Actua Ice Hockey

Infobox VG
title = Actua Ice Hockey


developer = Gremlin Interactive
publisher = Gremlin Interactive
designer =
engine =
version =
released =1998
genre = Sports
modes =
ratings =
platforms = Windows, PlayStation
media =
requirements =
input =

"Actua Ice Hockey" is an ice hockey video game series composed by two games released in 1998 and 1999, part of Gremlin's "Actua Sports" series, released for Windows PCs and the Sony PlayStation.

Experienced with sports games (after the successful "Actua Soccer" and "Premier Manager" games), Gremlin required more additions to their sports range after releasing "Actua Golf". As the Nagano Olympic Games were close, they acquired a license for the ice hockey tournament (which for the first time accepted proefessional athletes), making it the official video game, including real players. Market leader "NHL '98", while adding for the first time national teams, only NHL players were real, but that was enough for the EA Sports franchise to top Gremlin's game in sales and critic appreciation (and eventually, even became one of the sports games of the year).

Like "Actua Soccer", the game was developed in close ties with a local club, this time, the Sheffield Steelers. Their players provided hints to the programmers and also served as motion capture models.

In 1999, Gremlin reworked the engine for better gameplay, graphics, Direct3D support and club teams, and "Actua Ice Hockey 2" was released. "Actua Ice Hockey 2" was originally intended to be "Fox Sports Hockey" and was being developed by Gremlin for Fox Interactive, who had obtained an NHL license. Just over half way through development, Fox pulled out taking the NHL license with it. Above the objections of some of the developers, development of the game continued. All references to NHL were changed to GHL (" Gremlin Hockey League "), all player names were modified by substituting vowels ("Svoboda" became "Svaboda", for instance), player faces were randomized and a whole new front-end was developed. The game flopped, and as Gremlin was acquired by then Infogrames (now Atari), no further titles were developed.

External links

*moby game|id=/actua-ice-hockey|name="Actua Ice Hockey"