With the recent release of NHL ’08, it’s hard to remember a time when we didn’t have a Skill Stick to embarrass goaltenders or an A.I.-engineered defense to stand us up at the blue line. Sure these technological advances have made our video gaming experience as close to reality as possible, but what happened to the games lacking glitz and glamour, that were instead made up with pure mindless entertainment and hockey originality? Sure, deciding whether to run the umbrella or the funnel in the offensive zone is fun, but sometimes you’d rather just skate like hell towards the puck carrier and hope you don’t crash into the boards. Here’s a tribute to the game cartridges that helped make our hockey video gaming experience what it is today.

Blades of Steel

Had a bad day at work and feel like you need to take it out on a member of the Columbus Blue Jackets? Good luck with these new hockey games, where you’ll find yourself skating around in circles trying to instigate a fight for hours. Then, when the icon finally flashes at the bottom of the screen, you’re on a breakaway to tie the game against Belarus. Why did you ever venture into international play in the first place? Need to change the momentum of the game? In Blades of Steel, much like in real hockey, all you have to do to start a fight is bump into an opposing player three times in a row without touching another player. When this is done, a Mortal Kombat-like screenshot arises and you proceed to get beaten close to death by the enforcer of the Edmonton Green Shirts (In Blades of Steel, there are only cities, no team names). Blades of Steel was also one of the first games which featured voice recognition. After a successful pass the computerized voice would exclaim “With the pass!” Though it’s somewhat incomparable to todays celebrity endorsed play-by-play, you’ll never forget the first time you heard an icing call on Blades of Steel.

NHL ‘94

Electronic Arts first started making hockey games in 1992, and with two titles under their belt in 1994, they released NHL ’94 which became a masterpiece in its own time and still stands to this day as one of the all-time great hockey video games. Since NHL ’94 was licensed by both the NHL and NHLPA, all teams and rosters were up to date, which allowed players to use their favorite players and teams. NHL ’94 had such a crisp look and feel for a game of the time period. From the blueness of the ice to the way the glass shattered when a slap shot missed the net, ’94 soon became a hit among hockey and video game fans alike. ’94 also introduced the one timer which was another way to rack up ridiculous numbers of goals. Those points actually meant something in this game as players we able to save their records for statistics such as goals, face offs, and body checks. Feeling reminiscent for your first true love, NHL ‘94? Don’t fret, EA actually included NHL ’94 in NHL ’06, so that gamers were able to go back and play the game that started it all. NHL ’94 did remove blood from the graphics when players became injured, which spawned an iconic pop culture debate in the movie “Swingers” which one of the most popular lines comes from Vince Vaughn’s character Trent when he says “I'm gonna make Gretzky's head bleed for super fan 99 over here,” and then proceeds to smash the virtual “Great One” into the boards, shattering the plexi-glass.

Stanley Cup

Released at about the same time that EA’s NHL series began to take off, Sculptured Software’s “Stanley Cup” debuted. Though highly overlooked, this game changed the way that we looked at hockey gaming and gave us our first glimpse at three-dimensional game play. There were a more than a few quirks, but it was a valiant effort. The camera would sit behind a movie player as they moved the puck up the ice. When they turned over the puck the camera would do a complete 180-degree turn much like when the ball is intercepted in a football game. Football is one thing, but in a game like hockey, which has an endless amount of turnovers one can imagine the amounts of motion sickness endured while playing a 30-minute game. It was worth it for the shoddy attempts at new camera angles more at home in a third person shooter. Though the game features three levels of difficulty, (Junior, NHL, and NHL Pro) the A.I. sometimes felt a bit overboard. At the higher levels the moment you touched the puck it seemed the grizzly defensemen morphed into heat seeking missiles with hands outstretched for a cross check to the neck. Stanley Cup was ahead of its time in its concept, but with limited technology, it left its users wishing they had bought NHL ’94.

Rock the Rink

For people who drool over realistic hockey games with the ability to create your ideal power play system, it may be hard get hung up on Rock the Rink, where you have the ability to light yourself on fire. Rock the Rink is an arcade-style hockey game where fictitious and NHL teams alike stick it out in a free for all three on three style of play. In a time where the EA NHL series began to get a bit repetitive year after year, Rock the Rink was a reminder of what video games are supposed to be, fun. The game was relatively ready to go out of the box and players were sniping the upper corners and laying big hits in no time. Rock the Rink also let players choose the make ups of their lines. Smaller players were finesse and the large gorilla looking players were obviously the bruisers. Lines were made up of all of one type of player or mixed up with say one finesse player and two enforcers. EA’s NHL series adopted this style of player categorization later on in its games, distinguishing a player as having a good shot or able to lay big hits.

All of these games, though they have most defiantly been collecting dust for the past few years, hold a special place in many hockey video gamers hearts. Would the player characterizations come around if Rock the Rink hadn’t introduced them? Would the camera movement in today’s games be the same if it wasn’t for Stanley Cup’s topsy-turvy shots? Well, probably. The point is these games have provided a lot of fun over the years, and though you’ll probably be halfway through a full regular season with your favorite team with live-feed internet roster updates, you’ll never forget the first time your goalie got stuck behind the net because of a glitch in NHL ‘94.