NHLPA Hockey 93

"The begining of the games of the game"

Ah yes EA's first hockey game. Although not the first one in history of consoles that belongs to either Ice Hockey or Blades of Steel both for NES. I had Blades of Steel back in the day and I played the hell out of that game it was great. I never liked Ice Hockey tough. I am a very,very big hockey fan. So obviously when this game came out I was ecstatic and just going crazy. I was 7 at the time. My dad bought it and we played it until NHL 95 came out.

Graphics:

For the first SNES hockey game it wasn't bad. Of course its total rubbish compared to today but back then it was pretty good and people weren't as shallow as we all are today. Fights were pretty crazy too. 8/10

Sound:

The EA SNES games never had any music other than annoying background music. This game wasn't made when technology was as it is today but still I think they could have polished it a little more. Then again it could have been worst. 7/10

Gameplay:

Compared to 95, this is were NHLPA lacks... this was an early game and it did not include a season. You could do a best of 7 or a tournament where once you lose you're done, but never actually play a full campaign. You couldn't create a player, or trade either. Although the latter two are forgivable given its date of release, they probably could have thrown in a season to give us more the need to play it. But still its a good old hockey game and playing it was like playing any other hockey game of that era. But it was slightly harder to score. 9/10

Controls: Its back in the SNES era, you used 4 buttons, 5 at the most it wasn't really complicated to learn and even easier to master. 10/10

Fun Factor/ Replayability:

This game was god until they released 95. My dad and I would play it practically everyday without ever getting bored of it. It was magical. Not as fun as later games but for that time it was perfect. 10/10

Overall:

Ok so its not perfect, yes it its flaws. But if you ever see this beauty for sale somewhere it will probably for about 2 bucks(Canadian)go for it. You might not play it much but you'll be able to experience how great this game was during its era. 8.8/10 rounded up at 9/10.é This game is sure to please both casual and hardcore fans.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 01/02/04