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NHL Slapshot

NHL Slapshot

Hockey without violence, cute little peewees, and a short plastic stick. Love has been hitting the ice...

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Your typical NHL title comes with an PEGI rating of 16+ these days. It probably deters one or two parents who want their kids to experience a politically correct game of hockey in the couch. NHL Slapshot doesn't include the more violent activities hockey players sometimes partake in. But EA doesn't stop there when it comes to appealing to a younger audience (and their parents). NHL Slapshot is sold with a small plastic hockey stick. A real life hockey stick should be almost as long as you are tall, but this one only reaches my pubes when I hold it in my hand.

Such a short stick doesn't do much for the immersion. And games that come with unnecessary plastic annoys me. Mountains of waste - any bells ringing, EA? Nevertheless it works fine in all simplicity. Wrist shots, slap shots and checks, are performed with ease. But as soon as I've established that the stick functions, I remove my Wiimote, and settle down on the couch to further my hockey career from a more comfortable position.

Great games aimed for kids always makes me happy. You can sell any crap to kids. Personally I was never able to distinguish the classics from the shovelware on NES during the 80's. The youngest kids are often left to chose slow edutainment games on PC, or games based on animated movies. But NHL Slapshot isn't a shoddy piece of software. The ambitions haven't been that high, men EA delivers an accessible sports game with lots of pace.

Parts of the soundtrack is truly horrific. Songs I have hated since I was twelve hit my ear drums like sledgehammers from the past. It is as unexpected as it is womit inducing to hear 2 Unlimited and Europe through the loud speakers. But horrible music and sports somehow belong together. In a way this is the most realistic part of the experience. Because NHL Slapshot doesn't aspire to simulate the true game of ice hockey. It's a game that's easy to grasp, with lots of pace, and where it rarely takes more than a few seconds between each goal. It's not unusual to see both teams reach double digits before the game is over. Thanks to the simple controls parents who are unfamiliar with games will be able to join their kids in the couch for a game of NHL Slapshot.

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The career mode kicks off in the peewee leagues. Little guys in giant hockey outfits do their best to impress their parents that on the other side of the boards. You progress through a series of games, and grow up. You will experience hair growth in unexpected areas and your hockey ability will also grow until you have finally reached the big league - NHL.

NHL Slapshot is a good game for kids and the entire family. There are no good alternatives on the Wii as far as I know and the fact that the game has been specifically designed for the Wii is evident. The lack of an online mode may put some people off, but NHL Slapshot is one of those games that are best played in the same room. The stick works fine if you enjoy moving around in front of your TV, but couch potatoes like myself will soon find themselves sitting down with a naked Wiimote and nunchuck instead. Hockey starved Wii owners should definitely take a closer look at it.

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07 Gamereactor UK
7 / 10
+
Good controls, nice career mode, accessible for all ages.
-
Unnecessary plastics, no online mode.
overall score
is our network score. What's yours? The network score is the average of every country's score

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