Olympic Hockey 98 Nintendo 64

While ~Czechoslovakia may have taken home the gold behind the stellar netminding of ~Dominik Hasek during the 1998 ~Olympic Winter Games in ~Nagano, ~Japan, now is your chance to see what might have happened if, say, you were leading the heavily favored Canadian team or the underdogs from ~Belarus. All fourteen teams from ~Nagano are included, each with seventeen players ready to bring home the gold for their respective countries.

Adopting the same engine from Midway's past two hockey titles on the Nintendo 64, Olympic Hockey 98 features international rules, which means playing on a slightly larger rink if you're in regulation mode. Players will also drop their gloves and duke it out if their "angry meters" fill up as the game progresses (with penalties assessed once the fight is over), and you can trade players between countries by having them "defect."

You'll also need to watch your players' fatigue level and make line changes if necessary. As in the two previous Wayne Gretzky games on the system, players can witness an optional purple streak following the puck a la the hockey broadcasts on ~Fox. Moves include two types of checks, speed bursts, one-timers and three different shots: wrist, slap and power.

Olympic Hockey 98 lets you take a team through four different modes: Arcade, where the goal is to beat every team once until victorious; Qualify, where you play until you are eligible for the Olympics; Finals, where you add two teams to the six already pre-qualified and embark on a single-elimination tournament; and Playoffs, which is the same as Finals, except you pick the team matchups and play a Round Robin tournament before proceeding to the single-elimination round.

The game will also keep track of statistics, win-loss records and high scores with a ~Controller Pak accessory, or players can resume progress through the use of passwords. Up to four players can hit the ice at once, and options include three-on-three, four-on-four or five-on-five games with your choice of two rink sizes. Other notable features include a Practice mode, five difficulty levels, adjustable period lengths, two play speeds, seven camera angles and the ability to edit the skill levels of your players. ~ Brad Cook, All Game Guide