Professional hockey comes to the Game Boy Color with NHL 2000. You can choose from all of the NHL teams, including the expansion Atlanta Thrashers. Play an Exhibition game to work on your tactics and strategies, and when you are ready for long-term competition, try to endure an 82-game Season, or just skip straight to the Playoffs. While in the game, you will have to learn when to make line changes and determine when it's a good time to pull the goalie. In addition to these tactical decisions, you must also deal with penalties and infractions including offsides, two-line passes, and icing. However, you can customize the game by turning off certain rules and setting the referee's strictness. In addition, there are three different difficulty levels. Will you be able to claim the Stanley Cup? The only way to find out is by playing NHL 2000.
Okay - against all expectations - this is actually kind of awesome. Constant whip-fast action so speedy that it's often hard to comprehend what's happening. A fair amount more exciting than Madden NFL 2000, that's for sure. Still not quite as precise as it should be, sometimes certain moves done in quick succession don't register the way they should - and twenty-three years of hockey games since have evolved the formula appropriately. But for what it is, it's shocking how much of a blast it is. You can smash people through the glass, get into fist fights mid-game, bounce the puck off of unflinching players' faces right into the goal, and so much more. Graphics are meh but the commentary helps keep it engaging minute-to-minute, the A.I. boasts a fair challenge, and the sound it makes when you smack the hockey puck is supremely satisfying. Auto shot aim is a necessity though, otherwise you ain't making a single hit. It's fun!