"I Hate Hockey.... But I Love This Game!"

Well I had been desperately trying to find a hockey game for my 64 just as the Gamecube came out. I knew It would be hard but I popped into Rodger’s video one day and saw a copy on sale for 40 bucks. I knew it was expensive, but seeing I am senseless with my money when it comes to gaming, I bought it. Man it was well worth the 40 bucks, and then some. I hate watching hockey, but I loved playing this game!

GRAPHICS: 8/10
I found that all the characters when you got to see them close up, looked exactly the same. But with all the different camera angles and the incredible ground shots it more than makes up for the clones. The logos were very well done, I though anyway. Also I really got the sense I was watching a hockey game when I played this.

GAMEPLAY: 10/10
Amazing, it felt like I was playing hockey. I got tense when it was in overtime of a tournament, I was so excited when I made a really cool goal, I got pissed when I let in an easy goal. I may have even cried when I lost a tournament..but I’ll never admit to it. Although the ice didn’t look like ice, it really gave you a good sense of gliding across the floor. The fighting was kind of cheesy, but it was a lot better than some other hockey games fight scenes.

SOUND: 5/10
The announcing was to cheesy for me. The crowd was to much of a broken record, the only redeeming quality was the sound of someone slamming into the boards or going through the glass. Also the sound of the stick slapping the puck sounded a bit to phony, the odds of it echoing throughout an arena full of 30,000 fans is highly doubtful.

MULTIPLAYER: 9/0
Playing against a friend or relative is really awesome because what could be more fun that body checking your buddy, or injuring a sibling? It is especially fun if your playing a tournament final and you wanna win so bad. Very fun times for all.

REPLAY VALUE: 10/10
Sports games always offer you a lot of replay value. You can never win the Stanley cup enough times. You can never win the gold medal enough times! Even if you only get silver, you can play again until you get that gold! Even if you are just playing an exhibition, it is still fun just to try and win. Although it is not to challenging, if you take out your goalie and try to win then, it offers new challenges. You can master your plays incase a friend comes over, change rosters around, make the ultimate team! Stack the deck against opposing teams and be on your way to win the Stanley cup, gold medal, or just to smear the taste of glory in your friend’s mouth!

OVERALL: 10/10
My favorite hockey game for the Nintendo 64, or Sony playstation. It is a well deserved ten!

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 11/25/02, Updated 11/25/02