NHL 2K2

Posted Mar 8, 2002 by TBO.com

Updated Sep 11, 2007 at 11:32 AM

System: Sega Dreamcast

Publisher: Sega

Reviewer’s rating: B

Game type: Sports

Kind of like: “NHL 2002”

Best feature: You can pick up and play right away, then work on advanced controls (dekes, saucer passes, shot blocking) after you’ve mastered the basics.

Worst feature: It’s the very last Dreamcast game scheduled for release. (Oh, and you can’t fire coach John Tortorella.) Sigh.

The bottom line: Hockey returns at long last to the Dreamcast with “NHL 2K2,” just in time for the regular season’s home stretch, the console’s last gasp and (Sega hopes) to capitalize on the sport’s popularity at the Olympics.

There is an international mode, by the way, but this game reflects the North American style with plenty of physical contact and relatively few goals. Of course, having Nikolai Khabibulin standing on his head every game doesn’t hurt.

The benefit of coming to market this late in the season is that the team rosters are completely up-to-date, including rookies (the Bolts’ lineup includes Jimmie Olvestad, Sheldon Keefe and Nikita Alexeev, among others) and recent acquisitions (Dan Boyle and Zdeno Ciger are there, too; you’ll have to deal Kevin Weekes to Carolina for Shane Willis and Chris Dingman yourself).

Of course, there’s a great create-a-player feature in case you need it. (Dieter Kochan, anyone?)

Once you’re on the ice, “NHL 2K2’s” gameplay doesn’t seem appreciably different from that of its two-year-old predecessor (“NHL 2K”). Basic controls are tight, responsive and easy to learn. The player and puck physics are every bit as realistic as the artificial intelligence.

Individual players’ strengths and weaknesses are supposed to mirror their real-life counterparts, so Lightning winger Fredrik Modin has a huge slapshot and defenseman Pavel Kubina skates like he’s got a refrigerator strapped to his back. There are exceptions, of course (blueliner Jassen Cullimore, as in real life, is vastly underrated), but if you’re familiar with your team you should be able to effectively pick lines and set up game strategies.

The game’s presentation is disappointing only in comparison to other top-notch Sega sports titles, such as “NFL 2K2” and “NBA 2K2,” where the graphics and player animations are disturbingly lifelike. (Here, they’re merely very good.) The crowd noise is just plain lame and the TV-style announcers’ commentary tends to lag behind the action even when they’re repeating the same lines ad infinitum (including outdated — and erroneous — “factoids” about erstwhile Lightning players and the team’s former arenas).

Still, few sports translate as well as hockey to the video game arena and “NHL 2K2” is as fun to play as they come. Besides, how can you pass up the chance to take the Lightning to the Stanley Cup finals? It’s amazing what you can do with no payroll restrictions.