NHL 2001
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''NHL 2001'' is a
video game A video game or computer game is an electronic game that involves interaction with a user interface or input device (such as a joystick, game controller, controller, computer keyboard, keyboard, or motion sensing device) to generate visual fe ...
released by
Electronic Arts Electronic Arts Inc. (EA) is an American video game company headquartered in Redwood City, California. Founded in May 1982 by former Apple Inc., Apple employee Trip Hawkins, the company was a pioneer of the early home computer game industry ...
in 2000. It is the successor to ''
NHL 2000 ''NHL 2000'' is an ice hockey video game developed by Electronic Arts Canada. It was released in 1999 and was the successor to '' NHL 99''. Gameplay A season mode (later developed into a Franchise mode) with a retirement feature, drafting, and ...
''. An add-on featuring Elitserien and
SM-Liiga The Liiga, colloquially called the Finnish Elite League in English or FM-ligan in Swedish, is the top professional ice hockey league in Finland. The league comprises 16 teams from all around Finland with relegation and promotion between the Mest ...
was released on the PC version on March 8, 2001, that added Swedish and Finnish hockey leagues and teams to the game. It is the tenth installment of the NHL series, the final to be released on
PlayStation is a video gaming brand owned and produced by Sony Interactive Entertainment (SIE), a division of Japanese conglomerate Sony. Its flagship products consists of a series of home video game consoles produced under the brand; it also consists ...
, and the first to be released on
PlayStation 2 The PlayStation 2 (PS2) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Sony Interactive Entertainment, Sony Computer Entertainment. It was first released in Japan on 4 March 2000, in North America on 26 October, in Europe on 24 Novembe ...
.


Gameplay

Jim Hughson Jim Hughson (born October 9, 1956) is a retired Canadian sportscaster, best known for his play-by-play of the National Hockey League. He was the lead play-by-play commentator for the ''NHL on Sportsnet'' from 2014 to 2021 and ''Hockey Night in C ...
remains as play-by-play announcer in the game, with
Bill Clement William H. Clement (born December 20, 1950) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player who became an author, speaker, actor, entrepreneur, and hockey broadcaster. Clement played 11 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) and was n ...
joining as an analyst for a second time, debuting in the previous edition, ''
NHL 2000 ''NHL 2000'' is an ice hockey video game developed by Electronic Arts Canada. It was released in 1999 and was the successor to '' NHL 99''. Gameplay A season mode (later developed into a Franchise mode) with a retirement feature, drafting, and ...
''. This is also the first NHL game to appear on the
PlayStation 2 The PlayStation 2 (PS2) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Sony Interactive Entertainment, Sony Computer Entertainment. It was first released in Japan on 4 March 2000, in North America on 26 October, in Europe on 24 Novembe ...
and also to include
Latvia Latvia, officially the Republic of Latvia, is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is one of the three Baltic states, along with Estonia to the north and Lithuania to the south. It borders Russia to the east and Belarus to t ...
and
Ukraine Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...
to the 18 national teams first featured in ''
NHL 98 ''NHL 98'' is an ice hockey video game developed by EA Canada. It was released in 1997 and was the successor to ''NHL 97''. It was the last installment of the NHL (video game series), NHL series to be released on the SNES, Sega Genesis, or Sega Sa ...
'' (only available in the PC and PlayStation 2 versions). There is also a brand new feature called the Momentum Bar, which goes to the team who has scored goals, done big hits, etc.


