Bush Hockey League Switch NSP Free Download Romslab

Bush Hockey League Switch NSP Free Download Romslab One of my favorite games from my childhood was NHLPA Hockey ’93 on the Super Nintendo. My dad and I would play almost every day, and we got so good that we had some heated back and forth games that I will never forget. We also had to implement a no “wrap around the goal” exploit rule cause – we along with everyone else that played this game – knew that trick. It’s probably why I prefer more arcade style sports games rather than straight simulations. That’s the main reason I wanted to try Bush League Hockey, a game which looks like it’s playing homage to both classic 70’s hockey and classic hockey videogames with its simple controls and gameplay. Bush League Hockey looks the part and while I wouldn’t say it’s a bad game, it does seem to be lacking in several areas. ROMSLAB.COM BEST SWITCH GAMES

Bush Hockey League Switch NSP Free Download Romslab

Bush League Hockey pays tribute to the Hockey of the 70’s where every game was basically an all out no holds barred brawl. Players didn’t wear helmets, tensions were high, and fights were plentiful. It was more like Gladiators entering an arena rather than a Hockey game back then. All of the text in the game, the uniforms, and even the music does a great job of capturing this time period. Hearing Stompin’ Tom Connor’s “The Hockey Song” was awesome. In game, the character models don’t look amazing but still good enough for a smaller game like this. They also have somewhat of a cell shaded look to them. The arenas look great as well and the game has a filter over it to make it look like you are watching the game on an old CRT television.

About Game

Bush Hockey League plays from that traditional top down perspective and does look like classic hockey games, with the player you are controlling being marked with a star under them. The game offers three different control schemes, but I went with the classic one where there are only two buttons used for shooting and passing. Passing is done with right trigger (or ZR as I played this on the Switch) and shooting is done by flicking the right thumbstick. While I have been singing the games praises for it’s presentation, this is where it starts to falter a bit. While Bush Hockey League is a pick up and play arcade game, which you are playing exhibition or story mode, the game does feel somewhat slow. It just misses the mark in terms of speed to get that true arcade experience. Rustler Switch NSP

Bush Hockey League Switch NSP Free Download Romslab

Expect these games to be really high scoring as well, as the goalies – even in exhibition mode – can be kind of brain dead at times. It seems there is this really weird loop where if a goalie does grab the puck, there is a chance that an opposing player will literally circle around the goalie so it’s hard to pass the puck to a teammate. The opposing player will grab it and the goalie will just grab it back. Each team also has abilities to play based on their attributes, like being able to easily knock players down and being better at fighting. And of course, Bush Hockey League has fights. When the action pops off, the game will essentially turn into a fighting game with health bars for each player. The fighting isn’t really that fun.

There are icings and offsides – but after that, it’s best to throw away the rule book.

To succeed, you’re going to have to hook, hack, slash and hip check, channelling Slap Shot‘s Hanson brothers as best you can. Don’t bother winning face-offs — instead, give your opponent the puck and get to work lining up three devastating hits in a row. That’ll place your team on fire, just like in NBA Jam, making you virtually unstoppable. Pass, deke and send rockets towards the pipes, and you’ll be putting pucks into the back of the net in no time. When you’re up by enough goals, your focus should shift – go and find the nearest opponent with a fist above his head and further antagonise him. When an eventual fight starts, cross your fingers that you’ve succeeded in a line brawl. After all, it’s not truly a game of hockey until you’ve earned that Gordie Howe hat trick. RWBY: Grimm Eclipse – Definitive Edition Switch NSP

Bush Hockey League Switch NSP Free Download Romslab

With period title cards and overlays and an announcer that’s more likely an amateur rather than someone putting on an act (sorry, Vancouver radio host Matt Baker), Bush Hockey League looks, sounds and feels like a 70s broadcast. While the cel-shaded nature of the players only adds to this, the piece that pulls everything together is an inspired soundtrack selection, Canadian to its core. We’re talking polkas, ska and, of course, The Donnybrooks’ (formerly) titular “Old Time Hockey”. It sums up everything this release is trying to do — go and take a moment to appreciate its majesty. Bush Hockey League is an arcade style take on the NHL that has a little charm, but unfortunately not much else going for it. In fact, in trying to put my thoughts to screen I am left with a sense of ‘meh’.

It’s not awful, but it’s also rather bland.

The only analogy I can find is like porridge; passable on its own, but it needs some extra ingredients to really bring it to life. Maybe writing after just having breakfast is not a good idea… Booting the game up you are presented with Exhibition or Story mode, the former what you’d expect and the latter an initially welcome surprise. Of course, I wasn’t expecting something of the calibre of Fifa’s The Story but I certainly was intrigued to see what it was all about. It’s a rather silly affair, about a team that has fallen on hard times after several key players fall injured, others getting into drunken fights with mall Santa’s and just generally down on their luck, through complete fault of their own. R-Type Final 2 Switch NSP

Bush Hockey League Switch NSP Free Download Romslab

I found the little write ups and graphics quite charming even though there’s not really much flair to them. From the menu, a calendar is presented with future matches shown ahead and newspaper clippings on prior days showing the latest scandal to befall the team. It’s all got a very early 90’s aesthetic to it, which can make it a little unclear where you should be heading at times, but you soon grow accustomed to it. The music supporting this is equally off the wall, ranging from Polka to almost chiptune-esque versions of The Addams Family theme, with snippets of these played in game when fights are won. On to the gameplay then which is a mix of spongy controls, weak looking tackles and a dodgy fighting system. Getting hold of the puck is easy enough, passing works relatively well.

Add-ons (DLC): Bush Hockey League Switch NSP