NHL Powerplay '96 by Virgin Interactive
1-5 players, 5 memory blocks, $59.99
This is the first hockey game for PSX since NHL Faceoff, so naturally comparison
s will be made between the two. Also note that this game came out for Saturn months 
ago. So, how is it? Better than Faceoff? Let's see.
Graphics (7/10): This game looks like a Saturn game. Pretty good graphics, but 
nothing that is groundbreaking or even memorable. To start, the gameplay camera 
is way too far away and moves with the action, though sometimes not fast enough 
to keep up with a breaking Bure. Unfortunately, there is only this one view to 
use during play. On a replay, you can zoom in and find out exactly what happened, 
but when you get close the players start to look more like robots (square 
shoulders, heads, etc.). Yet, even with the one camera during play, the game 
still looks pretty good. The animations are excellent. I have never seen players 
who turn so realistically, and follow the physics of skating so well. Too bad 
there are no uniform numbers. Another strange thing is that all players shoot 
righthanded. If the camera were a bit closer, the graphics would definetely
look better. As it is, this looks more like the NHL 9x series for SNES.
Sound/Music (7/10): All of the sounds are done quite well, and the crowd reacts
as it should. One major difference between this and other sports games is the 
absence of that contant crowd noise. I think this is a benefit, as the constant 
noise (as in Faceoff) can get on the nerves. I do wish the game played louder. 
I find myself turning up the volume on the TV quite a ways so I can hear all of 
the sounds. This game doesn't have the beautiful ice sound effects of Faceoff, 
but the checks sound better (though quieter).
Options/Interface (5/10): The teams from the World Cup are here. This adds alot
in the way of replay value and overall enjoyment. The interface is very easy to 
use and well done. One GREAT thing about this game is that there is absolutely, 
positively NO FMV INTRO!!!! Hopefully other developers will follow this model. 
Powerplay will forever be knocked for its lack of stats tracking. How this was 
left out I don't know. This is a major flaw. It is also impossible to trade 
players, sign, or release players.
Gameplay (9/10): First, this game moves at just about the right pace. Whereas 
Faceoff was too fast, this is just about right. All the buttons on the controller 
have a use. You can wrist shot, slap shot, drop pass, pass, hook, poke check, 
body check, speed burst (even on offense!), skate backward, etc. I recommend 
reconfiguring the controller if you have alot of Faceoff experience. Many kinds 
of penalties are called, including penalty shots, though I'm not sure if there 
are 5 min. penalties yet. Scoring on slapshots is reasonably hard, though I
have found breakaways easy to score on. A major difference between this and Face
off is the number of breakaways in the game. You have FAR fewer of these types 
of opportunities in this game, adding to the realism. Also, goalies only react 
to the puck if it is in their line of vision, again very realistic. I find that 
the controls are not near as responsive as Faceoffs, giving a more detached 
feeling to playing. The best part about gameplay is the AI. The other guys 
actually act like they're playing hockey. Maybe this adds to the detached
feeling of the game since you don't have to do everything for your team to win.
You can even alter your team's AI by changing the play strategy. You get to 
choose what kind of forechecking and breakout styles to use.
Replay Value (7/10): The international teams add alot of replay value, but not a
s much as the lack of stats tracking takes away. In Season mode, you can keep 
track of wins and losses, but not player stats. Again, how this was left out I 
don't know. You can do a World Tourney which obviously is quite similar to the 
World Cup.
Overall (7/10): This game excels in gameplay enough that one can overlook the 
average, Saturn-esque graphics. However, the absence of several key options 
will forever hurt this game's appeal to die hard sports game fans.
- Chad Peterson