Despite some shortcomings, 3 on 3 NHL Arcade is more then enough to please fans of hockey and maybe even non-fans.

User Rating: 8.5 | 3 on 3 NHL Arcade PS3
By WildDangles92 | Review Date:
NHL Rock the Rink was the last EA Sports arcade hockey title and it surprised everyone, with its remarkable presentation (at least for its time) and its innovative style of arcade hockey. Almost a decade later EA Sports cranks out another arcade style hockey game. Although not as good as NHL Rock the Rink or a standalone yearly NHL title, 3 on 3 NHL Arcade is more then enough to please fans of hockey and maybe even non-fans, despite some shortcomings.

The game is your classic arcade style, its 3 on 3, no icing, no offsides, no faceoffs, no penalites and A LOT of exaggeration. When I say a lot of exaggeration, I am not kidding, each hit is like an explosion, and some of the power-ups are pretty exaggerated from SUPER speed to big headed players, to small, if not ant size goalies. Before playing you can select from 40 of the brighest stars in the NHL like Jarome Iginla, Marian Gaborik, Alexander Ovechkin, Sidney Crosby, Dion Phaneuf, Evgeni Malkin etc. There are no NHL teams, which could push fans away, as you only play as team Red or Blue. You set the score you want the game to go to, although there is a time limit. The action is fast paced, and is more then enough to please fans and non-fans who are looking for a quick, fast paced game.

3 on 3 NHL Arcade also has its share of flaws and they are quite significant. Although there is on lag, I did notice a glitch that my player wouldn't recieve despite it being a tape to tape pass, although this is a rare occurence and doesn't really hamper the playing experience at all. The lack of a career or season mode, along with racking up statistics for your players could be flaw but since it is a downloadable title, EA had no merit to add it in. The game could come off as a little to easy to play at first, but the difficulty can be increased to give you more of a challenge. The sound in the game is also a little gimmicky for the older player but he/she may no doubt find it humourous for a little while. The one major flaw I can say is you don't get what you paid for. Sure it's fast paced fun, but is this much worth 800 MSPoints or $9.99. I for one dont believe that. The presentation is also a little lackluster considering more could have been added to make the game a fulfilling downloadable experience along with giving you enough features to merit the price.

Story: N/A
Graphics: 7.5
Gameplay: 9.5
Replay Value: 9.0
Sound: 8.0

Overall: 8.5

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