NHL 2002

NHL 2002 is a video game released by EA Sports in 2001. It is the predecessor to NHL 2003. The game's cover man is Pittsburgh Penguins superstar and owner Mario Lemieux, who had just made a comeback after being retired for three and a half years. It was the first installment of the NHL series to be released on Xbox.

NHL 2002
Cover art featuring Mario Lemieux
Developer(s)EA Canada (PC, PS2, Xbox)
Budcat Creations (GBA)
Publisher(s)EA Sports
SeriesNHL series
Platform(s)PlayStation 2, Xbox, Windows, Game Boy Advance
Release
September 18, 2001
  • Windows
    • NA: September 18, 2001[1]
    • EU: October 5, 2001
    PlayStation 2
    • NA: September 25, 2001[2]
    • EU: October 19, 2001
    Xbox
    • NA: December 10, 2001
    • EU: March 14, 2002
    Game Boy Advance
    • NA: March 7, 2002
Genre(s)Sports - Ice Hockey Sim
Mode(s)Single-player, multiplayer

Features

Bill Clement is replaced by Don Taylor for NHL 2002. Taylor's quirky and often slapstick commentary style drew mixed reception from fans of the game.

GBA version

NHL 2002 was the only game in the series to be released on the Game Boy Advance. This version is an updated port of NHL 96 for the SNES,[3] and contains many features from that past title.

Reception

The PlayStation 2 version received "universal acclaim", while the rest of the console versions received "generally favorable reviews", according to the review aggregation website Metacritic.[4][5][6][7] Jim Preston of NextGen's December 2001 issue said of the PS2 version, "Only frustrating defensive controls mar another brilliant effort from EA Sports."[26] The magazine later said of the Xbox version in its final issue, "the only real issue we have is that the game's defensive AI is rather flawed, somewhat marring an otherwise incredible experience."[27] In Japan, where the former console version was ported for release on February 7, 2002, Famitsu gave it a score of 29 out of 40.[33]

Kevin Krause of GameZone gave the PS2 version 9.1 out of 10, calling it "A landmark release in that it is the first PS2 game to support Dolby™ Pro Logic and DTS™ sound. These surround sound technologies allow for realistic environmental surround sound like you've never heard it before."[34] Kevin "Biff" Giacobbi gave the PC version 9 out of 10, calling it "A great game, but true hockey fans that buy the latest and greatest that EA gives us each year will not see a whole lot of changes."[35] Christopher Allen of AllGame gave the same PC version three-and-a-half stars out of five, however, saying, "Despite the unwise decision to hire Don Taylor, NHL 2002 will appeal more to the arcade action camp than the purist. While most of the new additions don't work as well as planned, it is encouraging to see fresh ideas implemented. NHL 2002 is fun to play, but isn't particularly true to the sport, which may disturb true hockey fans with its slip away from realism."[36]

The staff of Computer Games Magazine nominated the game as the best sports game of 2001, but ultimately gave the award to High Heat Baseball 2002.[37] It was also a runner-up in GameSpot's annual award category for the best traditional sports console game, which went to NBA 2K2.[38] NHL 2002 also received a nomination for the "PC Sports" award at the 5th Annual Interactive Achievement Awards, but ultimately lost to FIFA 2002.[39]

