Mario Lemieux Hockey

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Mario Lemieux Hockey
System(s): Sega Mega Drive, Mega-Tech
Publisher: Sega
Developer: Alpine Software
Sound driver: GEMS
Genre: Sports
Number of players: 1-2
Release Date RRP Code US 1991-12 1210 EU 1992-03 UK 1992-03 £39.9939.99 SE (Rental) 199x AU 199x CA 199x UK 199x £? ?

Mario Lemieux Hockey is an ice hockey game released exclusively for the Sega Mega Drive. Reportedly the game was originally set to be titled Sega Ice Hockey for the European market. A Japanese version was planned (and was even dated for 21st February 1992), but failed to materialise.

The game features an endorsement by Canadian hockey player Mario Lemieux, who played for the Pittsburgh Penguins. However, it lacks an NHL license and does not have real players or teams. In the US, some versions of the game were distributed with "signed" hockey pucks.

Gameplay

Gameplay

The game mostly follows the rules of NHL hockey, where two teams of five players compete in three periods of five minutes each. The game does not have an NHL license, so teams are modeled after NHL teams but lack names and logos.

There are two main modes. In Exhibition mode, a single player can play against the computer (choosing both teams) or another human player (controlling separate teams), or the player can opt to watch a demo where two computer-controlled teams play each other. In Tournament mode, sixteen teams compete for a championship title in Best of 3 series. It can be played with one or two players, and there is a password system for continuing.

Each team is rated on a number of categories: shooting, speed, power, defense, passing, and goalie. The player can choose the default skills for each team or balanced skills (where all the teams are comparable in strength) or progressive skills (where teams become progressively stronger in a tournament).

During a game, the player can bring up a stat book showing statistics for the current game with  START .

	Face-Off
	The game starts with a face-off, where a player from each team fights for control of the puck. The player can be moved with the D-pad and can hit the puck with .
	Defense
	When the player's team does not have possession of the puck, the player skates with the D-pad and cycles control between team members with . The active player has a circle around him. By default, the player has control of the player closest to the puck or the last player to have the puck. The active player can check a member of the opposing team with , unless the player already has two team members in the penalty box. Checking an opponent knocks the player down, which can result in a penalty or a fight. When the goalie has the puck, press while holding in a direction with the D-pad to pass the puck to a player. Holding the puck for too long causes a Goalie Holding Puck penalty, which results in another face-off.
	Offense
	When the player's team has possession of the puck, the player skates with the D-pad and switches control to another team member with . The active player has a circle around him. The player shoots the puck with while aiming with the D-pad. An indicator arrow appears to help line up the shot. Pressing once shoots low and pressing twice shoots the puck into the air. The player passes the puck to a teammate with while holding a direction with the D-pad; an opposing player can intercept the pass and take possession of the puck. By default, the player has control of the team member with the puck at all times, but manual control can be enabled in the game options. When using manual control, pressing requests a pass from another player. The player can rotate the lines as they become more tired. The status of the players is indicated in the corner of the screen; green is for fully rested, yellow is for somewhat rested, and red is for tired. + changes the offensive line, and + changes the defensive line.
	Fighting
	Checking an opponent sometimes results in a fight. The player is moved with the D-pad, jabs with , roundhouses with , uppercuts with , and does a low blow with + or +. Being hit reduces the player's energy; running out of energy loses the fight. The loser of the fight goes to the penalty box for 3 minutes. The player can also choose Fight from the main menu, which can be played with one or two players or as a demo with two computer-controlled players.
	Shootout
	If a game ends in a tie after three periods of play, the tie is resolved in a shootout competition. Both teams take turns shooting and defending. After both teams have shot five times, the team with the most points wins. If the teams are tied, they play another shootout. When shooting, the player shoots with while aiming with the D-pad. When controlling defending, the player moves the goalie with the D-pad and blocks with . The player can also choose to play a Shootout between any two teams from the main menu, which can be played with one or two players or as a demo with two computer-controlled players.

Teams

Conference	Division	Team	Based on
Western	Division 1	L.A.	Los Angeles Kings
		Vancouver	Vancouver Canucks
		Calgary	Calgary Flames
		Edmonton	Edmonton Oilers
	Division 2	Chicago	Chicago Blackhawks
		Minnesota	Minnesota North Stars
		St. Louis	St. Louis Blues
		Detroit	Detroit Red Wings
Eastern	Division 1	Montreal	Montreal Canadiens
		Hartford	Hartford Whalers
		Boston	Boston Bruins
		Buffalo	Buffalo Sabres
	Division 2	Pittsburgh	Pittsburgh Penguins
		Washington	Washington Capitals
		New York	New York Rangers or New York Islanders
		New Jersey	New Jersey Devils

Production credits

• Sega Producer: Ed Annunziata
• Associate Producer: Chris Smith
• Alpine Producer: Ed Ringler
• Programming: Chris Oke
• Design: Ed Ringler
• Graphics: Ed Ringler Sr., Chris Oke, Ed Ringler, Joan Igawa
• Music/Sound: David Javelosa, Alex Rudis
• Product Manager: Hugh Bowen, Rebecca Grey
• SEGA Test: Stephen Patterson, Bert Mauricio, Jerry Markota, Sean Geary, Jerry DeYoung
• Manual: Ed Ringler, Jaime Wojick, Paula Polley, Dan Figueroa, Mike Tyau

Source:

US manual

Magazine articles

Main article: Mario Lemieux Hockey/Magazine articles.

Promotional material

FI advert (1992)

Print advert in Electronic Gaming Monthly (US) #30: "January 1992" (199x-xx-xx)

Photo gallery

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Physical scans

Mega Drive version

Sega Retro Average
Publication Score Source

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Based on 0 review

Sega Retro Average

Publication Version Score 1700 igr dlya Sega (RU) 60 Aktueller Software Markt (DE) 60 Consoles + (FR) 71 Computer & Video Games (UK) 71 Computer & Video Games (UK) 75 Entsiklopediya luchshikh igr Sega. Vypusk 1 (RU) 60 Mean Machines: The Essential Sega Guide (UK) 76 FX (UK) 63 Games-X (UK) 70 Génération 4 (FR) 93 Game Zone (UK) PAL 65 Hobby Consolas (ES) 79 Joystick (FR) 72 Sega Mega Drive Advanced Gaming (UK) PAL 79 Mega Play (US) NTSC-U 43 MegaTech (UK) PAL 75 Mean Machines (UK) 76 Mean Machines Sega (UK) 76 Player One (FR) 65 Power Play (DE) 69 Sega Power (UK) PAL 76 Sega Pro (UK) PAL 73 Sega Pro (UK) PAL 73 Sega Force (UK) PAL 65 Sega Mega Drive Review (RU) 64 Tricks 16 bit (RU) 59 Video Games (DE) 69

	70
Based on 27 reviews

Mario Lemieux Hockey

Mega Drive, US
Cover
Cart Manual

Mega Drive, US (with puck)
Cover
Cart Cover Puck (front) Puck (back)

Mega Drive, EU
Cover
Cart Manual PCB

Mega Drive, SE rental (HENT black)
Cover

Mega Drive, AU
Cover

Mega Drive, CA
Cover

Mega-Tech version

Mega-Tech,

Technical information

Main article: Mario Lemieux Hockey/Technical information.