NHL 200 is by far the best ice hockey game ever made. What makes it so good? The detail. Every little thing about hockey is in this game. When people walk in they really do think I'm watching a hockey game on the computer. They thought the same when I played NHL99 on the 64, but now even moreso. I usually don't talk about graphics, but damn. I love my new computer this 3D stuff is so cool. I got a score above 2000 on 3dmark 2000 with 1024x768x32. NHL2000 takes full advantage of it. If someone scores a goal their photograph is shown on the score pop up. Look at that player and they look exactly the same! Beards, eye colors, noses, everything is the same. There is also an option in the full version to put your own faces on guys. How come half-life doesn't have that? GOOOOOOOOAL by Apreche! yeah.

So anyway NHL2000 has tons of little things you have to pay attention to get. First the people in the crowd move. All the other games I've seen have had still or repeat animation crowds. This crowd really works. Also people who set of goal alarms and other things are rendered in so you can see what they are doing during instant replay. Instant replay still gives full camera control which is more fickle than previous, but there is a screenshot button so you don't have to stop while playing to get good pix. Also There is a new deke button this button also produces monster hits. Which by the way cause the glass to wobble and even break. I can't remember but I think I once checked a guy into his benches. And he went into his benches. I believe the coaches change with team and the refs are real NHL refs. The ice degrades as the period progresses and the goalies have gatorade. The gatorade bottles go flying away if you score a goal and hit the top of the net. Also all the players have the same type of stick they really use. The announcer is still annoying, but you can still shut him off. Also you can leave the PA system on now even though the announcer is off. You can make noises after goals and get into huge brawls. Also the refs review goals that are questionable instead of an instantaneous dissalowed goal message.

Despite all this attention to detail NHL2000 is not a hockey simulation. It is nothing like a real game of hockey. If you put it on easy you score 100 goals in a game. If you put it on hard the they score 100 goals a game. If you put it on medium nobody scores any goals. The best way to play would be to get a Gravis Gamepad Pro USB. My non USB gamepad broke, so I'm gonna get me one of them. It's just like a playstation controller. Anyway I've only played the demo, but experts agree. If you look at the other hockey games out there nothing compares. If you know anyone who likes hockey and video games get them NHL2000 for the PC or other system. PC is the best though.

As you can see there is a picture of a guy gettin hit into the bench. The other guy is getting hit in the middle of the ice. He loses his helmet and keeps going. The helmet will stay on the ice until play stops. The same goes with sticks. The crows only come to life visually at certain times mostly on the sides behind the benches. Also the graphics are shinier, these are jpgs, tgas are too big, but they're pretty.

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