Ice hockey is a very basic game, it was made for the NES most likely for the olympic games, its no wonder why many people would pass it up while surfing through the virtual console store, I mean its a sports game that came out about 20 years ago. In this generation sports games are practically made to be outdated by next year in order to justify yearly purchases.



However those who downloaded for whatever reasons might find a pleasant surprise, as the game is a good bit of fun.



The game layout is pretty simple, pick a nationality, whether it be Canadian, Swedish, American or even Stalin-run USSR (outdated huh) there's a few to pick from, it doesn't matter though, they all play the same. Then select the players on your team. theirs three different "types" of players, a normal looking guy, a horribly obese heavyweight( who moves slow but checks by just running into your rivals) and a tall ,skinny, speedy little guy with a huge nose. This is pretty much all the variation in gameplay style you get, you could make a team of heart attack pending fatsos if u want, but since you only have four players it doesn't make much sense to change the default team drastically. After that you can adjust the period times and and game speed for whatever you like. This is all done pretty fast as you might think. Thats a good thing because the screen is plain old ugly.



That does not matter though as no one will download a NES game for graphics, which are just want you expect them to be.



Time for the gameplay:



At first the game is definitely awkward. In the face off you can use the d-pad to switch who will be facing off, kinda of like a rock paper scissors thing (fat beats skinny,ect) then you tap the 2 button to serve. All in all it comes out pretty random. but it gets the job down,You just use the 1 button to pass and 2 to shoot with the puck(the player you are using will be blinking) when you shoot you use the d-pad to aim the shot. It cant get easier, you only get a penalty for icing and theirs usually time on the clock the get a couple shots off, But none the less its kind of strange mainly because your teammates do not actually have any sort of AI, if your going forward they follow, left the same, they pretty much just spread out and follow your lead, so you cant really expect them to do much, but they catch your passes which is all that really matters. Defense is much more tricky, as you use the 1 button to switch players and the 2 button to check. Checking is the best way to get take out a opponent. Just get close and smash the button. Be careful though as it can easily lead to a full out team brawl, if this happens you try to knock out as many of the opponent as possible. doing this will help avoid the 2:00 rejection of the fight starter. If you like me you will usually fail at this but its a fun distraction for sure. This also where those player types start to show their colors. But the most important thing to remember is that you are controlling the goalie at all times. Offense or defense, he will move in responds to your d-pad, its really easy to forget this. but once you get use to it, it can be kind of fun/satisfying to block shots.



The game overall can feel like a mix between hockey and bumper cars as your fingers are always twitching. only broken up by the quick half time. alone this game will get old fast, maybe fun a few time but then just too repetitive too play again. This is why its mainly a multiplayer game. Playing against a friend can be a lot of fun as it demands a lot of both attention and speed to play, causing the game to come down to a real nail bitter at every second. even if the game ties it will turn into a penalty shootout, making it even more of a face off between you and your buddy.



So in the end this game is really best used as a time waster for you and a friend. You wont play it a lot. but you will definitely enjoy every second you spend with it when you do.



And i think that can justify a 5$ dollar download if your looking for a small game for you and your bud.