Sports, E, $49.95
Available now
Konami
Gameplay: Although the third PS2 hockey game is better than Sony's NHL FaceOff 2001, it's nowhere nearly as good as Electronic Arts' NHL 2001. After several delays, Konami managed to release this just in time for the Stanley Cup playoffs. Unfortunately, the poor control, sloppy artificial intelligence, bad animation and slow flow of the game show that this title should have sat out this season.
Bottom Line: Although the ESPN brand is well known, the videogame brand has a history of terrible sports games. With EA's NHL 2001 one of the best-selling PS2 games on the system, any other hockey game has little chance of selling well. Still, it should be worth stocking as a rental. --John Gaudiosi