Sigh...
Just a few days ago I was raving about NHL '94 for the old Genesis system. I got too excited and splurged on a NHL 2002 cart. Ok, that was a big mistake. Let's just get to the heart of the matter. If you read my
NHL '94 review you'll see what I'm talking about on what makes that game succeed where others might fail. Well, EA screwed it all up in this version.
First, they mucked up the gameplay. The speed of the game is now ridiculously fast. I'm serious here. I clocked Keith Primeau as going from end line to end line in 2.75 seconds without using a speed burst. Ridiculous! How can you set anything up when players are flying all over the screen? Take into account you're on a portable system that might or might not have an unusually dark screen. That just stinks. Why did you change this?
Second, they mucked with the physics. Pucks now don't follow the path they are logically going to go. Also the players don't skate properly. I'm not the best skater in the world, but I know accurate skating when I see it. NHL 2002 just doesn't have it. I'm sorry, but when you have a "stop" button, you know something's wrong. All I had to do in NHL '94 to stop was press the pad in the opposite direction I was going and I had a nice wave of snowy ice shoot from my skates as I skidded to a stop. Here the logical stopping direction is really bad. Add in the faster pace and it's impossible to control your guy. Turning isn't logical either. I frequently found myself slamming into the goalie for an interference call when any real NHL player could pull off the turns I was doing. Even the players in the AHL game I saw the other week could skate like this. Dumb EA! Really Dumb! (Can you tell how mad I am yet?)
They mucked with the sound. Gone is the amusing organ music. Added is this annoying voice over which calls penalties and when the one-minute mark is coming. This voice is not clear whatsoever. They also added menu music, which I can't tell what it is. I know the speakers are bad on the Gameboy Advance, but not this bad. I mean other games cope well, but EA just gave up here.
Finally, they mucked with the difficulty settings. Now I don't mind losing in sports games. It doesn't happen much, but I can control my emotion. However, I lost my first game 5-1 on novice difficulty. I think something's wrong when you lose that badly in a game when you're familiar and highly successful with their previous franchise games ... in the novice difficulty. It probably has more to do with the other factors I mentioned (except the sound), but that's just wrong. I know if I work hard I can get better and see the same success, but that doesn't exactly inspire much replay value.
For Those of you I've Lost ...
Ok, many of the people out there who haven't read my
NHL '94 review are probably wondering what I'm ranting and raving about. Well, luckily I've regain some of my composure and will tell you what this game is about and if there's anything actually good about it.
NHL 2002 is a hockey game for the Gameboy Advance platform. It features all the NHL teams, players, and logos from the 2001-2002 NHL season. There are 3 different modes you can play. There's preseason mode where you can match two of any teams (even the same one) including all-star rosters against each other. In season mode you can play a full NHL season that consists of roughly 82 games. You can make trades, release and sign players in this mode as well. If you win enough season games you qualify for the playoffs and compete for the Stanley Cup. If you don't wish to play 82 games, you can jump right to the playoffs from the main menu. Here you can play in one of two playoff formats. There's single elimination where if you win you move on, but if you lose you're out of the playoffs. The other mode is the traditional best of 7 series where the first team to win 4 games in the series moves on in the playoff bracket. These modes make the game more enjoyable and enhance the replay value.
The game itself has many features you would normally find in a typical hockey game. You'll see checking, holding, injuries, penalties, fighting, power plays, line changes and everything you can imagine. The penalties and many rules like off sides and line changes can be turned on and off before you start the game. This helps to adjust the gameplay either to a more arcade feel or to make it more of a simulation.
Graphics, Controls and Sound
The graphics I believe are a downgrade from previous versions of the game. Players all look too skinny. They remind me of the Skinny Guy in Ice Hockey for the old Nintendo. The puck looks smaller, which is kind of hard to follow especially with the faster gameplay. The color scheme is much more pale and the colors aren't as vibrant. It's like they were going for realism, but went way too overboard. Sometimes capturing the glare of the ice doesn't quite add to the experience.
The controls remain faithful to the old Genesis and Super Nintendo versions, adding a new option to what I'm used to. On offense, you can pass, shoot, there's a button to stop (more on that), and there's a new spin button. The stop button and spin button are both shoulder buttons. On defense, there's a button for checking that doubles as a speed burst, another is to switch players which doubles as a poke check (more on that button too), and the left shoulder button hooks and/or holds. My main issue with the button mapping is that on defense they don't utilize the right shoulder button when it really would help. I mentioned this in my
NHL '94 review that your switch player button can poke check when you don't want it to and visa versa. The control of the players themselves is a major issue, but I already ranted about that. The only addition to my rant is this. There's a button for stopping. You didn't need that in the older versions of the NHL series.
I already ranted about the sound earlier, however I will say that most of the other sounds remain. The skating, stick work, shots and crowd reaction are all there. They are a little muffled, but I'll blame that on the awful Gameboy Advance speaker. Overall, I have to say that it's a downgrade from previous versions.
Lesson Learned
The big lesson learned here is that some reviews don't convey what your thoughts and feelings would be on a particular game. My thoughts aren't exactly the norm. Many people liked it and more power to them. NHL 2002 got some decent reviews, ones I'd expect from a retread from an outdated but pretty successful franchise. However as I was poking around some more, I was wondered why there was no NHL 2003 for Gameboy Advance. Now I know. I wish I would have known sooner.
