NHL 2001 First Impression

NHL 2001, the latest iteration of EA Sports' long-running series of hockey games, now features a brand-new set of motion-captured moves and an improved AI that adapts defensive and offensive strategies on the fly, depending on the play at hand. The game includes 30 teams for you to choose from, including the new Columbus and Minnesota expansion teams, as well as 20 additional international teams.

The game comes with an editor that lets you customize you team's jersey, logo, color scheme, and team name. The editor also lets you import your own face into the game for the ultimate in customizability. NHL 2001 has five different modes of play, including quick game, season play, playoffs, tournament, and career mode, which lets you extend the regular season into a full career complete with drafts, trades, and free agency.

NHL broadcaster Bill Clement and Jim Hughson return to the recording to studio and provide NHL 2001 with a completely updated set of play-by-play calls and color commentary. Look for this game in the fall.