Where's the international love?
 Remember how fun those old NHL games were for Sega? You know, back when hockey games were about fun and not extremely boring realism like they are today.  The arcade style game-play of the old NHL�s have rocket shots, bone crushing checks, and not to mention the state of the art crowd graphics and sounds. Ok, now take out the NHL teams and throw in a bunch of world teams, turn the game speed up 2X, and enable fights to break out at any time, including after goals are scored, when periods have ended and when icing is called�and you have EA Hockey.
 This game was released prior to the very first NHL game but surprisingly it is the best out of the series. The NHL games have slightly better graphics and more options depending on the year but they are far too slow to be really enjoyable today. EA�s frantic, fast paced action is what makes it so special.
| | EA Hockey | Graphics: 4
Since this game is older than the other NHL games the graphics aren�t as good as they could or should be. Other than the simplicity of the graphics, however, the textures are fairly smooth and there isn�t any choppiness. And of course there is the pervert in the stands who appears to be gratifying himself�just fantastic! |
Playability: 6
The game couldn�t be any more simple to play. Only two buttons are used on the Genesis controller, one switches players and passes and the other one checks and shoots. This allows new players to get into the game with nearly no training. However, because this is the earliest version of the EA series, there are a few game-play flaws. Players seem to have a hard time receiving passes as on many occasions the puck seems to either go right through the player or just harmlessly bounces off their stick. Also, the goalie AI is atrocious. Many of your games will go into the double-digits for scoring. In fact, I think I have yet to shut out my opponent, or get shut out for that matter. The addition of one-timers would also have been nice. |
Fun Factor: 7
I don�t know how to explain it but this game is really freakin� fun to play. One player mode is pretty worthless unless you like destroying the crappy CPU AI 14-3 every game. Two player mode is fantastic though. The way we like to play is to select two teams at complete random and then just play. It is always fun to get stuck with Poland or Luxembourg and then upset your friend who is playing with the Soviets�.you can have your very own miracle on ice! |
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