Sega Sports Features NHL2K
Reviewed by Dale Kulas
The Game
Hockey brought to you buy Sega Sports, and Blackbox, not
Visual Basics who made NBA 2K & NFL 2K. So this game is done
completely different from those games and it shows. Will it
do any better, and give us the best console sports
experience such as other Sega Sports games did last year
like NBA & NFL 2K? Let's get onto the review and see.
Graphics
One of the things that you'll notice right off the bat
that's different from NBA & NFL 2K is that there's no radial
menu's. It's just replaced by an ordinary vertical menu.
Also the game intros for NBA & NFL 2K used the game engine's
hockey & football players for the opening intro, but NHL 2K
uses FMV footage off tv of various hockey action. I
preferred the NFL & NBA 2K's intro better because it showed
off how real games are getting to the real thing. The
players look great, and the game can be easily played in any
camera view, even cinematic, which was impossible to even
play in the other Sega Sports games this year. The players
look just like the real thing shown by the awesome power of
the Dreamcast. I was amazed that you can see the shaving of
ice your players leave by.
There really isn't nothing dramatic that's bad about the
graphics. I prefer the vertical menus much more than the
radial one's . I really don't like the new type of intro, and
the audience looks a little bit on the cheesy side, and not
as great as the one in NBA 2K, but that's the only
complaints about the graphics, and it barely manages to drop
the score down a notch.
Sound
The game has an appropriate hockey theme, fits the game
well, and all the sound effects are well done, like the
skating sounds exactly like skating, and so do all the slap
shots, checks, and so on. Unlike it's fellow Sega Sports
titles, NHL 2K didn't hire real voice actors for this game,
instead it uses real NHL announcers, Bob Cole for
play-by-play, and Harry Neale for commentary, but these guys
sound real dull, Cole's alright for play-by-play, but his
comments repeat too often, and gets repetitive real fast,
and Neale's commentary makes him sound like the Mike Tenay
of Hockey, all he says is stupid, old hockey facts and his
voice sounds like a robot!
Game play
Of course, Sega wowed us again with another great sports
experience. The cinematic view looks just like the real
thing. Any ways you got all the penalties here, and all the
moves, like slap shots, wrist shots, and so on. You can
choose plays in the same method as NBA 2K by pressing the
Control Pad during game play, and it's easy to move around
with your player using the control stick., and hockey
players skate just like they do in real life, for example,
if you're moving up the rink real fast, and try to all of a
sudden skate in the opposite direction, your player will
slow down the way he's going, and slowly regain speed going
down, until he gets at a fast speed. Plenty of modes of play
and options to choose from like exhibition and season modes,
plus you can also create up to 40 players.
The game does seemed rush, because there is a lack of modes,
that most other hockey simulations have out there such as
practice and shootout modes missing from action. Also
there's no jump pack support, and most hockey games usually
have feedback support, and I was disappointed that it was
missing from this game, also going against the computer is a
pain, because the goalie always covers the puck after he
makes a save and you gotta go through another face off. But
even though these are some noticeable flaws, you always seem
to forget about them, and they aren't hat much annoying.
Replay Value
Up to 4 players can play so you can have the ultimate
virtual hockey experience of your life with your friends,
and have a real blast, and you can create players too, both
are big pluses, but there a couple of bugs, that holds the
score of the game back, like not many extra modes to choose
from, or no jump pack compatibility, but the modes it gives
you, are just fine to start off with, but some extras
would've been nice.
In Brief
+: Great cinematic camera, create-a-player, lots of stats
-: no jump pack compatibility, not many modes of play
The Final Ratings Rundown
Graphics: 9. 2
Sound: 7. 1
Game play: 8. 8
Replay Value: 8. 5
Overall: 8.1 out of 10
Final Analysis
A great hockey game on the Dreamcast! This turned out to be
a great debut, even though the game didn't come out with all
the extras that most gamers thought it would have, but the
developers probably did this on purpose so they can have
something 'major' in next years game, I hope it has online
play! But if you're a hockey fan, and looking for some great
thrills, don't hesitate with this title. Because it's still
the only hockey game on the Dreamcast.
OR
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