NHL '99
Reviewed by Scott McCall
EA Sports' N64 titles thus far have been hit and miss. One might
be a big pile of dung while another turns out to be more
impressive than you would imagine. So, of course, I was
extremely leery when I heard that NHL 99 was coming to the
N64. After all, how could it have even a fraction of the
incredible presentation (i.e., sound) of NHL 98 on the PlayStation?
Well, folks, I'm here to tell you that my fears have been
squashed, as NHL 99 on the N64 is a highly impressive debut
for EA's last dominating series.
Actually, the most disappointing fact about NHL 99 is that
the N64 version is based on last year's NHL 98, and that
means all of the improvements and changes to NHL 99 on
the PlayStation aren't included. Yes, there are updated
rosters, with the inclusion of the expansion Nashville
Predators, but you won't find the new NHL rules or Marc
Crawford's coaching drills in the N64 version. The lack of a
few features doesn't hurt a lot, but it's still a detriment,
especially since the new rules aren't "in the game."
At the heart of NHL 99 is the same great gameplay that's
been tweaked since the early '90s. Does that mean it's getting
old? Not really. The series continues to get more realistic with
better physics and better intelligence -- but it never compromises
the fast, fun gameplay. However, the NHL series has always seemed
to lack continual innovation and improvement, and NHL 99 is
noticeably thin (even on the PlayStation) in that department.
If the game wasn't so much better than every other hockey game
out there, then that might be a cause for concern.
The control in the N64 version of NHL 99 can be a little tricky
at first -- almost entirely because of the C buttons on the
controller. Like other titles from EA Sports, you have your
choice between the Control Pad and the Control Stick. Then
here's the default button scheme: The A button is for passing
and switching players. The B button is for shooting and hooking.
The Bottom C button is for a speed burst and for a body check.
The L button is for blocking shots and spinning. The Z button is
for spinning and changing your skating direction 180*. Finally,
the other three C buttons are used with strategy, and therein
lies the problem. The first few times you play, you'll accidentally
be hitting the wrong C buttons, which will change offensive
and defensive strategies or will change your line. One area of
control that I think needs improvement is just the inclusion
of a few more functions. For example, there is no icon-based
passing in the game. You just basically aim and pass. That can
lead to some unwanted inaccuracy. Also, the dumping the puck
option needs to make a comeback. They tell you to aim for the
boards to clear a puck, but that isn't always the right move for
every situation. Sometimes it would be better to just dump it.
Also, why were the fake shots and quick stops removed?
Besides the sound, a big improvement NHL 98 had over its
predecessors and competition was the superior intelligence.
Being a veteran fan of EA Sports' NHL series since the first
SNES version appeared, I can attest that NHL 98 had far and
away the best intelligence ever in a hockey game. I actually
had low scoring two-player games (10 minute periods).
Guess what? Maybe it's just me, but the intelligence in
NHL 99 seems inferior. In the one-player mode, I noticed I
scored more goals on the default Pro level of difficulty
than last year, and the All-Star difficulty seems to get
more difficult only by having the computer hooking and
holding you a lot more. So it remains to be seen whether
the intelligence was "dumbed down" for beginners (not a
wise move) or because the graphics are more sophisticated.
The game modes in NHL 99 are your basic fare. There are new
Beginner (no penalties or strategy) and Quickstart modes,
but there's also the standard Exhibition, Season, Playoff,
Tournament, and Shootout modes. Obviously, the game can
be completely customized, too. You can change the skill
level, period length, and penalty frequency, and you can toggle
fighting, offsides, icing, two-line pass, injuries, and line
changes on or off. There are also different controller configurations
(the default works best), different camera options (can be changed
mid-game), passwords for cheats, a "heavy meter" that shows
the speed of your slapshots, not to mention some management
options like editing lines, trading players, signing free agents, and
creating players.
As with Madden NFL 99, the Controller Pak, Rumble Pak, and extra
controllers come into play in NHL 99. The Controller Pak support
is set up so only one note is used (unlike Madden), but there
can be varying numbers of pages underneath that note. Here's
the way it works: Header - 2 pages, Playoffs - 24 pages,
Rosters - 20 pages, User Logs - 2 pages, Settings - 2 pages,
Tournament - 22 pages, and Season - 45 pages. So if you add
all those up, then you can see the maximum number of pages
required is 117 while the most realistic minimum would be 4
(header + settings). The Rumble Pak support is one thing that
can be improved for future versions, but the multi-player mode
already rocks. Forget Wayne Gretzky's 3D Hockey, because NHL 99
is not only more realistic but more fun.
The graphics in NHL 99 can be summed up into one word:
breathtaking. They absolutely blow away the PlayStation
version with higher polygon counts, zero blockiness, and
crisp and clear surroundings. In fact, even though the graphics
aren't high-res, they look better than Madden NFL 99. EA can
continue to work on increasing the amount of animation for
special situations, but what's here is very fluid. But the most
important thing is that the graphics are smooth and fast. As
a few side notes, I noticed the crowd is realistic looking, the
Plexiglas now has marks on it for realism, and the ice gets cut
and scratched during the course of a period.
Maybe most impressive about the N64 version of NHL 99 is the
sound. After the extremely disappointing sound in Madden NFL 99,
I expected the worst. Boy was I ever surprised. After watching
and hearing the quick-cut, full-motion video-style introduction
with high-quality rockin' music, I knew I could be in for a treat.
First, the game has slightly less than a dozen digitized song
clips throughout the game and menus. Yes, they are in mono, but
it's basically CD-quality so that's not a big deal. But second, the
in-game sound effects are in Dolby Surround Sound. That truly
makes all the difference in the world. The skating, puck, shooting,
and, most importantly, checking sound effects are loud and clear
with great separation. A big problem I had with NHL Breakaway
'98 was the tinny sound. Trust me, that's not a problem here.
But let's not kid ourselves. This is a cartridge game and not a
CD game. So the two-man commentary team of Jim Hughson
and Daryl Reaugh had to be replaced, there isn't rockin' music
during line changes, and the PA announcer has been reduced.
Instead, N64 players get in-game commentary by Bill Clement,
which is quite interesting. I guarantee you haven't heard play-by-play
like this in a video game before. The quality is perfectly fine,
but he is extremely fired up, goofy, and enthusiastic. It's quite
entertaining even if it does get repetitive. The rockin' music
during line changes has been replaced (at least it made it into
the menus) by decent organ music and some nice crowd cheers.
Finally, the PA announcer calls players by the number, not by
name. Still, when you add it all up, NHL 99 has some of the best
sound heard on the N64.
The N64 version of NHL 99 is fantastic. A few advantages it has
over the PlayStation version are much-improved graphics, a
more accessible multi-player mode, and no loading time. Sound,
which one might think would be a big disadvantage, is an
extremely pleasant surprise. So that means the PlayStation
version only has a slight sound advantage along with its features
advantage while the N64 development team plays catch-up. NHL 99
on the N64 is also light years beyond Acclaim's NHL Breakaway '98.
Acclaim has a lot of work cut out for it if it hopes to equal EA Sports'
hockey offering. But a word to the wise: Next year's edition will
definitely need more innovation and additions if EA is to continue
to dominate this sport. Get this game now.
Graphics: 4.6 out of 5
Sound: 4.7 out of 5
Control: 4.4 out of 5
Gameplay: 4.5 out of 5
Lastability: 4.7 out of 5
Overall: 4.6 out of 5