Old Arcade Game Brings Back Childhood Memories

I remember growing up I would spend all of my change at the arcade in my neighborhood. I would play Ivan Stewart's Off Road Challenge, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, the Simpsons, Street Fighter and NBA Jam. I did not really get into Pac-Man, Frogger or Donkey King. In 1995, a new arcade game was released by Midway which was a hockey version of NBA Jam. The title was NHL Open Ice. The game was a goalie's worst nightmare come to life.

The basic rules were to outscore the opposing teams. This was a four player game. Two skaters in both sides and the goaltender was controlled by the computer. The controls were fairly simple. The joystick was accompanied by a shoot button, pass button, and turbo button. You could body check if you held the turbo and pass buttons simultaneously. There were no penalties. Holding turbo and shoot would make your player do a trick shot: either a spin-o-rama shot or a somersault 10 feet in the air then a shot. If you scored so many goals, assists, and had steals and checks, your player could get on fire and have unlimited turbo until one of two scenarios, the other team scores a goal, or your player scores 3 goals in a row and blows the net up.

In 1995 there were 26 NHL teams. No Predators, Thrashers, Wild, or Blue Jackets. The Hurricanes were known as the Hartford Whalers. The Coyotes were known as the Winnipeg Jets. Those were the days when offense was at an all time high! Every team had at least 2 players, but some teams gave the option of subbing in other stars. Each player's ratings are shown: speed, shooting, passing, checking. Some players are better than others. Line changes are made after the first and second periods. You could not however change your goalie or pull him for an extra attacker. The game has a point. If you enter your initials you can save your progress as you try to win the Stanley Cup by defeating all 26 NHL teams. If you can do this, you will unlock special teams as your opponents. Special teams can include any mix of players in the game and the actual faces of the people who designed the game, including legendary play by play announcer Pat Foley.

Pat Foley was the radio announcer of the Chicago Blackhawks. He currently does Chicago Wolves games. His famous calls are what make NHL Open Ice worth playing. It is actually funny because from time to time he will announce Yzerman even when Detroit is not playing. My favorite Foley phrase is "Kick save and a beauty!" The special effects are pretty good for 1995.

You can really send people flying through the air with a bone crushing body check. Sometimes you will break the glass when you check another player. You can even knock the goalie unconscious with a head hunter slap shot. Of course there are 2 cheer leaders that offer game play tips. The models playing the cheerleaders are both nice to look at: Rebecca Scott and Heather Beach.

The game was also released for the PC and Sony Playstation but the arcade version cannot be duplicated. This game is most fun when four people are playing it. When you play the computer it gets frustrating because the computer creates the illusion that it cheats. It seems like their goalie is a wall and your goalie is Swiss cheese. One time I felt that my team was cheating as I was Vancouver and I beat Detroit 26-4. In my opinion, Detroit is the top team in the game so I was very impressed with that outcome.