Wayne Gretzky's 3D Hockey

"A nice arcade hockey game!"

Once of the first games too come out on the Nintendo 64 is an easily over looked one. Its not great, but odds are, if your a hockey fan, you'll enjoy this game.

Gameplay: This is a cool 'new' twist on the hockey game genre. There aren't many penalties in the game, which makes for a nice, fast paced game of hockey. If your into arcade style sports (like NFL blitz), this is definitely the hockey game for you. If your into hockey games along the lines of EA Sport's NHL 199?/200? series, you may not enjoy this game that much.

Visuals: Not bad. Even though all the players look the same, the graphics are still nice. The addition of the ''puck streak'' is a nice touch. In case you don't know what a puck streak is, its a term I use for a neon-colored streak of light that appears behind a fast moving puck. One problem in many hockey games, is that some people can never find the puck, especially when its just been slap shot. This is not a problem in 3D hockey, thanks too the puck streak. A little nitpicking problem, is that there is no crowd (well, its badly illustrated, at least.) I won't deduct marks, because the game makers seem too have spent most of their time on gameplay, rather than graphics.

Sound: All the sounds of a real, live hockey game remain intact in this game. The slap of the stick on the puck, the sound of the player's skates carving the ice, and the sounds of the roaring crowd when someone scores a goal. It's all here, and its all very well done. While I don't think anyone plays hockey games for the sound, it certainly is a good feature.

Fun Factor This game is very fun, and not only too just hockey fans in particular. I am a hockey fan, and I love hockey games (I always have, even back in the NES days). But this game even had my friend playing, who doesn't have an athletic bone in his body. He only plays the multiplayer game, but even though, I think that its a good sign,

Replay: Not very many features that can add too the replay value of this game. There are many interesting cheats, such as the player morphing code and the ''everybody fights'' code. While the codes don't add that much replay value, its still very fun too play with the codes on. Besides, sports game have a lot of replay value without special features. You want too have Toronto play New York? So be it! Then you can have New Jersey play Florida. Its always different! And, not too spoil anything, but there are some hidden teams from the past too be found in the game.

Recommendations: Hockey fans, buy this game. Not a hockey fan? At least give it a try. You may find some enjoyment in this game. I suggest playing with a friend, as the multiplayer mode is the best mode.

This game gets a 8/10 from me... It lost some points for it's graphics, but its still a superb hockey game.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 09/19/02, Updated 09/19/02