NHLPA Hockey '93

[Melf]

Electronic Arts has long been associated with quality sports games, but some of its releases have flown a bit under the radar, and with good reason. The NHLPA Hockey series evolved into the popular and long-lived NHL juggernaut, but did EA hit the rink running with this initial installment or serve up a body check? Read the full review and see!

[cowboyscowboys]

horseshit review

[knicksfan89]

horseshit review

agreed, as the first nhl game on the megadrive to include real nhl players and for being the first hockey game I ever got, this is a definite 10 for me

[Splatterhouse5]

Hehe...I guess this is another "guilty pleasure" for me, because this game was easily one of the 3 most played games for me on the Genny. IMO, at the time of it's release it was the best hockey game ever made. I actually got more fanatical over the sport because of this game, and spent countless hours playing this with friends and family. Sure, the same impact can't be felt for the game now, but I still find it fun whenever I do give it a nostalgic whirl.

[streetsofrage]

this is the best hockey game on the genesis , its only flaw is that it doesn't have one timers and I think this was the only game where you could make Gretzky's head bleed

[Genesis Knight]

This was one of the first Genesis games I owned. It's a pretty quality hockey game, and compares favorably against later NHL games from EA. (Retains the fights and blood for heavy injuries, too.)

[CrazyIntent]

This is one of the worst reviews I've seen on this site. Hardly any mention of the graphics, sound, or gameplay and just continues blabbering on about EASN, Proset and no real teams. Most games at that time did not have both player and team licenses.

The game was tops for its time, great graphics, solid gameplay. Little details like the organ tunes, breaking glass behind the net, fighting, blood, and injuries are great. NHL '94 surpasses it no doubt, as it speeds up and tightens the gameplay (one-timers significantly alter things). But to give this great game a 4/10 is a travesty.

[streetsofrage]

This is one of the worst reviews I've seen on this site. Hardly any mention of the graphics, sound, or gameplay and just continues blabbering on about EASN, Proset and no real teams. Most games at that time did not have both player and team licenses.

The game was tops for its time, great graphics, solid gameplay. Little details like the organ tunes, breaking glass behind the net, fighting, blood, and injuries are great. NHL '94 surpasses it no doubt, as it speeds up and tightens the gameplay (one-timers significantly alter things). But to give this great game a 4/10 is a travesty.

I haven't broken the glass behind the net in a long time

[EddieJ1984]

The lawsuit clearly happened around when this game came out, cause I have a copy of it where it says EA Sports everywhere instead of EASN.

[havok666]

I don't agree with the score. Giving it 4/10 is bullshit and makes the game seem like it's unplayable and broken. It's outdated, but the gameplay is still top notch.

[profholt82]

This was my assessment of the game I wrote up a while back. It's not a critique, but a once over about the game. I think it was a big step forward in the evolution of the series.


NHLPA 93 is everything that a sequel is supposed to be. It didn't alter much of the gameplay from the original NHL Hockey format (although the player movement does feel slightly smoother), but it included a myriad of extra features that enhanced the game and took it to another level. First and foremost is the inclusion of every actual player in the league, each with his own meticulously specialized attributes. It is a little funny that the team names are not included though. Each city is represented and each team has the correct colors, but you will not see the words "Red Wings" or "Bruins" in this game. Honestly though, it isn't really noticeable.



Due to the inclusion of a battery, games can be saved and statistics can be tracked throughout the duration of the playoffs. MVP awards are awarded to the star players of each game, and of the entire playoffs. As far as on-the-ice action, many little features are added to make the game experience more realistic. The fighting is greatly enhanced with the sweater grab and uppercut punches added, and players can now be injured (they sometimes actually bleed on the ice). Crowd noise is a factor with the inclusion of a noise meter which fluctuates depending on how well your team is playing. Occasionally the glass can be broken, this is usually initiated by an errant slap shot by a player with incredible shot power, but lower shot accuracy, Al Iafrate is a perfect subject for this.



While NHL Hockey included line changes, line management was not possible. You simply had to play whomever they had programmed. 93 allows players to manage each individual line, including the power play and penalty kill lines. Team management was now in its infancy. This simple inclusion was a huge step forward for sports simulation video games. Of course it was just the tip of the skate

[genesisguy]

4 out of 10? Jeez. I think NHL 94 is the best of the series and still a damn fun and relevant game to this day. '93 isn't as good as '94's game play, but what keeps '94 from being a perfect 10 for me is the lack of fighting and blood. Which are present in '93 so kind of that alone makes it worth more than 4 in my book.

[Breetai]

Electronic Arts has long been associated with quality sports games, but some of its releases have flown a bit under the radar, and with good reason. The NHLPA Hockey series quickly faded away in the light of the incredibly popular and well-made NHL franchise. Did it ever have a chance against the hockey juggernaut? Read the full review and see!

What the F#$%??????

It's the same series! With that kind of idiocy in the preview, I am looking forward to what will probably be a train wreck of a review. Consider researching before writing. I am guessing you didn't play these when they were new?



After reading:

It was the first EA Sports Hockey game released on the NES

*sigh*...


You gave it a 4/10 and said NOTHING to justify that. You nitpicked on some of it looking similar what ESPN stuff (logos and whatnot) and then said that nobody remembers this game? What? It's the only one to have a mainstream movie reference. People pop this one just to see blood after fights. It's the second most popular among my friends, after '94.

Truthfully, I just think it’s simply because the game isn’t very good.

Again, you said NOTHING to justify this statement. In fact, you said stuff like " I consider it to be the pilot episode to what continues to be a historic series today" and "The game looks great for its time period."

If you are going to give a grade for a game, justify it. You didn't. If this was a school paper, you would have failed to back your point up and therefore failed the paper (or at least that part of the grading scheme).


I know, maybe I'm mean... but WHY does it deserve a 4? I really don't understand it from what you wrote.

[Melf]

What the F#$%??????

It's the same series! With that kind of idiocy in the preview, I am looking forward to what will probably be a train wreck of a review. Consider researching before writing. I am guessing you didn't play these when they were new?

I don't play hockey, and I didn't write the review, but I'm sorry to have offended you with my idiocy. I unfortunately didn't have the benefit of your wisdom when I published it on Monday, so I'll fix it and hopefully better your opinion of me.

It's kind of curious how everyone loves this game so much and considers it to be such a classic, but it took 8 years to be reviewed.

[Breetai]

I don't play hockey, and I didn't write the review, but I'm sorry to have offended you with my idiocy. I unfortunately didn't have the benefit of your wisdom when I published it on Monday, so I'll fix it and hopefully better your opinion of me.

It's kind of curious how everyone loves this game so much and considers it to be such a classic, but it took 8 years to be reviewed.

Haha, well I take it back then since you didn't write it. And you edited, so there ya go! Maybe I woke up on the wrong side of the bed?


NHLPA '93 is awesome. It's just overshadowed by '94. '93 had fights and blood, and '94 had one-timers, an NHL license, 4-players and penalty shots. I had a 4-Way Play adapter when '94 came out (Sega CD version, anyway... I waited...), and it was pretty awesome.