A solid hockey game that combines solid gameplay with excellent sound and graphical quality.
Blades of Steel is very basic from the get-go. You can play either a single game or a tournament, which is basically an entire series of games. There are no official NHL or official any-name teams to choose from, but one chooses from a list of cities whose team's color roughly indicate which team they are supposed to represent. While playing the game, one takes control of a single player on the ice. The game's controls are very simple: the d-pad makes you move, "A" makes you shoot the puck, and "B" is to pass. Control over different players depends upon who has the puck, and if the other team is in possession, the game does a good job of changing players for you when the guy you're controlling is too far away or is off-screen altogether. When shooting, the puck always moves towards the opposing team's net, and its path is determined by an arrow which moves back and forth across the net. This means it takes some deliberate strategy to actually make a goal, as far-off desperation shots will rarely make it in. Your goalie moves back and forth in front of the net depending upon whether you're pressing up or down on the d-pad, so you are always in control of your goalie while he is one screen.
There is an interesting fight mechanic involved in Blades of Steel which can be used towards one's strategic advantage. Bump into the man with the puck enough times and the two of you will start a fight. Press "A" enough times and you can knock your opponent down and take the puck. Otherwise, a fight sequence will begin wherein one fights using a series of high and low punches and blocks. The winner gets posession of the puck, but start the fight in front of the net and the referee will call a face-off, or a penalty shot. Of course, one can just get the puck by intercepting a pass or blocking a shot on goal as well.
This game can be fun, but once you've done everything described above, that's pretty much it. The game isn't much deeper than that, and fortunately, time is kept on a sped-up timer, keeping games limited to a brisk 20 minutes. At this point, you'll probably have had enough and find something else to do, but you'll probably come back a few hours later to play again. Tournament play can become a grind unless you have another person to play against, but even then you both will probably be tired of this game by the end.
Still, Blades of Steel is a solid sports title that's fun enough to play again and again. NES owners should keep an eye out for this game.