Brett Hull Hockey
Ice hockey with Brett Hull and Al Michaels.
Brett Hull Hockey is a 1994 Super Nintendo ice hockey game from Radical Entertainment and Accolade. It stars NHL player Brett Hull, with a license from the NHL Players' Association and commentary by Al Michaels. Since the NHL itself did not endorse it, teams appear only by city name, without logos or emblems. The game earned mixed but positive reviews.
Quick Facts
- Developer
- Radical Entertainment
- Publisher
- Accolade (NA); Sony Electronic Publishing (EU)
- Composer
- Paul Wilkinson
- Platforms
- Super NES
- Released
- January 1994 (NA); 1994 (EU)
- Genre
- Sports
- Modes
- Single-player, multiplayer
Facts from the source article.
Gameplay
Brett Hull Hockey uses a 2.5D perspective with sprites. Most standard ice hockey rules are present but can be disabled via menu or in-game options. Additional options include toggling music and sound effects, and a pre-game coaching mode that can alter a team's performance. Game modes include exhibition match, regular season, and playoff competitions. Al Michaels provides play-by-play commentary, calling Brett Hull by name but referring to other players only by jersey number due to the lack of an NHL license; commentary can be turned off. Season progress is saved via password, and all modes support two-player play. Players can perform multiple types of shots and checks for offense and defense. Offsides occur when attacking players cross the blue line into the offensive zone before the puck. Penalties send offending players to the penalty box for a set time. Fights can break out between players. Teams are identified only by city name, with two original teams: Eastern All-Star and Western All-Star. Available cities include Calgary, Edmonton, Montreal, Ottawa, Quebec, Toronto, Vancouver, Winnipeg, Anaheim, Boston, Buffalo, Chicago, Dallas, Detroit, Florida, Hartford, Los Angeles, New Jersey, NY Islanders, NY Rangers, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, San Jose, St. Louis, Tampa Bay, and Washington.
Development and release
In April 1993, Accolade announced exclusive licensing agreements with Brett Hull and former New York Cosmos forward Pelé to endorse and help design sports games. Brett Hull Hockey was released in January 1994 by Accolade, and later in Europe by Sony Electronic Publishing. A Genesis version was advertised for a 1993/1994 release alongside the SNES version; it used isometric graphics instead of Mode 7 and was reportedly completed but cancelled for unknown reasons. In November 1993, Accolade signed an agreement with Atari Corporation to be a third-party developer for the Atari Jaguar, licensing five titles including Brett Hull Hockey. The Jaguar port was shown in early playable form at WCES '95, slated for Q2 1995, and later at E3 1995 with a Q3/November 1995 release target. The port was still listed as in development in December 1995, and Atari sent final builds to the NHL and NHLPA for approval the next month. The cartridge version was reviewed by Game Players and Next Generation in 1996 under the title Brett Hull NHL Hockey, but neither the Jaguar nor Jaguar CD versions were released before Atari discontinued the system.
Legacy
The unreleased Atari Jaguar version of Brett Hull Hockey has received two unofficial ROM hacks released in 2013 and 2015, titled Jaguar Hockey Legends '13 and Jaguar Hockey League '15 respectively. These hacks feature updated title and menu screens, and contain rosters based on members of the Jaguar community. The 2015 edition received a physical release by community member Gaztee on the AtariAge forums later that year.
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