After the time we spent playing NHL 2001 for the PlayStation 2 yesterday, it was easy to see that the game was simply amazing.

　　Graphically, the game is incredible. The hockey players in the game look so much like their real-life counterparts it's uncanny. The faces of each player are so detailed that you can literally recognize each player as he skates along the ice. The faces even move and contort with expressions realistically so that when a player such as Steve Yzerman scores a goal, you can see his mouth open as he yells in celebration. The audience and the arena are also decent, and they look similar to those found in the Dreamcast's NHL 2K.

　　The game is extremely fast paced, maybe a little too fast, but this shouldn't be a problem since EA has included just about every option you could want and has made them all adjustable to your preference. You can customize skating, checking, passing, and shooting elements. There are four different game modes including quick games, season play, playoffs, and tournaments. You can even compete with friends during season mode and multi-user season play.

　　The controls and features are fairly standard. You can pass and check, and you can make lots of shots, such as cannon shots from the point and one-footed wristers. However, even the standard moves seem advanced, because the game's physics engine takes into account your player's speed and movement as you're performing an action. If you're being checked as you're taking a shot, the trajectory will be off; if you're really flying down the ice and you collide with another skater, the result could be an injury. Knowing which players are finesse players and which ones are stronger defensive men is easier than ever because during play the game now uses small icons that reside next to the player's name to indicate what type of player he is. These icons also help you to see which players are on a roll and doing well and which guys on the ice should be benched. The AI as a whole seems fairly solid, although we need more time with the game before we can comment further.

　　So while we'll have to reserve judgement until we get our hands on a final version of the game, the 90 percent rev we played at EA was more than impressive - it was downright one of the best PlayStation 2 games we've seen thus far.