NHL 97 (1996)

Developer: Visual Concepts
Publisher: EA Sports
Platforms: Sega Saturn, PlayStation
Genres: Sport
Rating: 4.5 of 5, 9 player ratings

The 3D catalog: game boxes on wooden shelves, with the cat sitting at the counter next to its greeting.

The catalog in 3D

The same catalog has a room you can walk around in. The cat behind the counter is the AI Catbot, and they pick real games from it when you tell them what you feel like playing. Nothing is for sale, here or in there. Go in from here and this game is already out on the counter, with more like it waiting on the shelf next to it.

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How it feels

A slick and energetic hockey simulation that feels like a modest but satisfying step forward, best enjoyed with friends crowded around for multiplayer mayhem.

competitivefast-pacedaccessiblemultiplayer-friendlypolishedsports simulationarcadeysmooth

About

1997 edition of EA's NHL sport simulation series. Improvements in this edition come mostly in the graphical arena, with a refined version of the "virtual stadium" system that adds new camera angles (including the classical top-down one strangely missing from NHL 96), and polygonal players instead of the bitmap-based ones with motion-captured animations. Other extras include multiplayer support for up to 8 players through network or Gravis's GrIP system, the option to create new players and trade them around, and the usual amount of EA sports licensed multimedia flair, including an interesting "Goalie Mask Viewer" which lets you observe the elaboratedly decorated helmets of 30 goalies.

What players say

An early-3D hockey title that felt like a technical leap with polygon players, but suffered sluggish skating, slow shots, and glitches that made control disorienting. Remembered as a mixed, transitional EA entry.

Screenshots

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This page is from Underplayed Gems, a catalog of older and overlooked games. Not quite it? You can browse by platform and genre, or take this one into the 3D catalog and ask the Catbot for something closer.