| I recently wrapped a review
on Virgin's NHL PowerPlay 98. After playing it, I never thought that hockey could get
better. Electronics Arts makes millions on sport titles every year, yet they are more
stingy with their software than a mother bear with her cub. Getting titles from them to
review is worse than putting a "camel through the eye of a needle." I figured I
would finally break down and purchase at least their hockey title and compare the two
games.
The Introduction:
Under normal circumstances, sports games have little to say about their introductions.
However, I have yet to see a better introduction to a game than EA's NHL 98 does. Right
from the start, just after you finish the installation, you get the feeling that this game
is going to rock the big ball of Jell-O we will call your brain. I won't say much more
about it, it is just one of things that "you have to be there to see it."
Graphics:
Whatever EA did they did it well. Stadiums in just about every sports game generally have
the same wallpapered dummies plastered all over the stands. Someday that will change as
CPU power increases. But right from the start a camera floats near the stadium ceiling
showing the scoreboard and swoons down onto the playing field where the players patiently
await the final touches on our Country's national anthem sung by some man who probably
burned his Vietnam draft card.
There is nothing extremely impressive about the face-off. The fact that the players have a
wider range of movement and motion than any other hockey game I've yet to see is
impressive. And if you have a 3D card, you will surely be amazed how well the players
react to different situations. The realism is uncanny. I can only begin to describe this
game as a POWERPLAY to the other hockey clones.
As in real hockey, players often get flagged for penalties. In NHL98, players get PO'd
too. They actually give attitude back and you can hear them grumble while entering the
penalty box. Goalie's reactions to missed saves may result in a pounding of their stick
against a goal post. Players that get knocked down use an entire animated sequence to get
back up off the ice. Players who lose in a fight, humbly pick up their carcass and move it
to the penalty box for 5 minutes. Defenders may reach out with their hockey sticks and
hold you back. All of this, and so much more, make this game feel like you are controlling
the outcome of a real NHL hockey game.
Sound:
The sound is excellent. You can even hear the sticks slap the ice and the reverb echoing
off the stadium walls. The grunts from the players, on penalties or missed goals is
perfect for sensitive ears who might not appreciate what the player really has to say.
What I find really astounding are the announcers. The whole
game is made up as if it were an actual television broadcast, except you're playing in it.
The announcers come up with past season's statistics, or feats that each individual team
has accomplished. For example, since I live close to the San Jose Sharks, I played that
team for a bit. The announcers started chit chatting about how San Jose a few years ago
really surprised the league by beating Detroit in the playoffs, and to repeat that feat a
year later by knocking off the Calgary Flames. They discussed how the upsets were so
amazing for an expansion team. I sat there in total shock, I mean, someone REALLY had to
take some serious time to record all that information and put it into this game! There was
no lag, cut off, or jerkiness in the announcers voice, it was crisp and smooth. The only
problem I really found to be annoying was how many times he would talk about who just
passed the puck. Since the game involves a lot of passing, I guess it would be hard to
avoid announcing it.
Game Play:
NHL 98's game play is just as real as real can get. Characters in the game are smooth and
it looks as if the cyber ice is for real. Players can body check, hold, or even throw
their bodies down to prevent a goal. You can control the goalie, make him grab a loose
puck and cover it up with his padded body. You can also select different coaching
strategies that best suit your style of play.
Even if you figure out the AI and score goals with lousy teams, you can pack up your
skills and create leagues. NHL 98 supports modem, network and Internet play! In my
opinion, Internet play is the key to success in NHL 98. The AI is a bit wacky at times,
although much improved over previous versions. I found that while driving the puck on a
PowerPlay, that the computer opponents would bunch around their goals like a load of bums
in New York sitting around a can of fire. This made a PowerPlay easy, and I could score
100% of the time by simply passing to a team player, who would deflect the puck past the
goalie in for the score.
Overall:
Without a doubt, NHL 98 provides the most exclusive thrill your money can buy in the
hockey genre. Virgin's NHL PowerPlay 98 certainly provides better AI and a bit more
pizzazz in offensive war, but nothing touches the realism found in EA's NHL 98.
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Additional information
Publisher: EA Sports
OS: Win95
CPU: Pentium 90 or better
Memory: 16mb of RAM or more
CD-ROM: 4x CD-ROM or faster
Video: 1mb PCI Video card
Multiplayer: Yes
Rating: ***** (5 of 5!)
Courtesy : GamerzEdge |
