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Summary of the Wayne Gretzky 3-D Hockey Experience
Story:
You play NHL Hockey.
Play mechanics:
The controls in Gretzky 3-D are customizable,
but even with your own custom setup it can be hard to play. There aren't
a whole lot of moves you can use during play. Basically, three of the C
Buttons perform different offensive or defensive actions, but mostly just
for show. The A and B buttons will be your primary tool. The Bottom C is
used for a burst of speed, and when used in conjunction with the shoot
button, it executes a turbo shot.
One thing that you need to know before starting to play is what a
"one timer" is. By pressing the A and B buttons simultaneously,
you can quickly pass the puck to a fellow team member for an automatic
shot at the net. This is the most basic way to score in the game, and it
isn't defined very well in the game's manual.
What's it like to play?:
This game felt more like playing a 16-bit SNES
Hockey game than a 64-bit N64 game -- it looked like an N64 game, but it
didn't play like one. The manual is exceptionally poor, making even the
simplest parts of the game seem complicated. This is bad news if you were
hoping to brush up on your knowledge of hockey gaming before starting to
play. The menus often leave you with no way to back out without hitting
the reset button on the N64. The control is loose, making me wonder if
Williams didn't find out about the N64's analog capabilities until late
in Gretzky 3-D's development. The functionality of the digital pad during
play only reinforces this thought. It is very clear that Nintendo did not
develop this title.
The game itself is pretty to look at, but boring to play in a one
player game. I can imagine this game being a lot of fun for the four player
mode, but anything other than that probably won't blow your socks off.
As a result, Gretzky 3-D would be a good rental when three of your friends
are coming over, but it's probably not worth owning.
One final note: I was very excited to try out the game's controller
color recognition, but was very disappointed to discover it not recognize
my black controller.
Overall Rating: Rental Only
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Breakdown of Gretzky 3-D's Game Elements....
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