''NHL Open Ice: 2 on 2 Challenge'', or just ''NHL Open Ice'', is an

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice hock ...

arcade game An arcade game or coin-op game is a coin-operated entertainment machine typically installed in public businesses such as restaurants, bars and amusement arcades. Most arcade games are presented as primarily games of skill and include arcade v ...

released by

Midway Games Midway Games Inc., known previously as Midway Manufacturing and Bally Midway, and commonly known as simply Midway, was an American video game developer and publisher. Midway's franchises included ''Mortal Kombat'', ''Rampage (series), Rampage'' ...

in 1995. It features comically exaggerated hockey play, causing it to often be described as an ice hockey equivalent to Midway's ''

NBA Jam ''NBA Jam'' (sometimes "Jam" for short) is a long-running basketball video game series based on the National Basketball Association (NBA). Initially developed as arcade games by Midway, the game found popularity with its photorealistic digiti ...

''. It was ported to the

PlayStation is a video gaming brand that consists of five home video game consoles, two handhelds, a media center, and a smartphone, as well as an online service and multiple magazines. The brand is produced by Sony Interactive Entertainment, a divisi ...

in 1996. The is near identical to its arcade counterpart with exception to the fact that the Winnipeg Jets moved to Phoenix after the conclusion of the 1995–96 season, thus the

Phoenix Coyotes The Arizona Coyotes are a professional ice hockey team based in the Phoenix metropolitan area. The Coyotes compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division in the Western Conference and currently play at the Mull ...

replaced the Jets in the PlayStation port. ''NHL Open Ice'' was released on PC (

Windows Windows is a group of several proprietary graphical operating system families developed and marketed by Microsoft. Each family caters to a certain sector of the computing industry. For example, Windows NT for consumers, Windows Server for serv ...

) in 1996-1997 featuring the same roster and teams as the PlayStation version. The game is an official licensed product of the NHLPA (National Hockey League Players Association).

Development

Jack Haeger was lead game designer and an avid hockey player. The lead programmer was Mark Penacho, assisted by Bill Dabelstein. Sound design and music by Jon Hey. The skating sounds were recorded by Jon Hey at the Chicago Park District's only indoor ice rink, McFetridge Sports Center, which is just a block North of what was once Midway's Chicago studios. The announcer in the game is the famous voice of the

Chicago Blackhawks The Chicago Blackhawks (spelled Black Hawks until 1986, and known colloquially as the Hawks) are a professional ice hockey team based in Chicago. The Blackhawks compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division i ...

Pat Foley. If a team achieves "On-Fire" status (made famous initially by Midway's ''

''), Pat Foley's voice will occasionally announce: "Toasty", a reference to ''

Mortal Kombat ''Mortal Kombat'' is an American media franchise centered on a series of video games originally developed by Midway Games in 1992. The development of the first game was originally based on an idea that Ed Boon and John Tobias had of making a v ...

''. A version of ''NHL Open Ice'' for

Panasonic M2 The Panasonic M2 is a video game console platform developed by 3DO and then sold to Matsushita, a company known outside Japan by the brand Panasonic. Initially announced as a peripheral chip for the 3DO Interactive Multiplayer, it was later un ...

was in development and slated to be one of the launch titles but it never occurred due to the system's cancellation.

Reception

Reviewing the arcade version, '' Next Generation'' called the game "''NBA Jam'' on ice", and said it would be particularly appreciated since arcade hockey games were almost unheard of at the time. They applauded the game's full NHL licensing and player rosters, flaming pucks, two-on-two mode, commentary, and overall depth and playability of its hockey action, and concluded that "Williams rarely makes a bad move, and ''Open Ice'' is testament to its conservative but consistent quality games." Bruised Lee of ''

GamePro Gamepro.com is an international multiplatform video game magazine media company that covers the video game industry, video game hardware and video game software in countries such as Germany and France. The publication, GamePro, was originally la ...

'' similarly said the game "proves that Midway will continue to dominate the arcade sports market long after the success of ''NBA Jam''." He praised the numerous Easter eggs, sharp graphics, fluid animation, and variety of moves. Brad Cook of ''

AllGame RhythmOne , previously known as Blinkx, and also known as RhythmOne Group, is an American digital advertising technology company that owns and operates the web properties AllMusic, AllMovie, and SideReel. Blinkx was founded in 2004, went publ ...

'' called the same game "a must play for any hockey fan." In 1996 the arcade version was placed on display in the

Hockey Hall of Fame , logo = Hockey Hall of Fame Logo.svg , logo_upright = 0.5 , image = Hockey Hall of Fame, Toronto.jpg , caption = The Hall's present location on Yonge Street since 1992 , map_type = , former_name = , established = 1943 , location = 30 Y ...

. The PlayStation and PC versions divided reviewers. Jeff Kitts of ''

GameSpot ''GameSpot'' is an American video gaming website that provides news, reviews, previews, downloads, and other information on video games. The site was launched on May 1, 1996, created by Pete Deemer, Vince Broady and Jon Epstein. In addition ...

'', The Rookie of ''

'', and Dean Hager of ''

Electronic Gaming Monthly ''Electronic Gaming Monthly'' (often abbreviated to ''EGM'') is a monthly American video game magazine. It offers video game news, coverage of industry events, interviews with gaming figures, editorial content and product reviews. History The m ...

'' all agreed that it offered fun and fast ''NBA Jam''-style hockey and was a faithful translation of the arcade version. Kitts acknowledged problems with the animations but praised the inclusion of novelty power-up codes, and judged the game an overall refreshing break from realistic hockey sims. The Rookie went so far as to say that it "shoots and scores at every level." In contrast, Hager's co-reviewer Kraig Kujawa said it "doesn't seem to capture the magic that made BA Jamso popular", and that it compares poorly to its similar contemporary, ''

Wayne Gretzky's 3D Hockey ''Wayne Gretzky's 3D Hockey'' is a video game developed and published by Atari Games for the arcade in 1996. A port for the Nintendo 64 console was released almost simultaneously with the arcade version, on November 11, 1996, making it the first ...

'' for the

Nintendo 64 The (N64) is a home video game console developed by Nintendo. The successor to the Super Nintendo Entertainment System, it was released on June 23, 1996, in Japan, on September 29, 1996, in North America, and on March 1, 1997, in Europe and Au ...

. ''Next Generation'' agreed that it simply lacked the spark of ''NBA Jam'', and also "fails to capture the coin-op's flashy essence", citing smaller characters, missing frames of animation, a weaker color palette, and missing audio effects compared to the arcade version. ''

Official UK PlayStation Magazine An official is someone who holds an office (function or mandate, regardless whether it carries an actual working space with it) in an organization or government and participates in the exercise of authority, (either their own or that of their s ...

'' said that players should "avoid the game at all costs." Stephen Poole of ''GameSpot'' said of the PC version, "''NHL Open Ice'' isn't the kind of game you'll play for hours on end, but it is the kind that you can fire up just about any time for 20 or 30 minutes of fun, or leave running at your next party for your guests to enjoy. Except for the graphics in the full-screen mode, they'll think they're at the arcade - and with a game like this, you can't ask any more than that."

Notes

References

External links

* *
''2 On 2 Open Ice Challenge''
at

{{DEFAULTSORT:2 On 2 Open Ice Challenge 1995 video games Arcade video games Avalanche Software games Cancelled Panasonic M2 games Windows games PlayStation (console) games Midway video games National Hockey League video games Video games developed in the United States Video games scored by Jonathan Hey Video games set in 1995 Video games set in 1996 Multiplayer and single-player video games

Development

Reception

See also

Notes

References

External links