Expansion

An expansion pack for the PC version of ''NHL 2001'' including the Swedish and Finnish elite leagues was released in early 2001, titled ''Elitserien 2001'' (''SM-Liiga 2001'' in Finland). It includes all 12 teams from Elitserien and all 13 teams from
SM-Liiga The Liiga, colloquially called the Finnish Elite League in English or FM-ligan in Swedish, is the top professional ice hockey league in Finland. The league comprises 16 teams from all around Finland with relegation and promotion between the Mest ...
at the time. It also includes new intro play-by-play by Arne Hegerfors in Swedish, and Mika Saukkonen in Finnish. And new arena announcers by Magnus Gustafsson in Swedish, and Pentti Lindegren in Finnish. The cover athlete on ''Elitserien 2001'' is
Henrik Zetterberg Henrik Zetterberg (; born 9 October 1980) is a Swedish former professional ice hockey forward. He played his entire National Hockey League career, from 2002 to 2018, with the Detroit Red Wings of the National Hockey League. Bursting onto the ...
of
Timrå IK Timrå IK is a professional Swedish ice hockey team based in Timrå, north of Sundsvall. It competes in the Swedish Hockey League (SHL), which is the top-tier league in Sweden, since being promoted by winning 2021 SHL qualifiers. Previous sea ...
, and the cover athlete on ''SM-Liiga 2001'' is
Raimo Helminen Raimo Ilmari Helminen (born 11 March 1964 in Tampere, Finland) is a Finnish former professional ice hockey player. He is often called "Raipe" or "Maestro" by his fans. He is the world record holder for most international games played by a hockey p ...
of
Ilves Tampereen Ilves, commonly known as Ilves, (; Finnish language, Finnish for "Eurasian lynx, Lynx") is a Finnish professional ice hockey team based in Tampere. They play in the Liiga at the Nokia Arena (Tampere), Nokia Arena. The colors of Ilves, ...
.


