''NHL Open Ice: 2 on 2 Challenge'' is an

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey in North America) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an Ice rink, ice skating rink with Ice hockey rink, lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. Tw ...

arcade video game An arcade video game is an arcade game that takes player input from its controls, processes it through electrical or computerized components, and displays output to an electronic monitor or similar display. All arcade video games are coin-oper ...

released by

Midway Games Midway Games Inc. (formerly Midway Manufacturing and Bally Midway, and commonly known simply as Midway) was an American video game company that existed from 1958 to 2010. Midway's franchises included ''Mortal Kombat'', ''Rampage (franchise), Ra ...

in 1995. It has been described as an ice hockey equivalent to Midway's ''

NBA Jam ''NBA Jam'' is a List of basketball video games, basketball video game series based on the National Basketball Association (NBA). Initially developed as arcade games by Midway Games, Midway, the game found popularity with its photorealistic digi ...

''. ''NHL Open Ice'' was ported to the

PlayStation is a video gaming brand owned and produced by Sony Interactive Entertainment (SIE), a division of Japanese conglomerate Sony. Its flagship products consists of a series of home video game consoles produced under the brand; it also consists ...

in 1996 with updated rosters and teams, the Winnipeg Jets having moved and become the

Phoenix Coyotes The Arizona Coyotes are an inactive professional ice hockey team based in the Phoenix metropolitan area. They competed in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division (NHL), Central Division (1996–1998, 2021–2024) and ...

. The game was released for

Windows Windows is a Product lining, product line of Proprietary software, proprietary graphical user interface, graphical operating systems developed and marketed by Microsoft. It is grouped into families and subfamilies that cater to particular sec ...

in 1996-1997, with the same roster and teams as the PlayStation version. The game is an official licensed product of the

National Hockey League Players' Association The National Hockey League Players' Association (NHLPA, ) is the trade union, labour union for the group of professional List of NHL players, hockey players who are under Standard Player Contracts to the 32 member clubs in the National Hockey ...

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 was 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 (N ...

Pat Foley Pat Foley (born 1954) is an American retired play-by-play commentator for ice hockey. Personal life Born in Glenview, Illinois in 1954, Pat Foley is the son of Mary and Bob Foley. He is an alumnus of Loyola Academy and Michigan State Univers ...

. 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 fighting game, fighting video games originally developed by Midway Games in 1992. The original ''Mortal Kombat (1992 video game), Mortal Kombat'' arcade game spawned Lis ...

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

Panasonic M2 Panasonic M2, earlier known as 3DO M2, is a multimedia terminal and cancelled video game console. It was initially developed by The 3DO Company as a peripheral chip for the 3DO hardware before turning into a standalone successor system. In Janu ...

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 Next Generation or Next-Generation may refer to: Publications and literature * ''Next Generation'' (magazine), video game magazine that was made by the now defunct Imagine Media publishing company * Next Generation poets (2004), list of young ...

'' 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'' was an American multiplatform video game magazine media company that published online and print content covering the video game industry, video game hardware and video game software. The magazine featured content on various video ...

'' 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 , a subsidiary of Nexxen, is an American digital advertising technology company that owns and operates the web properties AllMusic, AllMovie, and SideReel. Blinkx was founded in 2004, went public on the Alternative Investment Market, ...

'' 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 The Hockey Hall of Fame () is a museum and hall of fame located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Dedicated to the history of ice hockey, it holds exhibits about players, teams, National Hockey League (NHL) records, memorabilia and National Hockey Le ...

. 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'' (''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 magazine was fou ...

'' 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 an ice hockey 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 15, 1996, making ...

'' for the

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

. ''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 of 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 thei ...

'' 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

* * * (archived) {{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 Multiplayer and single-player 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

Development

Reception

See also

Notes

References

External links