Table of Contents:. Notes About This Page 1. Add the Registry Keys. Install the Database Patch. Configure nGlide. Additional Troubleshooting. This does not mean the game is unplayable -- it just means we need to bypass the setup program and copy the game files off of the CD manually and add our own registry key.
Once you've installed the game, safely proceed to step 2. Highlight the "NHL99" folder and select copy. What you want to do is paste the NHL99 folder inside the "Sports" subfolder, so that the game path ends up being -. It's not a requirement that you follow my directory structure, but doing so will make following the rest of this guide much easier. It will often tell you 'what' to do as opposed to 'how' to do it.
If you need help with how to perform any of the actions described, please leave me a note on the message board and I will be happy to walk you through. Come to think of it, the English version isn't guaranteed to work either. Next, we need to install the registry keys for the game. The keys include information which needs to match your version of Windows 32 or 64 bit as well as your CD-ROM drive letter.
For convenience I am providing multiple versions of the key here. I prefer an angle that is low enough to the ice that I feel like I am right on top of everything. Some people like the far away camera. Not to worry because you can have up close, far away or anything in between.
Aside from feeling like you are in the middle of the action, you will definitely feel the pain of every check and smash from your opponent. First off, you will feel it in the dual shock controller. Secondly, you will just feel it from the awesome player animations when you crush them into the wall. There is no doubt about it. This game feels like NHL hockey all the way. One of the best things you can do in a sports video game is a good, solid body check in a hockey game.
This game is the best at conveying the actual brutality of a hit like this. After making a few of these hits and being on the receiving end of a few more, you will understand why hockey players have no teeth.
One of the new additions this year is the shot meter. This allows you to see your players shot power increase as you hold down the shot button. If you want to pull off a quick, less powerful shot, just hold the shot button for a second.
If you really want to smash the puck, hold the shot button down for a couple of seconds until the shot meter gets up to the top, then let it rip. I really liked this addition.
It gives you more control over your shooting thus giving the game a more realistic feel. In real hockey, shot power is one of the biggest keys to scoring so it is about time that video games give you this type of control as well. I did have a couple of minor complaints with the game. The first complaint is partially due to the fact that I hate to read game manuals.
If I can't figure it out without reading then it has to be complicated. Well, I had a pain in the ass of a time trying to set up a custom team. Actually, that is not true. Setting up a custom team with custom players was easy enough. The problem was actually playing a season with this team. I tried and tried to make this work and I was never successful. Sure, I could have opened the manual but it should have been easy enough that I did not have to.
The second thing that kind of bothered me about the game was the fighting. Don't get me wrong. I love fighting in hockey games and this game has some of the coolest fighting moves around. What I didn't like was the fact that I would beat the hell out of the computer every time.
I don't mean almost every time either. Also, the fights seem to happen pretty frequently. I had games with three or four fights in them. This was a little bit much. On the plus side though, you can really do some cool fighting moves. My personal favorite is when you grab the other players jersey with one hand and just blast him with uppercuts with the other.
Very cool. The graphics in most hockey games are pretty good and this game is no exception. Slightly upgraded from last year, the graphics get the job done. You will definitely feel the brunt of every body check. The players still look a bit under-detailed when you play from a distance but when you get up close, they are crisp, clear and pretty detailed.
The players really react like actual hockey players and, like I said, this game has some cool fighting moves.
If you like hockey, look no further. NHL 99 is the best hockey game out there and it will take something pretty spectacular to knock it from the top. I really don't know how much more hockey games can grow aside from making the graphics ultra detailed.
You know what though? It seems like I say that every year and the next year the games just get better. Go buy this game. You will not be sorry. EA Sports has had a lock on most sports simulations all the way back to the Sega Genesis and early PC games released in e.
Always on the cutting edge, EA Sports has been right there with the ability to make player trades and create players, allowing the gamer to play General Manager and determine the personnel of his or her favorite team. Additionally, allowing modem play in past versions let gamers compete against each other, another example of being on the cutting edge of sports sims. Having had a lot of experience playing their versions of NHL Hockey on both Sega Genesis, then abandoning the Genesis for PC on NHL '97 and subsequent versions, I was anxiously awaiting the release of this game, and for the most part I was not disappointed.
To start with, you have four player skill modes to select from: Beginner new for the absolute green player , Rookie, Pro and All-Star. The aim of EA was to provide a mode that allowed someone with no experience with this sort of gameplay to jump into the action, start scoring, making plays, and basically learn the game.
At the same time, this meant that the bar had to be raised for each of the other levels and this is truly evident. The game user interface is for the most part identical to NHL '98 , allowing custom controller settings per player, LAN and modem play, and shipping with Internet mode.