References
  1. I. G. N. Staff (2001-09-18). "NHL 2002 Ships". IGN. Archived from the original on 2023-06-28. Retrieved 2023-03-03.
  2. I. G. N. Staff (2001-09-25). "Five New PS2 Titles Ship". IGN. Archived from the original on 2023-03-03. Retrieved 2023-03-04.
  3. Craig Harris (March 18, 2002). "NHL 2002 (GBA)". IGN. Ziff Davis. Archived from the original on June 22, 2015. Retrieved June 22, 2015.
  4. "NHL 2002 for Game Boy Advance Reviews". Metacritic. Red Ventures. Archived from the original on December 25, 2015. Retrieved June 22, 2015.
  5. "NHL 2002 for PC Reviews". Metacritic. Red Ventures. Archived from the original on July 15, 2015. Retrieved June 22, 2015.
  6. "NHL 2002 for PlayStation 2 Reviews". Metacritic. Red Ventures. Archived from the original on June 17, 2015. Retrieved June 22, 2015.
  7. "NHL 2002 for Xbox Reviews". Metacritic. Red Ventures. Archived from the original on September 28, 2015. Retrieved June 22, 2015.
  8. William Abner (November 6, 2001). "NHL 2002". Computer Games Magazine. theGlobe.com. Archived from the original on April 21, 2002. Retrieved October 17, 2021.
  9. Gord Goble (December 2001). "NHL 2002" (PDF). Computer Gaming World. No. 209. Ziff Davis. p. 126. Retrieved October 17, 2021.
  10. EGM staff (December 2001). "NHL 2002 (PS2)". Electronic Gaming Monthly. No. 149. Ziff Davis. p. 244.
  11. Tom Bramwell (April 12, 2002). "NHL 2002 (Xbox)". Eurogamer. Gamer Network. Archived from the original on June 22, 2015. Retrieved June 22, 2015.
  12. Andrew Reiner (November 2001). "NHL 2002 (PS2)". Game Informer. No. 103. FuncoLand. p. 104. Archived from the original on April 10, 2005. Retrieved June 22, 2015.
  13. "NHL 2002 (Xbox)". Game Informer. No. 104. FuncoLand. December 2001. p. 109.
  14. Air Hendrix (June 10, 2002). "NHL 2002 Review for Game Boy Advance on GamePro.com". GamePro. IDG Entertainment. Archived from the original on December 13, 2004. Retrieved June 22, 2015.
  15. Air Hendrix (September 27, 2001). "NHL 2002 Review for PS2 on GamePro.com". GamePro. IDG Entertainment. Archived from the original on February 14, 2005. Retrieved June 22, 2015.
  16. Air Hendrix (December 6, 2001). "NHL 2002 Review for Xbox on GamePro.com". GamePro. IDG Entertainment. Archived from the original on February 9, 2005. Retrieved June 22, 2015.
  17. G-Wok (October 2001). "NHL 2002 Review (PS2)". GameRevolution. CraveOnline. Archived from the original on June 22, 2015. Retrieved October 17, 2021.
  18. G-Wok (December 2001). "NHL 2002 - Xbox Review". GameRevolution. CraveOnline. Archived from the original on February 16, 2004. Retrieved October 17, 2021.
  19. Michael E. Ryan (September 19, 2001). "NHL 2002 Review (PC)". GameSpot. Red Ventures. Archived from the original on March 1, 2005. Retrieved June 22, 2015.
  20. Shane Satterfield (September 25, 2001). "NHL 2002 Review (PS2)". GameSpot. Red Ventures. Archived from the original on October 17, 2021. Retrieved June 22, 2015.
  21. Shane Satterfield (December 17, 2001). "NHL 2002 Review (Xbox)". GameSpot. Red Ventures. Archived from the original on October 17, 2021. Retrieved June 22, 2015.
  22. Ralph "Gizzo" Sparkes (October 20, 2001). "NHL Hockey 2002 [sic] (PS2)". GameSpy. IGN Entertainment. Archived from the original on December 28, 2004. Retrieved June 22, 2015.
  23. Tal Blevins (September 18, 2001). "NHL 2002 (PC)". IGN. Ziff Davis. Archived from the original on June 22, 2015. Retrieved June 22, 2015.
  24. David Zdyrko (September 24, 2001). "NHL 2002 (PS2)". IGN. Ziff Davis. Archived from the original on June 22, 2015. Retrieved June 22, 2015.
  25. Aaron Boulding (December 11, 2001). "NHL 2002 (Xbox)". IGN. Ziff Davis. Archived from the original on June 22, 2015. Retrieved June 22, 2015.
  26. Jim Preston (December 2001). "NHL 2002 (PS2)". NextGen. No. 84. Imagine Media. p. 108. Retrieved October 17, 2021.
  27. "NHL 2002 (Xbox)". NextGen. No. 85. Imagine Media. January 2002. p. 28. Retrieved October 17, 2021.
  28. "NHL 2002". Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine. No. 50. Ziff Davis. November 2001. p. 160.
  29. "NHL 2002". Official Xbox Magazine. Imagine Media. January 2002.
  30. Jim Preston (December 2001). "NHL 2002". PC Gamer. Vol. 8, no. 12. Imagine Media. Archived from the original on January 17, 2002. Retrieved June 22, 2015.
  31. David Gibbon (March 12, 2002). "Let's play: NHL 2002 (Xbox)". BBC Sport. BBC. Archived from the original on June 23, 2015. Retrieved June 22, 2015.
  32. Ryan Boyce (September 22, 2001). "NHL 2002 (PC)". Maxim. MaximNet, nc. Archived from the original on December 29, 2001. Retrieved June 22, 2015.
  33. "NHL 2002 (PS2)". Famitsu (in Japanese). Enterbrain. Retrieved October 17, 2021.
  34. Kevin Krause (October 7, 2001). "NHL 2002 Review - PlayStation 2". GameZone. Archived from the original on October 5, 2008. Retrieved June 22, 2015.
  35. Kevin "BIFF" Giacobbi (October 11, 2001). "NHL 2002 Review on PC". GameZone. Archived from the original on April 26, 2005. Retrieved June 22, 2015.
  36. Allen, Christopher. "NHL 2002 (PC) - Review". AllGame. All Media Network. Archived from the original on November 16, 2014. Retrieved June 22, 2015.
  37. CGM staff (March 2002). "11th Annual Computer Games Awards". Computer Games Magazine. No. 136. theGlobe.com. pp. 50–56.
  38. GameSpot staff (2002). "The Best and Worst of 2001 (Best Sports, Traditional Game Nominees)". GameSpot. CNET. Archived from the original on June 9, 2002. Retrieved October 17, 2021.
  39. "2002 Awards Category Details PC Sports". interactive.org. Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences. Retrieved 4 August 2023.
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