Your dreams of winning hockey gold are hindered a bit with frustrating controls.
THE GOOD
-Customization of your team is fun and strategic
-Multiplayer available
THE BAD
-Confusing controls
-Poor puck passing
OVERVIEW
Ice Hockey for the Nintendo was one of the first hockey video games. The emphasis in this game is based around the Olympics and not the NHL. You'll be able to choose your team from six different countries which are the United States, Sweden, Poland, Canada, USSR, and Czechoslovakia. The same rules apply for this game just like in real hockey except that there are no off-sides or two-line pass stoppages. Also, instead of playing with six players (five skaters and one goalie) this game's limit is five players (four skaters and one goalie).
GAMEPLAY
From the beginning, you get to select your team and the computer's team (or player 2 selects their team in multiplayer mode) from the six countries I mentioned above. Next, you have a few options to change the game speed and time (period length). Then, the user(s) get to customize their team players. This part of the game is where the strategy begins. Out of the four skaters, on your team, you can decide their body type. There are three different body types and each one has their own strengths and weaknesses. Skinny guys are extremely fast and very good at winning face-offs but their lack of muscle makes them weak shooters and body checkers. Medium guys are mediocre in every way. Lastly, the Fat guys can take hard slap shots and can easily knock the opponent over but their lack of fitness makes them slow skaters. Putting the right team together, based on your talent, can be a lot of fun and will make the different in winning games.
Now that you have your team put together it's time to get out on the ice. Like I said before the game is played with four skaters and a goalie and the same rules apply with some exceptions. Controlling each player on the ice can be quite a chore in Ice Hockey. The sluggish maneuvering can make all aspects of the game challenging. You can switch which player you want to control at anytime (which leaves the AI to control the rest) but keep in mind that you are positioning the goalie as well. So, as you skate upward to chase a loose puck the goalie will move upwards as well. This can get confusing on defense because you could be skating at the opponent with the puck and not realize that your goalie is way out of position. Shooting and checking, in the game, work just fine. The longer you hold the shoot button down the harder the slap shot will be and the accuracy in hitting the corners greatly increases too. Once in a while, just like in real hockey, if you get overly physical with the opponent a fight will occur. Typically, it is a bench clearing brawl (meaning all four skaters fight together) that results in one player going to the penalty box which gives the other team a power play (or a man advantage) for two minutes. Passing, on the other hand, is very inaccurate and usually results in a turnover. This hinders the "team" aspect because you'll end up just using one skater to carry and shoot the puck.
GRAPHICS & SOUND
The graphics work just fine in Ice Hockey. For the most part the ice rink looks like a normal rink with the exception of larger goals.
The music is very up lifting and fun which complements the game very well. The sounds effects from the slap shots to the body checks work well for the game too.
CONCLUSION
Although Ice Hockey offers some good hockey action the frustration with the controls is a big turn off. With that in mind I would partially recommend this to hockey fans. Even though hockey is the coolest game on the planet, your dreams of glory won't be fulfilled to the highest here.