“If it’s in the game, it’s in the game,” the mega publisher’s sports titles were about much more than realism. While they were always about providing a realistic experience, there was always an effort to simultaneously maintain a massively fun environment. While the Madden series is often at the forefront of EA’s legacy, their hockey games have been just as pivotal to their longevity as one of the most celebrated companies in all of gaming. In terms of EA’s greatest achievements on the ice, NHL 94 is often considered EA Sports’ landmark hockey title – and for good reason. It’s the one that set the tone for over 20 years of iconic games. With the addition of the one-timer (for non-hockey fans, that’s when a player can shoot the puck when passed to him, without stopping it) and the updates to the already awesome gameplay formula from previous games in the series, NHL 94 is an undoubted classic. It’s still fun to play today – so much so that the source code for the game has been altered for years by amateur game developers who have updated the game’s rosters and features. Simply put, in terms of EA’s legendary hockey series, the fun never ends.
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Patrick Hickey, Jr., is the founder and editor-in-chief of ReviewFix.com and a lecturer of English and journalism at Kingsborough Community College, in Brooklyn, New York. Over the past decade, his video game coverage has been featured in national ad campaigns by top publishers the likes of Nintendo, Deep Silver, Disney and EA Sports. His book series, "The Minds Behind the Games: Interviews With Cult and Classic Game Developers," from McFarland and Company, has earned praise from Forbes, Huffington Post, The New York Daily News and MSG Networks. He is also a former editor at NBC and National Video Games Writer at the late-Examiner.com
