NHL 98

• Release Date: 1997
• Genre: Sports
• Style: Hockey
• Similar Games: NHL 97 (PlayStation), NHL 96 (IBM PC Compatible), NHL 96 (Super Nintendo Entertainment System), NHL 97 (Super Nintendo Entertainment System), NHL 95 (Super Nintendo Entertainment System), NHL 95 (Sega Genesis), NHL 97 (Sega Genesis), NHL 97 (Sega Saturn), NHL 97 (IBM PC Compatible), NHL 96 (Sega Genesis)

Game Description

Electronic Arts' longstanding hockey franchise comes to a 16-bit end with NHL 98, the seventh game released in the Genesis series. While the same engine found in both NHL 96 and NHL 97 is used in this game, there are a few new features that set this title apart from the rest. These include the following: three different game speeds to choose from; a two-line pass rule; a "Coaching Style" menu allowing players to apply one of five strategies (offense, defense, balanced, all-out offense or all-out defense) to different lines; updated team rosters to reflect the 1997 season; player ratings based on the 1996 season; automatic goalie switching; and enhanced penalty awareness.

Returning to the game are 26 NHL teams, two All-Star squads, and three National teams (United States, Canada and Europe). Battery backup will track statistics, season progress and All-Time Records in thirteen categories, including "Most Breakaways," "Fastest Goal" and "Best Shooting Percentage." The seven game modes consist of Regular Game, Playoffs, Best-of-Seven Playoffs, Season, Shootout, Practice, and Skills Challenge. Complete roster management lets you trade, create, release or sign players, so you can put yourself in the game if you so desire! Up to four players can play simultaneously with the 4-Way Play adapter.

Review: Overall

It's hard to believe this series dates back to 1991. Since that time we've seen the first 16-bit game with an NHL license for real teams, followed by an NHLPA license for real players, then both NHL and NHLPA licenses, as well as fighting, no fighting, injuries with blood, injuries without blood, no season option, complete season mode, trades, the addition of one-timers, create players, authentic organ music, crowds pounding on the glass, four player support, and countless other refinements to make this series one of Electronic Arts' most recognizable franchises this side of John Madden Football.

If you were to look for the two most common features in each of the seven hockey games, you'd come up with the bird's eye perspective and unfortunate lack of a strong computer opponent. Although this area has certainly improved over the years, it still isn't one of the game's strongest selling points. NHL 98 is no different, although it does have the three difficulty levels first introduced in NHL 96. This means if you set it on All-Star difficulty, choose a weaker team, and the planets are aligned properly, you'll lose a game or two.

So what's new for NHL 98? Perhaps the biggest addition is the three adjustable speeds. While I've always thought the default speed was fine, now players can slow it down or bump it up a notch. The slow speed definitely takes some getting used to, but it's a nice option to have for those owning the portable Nomad since the action is easier to follow on the smaller screen. The fastest speed isn't a huge difference over the normal setting, however, so don't expect it to run twice as fast as previous games.

The coaching options have expanded so you can now assign different offensive and defensive strategies to different lines. For example, a balanced package involves the following: defensemen play from the opponent's blue line and back, the center plays from the opponent's net and back, while wingmen play forward of the blue line. Having trouble scoring? The "all-out offense" package lets defensemen play between the blue lines, the center from beyond the red line to the opponent's net, and wingmen past the red line as well.

Other than these additional features, there's not much worth talking about for those who own earlier versions. In fact, if you have NHL 97, there's no real reason to get this game unless you are fanatical about having updated player ratings. The NHL series has hit the ceiling on the Genesis platform with 1996's game (some would argue that it hit the ceiling around 1993), so this title offers the least in terms of enhancements. NHL 98 is still very fun to play, but it's time to bid this series a fond 16-bit farewell and move on to the next generation systems.

Review: Enjoyment

The game is still fun as ever, especially when you have three other friends playing along. The difficulty levels and three different speeds are nice touches.

Review: Graphics

Don't expect anything new here. It looks exactly like the last two games in the series!

Review: Sound

The sound has always been a strong point in the series, although NHL '94 seemed to have a greater variety of organ tunes.

Review: Replay Value

The computer opponent is much more challenging thanks to the choice of difficulty levels, although I wish you could tweak the computer AI to have it play differently.

Review: Documentation

The documentation is thorough, although by now everyone should know how to play by heart.

Production Credits