You see a split screen with each goalie and his pertinent stats on each side while the announcers talk about them and then you see the players skating around before the face-off. You start with a long shot of the arena and the closing seconds of the national anthem. Bill Clement and Jim Hughson provide the play-by-play and color commentary, and they are simply great. Once you get into a game, though, it will knock your socks off. It's weird hearing only the swoosh of the skates on the ice. You get to skate around your empty home arena with your team divided in half and practice shooting and passing to your heart's content. You can also practice your plays, which is fun.

Want to play a little more dump-and-chase on offense? Prefer the neutral zone trap? Set it up for your team. If you think you're a Scotty Bowman in the making, you can head to the coaching section and tweak your team's strategies. If you're in the middle of a season or tournament you can check out tons of stats.

From the Jaws theme which plays when the San Jose Sharks are on a power play in their home rink to slapshots which can shatter the plexiglass above the boards, this series of games has always been peppered with great little moments, and the 2000 edition is no exception.īefore you even play a game there is a wealth of detail to explore. In fact, I'd say they're better than the John Madden series in terms of recreating the sport with an eye for fine details. Since that won't be available for a long time, I'll take this version for now.Įlectronic Arts has always produced great hockey games.

If you're a hockey fan and don't mistake this game for a hockey broadcast on ESPN while you're playing it, then you must be holding out for photo-realism.

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