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NHL Championship 2000 (PSX) ReviewRelease Date: September 1999 Background Info
Presentation/Graphics : 83
Alternate jerseys are available at a pre-game screen, with representations offered so that you can
assure a good contrast between teams; the jerseys are up-to-date (although the player names on
Coyote alternate jerseys are in sand, not copper, which is hard to read against the green
background). The only problem with player uniforms is that it is sometimes hard to pick up
numbers and names.
The ice surface is a little disappointing. While the surfaces themselves reflect individual home
team preferences (sometimes reflecting last season's choices), the arenas themselves are generic
and the representations of the crowd sections are a little too bright. The ratio of player size to ice
dimensions is also a little off, especially behind the net, where bodies collide a little too often and
it is hard to maneuver. Oh, yes--a hard check can smash the glass. I've already targeted Ruslan
Salei and Darien Hatcher for such treatment; too bad Dale Hunter retired.
The in-game presentation is at pains to reproduce the mechanics of a televised broadcast,
complete with between-period screens, reminders about the announcing crew, and a series of post
game screens that move you toward the final sign-off. Automatic instant replays are well-placed
and help one understand (and appreciate) what just happened. The in-game cameras offer the
usual assortment of views, although it appears that the side-to-side swinging of the old PowerPlay
camera is gone.
Presentation/Audio : 86
Interface/Options : 97
Players may choose from playing a tourney (in various formats), a head-to-head series, a playoff
series (again, various lengths), or one of four season lengths. Players may also choose various
gameplay options, making the result an extremely customizable game. There are provisions for
multiplayer game and season play. There are NHL teams, North American and World All Star
squads, and sixteen international teams.
As readers of my reviews know, I'm a big stickler for roster management options. NHL
Championship 2000 just falls short of perfection. Of the hockey games presently out on the
market, Championship 2000 has the most complete and up-to-date rosters, requiring but minimal
tinkering to make them current. It also offers a deep free agent list filled with players who are
currently available (although unsigned restricted free agents such as the Coyotes' Robert Reichel
and Niki Khabibulin remain on their team rosters). There is the usual create-a-player routine.
There are only two shortcomings I have encountered with this system. First, it takes a little
patience to page through the list of free agents; that's minor. A little more irritating is the inability
to create and add players to international teams (something that was available in PowerPlay 98).
And there are no classic teams. The stats package is not quite as deep as it might be, but it's
adequate. What Radical and Fox have presented, however, should be the base standard for future
games.
Equally superb is how NHL Championship 2000 addresses coaching. Players design three overall
approaches; within each approach they can select breakout, defensive zone, offensive zone,
forechecking, and special teams tactics. Then you can adjust the overall approach in the game
(or tinker with the components of each approach). This system offers a shrewd combination of
flexibility and discipline, in that teams play according to overall systems from end to end
composed of various options. Again, the result strikes the right note. Moreover, you can change
both forward lines (four) and defense pairs (three)--which is the way this should be for all games.
But it is wise not to wait too long during a play stoppage to change strategy or lines, for the
controller does not always respond to your requests.
Only the fact that the game will eat up most of a memory card--it's far more demanding in this
regard than is its competition--and the sometimes long load times detract from the solid package
offered in Championship. Other designers would do well to study what the folks at Radical put
into this part of the game; with a few tweaks and additions, it would be as close to perfect as one
could get.
Gameplay : 95
More than any other game available on the market, NHL Championship 2000 makes you work for
your shots, especially in the slot. Shot totals are pretty realistic in ten-minute period contests;
Championship has figured out how a good defensive AI leads to a more realistic overall game.
You are going to have to work hard to forge a successful offensive game plan, but if you do,
you'll find that if you put quality shots on the net, you will score. Defenders aren't prone to let
forwards roam untouched in high-percentage scoring areas; to succeed, players are going to have
to develop their passing games. Handle the puck too long, and you'll lose it. End-to-end rushes
are infrequent, and breakaways are unusual. Sometimes the action seems a bit sluggish,
sometimes neither team is able to penetrate the opponent's end on a consistent basis. This will
frustrate people who confuse highlight films with an accurate representation of hockey.
And that is what Championship does best--it comes closer than does any other game to making
you play video hockey in a way that approximates its real-life counterpart. Games are close; a
few mistakes and you might find yourself in a deep hole. Playing attention to how you position
players, a willingness to hustle back on defense, and an ability to use the corners, the points, and
even behind the net to make plays adds to a realistic hockey experience. Juggle your lines
shrewdly, bring on fresh players when needed (something the CPU does not always do, and never
has in this series), and heed your three gameplans, and you will do well--this game is more than a
skate, pass, and shoot contest. Sure, it could be a little faster, and there could be more room to
move behind the net. But that's what sequels are for, right?
Replay Value : 84
Overall : 92
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