Mario Lemieux Hockey

"Not the greatest hockey game..."

Mario Lemieux Hockey for the Sega Genesis was more than just
bad, it really really sucked. Don't believe me? Read on.

Gameplay=> The game had a few modes, single game, two player
game, championship in which you go for the Stanley Cup, shootout where
you take turns taking shots at the goalie and whoever makes the most shots
wins, and tournament where you play a circuit in which it is elimination and if
you lose before the final games you are out. The controls weren't that great.
You had to aim whenever you shot or passed because it would go exactly the
way you were facing (so sometimes when you are about to get checked you
can't pass the puck because you would have to turn around). The game gets
pretty boring after you figure out that you can shoot from certain spots and
always score (when the score is 20 to 0 it just loses its fun). One thing that I
liked about the game though was the fights. After your character gets
checked some much he just throws off his gloves and starts swinging!
Although the fights have there drawbacks too. You only have two punches,
uppercut and jab. Once you get in the corner it's pretty much over (your
opponent just swings away and you just stand there and get smacked until
your life bar is empty). Gameplay category needs some work!

Audio/Video=> The sound was o.k. The cheer of the croud as you
play and score is a nice touch. Although the buzzer sound when you score is
kind of wierd, you get used to it. And other than that there isn't much sound
effects except for a few songs in options screen and select team screen. The
graphics were horrible. They could have done one hundred times better and
we are talking about the Genesis! The characters have very little detail and
the puck is just a little black blob. The croud is just flat squares that don't
move or do anything. Same with the players on the bench. When the line
changes come up your players just sit on the flat background characters and
then disappear! Quite stupid.

Replayability=> You play the game for a few seconds and think it's
pretty bad and then you figure out exactly where to score every time and beat
the single play championship mode easily. You just simply sell the game
after that. Don't count on replay value.

Overall=> So I gave the game a four because of the horrid looks
and the way you get sick of the game so quickly. Try any other hockey game
and it's probably lots better!

Reviewer's Score: 4/10, Originally Posted: 03/23/00, Updated 03/23/00