PlayStation 2
Released in 2002 by 989 Sports
Grade: D+
This game has a laundry list of my pet peeves for hockey video games and a few problems I didn’t know could exist.
Where it falls in the series
FaceOff has an unusual PS2 run, starting with FaceOff 2001, no-showing 2002, and then this. Sony/989 no-showed 2004 and returned with new branding but similarly bad results for Gretzky NHL 2005 and Gretzky NHL 06. You have to go back to the original NHL FaceOff on PS1 for the best entry in the series.
Praises and gripes
Let’s get the stupid positivity out of the way. The game moves fast and (at times) smooth. Passes are quick and can get through defenders, allowing for some nifty needle threading. The graphics are nice and glossy compared to the previous version.
Okay, now it’s time to complain! This game is wack!
The collision detection is horribly inaccurate, and coupled with some strange game logic, it’s a mess. Not only can you make devastating checks from behind a moving player (pet peeve #1), but you can check from well behind a moving player. When someone collects the puck, there’s usually a herky-jerk teleportation as he skates away.
Goalies are like brick walls (pet peeve #2), making scores few and far between even on the middle difficulty settings. Defenders allow plenty of breakaways (pet peeve #3), but you can’t score on them anyway.
It’s hard to see what’s happening on quick one-timers or rebound opportunities (pet peeve #4), so you’ll probably smash the shoot button instead of learning a more finesse-centric strategy.
The puck/ice physics are hilariously bad (pet peeve #5), and you’ll see the puck gliding forever with no slowdown. Even the CPU-controlled players seem puzzled by this, constantly skating to the puck as it glides out of their reach.
Goalies are clumsy when handling and passing the puck (pet peeve #6), so it’s best to hold it and settle for a faceoff, stopping play in a game that’s supposed to be fast non-stop fun.
If you skate along the boards, you need to make sure you don’t actually touch the boards or you’ll slow down, like the boards have nails sticking out of them that are catching on your jersey. I don’t think I’ve EVER seen that before.
And in what looks like a total glitch, sometimes players seem stuck in a slow, digitized animation like their skates sank into a hole in the nice.
So, yeah, this one isn’t worth a try.