices are never as fun as the real game (with the exception of mud wrestling), and the same holds true for video games. Running through drills is just not my idea of a good time. Sure, it makes the game much more realistic - you feel like you're actually in the NHL - but I doubt I'll ever use the practice mode again after I tried it for that first hour. It's just not nearly as exciting as the real game, so why waste my time? I'd rather just learn the plays during the game itself.
EA also changed up the fighting features of the game a bit. Now there is a pre-fight time where you can stand face to face with the guy you're about to fight and provoke and shove him before you throw the gloves down and get down and dirty. Whoopie. Hooray. Also, the actual fights take a lot longer and are very boring. If you fight the computer, you almost always effortlessly kick his ass. I recommend just turning fights "off."
The basic controls are the same as in years past, and so are the moves you can pull off. Like many new games, NHL '99 has full analog Dual Shock support (buzz, buzz.). There are also two excellent additions to the actual gameplay. The first is the "Star" feature, which highlights players who can perform special moves, when they are available. This really gives the superstars more of a realistic edge over the no-names. The second is the shot power bar, which displays how powerful your shot will be as you pull your stick back. There is also a shot meter which tells you how fast your slap shot traveled ( I've gotten up to 96 mph). In all, these help make NHL '99 feel different from last year's excellent NHL '98.
One general complaint is that the game play seems to flow a bit slower. While the graphics remain impressive, players seem to react a little slower, the checks aren't as fierce, and everything just feels a little too calm. Almost like watching a pee wee hockey game instead of an NHL game.
Now don't get me wrong - NHL '99 is a very good game, and if you're considering buying a hockey game this year, this is the one to get. It's not too difficult to play, but at the same time offers many levels of complexity to keep you interested for a long time. It just didn't knock my socks off - it doesn't posses the greatness that I've come to expect from EA Sports.
| Revolution Report Card |
| B+ |
| + Solid fun + Excellent multi-player + A few new bells and whistles - Useless new modes - Gameplay a bit too slow |
