NHL Stanley Cup

"A grossly under rated game"

As an avid hockey fan, I try to get all of the hockey games that I can and this one was a definite bargain. I got it for 5 dollars with book and plastic case at a pawn-shop in 1996. I brought the game home and to my surprise it went above and beyond my expectations. The camera view has created controversy but I believe that it was well done but we'll talk about that later.

Gameplay
This game had a REMARKABLE style for controls and some of the best options of it's time. It beats out old NES games with features like Season Play, Icings and different penalties and one of my favourite feature, a moveable, invincible Goalie. My favourite memories of this game are me and my friend going down the ice with our goalies, smashing everything to bits screaming ''goalie on a Rampage!!!''. The one thing this game was missing though was fights. Even Blades of Steel had fights. Another thing that was cool was the ability to change lines and pull goalies which added a bit of strategy to this game. So despite great hits and invincible goalies I give this part a 7/10.

Difficulty
This game can be either really easy or really hard depending on your style. One sure-fire way to win is to hit X while on your opponents blue line and 90% of the time it will go in. But if you're honest you can take on a hard computer and work your way to the top. So to keep things in balance I say 7/10

Music and SFX
Just hearing the crowd boo the visiting team and the ugh of the guy doing the butt checking draws you right into this game. Also the national anthem of the home team played before the game make me want to burst out saying Oh Canada (me being Canadian and all). For this section I give a 10/10.

Graphics
This game had surprisingly good graphics for the 3D view involved and I don't understand why people hate it so much. One thing I found cool was that the ice gets scratched as you go over it and stays that way until the end of the period. Other than that there's not much to say so 9/10.

Replay Value
As with most sports games you can expect good replay value whether in Season mode or against a friend. 10/10.

Final Thoughts
I consider this game a gem. Not a priceless diamond but coming close to it. So if you can find this game get it for the fun and the price.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 11/02/02, Updated 11/02/02