Wayne Gretzky Hockey 3 is a fully licensed title that was endorsed by none other than the great one himself, Wayne Gretzky. Having served as the inspiration for two previous installments of this franchise, Gretzky again puts his tag on a fine managerial hockey game. Wayne Gretzky Hockey 3 was both developed and published by Bethesda Sotfworks, LLC and was released for play in the late eighties, during the height of Gretzky’s popularity. It found its way to a number of platforms, and can be played on the Amiga, Atari ST, Nintendo Entertainment System, as well as the Macintosh and PC.
Aside from the hockey management portion of the game, Wayne Gretzky Hockey 3 also features and editor and construction set for the bold, bored and adventurous.
While this version of the series plays very much like the others, there are some marked improvements, most notably the enhanced VGA graphics and the larger number of player statistics. The length of the league play is longer and more reflective of an actual hockey season. Wayne Gretzky Hockey 3 offers a nice blend of coaching and playing, making it perfect for just about any hockey fan. For those who would like to concentrate more on the statistical management portion of the game, it was designed to integrate with another hockey offering from Bethesda, Hockey League Simulator
2. The combination of these games can simulate a great hockey experience.
As far as the actual game play is concerned, this offers most anything a hockey fan could want. The view is from the top down perspective, making it easy to follow the action. The AI is very sharp and will not be fooled by repeated strategies. There are big hits, penalties such as icing, and of course, a lot of fights. On the managerial side of the puck, there are numerous coaching strategies to be tried, and as mentioned above, the user will have to have a deep repertoire to keep the AI at bay. You will also have the ability to create and tweak your own players.
Overall, Wayne Gretzky Hockey 3 is a great classic hockey game. While it does not offer the awesome graphics and the tooth-spitting close up detail of today’s hockey games, it is fundamentally sound and an excellent example of a very early hockey game. With the ability to import and export data between this and Bethesda’s Hockey Simulator 2, even more options are opened and there is a much higher replay level than most of the other games of its time.
