Blades of Steel

Digitized sound effects include grunts and referee voices, but I could do without that annoying whistling that accompanies the crowd noise. The limited play-by-play is mainly limited to "makes the pass!" every time you pass the puck. In the tournament mode, I was shocked to see ads for other Konami games ("All your friends will want it!"). There's even a shooter mini-game. Blades of Steel has it all. Not only is it one of the best titles for the NES, but it's one of the best hockey games of all time.

You can’t go wrong between Blades of Steel and Ice Hockey. Both games are equally enjoyable but very different. This game goes for more realism and has much better graphics. While not perfect, it is about as good as sports games come on the NES.

All in all a nice and fun piece of sport gaming, but nothing that will really leave you breathless. You should still try it, especially if you can play against a human opponent, since the game can still provide a few hours fun.

Ah! The swish of skates against ice. The thwack of stick against puck. The thump of fist against head! This certainly is ice hockey! As with all sports simulations, the action is best appreciated with two-players (just make sure the violence happens on the screen and not off it), but that's not to say Blades of Steel is dull one-player game! With its multiple skill levels and different options, there's plenty of variety to keep a lonesome player happy - ice hockey doesn't sound like a really riveting subject matter for a console game, but this is a thoroughly enjoyable sports simulation which will keep you coming back to your Nintendo time and time again.

Normalerweise bin ich ja kein großer Freund von Sportspielen, aber Blades of Steel macht sogar mir Spaß. Hier wird Eishockey pur geboten. Wer einen Partner hat und zu zweit spielt, fühlt sich wie im richtigen Stadion.

When first reviewing Ice Hockey on the Virtual Console way back in December of 2006, I put a lot of emphasis on the rivalry between that game and this one – it really was a case of either/or in the '80s, as few young NES fans had the cash to be able to own both editions in their original cartridge forms. And the debate will still rage as to which one was really the better game to play, with Ice Hockey standing firm on its foundation of old-school Nintendo quirkiness and Blades of Steel offering a more standard, focused, grittier play experience. But now that both games are available for just five bucks, why not go for both? Especially if you've already downloaded Ice Hockey in the past – it's only an additional investment of 500 more Wii Points to get Blades as well and choose for yourself which you think is superior. That's got to be the ultimate recommendation here, and if you just can't pick between the two, flip a coin.

Very few hockey games were ever released for the NES, but those that were often had quite a following. Blades of Steel is no hockey simulator by any means, but it's enjoyable for a quick round of arcade-style action.

Blades isn't that bad for a Gameboy title. The action is a little fast and blurs a lot, but the gameplay is solid and fans of the NES cart will enjoy it. The addition of close-ups a la Double Dribble also adds to the game as does the two-player and practice modes.

An den Programmierern liegt es sicherlich nicht, daß diese Umsetzung etwas danebenging. Die haben sich nämlich redlich Mühe gegeben, Blades of Steel möglichst gut an den kleinen Schwarz-weiß-Bildschirm des Game Boy anzupassen. Die Spielfiguren haben gerade die richtige Größe, um genug Platz für Kombinationen zu lassen, ohne dabei zu futzelig auszusehen. Doch bei dieser rasanten Eishockeysimulation wird ständig nach links und rechts gescrollt, was beim Game Boy ab einer gewissen Geschwindigkeit in eine Art Grauschleier-Effekt ausartet. Zu häufig verliert man kurz die Übersicht ("Wo bin ich?") und kassiert deswegen ein Tor: Schade.