ESPN National Hockey Night is a video game that was developed by Konami Computer Entertainment Osaka Co., Ltd. and was published by Konami of America, Inc. The game was exclusively released on the PlayStation 2 home console from Sony.

The game can be classed as being a sports simulation title that is played from a third person perspective and uses an official license to offer an as close as possible to real life depiction of modern hockey.

The options offered by the game are pretty standard for the genre of hockey simulation, allowing the gamer to customize his experience according to his needs.

An Exhibition Mode allows two players to join in at the same time in a one off match using any teams that they like.

There's also a Season Mode that allows the player to take control of an official franchise and lead it to victories and trophies while keeping the owners happy.

There's a Playoffs Mode that lets gamers to just play the most exciting games in the year and a Create a Player section that allows players to adjust all the physical characteristics of any player, enhance his abilities linked to the hockey game and tweak the way he looks before using him in official matches.

All 30 NHL teams are simulated and the overall look of the game simulate that of the ESPN transmissions.

GAMEPLAY HINTS

Check someone over the wall

Hold X and get maximum speed. Once at full speed, find someone skating next to the wall. Skate at him while still holding X and press Square when directly next to him. If done correctly, you will send him over the wall.

No goalie

Set the "Lines Change" option to "Manual" then take control of the opposing team. Next, change the goalie line to the EX line. The goalie should return to the box and another player will come out. This creates a situation with no goalie and easy scores.

Here's a video of the game in action: