No wonder I’ve never heard of this one.
PlayStation 1
Released in 1996 by Virgin Interactive
Grade: F
In my psychotic quest for old sports video games, I end up discovering a lot of games I didn’t know existed (or maybe forgot). This one took me by surprise, because I was pretty hockey-obsessed in 1996. How’d I miss it? Well, it didn’t take long to find out.
Where it falls in the series
It’s on PS1 and Sega Saturn, and there’s a PS1-only followup NHL Powerplay ’98.
Gripes
The puck drops and immediately the camera is moving every which way. The camera has a mind of its own. It doesn’t just shake, it doesn’t just sway, it does it all. It’s doing interpretive dance, trembling and dipping and bumping and spinning. It’s like “The Blair Witch Project,” another nonsensical thing from the 90s, except it’s not artsy or suspenseful.
The game offers a standard set of options, but sadly, an alternate camera view is not one of them.
On top of that, skating feels sluggish. Players don’t pick up the puck easily; you can skate right over it. At least there’s plenty happening out there, and passing and shooting feel somewhat responsive. But the hockey logic is poor. The first goal I scored was actually knocked in by the other team.
I’m almost glad the action has obvious flaws, because I didn’t want to end up playing this so long that the crazy camera gave me a seizure.
I don’t know what they were thinking. I’ve seen some shoddy camerawork in video games. This takes the cake.