"Damn...a hockey game that still has the USSR in it..."

Hockey games in the arcade are really hard to get used to unless you like games such as Hit The Ice. With Face Off, you have a very simple hockey game from Namco that is an import game, with most of the text messages being in Japanese. However, if you can get past the international language barrier {and you can read Japanese} then you might find that this game is well worth playing for the sheer challenge. With intense game play and a rather difficult to follow visual display, Face Off is for the experts who do nothing but play the arcade sports games!

The Game Play

What you find here in Face Off is challenge from the drop of the puck in the middle of the ice. From there, you simply have to avoid being hit by the oncoming opponents and shoot the puck into the goal when you have an open shot. Sounds simple, but in all honesty, the game difficulty is set to maximum, with the computer constantly moving faster than you do and hitting much harder than you can. You’ll find that with the curve of the difficulty scale, you’ll have to work harder at avoiding contact with the computer than you will with simply firing the puck on the open goal.

One of the best features to the game though, is the fact that you can play with three other people on the same team, which makes playing through the game that much easier. Though there isn’t much of a passing game here, your friends can help to block the defenders and fake out the goalie, which leaves you with an open shot. That simply falls into the strategy portion of the game, which makes for some pretty impressive plays on the goal if you handle things just the right way. However, if you don’t have three other friends to play with, you have to deal with the lowered computer AI of your own teammates!

Control in Face Off really isn’t all that difficult to work with, considering that you have a shoot button and the directional stick at your command. To pass the puck along the ice, you simply aim your player and hit the shoot button, hopefully connecting with one of your teammates somewhere down the ice. Even though this seems as though it would be easy enough to work with, you’ll still find that it takes a bit of practice to get the desired effect that you’re working for. But, if you know how to play a hockey video game, it really shouldn’t take more than a couple of minutes to get the hang of the in-game basics.

The Visuals

Visually, Face Off really has nothing going for it aside from some interesting color schemes for the different national teams that you’ll undertake. You’ll find that one of the more interesting visuals is the old Russian flag in the center of the ice {assuming that you’re playing against the Russians} which really dates the game. The players seem to be a little less in detail and at times, you might find that it is more difficult to know who you are as opposed to what your opponents are. With that in mind, one of the more noteworthy aspects of the visuals has to be the humorous half-time show with the extremely thin cheerleaders dancing all over the place. My question is, since when did they ever include cheerleaders in a hockey game?

The Audio

Face Off is lacking in any true audio that brings forward impressive and pulse pounding tunes to the ears. In fact, the audio that you find here is exceptionally limited with a simple tune playing throughout all of the periods that you play during the game. With the lack of music, it might be hard to get into the theme and feel of the game, though the sound effects tend to make up for it just a little. Speaking of sound effects, you’ve got some humorous sounds, such as the grunting when you get nailed by the computer and the cheer of the crowd when you actually score, or get scored on. All in all, this is the lowest part of the game that could have used some work compared to what we have now and it again, dates the game a few years!

The Verdict

Face Off is a pretty good hockey game if you’re looking for a no frills type of sports game that offers up simple control and hard challenge. The computer is seemingly relentless when it comes down to what mistakes you make and capitalizing on them and if you can get used to that, then you’re wasting quarters. Visually, Face Off is an extremely simple game with some pretty good focal points on humor and dating, though you really won’t find too much here that will dazzle the eyes. The audio could use plenty of work though, and that portion of the game is what dates it as an older style of hockey game.

Face Off is well worth the quarter to play with some friends if you want the challenge, though I wouldn’t call it better than Hit The Ice. With the limited amount of teams that you can play as, I could almost call this an arcade version of Ice Hockey {NES}, but with the top-down view of the ice instead of the side scrolling. For those of you who like the sports games, you might want to check the game out because of the age to see just how far the games have come in the last few years. For those of you who are looking for impressive aspects, stick with Hit The Ice.

Reviewer's Score: 6/10, Originally Posted: 08/29/02, Updated 08/29/02