Product Info
Publisher : ESPN Digital Games
Platforms : PC,Playstation
Release Date : Cancelled

ESPN Digital Games will be releasing National Hockey Night this coming fall. National Hockey Night will be very similar to the Powerplay series; however, it will be presented in a different way: ESPN style.

National Hockey Night will have "Plays of the Week" highlight footage and "Breakdown" segments giving detailed insight into the game or specific player. The game will also have their well-known "Did You Know?" segments. The "Did You Know?" segment will include hockey trivia and statistics. ESPN will reportedly have an ESPN SportsTicker that feeds live sports updates.

SportsCenter anchor Steve Levy and ESPN hockey analyst Gary Thorne will be calling the games. National Hockey Night will feature more than 650 real NHL player faces and 170 full animations. The game will include elaborate goalie saves, glass-shattering checks and custom team and player goal celebrations.

There will be a feature called 'Old-Time Hockey Game Play' which will allow you to select any two teams that are rivals with each other and have them go at it head-to-head. For those of you who are familiar with college football games, this will be similiar to NCAA 98's and 99's Rival feature.

Instant replays are shown after each goal to show you either how you gave up the goal or so you can admire how you got the puck out of the goalie's reach. National Hockey Night will also play back big bone crushing checks and provide player spotlights and analysis on the NHL's brightest stars.

Gameplay should be extremely realistic throughout a season, as players who normally do well in the post-reason will be tougher to stop in the playoffs. There will also be an option for a two-button controller mode if eight-button is too much for a beginner.

By: James C. 8/10/98