GAME NAME: NHL ’99
ESRB RATING: E for Everyone. Content suitable for those 6 years or older.
THEME: Ice hockey
PLAYERS: Up to 8
DEVELOPED BY: EA Sports
PUBLISHED BY: Electronic Arts
COMMENTS: Here’s some hockey action so real you can almost feel your teeth getting smashed out as you play. Everyone wondered how EA Sports would top NHL ’98—well, they did. There are also several enhancements, such as movies and the Shot Meter, which monitors the strength of a shot. And there’s a much improved CPU opponent to play against.
NHL ’99 features six modes of play, from Beginner, which features a more relaxed game without coaching strategies, line changes, and penalties, to a full season that ends in the Stanley Cup. Naturally, all 27 NHL teams are supplied along with enough options to create dream teams and weird teams. As for the arenas themselves, they are as detailed as anything you’ll find. Take a moment out from the action to check out the center ice logos, championship banners, and luxury boxes. There’s also the option of either a 26- or 82-game season that goes into the playoffs, though those who are less patient can hit the playoffs right away for a series that can last from one to seven games. There is even a quick start mode that features a video rematch of the Detroit Red Wings and Washington Capitals battle for the 1998 Stanley Cup.
Other modes of play include an Olympic mode where you play for bronze, silver, and gold honors and a shootout mode where you can go one-on-one as goalie or shooter. And yes, you can check, fight, and skate backward.
Now, here’s the thing. Former Colorado Avalanche coach Marc Crawford (remember him? Stanley Cup winner in ’96 ring any bells?) designed the strategies for the game, and they are good. You can access them from the strategy menu in the start menu. However, you are not locked into the strategies he provides. The strategy menu contains controls for “offensive” and “defensive” pressure. If you naturally play offensively, you can turn the offensive pressure down a bit and turn the defensive pressure up. Get it? You’re going to have to practice a bit to find your best levels, but the extra effort is worth it.
Now, we all know that there’s no reason to fight, but for the sake of realism, fights are possible in this game. Find a player from your team who rates high in aggressiveness as an attribute. Repeatedly body-check a player from the opposing team who also rates high in aggressiveness. Then you might have a fight on your hands. So, now you know how to avoid fights, right? Never ever have one of your highly aggressive players body check a highly aggressive opponent.
The other thing you never want to do is take unfair advantage of someone who knows nothing about hockey, right? I mean, suppose some teams were just better than other teams in the league. That would mean you could pick the best team and have your opponent pick the worst team. You’d have an unfair advantage, right? Well, for the benefit of those who are simply curious, the programmers made the Detroit Red Wings the best team in the NHL while the United States and Canadian teams are the best in the national competitions. Teams that you might want to give to an opponent are: New York Islanders, Boston Bruins, Ottawa Senators, Tampa Bay Lightning, Nashville Predators, or Los Angeles Kings.
Now, the last bit of advice on hockey’s good sportsmanship tradition. After making a goal, it’s always good to act dignified, quiet, and never ever make your opponent feel bad that he didn’t score a goal. After all, it doesn’t matter who scored a goal, as long as somebody on some team did. Dignity, humility, and good sportsmanship are long traditions in the game of hockey. See the following codes to find out how to avoid rubbing a goal in your opponent’s face.
One other strategy tip is that regardless of how good you are at other hockey games, the creases are smaller on this one. No, there isn’t a crease shortage, but rather a change in NHL rules that make the real creases smaller.
Codes:
All codes should be entered at the Password screen.
Alternate Jerseys (if available): 3RD
Big Head Mode: BRAINY
Big Player Mode: BIGBIG
EA And EA Storm Teams: FREEEA
EA blade Team Enter: EAEAO
Exterior Stadium Sequences: Enter DET as a password for Detroit, BOS as a password for Boston, and so on, using three letters to abbreviate cities.
Faster Game Play Enter: SPEED
No Goalies Enter: PULLED
View Stanley Cup Movie Sequence Enter: VICTORY
More Codes:
These aren’t exactly good-sport codes.
Klaxon Sound: After defeating an opposing player in a fight, press Triangle.
Optional Scoring Sounds: After scoring a goal, enter Triangle, Square, Circle, or X.
GAME NAME: NHL FACE-OFF ’99
ESRB RATING: E for Everyone. Content suitable for those 6 years or older.
THEME: Ice Hockey
PLAYERS: 1 or 2
DEVELOPED BY: Sony Computer Entertainment
PUBLISHED BY: Sony
COMMENTS: Serious video hockey players will either go with NHL ’99 or NHL Face-Off ’99. It’s just that simple. Both have awesome engines that deliver incredible realism. The play in NHL Face-Off ’99 might be a little too quick for some players, but it’s easily turned down. And the camera angle set in default is a little tricky, but it’s easily changed to one of the other four positions. Other than that, this is a near-perfect game. It returns with the icons for passing and shooting, which make the game more playable. And the graphics are so realistic on this bad boy that you actually can see the glass shake after a check and make out the features on players’ faces. The game also includes commentary from ESPN’s Darren Pang and Devils’ announcer Mike Emrick.
Tip:
Poke check is Left 1 and cross check is Right 1. The poke check is the safer of the two. Use the cross check only when absolutely desperate to defend against a goal.
Tricks:
Awesome Player: Go to the Create a Player screen and enter the first name of any of the game’s developers to get an unbeatable player.
GAME NAME: NHL: ROCK THE RINK
ESRB RATING: E for Everyone. Content suitable for those 6 years or older.
THEME: Hockey! Hockey! Hockey!
PLAYERS: 1 or 2
DEVELOPED BY: Electronic Arts
PUBLISHED BY: Electronic Arts
COMMENTS: If you think that hockey has gotten too tame and turned into a little girls’ game, then this is the video for you. We’re talking no-holds-barred hockey. This is hockey the way it wasn’t meant to be played.
On the other hand, if you’re a hockey purist—who thinks that rules in hockey are meant to be followed—then this isn’t the game for you. This is closer to mayhem than sport.
The game features a fast-paced four-on-four match where you play to high score and not against a clock. And, there are no penalties. None. Nada. Zip. That’s no penalties as in “no penalties.” Am I making myself clear? Good. Then just let me say, there are no penalties.
Secret Codes:
To unlock these codes, you have to start a new game and go to New User screen. Then enter the codes as the New User name. Ya got that?
Bailey: To Access NHL Teams
No (space) Chance: Sound Test
Power (space) Slam: Unlock All Boards