In December 1997, Wayne Gretzky’s 3D Hockey ’98, offering no notable improvement over the first (pretty solid) game. Two months later, Olympic Hockey ’98 is just another version of Wayne Gretzky’s 3D Hockey, just with the American teams replaced with those from the Olympics (although most of the players are generic and not based on real ones). IGN had a particularly scathing review, giving it a 0/10 and saying “We’ll post a new review when Midway releases a new game.” (that’s not a quote, that’s the entire review).

The biggest difference between Olympic Hockey and Wayne Gretzky are the default settings, with Olympic Hockey having everything set to simulation and strict. I realised I hated strict hockey, especially the ball going behind the goal resulting in a penalty, but change some settings and you can have fun again.

This isn’t a terrible game, it’s just a cheap cash-in.

Fun

So you get a couple of minor changes to the commentary, Nagano logos around the rink and under the ice, and the teams of the Olympic tournament. All 14 of them. Everything else is identical to the original.

Martin Kitts, N64 Magazine #15. Review Score: 60%

Remake or Remaster?

This game is pointless.

Official Ways to get the game

There’s no official way to play Olympic Hockey 98