Wayne Gretzky Hockey 2

Wayne Gretzky Hockey 2 is the still the best [for my money] hockey simulator out there. I’ve played all the newest games and find the ¾ rink view that they all employ to be kind of annoying. WGH2 has both the overhead view and the ¾ view, but the overhead view is the way to go with this one and makes the game play much more enjoyable. The rosters can be edited so you can keep your team up to date, and the play controls are easy with mouse or keypad.

The graphics still stand the test of time, mostly on the overhead view, not so much on the ¾ rink view. The game play is realistic. I first played this game back in 1990 (WGH1), and then saw WGH2 in an EggHead store in North Carolina while on a job interview. I bought it later that day and still have it. The only part lacking is the occasional glitch with the old Pentium processors, but there are many patches from the manufacturer (Bethesda Softworks) circulating out there to help minimize crashes. It’s definitely worth a look for any serious hockey fan.
Features include: The ability to set team lines (1 to 3), edit rosters, set player attributes (strength, aggression, skating, passing, shooting, checking, quickness, fatigue, and injury potential), set the game speed, which determines how fast the players react and how fast the puck moves, set team skill levels (College, Junior, Farm, Professional), set team play attributes (Pass more, dump and chase more, Fights on, Fights off), set referee type (Blind, Strict, Regular), set period length (12 minutes per period usually leads to a more realistic number of shots on goals, goals, etc). Using the full-length periods of 20 minutes will result in a lot of shootouts, but and adjustment to the player attributes can also help with a more professional defensive style of game.
The rules are from the 1990s, with no-touch offsides, half-circle goal creases, and two-line pass violations, but the game play is much more realistic and fluid with the mouse control than anything I’ve played in the past 10 years (EA, SEGA, etc.). There are no shootouts, just the old school overtime period for regular season play, and full-time overtime periods for playoff games.
The graphics and sound are passable and use the standard sound cards.