No, you can’t make Wayne Gretzky’s head bleed. But even without that guilty pleasure, ‘NHL Hockey ’94’ still earns the title of greatest hockey video game ever made – and possibly best sports game, too.

The revolutionary game that introduced one-timers and an entire roster of authentic players and teams (thanks to a licensing agreement with the NHL), provides the ultimate entertainment for those who can’t watch NHL hockey playoffs – since major TV networks don’t host the sport. (Honestly, there’s a better chance you have a Sega Genesis and a dusty NHL Hockey cartridge lying around than the prospect that your cable carrier has the obscure Versus network.) And with the state of hockey today, reliving the 90s might actually be more enjoyable than the real thing.

No Crosby. No problem. A plethora of superstars like Theron Fleury, Brian Leetch and Ron Hextall are available for your satisfaction. Oh, and of course, there’s also The Great One – Gretzky.

This hockey simulation earned such acclaim it even scored a cameo in the 1996 comedy hit ‘Swingers.’ In the movie, Vince Vaughn joins a couple of friends playing ‘NHL Hockey ’94,’ and immediately starts headhunting for Gretzky in hopes of making ‘Gretzky’s head bleed.’

It’s a bit of an anachronism since gore was removed from this version of the game. However, if a game is cool enough to star alongside Jon Favreau and Heather Graham – that’s when you know there’s something special about it. (Take that Madden!)

mrlevin@syr.edu