Hit the Ice
Encyclopedia
Hit the Ice is an ice hockey
arcade game
released by Williams and ported to home consoles by Taito
. It is said to be the hockey version of Midway
's Arch Rivals
.
's Blades of Steel
), this game only has three (forward, defense, and goalie). Instead of being normal sized, the players look more like football players and have an older look to them.
version the colors were also given city names: Montreal Reds, New York Blues, L.A. Yellows, Toronto Whites, Chicago Orange and Minneapolis Green.
Hit the Ice is based on the game of ice hockey, the aim of the game being to outscore your opponent by shooting the puck into the opponent's net more often than your opponent over three periods of play.
Since the game is "the hockey version of Arch Rivals
", however, there are very few rules. Players have special moves, most of which are illegal moves in actual ice hockey (such as slashing, tripping, elbowing, or kicking opponents in the groin). Fights are common, though a player losing a fight is not penalized. Instead, he becomes sluggish for a short period. If the player loses several fights in one period, he leaves the game with an injury.
Every player is capable of a "super shot", which must be charged beforehand. If allowed to charge and shoot, the shot will hit the goaltender with such force that he is knocked back into the net along with the puck, counting as a goal. If a team is far enough behind, his team may receive a power-up in the form of a "super drink", making the stick of the player who consumes it flash with energy and turning every shot into a super shot for a short time.
version of Hit the Ice was the most unusual of all the home console ports. The game was never released commercially. The biggest difference in this particular version of the game was its Quest Mode, which mixed RPG elements into a hockey game for the only time.
Ice hockey
Ice hockey, often referred to as hockey, is a team sport played on ice, in which skaters use wooden or composite sticks to shoot a hard rubber puck into their opponent's net. The game is played between two teams of six players each. Five members of each team skate up and down the ice trying to take...
arcade game
Arcade game
An arcade game is a coin-operated entertainment machine, usually installed in public businesses such as restaurants, bars, and amusement arcades. Most arcade games are video games, pinball machines, electro-mechanical games, redemption games, and merchandisers...
released by Williams and ported to home consoles by Taito
Taito Corporation
The is a Japanese publisher of video game software and arcade hardware wholly owned by publisher Square Enix. Taito has their headquarters in the Shinjuku Bunka Quint Building in Yoyogi, Shibuya, Tokyo, sharing the facility with its parent company....
. It is said to be the hockey version of Midway
Midway Games
Midway Games, Inc. is an American company that was formerly a major video game publisher. Following a bankruptcy filing in 2009, it is no longer active and is in the process of liquidating all of its assets. Midway's titles included Mortal Kombat, Ms.Pac-Man, Spy Hunter, Tron, Rampage, the...
's Arch Rivals
Arch Rivals
Arch Rivals is a basketball arcade game created by Midway in 1989. The game billed itself as "A Basket Brawl." It was also included on Midway Arcade Treasures 2 for the PlayStation 2, Xbox and GameCube and Midway Arcade Treasures Deluxe Edition for the PC...
.
Players
The game is unique because instead of having six players per team (like KonamiKonami
is a Japanese leading developer and publisher of numerous popular and strong-selling toys, trading cards, anime, tokusatsu, slot machines, arcade cabinets and video games...
's Blades of Steel
Blades of Steel
Blades of Steel is an ice hockey video game released by Konami for the arcade in , and ported to the Nintendo Entertainment System in . All teams are fictional but based out of real Canadian and American cities. The game is known for its fast paced hockey action and especially for the fighting. It...
), this game only has three (forward, defense, and goalie). Instead of being normal sized, the players look more like football players and have an older look to them.
Teams
In the arcade version there are only two teams (Red and Blue) and players can be chosen for each position. When Taito released the home console versions, more teams were added and players were automatically assigned to teams in order to get to the game faster. For the SNESSuper Nintendo Entertainment System
The Super Nintendo Entertainment System is a 16-bit video game console that was released by Nintendo in North America, Europe, Australasia , and South America between 1990 and 1993. In Japan and Southeast Asia, the system is called the , or SFC for short...
version the colors were also given city names: Montreal Reds, New York Blues, L.A. Yellows, Toronto Whites, Chicago Orange and Minneapolis Green.
