Blades of Steel obviously had better graphics, an annoying announcer, better fights, and more excitement when it hit the shelves. But the game play is literally crap compared to Ice Hockey. Ice Hockey, with it's small-ass rink and much better goalie control allowed for literally nonstop action. Your fingers have to be in shape when you play that game and you can't take your eyes off the screen for a second. It feels like you're controlling all 5 players at the same time PLUS your goalie, at the same time. It's completely run & gun high-intensity stuff. You get to customize your lineup between skinny, average and fat guys, and all 3 have their pluses and minuses in terms of skating, shooting, and checking. You can also choose the speed of the game. Like 94, Ice Hockey takes a lot of skill and practice to get good at. It's a hidden gem. Almost everything is controllable by the user. Blades of Steel, is more luck-based IMO. All the players are exactly the same in all aspects, goalie control is lame and slow. All the shots are flat on the ice (if I remember correctly) and I think the same amount of power. Graphics aside, Ice Hockey is easily a better game for competition. I love it.