Definetly one of the more memorable updates in EA Sports NHL (EASN) history!
The question seems to be whether or now owners of EA Hockey should dish out the dosh on this new game? Well, we here at Megazone think that there are enough new features to keep pros of the first title occupied for quite some time, but I've heard other comments stating otherwise. The new features are a harder goalie who lunges at the offending puck, new stats at the end of the game, real players named for goals and the penalties which is major joy!
One of the best things about EA Hockey was the sound effects, and now they've added more crowd noise to add to the realism. The sound of the crowd booing at an injury sounds totally real and an unsuccessful slap shot attempt leaves the crowd on the edge of their seat! But the sound of the puck hitting the ice sux in this version. (what went wrong there EA?) The new title music isn’t done nearly as well and the absence of Rob Hubbard is painfully obvious.
The new stats tell all from players rankings, goals scored, assists, shots on goal and more. The play itself is all the same but scoring needs a totally new approach with the new athletic goalie in place, as most goals scored are by fluke. The fights now move across the screen with fellow players rumpling in the background at the same time. The screen shows those involved in the donny brook! (the crowd peaked at a huge 1 69db when Gretzky flattened Lemieux!) The replays remain untouched bar the new feature that follows one player alone. Better highlights show more than just goals, but besides that there really isn't any other new elements. My only gripes are the slow speed but that was probably due to the USA copy which is meant for a faster machine. I'm also upset at them not including a real match’s season but of a wimpy round robin mode instead. And maybe it is too similar in some ways to EA Hockey, but these petty complaints don't affect the end result. So while it's not incredibly different, die hard fans of the original will want to be in possession of a copy. And if you're without a Mega Drive ice hockey game then NHLPA is the haps, it's almost as good as the real thing on TV. In fact you probably won't know difference Puck up a copy today!
Brian Costelloe
As printed in Megazone Feb/ Mar ‘93