EA Sports has almost always been on the top of their game when it comes to developing superb sports titles. NHL 2001 for the PS2 on the other hand seems to have been a little rushed for launch, and maybe they should've taken a month or two longer, to adjust some slight issues. I mean, FIFA has been in Japan for over 6 months and it didn't make the launch. Not that NHL 2001 is a bad game by any means, it's just that I've played the PC version, and it still is the best version money can buy. Here's why....

Graphically the game is absolutely gorgeous. The issue I have, it's not much of an upgrade, if any, from its PC brother. Little nuances like shiny helmets and other effects are brought out, but to what consequence? You get a lot of slowdown my friends, which don't necessarily effect game play much, but does hamper the looks a bit. The slowdown mainly occurs around center ice, and it's just plain annoying. This is nothing a couple of months tweaking wouldn't have fixed. On the bright side, the character models are beautifully done and full of emotion. Heck, coaches are represented with luxurious detail. Stadium designs are some of the best to date, and while the crowd may not be up to par with Sega's games, they are lively, if only animated ever so slightly. Even the ice becomes roughed up throughout each quarter. NHL 2001 is easily the prettiest hockey game, but is marred by that touch of slowdown.

The sounds are brought to life thanks to the audio gods of EA. NHL 2001 has the best play-by-play booth out of all the sports titles. The action goes very fast, and these guys don't miss a beat. Each game is brought to you care of Dolby Surround, which lets you feel the hits from every corner of the rink. Players even gripe, talk trash, and celebrate vocally. Depending on which arenas you are playing at, you are offered organ music or between the breaks, rock music. This is very cool, as very few arenas offer the organ music, and EA of Canada knew which to put it in. Nice! No complaints here folks, the audio is top notch, no further explanation required.

Gameplay is solid as the hockey ice below your skates. Sure, it may be 3D, but it still plays as well as the old 16-bit titles if not better. You have complete control of the game, be it dekes, checks, or even penalties. You want to get thrown in the box, poke that stick out there to trip that on coming skater. The A.I. has even been bumped up past the PC version, as it's more difficult to score. You are bound to find money plays, but it'll take a while, believe me. Bottom line, this game is fun, fun, fun. You can adjust the speed of the game to your liking, which is a big plus. If you're a fan of the NHL series, you're getting the same fun as hell game, just with a major facelift! The game is a joy to play, and luckily isn't effected in the slightest by the slowdown mentioned earlier.

Normally I drool over the options that EA lays down upon me, but this is the major category that dropped this bad boy into the "B" column. I'll start off with the pathetic create-a-player. You can set up height, weight, and stats, and can see what your player looks like. But, correct me if I'm wrong, does everyone who plays a hockey game have to be white? The create-a-player allows no skin differentials in the least! The sad thing is it was offered in the PC version, you could change not only face types but skin tones as well. Another biggie that was left out was the Career or Franchise mode! Why? Even the PS1 version had this option. Unlike Madden, this game does feel first generation, but I gurantee it will get better. We'll most likely see every option desired in the next version. While it may be somewhat bare bones, it still has more options than Sega's hockey game, which is all that matters right?

So it doesn't seem I'm hampering on bashing this game, I've got to tell you, this game is a pure joy to play. I have a group of 6 that play this game weekly, and we can't get enough. I just wish I never played the PC version, because this version is more or less a direct port. Although it's still one of my favs on the system, I just expected a little more from my favorite sports developer. They took a shot at the net, and it hit the post this time. Next year guys, let's make the big score!