In light of the Fear the Fin guys organizing an NHL 09 tournament (get in on that if you're interested), I figured it was worth sharing a little something that would allow you to relive the old school days of hockey video gamedom. This one is for all the video gamers out there.
NHL 94 for Sega remains one of the more talked about subjects in hockey circles. And why not? The system set the standard for hockey games to come. If you played this game over a decade ago, and if you're anything like me, chances are you don't exactly have a Sega system lying around. No problem. There is a devoted cult of NHL 94 followers out there ready and willing to let you adapt the game to the computer. To be honest with you, it's a little scary.
How scary is it? Put it this way - people make an effort to keep track of and update actual team rosters. The video below shows the Penguins' 2007 roster as part of the NHL 94 emulator. Nerds unite!
NHL94.com allows you to download what's called an emulator to your computer. Basically, you get to play old Sega games on your computer without having to load up cartridges. The controls are obviously altered to arrow keys for movement and things like space to shoot and enter to pass, but after a game or two you kinda get used to it - and if I'm not mistaken you can sometimes edit those controls.
So while some blogs out there may be getting all modernish on us with that NHL 09 stuff, rest assured you can still revert back to the 16-bit, skate end-to-end in three seconds goodness that started it all. And if you really want to go over the top, you can join one of the online NHL 94 leagues. But to be honest people may look at you differently if you do that...