Player trades and creations are also in the game, although sadly not multi-season mode. Software and hardware 3D options are available, automatically configured by the install utility. A unique feature makes shooting a touch harder to complete, as if you are shooting the puck while skating, if you shoot off of the wrong leg, the shot will just flutter off the stick without any power, regardless of how the power meter registers.
Conversely, if you time it correctly, the shot fires at a realistic rate and chances are you will beat the goalie. But remember, the harder the shot, the harder to control the aim of the shot, making quick wrist shots far more accurate and dangerous than the all-out slap shot. Again, keeping faithful to the real game and all the factors that plague it, officiating can be biased at times. This makes for frustration playing the game, but I get just as frustrated watching my Toronto Maple Leafs penalize themselves out of a win, so this is also a realistic feature.
There are some bugs left in the game, as penalties sometimes confuse the "officials;" on one occasion I had been given a major penalty for fighting and a minor for instigation. Two players went off for five each, plus my extra two. From the time when these penalties were assessed mid-Second period through the end of the game, I remained one man short, even though no other penalties were called. But this only happened once, leading me to believe that a specific set of circumstances had to occur to reproduce this bug.
Also, goalies are much quicker than in NHL '98 , except when they go down to stop a shot -- they will react like turtles flipped on their backs, never getting back into the play. Another huge improvement, in fact the most notable improvement, is the Artificial Intelligence of the game. Goalies and defensive players on NHL '99 are, even in Rookie and Pro modes, much faster and smarter hockey-wise than the predecessor, and will prove to be very challenging for any player.
Offensively, the pursuit of the puck is absolute by the AI, and offensive schemes for the AI are very good. This means that realistic play against the computer is a reality, so much so that I actually became frustrated with it, convinced that I was actually playing against someone else.
To be honest, this is very refreshing in a game, and for the first time since Quake 2 I actually started to sweat playing a PC game. Outstanding, a real treat, but a 3Dfx hardware accelerator is highly recommended.
Some changes have taken place between NHL '98 and ' Notably, graphics have been improved, to the point of being eerie. New player skating and shooting animations have been included, making the experience seem real. The improvements do come at a price though, as running through my Canopus 6 MB card the hardware does have a noticeable strobe-effect trying to keep up to the sheer number of polygons rendered.
With the upgraded Artificial Intelligence adding a new level of difficulty to this year's version, fantastically rendered graphics and improved physics in gameplay, NHL '99 is the hockey simulation to buy if you have ever considered giving the genre a try.
Currently the best ice hockey game around, with a hi-res mode, very smooth controls and lots of fighting! If you like pucking, this is for you. Good ice hockey but not great ice hockey. Wayne Gretzky offers a faster, more playable rink-based experience. Buy that instead. Ducking in and out and tapping the jab button will keep your opponent busy.
If you move in closer, you can try to really connect with a hook or a haymaker. On the top of the screen you'll see the strength meters for you and your opponent. If you can connect on your opponent more than he can on you, you'll knock him down first. Unfortunately, you'll both end up in the penalty box for fighting. This is the best fight game going on the N64 and in between fights, you can even play a little hockey.
Actually, it's not the easiest thing to get in a fight. I've only gotten into two so far. According to the Instruction Manual, you have to slam into an aggressive opponent with one of your aggressive players. You'll want to check the statistics and trade for an all-out aggressive team to get in plenty of fights.
Otherwise, you'll eventually see a few, especially when you really get into the game. NHL 99 includes all the official teams including the new Nashville Predators and most of the current players updated from last year's rosters. Other features that are new to this year's version include Quickstart and beginner modes, coaching strategies by Stanley Cup winning coach Marc Crawford, and some international play.
You can choose the quick start option to jump right into a game. This is a good option for beginners, allowing you to get into the action without being confused by the multitude of choices that can be made. The main things that are dropped from this mode are penalties and the ability to switch strategies on the fly. When you are ready for the full game, you can choose from beginner, exhibition, season, playoffs, tournament, and shoot-out.
Season mode lets you play the exact season as it was really scheduled by the NHL. Shoot-out mode is not only good to practice for eventual ties, but also to practice your approach on the goalie when you break out in the open.
You need to get the goalie leaning one way and bring the puck back the other way to get it past him. Controlling your own goalie can be tricky, but it is worth the effort if you enjoy better control over every aspect of the game. When controlling the player with the puck, you have plenty of moves at your fingertips. By tapping the Z or L buttons, you perform a Spin-o-Rama. And for those who need fast answers because they really want to run out and buy it: tough, you'll have to wait a minute and read along.
