Wayne Gretzky's 3D Hockey

"A fun hockey game"

I never really was a big fan of hockey at all but this game is an all around fun game. While it really may not be all too much fun on its own, grab a couple of friends over and let them try it. All of my friends consistently asked to play this game a couple of years ago.

STORY: N/A
It's a hockey game, not much of a story if you ask me. If you want to get creative and make up a story on your own, feel free to do so. If you feel this area should receive a score, make up a story and e-mail it to me. But until then I give it a N/A.

GAMEPLAY: 8/10
Well once again it's hockey. If you do not know the basic game of hockey, you're on ice with skates and hockey sticks. The point of the game is to hit the puck into a goal. Well now after that wonderfully in depth coverage on the game of hockey, now onto the game itself. Arcade mode which is were I spent most of my time simply because of the sheer fun. It had nice little touches like if you shot the puck a right way and scored the net would go on fire, or if you shot it hard enough it would knock the goalie into the net. Arcade mode is pretty much where I spent a lot of my time but much to my dismay the periods could only be as long as 2 minutes I believe. Then there was simulation mode. I didn't spend too much time in simulation mode, because I'm not really a big fan of hockey and well simulation mode is pretty much straight hockey. However, I do remember in both modes, fighting was incredibly fun. I give it a 8.

CONTROLS: 8/10
The controls in this game were actually quite responsive. I don't actually ever remember a problem when it came to making the players do what I wanted them to do. The controls were easy to remember. Also the camera system was very good as well. There were several views that you could change until you could be happy. The only actual problem I encountered with this game is the check direction. I always had just a little problem checking in this game but other than that the controls are great.

MUSIC/SOUND: 6/10
Once again, music and sound really isn't my cup of tea and I really never noticed any music in this game. I was always too busy listening to my friends talk smack. But the sounds of checking, shooting, and the crowd after you score were all pretty realistic, but the crowd did get a little annoying. I don't really remember any music but I never remember music so that doesn't mean to much. For sound and music it shall receive a 6.

DIFFICULTY: 3/10
ICK!!! My biggest gripe possible. This game isn't hard at all. Fun? Yes. Hard? No way. I remember scoring upwards of 20 goals against the computer in arcade mode. That's six minutes of hockey and 20 goals. This game was incredibly easy. I remember scoring goals within the first 10 seconds of the game. But however the game did adjust slightly to how well you played. The more you scored the harder it did get. I never remember actually blowing a team out, but I never had a problem winning. Also the difficulty in the fighting aspect isn't that hard either. I remember having a lot of fun fighting, because I almost never lost. The only real loses were against my friends. It gets a 3.

REPLAY VALUE: 5/10
Maybe if I was a bigger fan of hockey I would of played more. After the first couple of days I never actually remember a feeling that called me to play this game. It was mostly my friends wanting to play and I wouldn't argue because it was a blast. It's a great game to play with friends, but depending on how much you like hockey is probably how much you'll come back to play.

RENT OR BUY: Rent to check first
Give this game a shot, rent it first and see if you like it. It might not be for you. But if you like to just skate around check someone, maybe even get into a fight and just score some goals quite easily then this game might be for you. Give it a shot though.

FINAL STATEMENT
It's still fun, but after a while it may lose a little bit of interest. I say try it, because you should be able to pick up on the controls and style quite easily. If you don't like it within the first couple minutes chances are you probably won't like it at all. It'll only take you a few minutes to judge this game, so I say go out and give it a shot. If its for you then go have fun and check the crap out of people. If you hate it, then at least you gave it a shot.

Reviewer's Score: 7/10, Originally Posted: 03/03/02, Updated 03/03/02