PlayStation 1
Released in 2000 by EA Sports
Grade: B-
It’s nothing special, especially today, but NHL 2001 is a fun, fairly balanced game, the best of EA’s skate through the 32-bit days.
Where it falls in the series
It’s the last of five on PS1. NHL 99, often hailed as the best on PS1, is terribly overrated. Even though EA had bigger concerns for 2001, moving their series up to the next generation, this game is nicely polished up.
Praises and gripes
You’ve got a fairly arcade-style brand of hockey here. There are strategy settings and an array of controls, but you don’t need to do much else other than pass, shoot, and plow dudes over. It moves at a good pace, and if you find it too slow, you can up the speed in the settings.
The graphics are choppy, but the movement and camera are both smoothed out compared to earlier versions.
The control still has issues. Players are sometimes blown around by gusts of digital wind, and it can be so touchy that you’ll struggle to gather a loose puck once or twice a game.
One-timers and rebounds still make up most of the goals, including some extremely unrealistic shots where players magically receive a pass coming from an awkward angle and fire it with ease. The AI does a decent job creating a lot of chaos on the ice, with defenders ready to knock you down everywhere you go, and your teammates are well positioned to help you navigate your way into a scoring chance.
I don’t strongly recommend any games in PS1’s NHL series. They seemed revered at the time but have aged badly. If you need to quench a PS1 hockey thirst, I’d suggest NHL FaceOff over any EA game. There’s also NHL Open Ice: 2-on-2 Challenge for some wild, stupid fun.