Reception

The PC version received "universal acclaim", while the PlayStation and PlayStation 2 versions received "generally favorable reviews", according to the
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website
Metacritic Metacritic is an American website that aggregates reviews of films, television shows, music albums, video games, and formerly books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created ...
. Emmett Schkloven of ''
X-Play ''Xplay'' (previously ''GameSpot TV'', ''Extended Play'', and ''X-Play'') was a television program about video games. The program, known for its reviews and comedy skits, aired on G4 in the United States and has aired on '' G4 Canada'' in Canada ...
'' gave the PS2 version four stars out of five and stated, "EA has spent a lot of effort making ''NHL 2001'' accessible to newcomers and non-hockey fanatics. Easier controls, clean gameplay and a fast, slick interface all contribute to the company's success in this endeavor. Fortunately, the depth and realism that make hockey lovers like myself such fans of the franchise have not been sacrificed. The game is not as flawless as it could be, but it is damn close. And it's still only launch year." Jim Preston of '' NextGen'' said, "EA's first NHL effort on Playstation 2 'sic''is almost as deep as it is pretty." Clayton Crooks of ''
AllGame RhythmOne , a subsidiary of Nexxen, is an American digital advertising technology company that owns and operates the web properties AllMusic, AllMovie, and SideReel. Blinkx was founded in 2004, went public on the Alternative Investment Market, ...
'' gave the PC version four-and-a-half stars out of five and said, "Hockey fans are sure to enjoy ''NHL 2001''. It offers impressive (albeit repetitive) audio, superb graphics and animation to go along with exciting gameplay and fans of both arcade and simulation-style sports games should be able to find some aspect to enjoy. Online play, customizable rosters that are available for download from the Internet and multiple season modes make this a game that should occupy the hard drive for a long time, at least until the next version is released." Matt Grandstaff of the same website gave the PlayStation version four stars, saying that it was "a better game than its PS2 counterpart. Even though it lacks some of the many customizations available in the PS2 version and is an ugly duckling in comparison, gamers looking for the most authentic hockey action for the 2000-2001 season should go with the PS version -- even if they own a PS2." However, Terry Chung gave the PS2 version three stars, calling it "a worthy attempt at bringing the series to a 128-bit system, but with a few minor problems that need to be worked out, it should have been sent down to the minors for some reconditioning before coming back up." Kevin "BIFF" Giacobbi of ''GameZone'' gave the PC version a perfect ten, calling it "a must have". Kevin Krause later gave the PlayStation 2 version 9.3 out of 10, calling it "a great game overall and the innovative new features put it yet another step ahead of the pack. My recommendation? Pick this one up!" John Marrin of ''
GamePro ''GamePro'' was an American multiplatform video game magazine media company that published online and print content covering the video game industry, video game hardware and video game software. The magazine featured content on various video ...
'' said that the PC version "isn't perfect, but it's about as close as EA has come in the past. The coaching strategies, gameplay options, and superb graphics make this one sports experience that PC gamers should be thankful for." Human Tornado said in one ''GamePro'' review that the PlayStation version "keeps its lead over
Sony is a Japanese multinational conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered at Sony City in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. The Sony Group encompasses various businesses, including Sony Corporation (electronics), Sony Semiconductor Solutions (i ...
's '' NHL FaceOff'', but every year, that gap gets smaller. Still, ''NHL 2001'' has better controls and coaching strategies, and the plethora of options rounds out this excellent hockey package. ''NHL 2001'' takes this year's PlayStation Championship, but it was a tight seven game showdown." In another ''GamePro'' review, Air Hendrix said of the same console version, "If you're not a huge hockey fan, ''NHL 2001'' is similar enough to its 2000 edition that you may be content with that version. For the hockey hardcore, the tuned A.I. and new features make ''NHL 2001'' the only game in town." The former author said in one ''GamePro'' review, "''NHL 2001'' for the PS2 is one of the finest console sports games ever to ship. The sweet gameplay, delicious game options, intense graphics, and jamming audio make it a fantastic hockey simulation, and one of the best games to ship for the PS2 on launch day." In another ''GamePro'' review, the latter author said of the same PlayStation 2 version, "All told, ''NHL 2001'' is an impressive example of next-gen sports action, ranking it as one of the new system's best titles. If you were lucky enough to score a PS2 at launch, make sure you grab a copy of this gem to go with it." The PS2 version was a runner-up for ''
GameSpot ''GameSpot'' is an American video gaming website that provides news, reviews, previews, downloads, and other information on video games. The site was launched on May 1, 1996, created by Pete Deemer, Vince Broady, and Jon Epstein. In addition ...
''s annual "Best PlayStation 2 Game" award, which went to ''
SSX ''SSX'' (standing for "Snowboard Supercross") is a series of Snowboarding video games, snowboarding video games Video game publisher, published by EA Sports, created by Steve Rechtschaffner, who is the inventor of the Olympic Games, Olympic snow ...
''. In the same way the PC version was a runner-up for the website's annual "Sports Game of the Year" award, which went to ''
FIFA 2001 ''FIFA 2001'' (known as ''FIFA 2001: Major League Soccer'' in North America and ''FIFA 2001: World Championship'' in Japan) is a football simulation video game and the sequel to '' FIFA 2000''. It was succeeded by '' FIFA Football 2002''. It feat ...
''. The same PC version won the award for Sports Game of the Year at the '' CNET Gamecenter'' Computer Game Awards for 2000. The staff of ''
Computer Games Magazine ''Computer Games Magazine'' was a monthly computer and console gaming print magazine, founded in October 1988 as the United Kingdom publication ''Games International''. During its history, it was known variously as ''Strategy Plus'' (October 1 ...
'' nominated the same PC version for their 2000 "Sports Game of the Year" award, whose winner remains unknown. It was a runner-up for "Sports Game of 2000" in both Editors' Choice and Readers' Choice at ''
IGN ''IGN'' is an American video gaming and entertainment media website operated by IGN Entertainment Inc., a subsidiary of Ziff Davis, Inc. The company's headquarters is located in San Francisco's SoMa district and is headed by its former e ...
''s Best of 2000 Awards.


Notes


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Nhl 2001 2000 video games EA Sports games Electronic Arts games Multiplayer and single-player video games NHL (video game series) Page 44 Studios games PlayStation (console) games PlayStation 2 games Video games developed in Canada Video games scored by Mike Reagan Video games scored by Rom Di Prisco Video games set in 2000 Video games set in 2001 Video games set in Canada Video games set in the United States Windows games