Blades of Steel

Developer: Konami
Year: 1988

Blades of Steel is a great game. It's as good as I remember, and please keep in mind that I hate hockey, like, really, really hate it. Blades of Steel is fun and accessible, but offers some hints at depth. It's the kind of game that balances skill with dumb luck and NES stupidness so well that it's hard not to find something you like.

Laura and I played one complete game -- I forget who she took, but I took NY. I don't know that it matters. The controls come back immediately -- shoot, pass, switch to the nearest guy, and the little arrow in goal that you have to stand on to make saves. Blades of Steel feels really good -- when you want to do something, it's easy to make your guy do it, and when the ice fights back and you slip around, it feels like it's your fault for not anticipating.

The little touches are excellent -- there's a little bit of voice, which is rare, and the player animations are varied enough. The halftime show is this great Konami shooter (Gradius?) played on the arena scoreboard, along with an ad for a couple of other Konami games. Can anyone verify whether this is the first in-game product placement?

Of course, there's also fighting in Blades, which is awesome, because the loser goes to the penalty box. The NHL could learn a real lesson here, if it still existed.

So, go play Blades of Steel. It does just about everything right. The only thing wrong with it is that it's a hockey game, and it really succeeds anyway. It's also available on Virtual Console, so if you have a Wii, you don't even have to drag your NES out.

Rating: 8/10 I'd play it again, right now.
Advice: Be player 1. It seems like it doesn't matter, but they get to play Gradius after 2nd period.
Best Moment: Explaining the fight mini-game to laura, and then getting my ass kicked.