I would consider Blades of Steel the first great hockey game, as it is the only one I ever play. Other hockey games on different systems just don't measure up to how much fun this simple game is. Blades of Steel has all the perks of hockey, aside from real players. The teams featured reside in cities in the NHL, and the team colors mostly match those in real life. There are penalty shots, overtime, and most importantly, FIGHTS. The strange thing is that it doesn't matter who instigates the fight, it's who loses that gets sent to the penalty box.

You can select two styles of gameplay: exhibition or tournament. In exhibition mode, you can choose who to play and what level to play at. In the tournament mode, you can choose the play level but like any tournament, it depends who wins on who you play. There are substantial differences between the different levels. Junior mode is so easy that anyone can win, usually to the tune of 15-0; college mode is still fairly easy, except you may lose a few fights and actually give up goals; and pro mode is a challenge. Expect to go to the wire, maybe even play a overtime shootout (the most fun part of the whole game!).

Blades of Steel creators, like other NES creators, somehow figured out how to make a game that would be so fun that one will still enjoy it even in times of slick 128-bit systems. Blades of Steel easily fits in the upper echelon of NES games.