Wayne Gretzky's 3D Hockey '98

"A very sloppy port of the N64 hit."

Wayne Gretzky's 3D Hockey '98 was my favorite arcade-style hockey game, that is, until NHL Hitz came out in 2001 for the next-gen systems. The game for N64 was a very fast-paced, extreme hockey game which made jaws drop the moment it was released. But, this game was a rarity for PSOne, in very low production. Midway did not release a lot of copies, and it's very hard to find. But, one day, I found this rarity in my local game store. I just had to buy it, because the game was one of my favorite N64 hockey games (with the exception of NHL Breakaway '98). But, this PSX port of the hit game was anything BUT my favorite. This game's port to the PSOne was a good idea, but EVERYTHING about the game has changed from well-executed to poorly executed.

GRAPHICS:

I bought this game, looking at the screens on the back, thinking it was a decent port of the N64 game, which has, come to think of it, blocky graphics, and players who didn't hardly look like they were hockey players at all. But, back then, I thought the game looked decent. This is NOT true on the PSX version of the game. The player models, the rink, the fans, the referee, the goalies..almost everything looks like it's been literally, puked up from the N64 version's core. The players, who sported a high polygon count in the N64 version of Wayne Gretzky, have been reduced to skimpy models who hardly have any polygons in them. They look NOTHING like the player models which grace the menus, as they were taken from the N64 versions. The players, from far away, look even worse than up close in the replay mode. The players, literally, look like blobs of texture which glide along the ice. Gone are the days of when the fully articulate models from the N64 days, that looked like players from far away. I was very disappointed. I know that the N64 had more graphical capacity, but I didn't know that the graphics would be reduced to a such a low as this. To be serious, these graphics are the lowest point of the game, and they are simply putrid.

GRAPHICS SCORE:0/10

SOUND:

This is another low point of the game. Whereas the sound was clear in the N64 version, the announcer, the fans, and the in-gameplay music all sound like they've been sampled from a reel to reel tape, they're such low quality. The music in the menus, though, IS CD Quality. Also, the commentary by Tim Kitzrow (the voice of Midway Sports) is VERY repetitive on the PSX version. I hear the same phrases repeated way too much. There's even more repeated quotes then most sports games with commentary. The sound, just like the graphics, is a ''puked-up'' version of the N64's commentary. The sound effects and in-game organ music also fall victim to this issue. It's not good. Not good at all. This game is quite possibly the worst sounding and worst looking game on PSOne, in my opinion.

SOUND SCORE:0/10

GAMEPLAY:

This is the only good thing about the game, yet it's also marred as well. It's still the excellent, fast hockey game that was on the N64, but it experiences tons of slowdown as well. It left me perplexed, but even with a game with poor graphics would still have slowdown in it. The game, though, retains much of the gameplay that made it a hit on the N64.

GAMEPLAY SCORE:2/10

GAME MODES:

Exhibition, Season, and both an arcade style and sim style game await. It doesn't have Franchise in it, because it's from 1997, when Franchise Mode was unheard of. Average, but still the bare-bones options for a sports game.

GAME MODES SCORE:5/10

OVERALL SCORE (not an average) - 1/10

BUY, RENT, OR LEAVE ALONE?

Leave it alone. Even if you are the most die-hard sports game fan, or a Midway supporter, be aware that this game is NOTHING like the N64 version. It is the PSX's worst display of a port, in my honest opinion. Sure, the game is rare, and it's good as a collector's item, but believe me, it should not be played. If you were a ''3D Hockey'' fanatic on the N64, then, you will be disappointed. The PSX version has nothing that you would find entertaining. If you like the '98 version of the game, I recommend buying the game on N64, not on PSX. You have nothing to look forward to on the PSX version, take it from me.

Reviewer's Score: 1/10, Originally Posted: 04/02/03, Updated 04/02/03