Hat Trick – Retro Review
Welcome to a special edition of Reviewed, featuring a classic retro hockey game.
This edition, I will be reviewing Hat Trick, produced in 1987, by “Bally Sente inc.”, licensed by Capcom. It was produced first on Atari 7800, then ported to Dos, and Commodore 64. I will be using the Dos version for my review.
Hockey games have come a long way since the first consoles in the late 80′s, 3d graphics, sound tracks, realistic sound effects, player licensing etc. And apparently according to some people, we are forgetting the most important aspects of what a hockey game should be – Two teams battling it out against each other trying to get the puck past the rival goalie.
Now I am sure that this hockey game utopia would be great, however, 5 minutes of playing Hat Trick made me want to reinstall NHL07 on my PC (possibly one of the most unreliable and buggy versions of NHL ever).
The startup screen is unmistakably 1980′s DOS. No fancy graphics, just text white – on a black background.
Presented to you are an array of fun options.
F1 – Start Game (Well this ones obvious)
F3 – 1 Player (Choose to play the computer, or an unfortunate friend)
F5 – Player 1 Right Keyboard (Your key choice, doesn’t seem to make much difference)
F7 – Sound On (You may want to turn this off, the sounds are terrible)
F8 – Choose Team (Your choice, USA or USSR – ooh decisions…)
F9 – Exit (The best option, seriously)
(Highly exciting menu screen)
So after choosing your (few) options, the game begins, and without warning its started. Controls are stupid – simply use the up and down keys to control your goalie, and the left and right keys to control the player.
To get the puck, it seems to have to get in the way of the opponent. Not an easy task when the other player is darting around the rink as if he had just drunk two gallons of espresso.
Scoring is notoriously hard, unless you are a computer player, as is saving a puck from going in the net. The controls are contrived, inefficient, and complicated to use fast.
Graphics are possibly the highlight of this shoddy venture, and even thats saying something, because they are truly terrible. The player sprites look like hockey players – sort of, and I feel the marks left as you skate across the rink are a nice touch (I had to say something positive…).
(Intense action on the ice)
However, this is where my positive points end.
Firstly, team colours are cyan for USA (why…?) and pink for USSR. The hockey goalies look like some bizzare turret, getting ready to fire, and the zamboni at the end looks like a nazi machine of war.
The game itself lasts for about 30 seconds, no extra periods, no overtime and no shoot-outs (this is 1987…)
The sound effects are shockingly poor, even for 1987, with a simple blip sound being used for every single sound effect.
(The Nazi War Machine Zamboni ends the game)
And that pretty much brings this short review to a conclusion. Theres not much else I can say really, theres no other modes, features or functionality.
I would not say it is worth your time, however, if you google Hat Trick, I am sure you will find a copy. You will also need DosBox to run the game. (though I am also sure you can find the Commodore 64, and Atari 7800 versions too)
Verdict: 1/10 – painful 
Im KevKev, and this is PowerPlayGoal.com