NHL 2002 ship date set

Electronic Arts has announced that it will ship NHL 2002 for the Sony PlayStation 2 sometime next week. The game is more than simply a cosmetic upgrade to last year's version, as the development team has incorporated such features as the new breakaway cam, which follows the player during one-on-one situations with the goalie. Also new to this year's game is the soundtrack, which features a brand-new track from Reprise recording artists Barenaked Ladies. Players will also be able to create the members of the band by using the game's player creator option and then putting them on their favorite teams.

"Our objective with NHL 2002 was to stretch the boundaries, pushing for the ultimate in both realism and entertainment value from the moment the players leave the locker room until the final horn,'' said Kevin Wilkinson, senior producer of NHL 2002. "We believe we've done that through a series of new innovations and enhancements, including breakaway cam, new lighting and camera angles, customized celebrations, user-controlled saucer passes, manual dekes, exciting gameplay, enhanced graphics, and other added features.''

The Microsoft Xbox version of NHL 2002 will ship in December. The PC version is currently shipping to retailers.