Retro Game Review: Hit the Ice

Screenshot retrieved online. Hit the Ice stressed what many of us love about ice hockey.

Platform: TurboGrafx-16
Released: 1990
Developer: Williams, Taito

Background: It's Arch Rivals on ice! It's everything many of us love about hockey - beating your opponent into a bloody pulp and the dream of driving that goalie right through the net! The Video Hockey League features the most insane hockey game you'll ever play! It's 3-on-3 (one forward, one defenseman, one goalie), and nothing's really barred. Slashing, punching and kicking are all OK - actually I think it's encouraged. I owned this title many moons ago for the TG-16, a console I always despised for only having one controller port standard.

Graphics: 5/5
Other than an insanely-humongous hockey puck, this game is pretty crisp. The graphics on this game are so good you can tell how petrified the referee is (and bald, too). All of the players have unique facial features, and the playing screen as a whole is crisp.

Sound: 2.5/5
The biggest sound on the game is when the crowd roars after a goal is scored. Other than that, nothing to write home about.

Controls: 3.5/5
TG-16 controllers are designed just like NES controllers with a standard turbo control for the two action buttons. On offense, the action buttons allow you to pass and shoot. On defense, they allow you to wreak havoc on your opponent. Loses credit for that one controller slot issue.

Gameplay: 3.5/5
At first, this game rocks. It's awesome. But after awhile it can get boring doing the same things over and over again. While the "super shot" that sends the goalie into the goal is cool, this is one of the first times I'd seen what's become a bad trend in sports games - Captain Comeback AI. If a team gets far behind and grabs the "super drink," they become all-world in order to catch up. Sports games today seem to be going in this direction, a trend I don't like.

Overall: 3.625/5
This game looks great, as does many TG-16 titles. But a lack of depth and because all of the players featured in the game only differ in the way they look make this a game you'll put down quickly and seldom go back to.