Backyard Hockey '02

takes me back to 2002! no matter how old you get these games remain a gem and blast of a game

Backyard Hockey '02 is an amazing game because it really gives off the 2000s games vibes. It makes me feel like I'm playing a game from far in the past put with better graphics. The controls are simple, and learning how to play is really easy. There is a very good selection of teams and players to chose from. I will say though, defense is really hard because there are barely any defensive controls. If you actually use the defensive controls there is a very small chance that you actually get a steal. Overall, I would rate Backyard Hockey '02 a solid 9.5/10. I would 100% recommend!

O jogo é bom, não tenham dúvidas disso. Mas rodar ele é outros 500s. A primeira vez que eu abri funcionou perfeitamente. Na segunda, toda a vez que a partida ia abrir, o jogo crashava. Tive que instalar um aplicativo terceiro pra poder rodar. Na dificuldade padrão ele é MUITO fácil, sendo 15 gols por jogo a média que eu consegui. Mas com as regras de icing e os tempos maiores já fica mais desafiador. Baixe, teste. Se rodar, bom. Se não rodar, não sei se vale o transtorno, espero que um bug fix update saia, mas não acredito muito nisso.

Backyard Hockey '02 is a really easy game for me to pick up because it keeps hockey simple and focuses more on having fun than trying to be a serious simulation. I am putting together a team of Backyard kids and kid versions of real hockey stars, then taking them onto the ice for quick matches or a full season. The whole thing has that old school sports game feeling where I can understand what I am doing almost immediately. It is colourful, silly and much more interested in making hockey approachable than trying to recreate every part of the real sport. The actual hockey is simple but I think that is where the game works best. I can skate, pass, shoot, switch players and use a speed boost, while power plays, penalties and power ups add some extra chaos to matches. The power ups are especially fun because they can suddenly change what is happening on the ice instead of making every game play out exactly the same way. I also like having three on three matches because there is enough space for me to actually move the puck around without the game becoming too complicated. There is a decent amount of content for such a straightforward sports game. I can play a quick pickup match, set up a friendly game, practise against Mr. Clanky or start a full league season. Season play gives me a reason to build a team and keep track of how my players are doing, and I can also create a custom player and watch their skills improve over time. There are eight different ice rinks and a large selection of Backyard characters, along with several former hockey professionals appearing as kids. I like having Pablo Sanchez in there as well because he fits perfectly into the ridiculous Backyard Sports style. The presentation is obviously very dated, but I think that is part of the appeal for me. The old school character designs, bright colours and exaggerated animations give the game a lot of personality. The commentary from Sunny Day and Buddy Cheque also helps make the matches feel more like a Backyard Sports game instead of a generic hockey title. There are plenty of funny moments and bloopers, and I like that the game does not take itself seriously. It feels like something I could play for a while without needing to worry about realistic tactics or complicated controls. The biggest weakness is that the simplicity also limits how deep the hockey can become. Once I understand the controls, there are not that many advanced techniques for me to learn. I can still improve at passing, positioning and shooting, but the game does not have the kind of detailed systems I would expect from a modern hockey simulation. The AI can also make some odd decisions, and the power ups can sometimes make a match feel more random than skill based. I enjoy that chaos in short bursts, but I would not want every hockey game to work this way. I also think the Steam version is mainly valuable because it makes an old game much easier for me to play today. The original game came out in 2002, and this version has been enhanced to run on modern Windows systems while adding Steam achievements. There are 18 achievements to work through, which gives me some extra goals, but I still see the game as something I play for the actual matches rather than achievement hunting. It is also free to play on Steam, which makes it much easier for me to overlook the age and limited depth. Overall, Backyard Hockey '02 is a fun little arcade hockey game that succeeds because it keeps everything straightforward. I like the simple controls, power ups, different game modes, custom players and the huge amount of personality in the Backyard Sports characters. It is obviously not a deep hockey simulation and the old presentation and basic AI show its age, but that is not really what I want from this game anyway. For me, it works best as a relaxed sports game that I can pick up, play a few periods and enjoy without having to learn a complicated system. It has a lot of charm, and the fact that it is free makes the package even easier to appreciate. Rating: 7.6/10

As a Backyard Baseball fan, I tried this game out to test how BB might run on my system. Then I found myself feeling a sense of nostalgia for a game I've never played before. Its not as fleshed out as BB but I know kid me would've loved this game too. I was very excited to see they brought Pablo over to this game and obviously he was my first pick. The difficulty options kept things new once I got used to the basic stuff. It only crashed on me twice and the first time was my fault, I was scrolling through the teams stats too fast. After a couple games, I realized the NPCs enter the tornado spin of doom trying to retrieve a puck that landed behind the goal. This means if you want to, you can take the puck and camp out behind the goal til the buzzer and no NPC can touch you (I couldn't replicate this with keyboard controls). But overall this is a cute and fun game that I enjoy.

This is probably my least favorite of the Backyard series. The gameplay is rough, even for the era, and it was not engaging in the way Backyard Baseball or Basketball can often be. The commentary was repetitive, again, even for the era and genre. It was a slog to get to 100% on this.