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Video: NHL 14 unveils ‘NHL 94 Anniversary Mode’

nhl94mode

For years, fans of arcade-style sports video games have been mostly left in the lurch. Almost every modern title focuses on simulating the dream of playing your favorite sport professionally and/or running your favorite team, rather than making basketball nets on fire and celebrating Bones Jackson.

If you were to name hockey’s version of Tecmo Bowl and NBA Jam, most people would point to EA Sports’ famous NHL ’94 as one of the all-time greats. With that beloved title’s 20th anniversary on the way, EA Sports unveiled a surprising announcement: their upcoming NHL 14 title will include “NHL 94 Anniversary Mode.”

Here’s the trailer, which includes a voice-over that straddles the line between humorous and grating:

That trailer actually prompts as many questions as it answers.

As usual, Puck Daddy’s Sean Leahy got on the case, revealing that the game will use NHL 14’s engine and feature certainly modernized upgrades. (You also won’t be able to make anyone’s head bleed, which must bum Vince Vaughn out.)

For some of us who had nerdy dreams about playing NHL 94 - or even a replica of the game, but with modern players - online, the tweaks could be a disappointment. Then again, they could make the experience more rewarding.

Either way, it’s a brilliant idea by EA, even if it won’t give us the last 20 years back.