Gameplay
Since the game is "the hockey version of Arch Rivals
Arch Rivals
Arch Rivals is a basketball arcade game created by Midway in 1989. The game billed itself as "A Basket Brawl." It was also included on Midway Arcade Treasures 2 for the PlayStation 2, Xbox and GameCube and Midway Arcade Treasures Deluxe Edition for the PC...
", however, there are very few rules. Players have special moves, most of which are illegal moves in actual ice hockey (such as slashing, tripping, elbowing, or kicking opponents in the groin). Fights are common, though a player losing a fight is not penalized. Instead, he becomes sluggish for a short period. If the player loses several fights in one period, he leaves the game with an injury.
Every player is capable of a "super shot", which must be charged beforehand. If allowed to charge and shoot, the shot will hit the goaltender with such force that he is knocked back into the net along with the puck, counting as a goal. If a team is far enough behind, his team may receive a power-up in the form of a "super drink", making the stick of the player who consumes it flash with energy and turning every shot into a super shot for a short time.
NES version
The NESNintendo Entertainment System
The Nintendo Entertainment System is an 8-bit video game console that was released by Nintendo in North America during 1985, in Europe during 1986 and Australia in 1987...
version of Hit the Ice was the most unusual of all the home console ports. The game was never released commercially. The biggest difference in this particular version of the game was its Quest Mode, which mixed RPG elements into a hockey game for the only time.
Players
- "Dicky" Fontaine, spoof of Dicky MooreDicky MooreDicky Moore is a London based singer-songwriter who also plays guitar with Scritti Politti. Moore formed the band Scintillate in 1994 and enjoyed local success until their split in 2005. Shortly afterwards Moore joined Scritti Politti on guitar after meeting Green Gartside in a Hackney pub...
- "Gunner" Hall, spoof of Glenn HallGlenn HallGlenn Henry "Mr. Goalie" Hall is a former professional ice hockey goaltender. During his National Hockey League career with the Detroit Red Wings, Chicago Black Hawks, and St. Louis Blues, Hall seldom missed a game and was a consistent performer, winning the Vezina Trophy three times, and the...
- Pierre Bourdoir,
- Phil Bonker, spoof of Phil EspositoPhil EspositoPhilip Anthony Esposito, OC is a former Canadian professional ice hockey centre who played 18 seasons in the National Hockey League for the Chicago Black Hawks, Boston Bruins and New York Rangers. He is an Honoured Member of the Hockey Hall of Fame and is considered to be one of the best to have...
- "Battleship" Boyd
- David VolekDavid VolekDavid Volek is a Czech former professional ice hockey player.Volek was born in the former Czechoslovakia, where he played in 1983–84 for HC Slavia Prague. He later moved to HC Sparta Praha and became a member of the Czecholovakian national ice hockey team for the 1988 Winter Olympics...
- Iven Yakashev, spoof of a Soviet player from 1972
- Willy Lindberg, spoof of Ted LindsayTed LindsayRobert Blake Theodore Lindsay is a former professional ice hockey player, a forward for the Detroit Red Wings and Chicago Black Hawks of the National Hockey League . He scored over 800 points in his Hockey Hall of Fame career, won the Art Ross Trophy in 1950, and won the Stanley Cup four times...
- Tom Horyna, spoof of Tim HortonTim HortonMyles Gilbert "Tim" Horton was a Canadian professional ice hockey defenceman. He played in 24 seasons in the National Hockey League for the Toronto Maple Leafs, New York Rangers, Pittsburgh Penguins, and Buffalo Sabres. He was also a businessman and a co-founder of Tim Hortons. He died in an...
- Al Gigliano
- Happy Goleck ("happy-go-lucky")
- Wayne Greatman, spoof of Wayne GretzkyWayne GretzkyWayne Douglas Gretzky, CC is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player and former head coach. Nicknamed "The Great One", he is generally regarded as the best player in the history of the National Hockey League , and has been called "the greatest hockey player ever" by many sportswriters,...
- Reggy Marsh
- Jonny Novak
- Petter Kidd, *"Bo" Cleveland
- Bob Dover
- Mike Barr