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NaturalMotion are at it again and this time players are taken off the field and on to
the ice as you attempt to spin, deke, stop or sprint your way past checks in Icebreaker
Hockey. Sadly, what could have been an opportunity to try something out of the ordinary instead
feels bland and more like a coat of paint thrown over the earlier Backbreaker series.
Fans of the series will be able to jump right in as the controls and basic gameplay are
left almost completely intact. Tilting will move your player back and forth while buttons
on the left and right allow you to spin, deke, sprint and 'showboat' once you're past the
defenders. Points are awarded for pulling off these maneuvers while avoiding the opposing
team, while additional points can be racked up if you slide over colored zones. Off-limits
boundaries can provide some barriers, though players can turn back in the other direction,
giving them the opportunity to literally run circles around the opposition.
The major changes are mostly aesthetic, with the game obviously being set in an ice-rink
complete with crowds, over the top lighting and high-quality animations (which is to be
expected of a group like NaturalMotion). Minor gameplay additions such as being able to shoot
past a goaltender don't really add to the challenge as the shooting is handled automatically
and 'hard stops' are to be expected given that we are talking about Ice Hockey.
As you progress you'll unlock additional teams for their jerseys, new difficulty levels to
test your skills and an Endurance mode for 'endless' wave-after-wave gameplay. Achievements
add some challenging objectives, but outside of collecting all the 'stars' most can be
unlocked through repetitive playing.
At the end of the day, we've been here before and in some ways Icebreaker Hockey feels like
a step back from Backbreaker 2 as the variety of options for avoiding other players has
been reduced. If you've not played anything from the 'Breaker' series of titles or you're
a hardline Ice Hockey fan, you'll get a real kick out of this game, but if you're a returning
fan there's far less to enjoy.