NHL Powerplay '98 (PC)

GameSpot editors' review

• CNET editors' rating: 3.5 stars Very good
  Detailed editors' rating
  Overall score: 7.3 (3.5 stars)

• Reviewed by:
  Stephen Poole
• Reviewed on: 01/05/1998
• Updated on: 05/02/2000
• Released on: 10/31/1997
• Originally published on GameSpot: NHL Powerplay '98 (PC) Review

For any publisher releasing an NHL sim for the PC, the task is the same: to make it as good or better than EA Sports' NHL '98. With Powerplay '98, Virgin Interactive and PP '98 developer Radical Entertainment have taken a mighty slap shot at the reigning champ - only to have it deflected on the way to the goal. That's not to say that Powerplay '98 isn't a good game; that would be like saying the Flyers aren't a good hockey team because they were swept by the Red Wings in the Stanley Cup finals last year. But it does mean that if you could only buy one hockey sim, NHL '98 would still be the game of choice.

Where Powerplay '98 stacks up most favorably against NHL '98 is the place you'd least expect it - out on the ice. Direct3D support makes for smooth animation and high frame rates on lower-end systems like my P-133, and because Radical opted for Direct3D instead of native 3Dfx or Rendition support, PP '98 will run smoothly on more gamers' systems than NHL '98 (which only offers hardware acceleration through 3Dfx-based video cards).

The first couple of times I hit the ice with PP '98, it seemed the players were moving sluggishly, especially compared to the frantic pace of NHL '98. But the more I played it, the more I felt that it was moving at just the right speed; I think it was the close-in perspective (the "PP98" view) I used that made it seem the players were taking their time getting up the ice. Whatever the reason, though, the bottom line is that I wound up liking the speed of Powerplay '98 as much or more as that of NHL '98.

Graphically, Powerplay '98 falls a little short of equaling NHL '98, with extremely angular player faces more reminiscent of the enemies in Quake than real-life hockey stars - this is nowhere close to the mind-blowing job EA Sports did with the player faces in NHL '98. On the other hand, if you're like me, you usually play from some sort of overhead perspective, and that means the only time you even see these guys' faces are after goals or penalties. PP '98 supports up to eight gamepad buttons, meaning you'll use drop passes and flip passes more often because they're so easy to execute. And as far as play goes, Powerplay '98 dishes up some primo hockey action with brutal checks, quick-as-a-wink glove saves, body-pounding battles for control of the puck along the boards, and crisp passes that connect about the right percentage of the time.

One area where Powerplay '98 outperforms NHL '98 is in its coaching strategies. Sure, NHL '98 lets you set offensive and defensive strategies, but Powerplay '98 takes the concept one step further by providing pros and cons of each choice you can make. That might not sound like much of a feature for gamers familiar with the ins and outs of hockey, but for newcomers it's a real godsend.

The only noticeable problem I encountered in the rink was that Powerplay '98's team and player ratings didn't seem to jive with on-the-ice performance. For example, twice I led the lowly Calgary Flames to wins over the Eastern Conference All Stars. These weren't just wins, either, but 7-4 and 7-3 maulings. Buoyed by my performance, I started a season as the Flames and found myself struggling with (and eventually losing to) the Vancouver Canucks. Maybe the All Stars just weren't used to playing as a unit...

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