What people search:
 | Title : NHL 2K2
Author : Sega of America, Inc.
Release Date : 20020217
Binding : CD-ROM
Regular Price : $
Amazon.com Price : $12.24
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Editorial Reviews :
It's a shame that the Dreamcast went the way of the dodo, because by the end of its reign it was the undisputed king of sports titles, as games like NHL 2K2 prove. This sequel to Sega's NHL 2K improves on its flawed predecessor in every way to emerge as arguably the best overall hockey simulation on any platform.
The key word is simulation. There are no arcade trappings to be found here. The pace is toned down to match the speed of the real sport, goals are infrequent and hard-won, and the offensive and defensive strategies come straight from the hockey textbooks. The graphics are excellent, and special note must be made of the phenomenal animation for everything from the players to the spinning puck (which flips end-over-end after particularly aggressive slap shots and careens realistically off any object it encounters). Beginners will have an easy enough time warming up to the controls in the default mode, but much more depth is offered by switching to the advanced control layout. Here, button combos make nearly any trick possible, from dekes and precise shot control to hooks and side steps. The more you put into the game, the more it rewards you, and the enhanced AI makes single-player games nearly as challenging as a multiplayer match.
Everything from an exhibition mode to a full-blown career mode is offered, and plenty of options exist for adjusting penalties, toggling rules, and setting the overall speed of the game. There's no way to turn it into an over-the-top arcade experience like NHL Hitz, but as the focus here is strictly on simulation, that's not really a problem. As it stands, NHL 2K2 is among the best sports games ever released, and we can think of no more fitting swan song for the Dreamcast.
Buyer Reviews :
I just finished watching the first match-up between USA and Russian in the 2002 Olympics, a great 2-2 tie. Then I popped in NHL 2K2 and played those 2 teams against each other. This game is right up-to-date. The rosters for the Olympic teams are right on the money, as are the uniforms. This is true for all the NHL teams as well of course. I have been playing this game non-stop since I got it and I can tell you it must be the greatest hockey game ever made.
I thought NHL 2K was a good game, fun at first, but it left me kind of dry before long. NHL 2K2 improves in every single category. Actually, improves is perhaps the wrong word, since this game was rebuilt from the ground up, this time by Virtual Concepts, the powerhouse developer behind Sega Sports 2K1 and 2K2 titles. Right off the bat you can see that the graphics have come a very long way. Players look really good, well mapped, and the ice looks and reflects beautifully. Collision detection is exceptional, the controls are smooth, and most importantly - the game plays like hockey.
I can't stress the importance of that last point enough. I find there are 2 kinds of sports games - the simulation games and the games that sacrifice realism for more fun gameplay. I would say NHL 2K2 the best simulation to date, but doesn't lose anything in the way of gameplay. In other words, it plays great and looks like real hockey. To get the puck in the net, you will have to make realistic hockey plays - no problem because the controls are really solid, and the players you don't control play good hockey (great AI).
Speaking of AI, the goalie AI has come a very long way. They act and move incredibly like their real-life counterparts. The computer is no longer overly-inclined to hold onto the puck, giving the game a much freer flow and realism. The good goalies mean you won't be scoring 30 goals in a game. I find too many arcade-style hockey games to be a simple contest of who can mash the puck in the opposite end the most times, resulting in unrealistic scores. In this game you earn your goal by playing hockey and the realness of it just makes each of those fewer goals more special, brimming with replay value.
And wow, that replay value is high, because collision detection is so good. The sticks are really hitting the pucks, rather than the puck being led to and from the stick by some magnetic magic that exists in so many hockey games.
As for the commentators, they are a huge improvement over those in NHL 2K and quite good, non-repetitive compared to most sports titles. Overall, the sounds is very impressive.
So here is finally a hockey game with stellar controls. Play with the simple controls and you will play great hockey, but there's a ton of tricks and extra controls to learn in time that give the game amazing realism and depth. It is graphically beautiful, fun to play, easy to get started, lots to master. The final game for this beloved system is the finest hockey game yet!
(by anothermonkey)
Features/Technical Specs :
* All new gameplay modes
* Revamped graphics engine
* Improved player and team AI
* Take your team to the Stanley Cup in Franchise Mode
* Also includes International Team Mode
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