As is usual with this series, you can't run to an easy judgment. Although the graphics and major aspects of the gameplay are very well done compared to NHL98 , there are some enormously annoying new gameplay problems. But wait, my dear editor wouldn't want to jump on the weakness only, I will try my best to let you have it all. I was very impressed by my first few looks at NHL 99 -- the video intro is very well done, and the interface is strong and very easy to use. All the features we've come to expect from EA Sports are present, meaning that the game translates the NHL feeling very, very well.
I played the first couple of games on rookie level with five minute periods and scored some nice goals. The skill move was particularly impressive. You don't know exactly what you're going to get, but it generally allows your star players to perform spin-o-ramas and highlight reel dekes. It only works with the upper echelon players, however, so don't expect to see the likes of Tie Domi and Donald Brashear celebrating many picture-perfect tallies.
You have four difficulty settings -- beginner, rookie, pro, and all-star -- which can be adjusted by assigning up to three advantage points to a team for easier scoring. As is usual with EA Sports ' titles, the lower levels are ridiculously easy. Pro and all-star are much more challenging more on that later , with all-star featuring maxed-out players everyone plays with top scores in all attributes.
Once you've chosen your skill setting, you can play out exhibition games, a full blown NHL season, NHL playoffs, or an international tournament with a squad of your choice. A nice detail in tourney mode is the ability to adjust the ice surface to either the larger international size or the smaller NHL standard.
You can also tinker with the strictness of the penalty calling, and how to proceed after a tie in regulation overtime, limited overtime, or penalty shootout are the options. Options are also prevalent in regards to your hardware. As long as you've got a reasonable system by current standards meaning a fairly fast Pentium or equivalent , you'll be able to get NHL 99 purring. The game makes strong use of 3D hardware acceleration. My buddy and I have tested it on a K and on a P and the difference in speed and level of detail was marginal as long as we had our Voodoo 1 cards installed.
If you want to enjoy a better screen resolution and full details, you should have something in the Voodoo 2 or Riva TNT department. While a 3D graphics accelerator is not required, it is strongly advised. You'll need an extremely powerful machine to run this game in software mode, and even then things will be jerkier than you'd prefer.
Player controls are the best in the NHL lineup thus far. That's not saying much considering the problems in years past, but I had no problems playing with both a Gravis Grip pad and the keyboard. Player responsiveness is excellent, and for the first time in the history of this series, a fast-skating player can literally put on his brakes, causing ice particles to be thrown up in the air.
It's a nice visual effect, and it's much appreciated from the gamepad side of things as well. Color commentator Daryl Reaugh seems to have lost a few marbles in the past twelve months, though.
After a successful penalty shot he'll often complain that the goalie was left alone by his team mates. Yeah, sure thing. Where Daryl gave you background on the teams last year, calling the players by their nicknames and so on, this time he simply makes bad jokes and ignores the actual teams. Commentary during replays is similarly unconvincing. Connect on a situation and he says eventually: "It starts with a pass into the offensive zone, he let a wrist-shot go and beat the goalie.
Broadly speaking, the gameplay can be divided into defense, offense, and goal scoring. Most of all, the offense has been significantly improved. Yes folks, I like what I see in terms of passing, formations, and tactics. There are teams out there that, most of the time, can interact skilfully. For example, you can actually set up a proper power-play or pass to the slot for a one-timer.
Fast passing is usually the best bet in this game, and you can actually outplay a weaker opponent or the CPU pretty impressively. After NHL 98 's disappointing coaching features, I was particularly impressed by the work in that department. On the power play, it makes a big difference whether you play with the shoot formation, designed to fire from the point not that I ever actually scored from there , or the umbrella, which is set up to allow stickhandling your way to the net.
There you can not only try all the different coaching options in practice, but also play 2-on-2 plus goalies or practice 2-on-1 situations, shootouts, and so on. It really helps getting newbies into the game and it helps you improve in particular situations. Eric Lindros has a hard time scoring with a slap shot, but at least Saku Koivu's lookin' good! While playing defense in NHL 99 , one has to keep in mind the fact that this game is no true simulation. Realistically, we can expect a close resemblance to real world hockey without the clutch and grab of today's lesser lights in the NHL.
Sadly, the game has an unbalanced offensive bias because the defense is simply not up to the task. You still get too many rebounds, you can still enter the attacking zone without much harassment, and you can still outplay and outpass the defense pretty easily. A quality forward can carry the puck from his own net, rush up the ice, and get off a good shot much of the time. Attacking is where the fun is in this game. Passing is simple and functionally well done, even though hockey enthusiasts miss the flip or drop pass particularly in 2-on-1 situations.
The shooting is okay but like the passing it is done via one single button. A short press will lead to a wrist shot while a longer press will result in a slap shot. Naturally, you hardly ever get away a well aimed slap shot because they require too much time.
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