First Impressions of 3 on 3 NHL Arcade
by 
3 On 3 NHL Arcade hit PSN earlier today and will arrive on XBL next week. I downloaded it and spent some time playing through so I wanted to get some initial impressions up. Going into it I was pretty hopeful considering the enjoyment that arcade hockey games have presented in the past and the very reasonable $9.99 price that comes with a downloadable game.
For an arcade game it has a nice amount of options. Three different difficulty levels, two different camera angles, three different game speeds, “play to” scores of between 5-20, having the home team alternate direction or “always up” or “always down”, and the ability to have power-ups on or off. You can use the right stick just like in NHL 09 or use the buttons. There is Play Now and Online.
When selecting from the group of players they are laid out in three different classes. All-Around, Strong, and Fast. There are advantages to each type and how you put your team together is a strategical element of the game. It would’ve been nice to be able to create-a-player and involve them but for the most part people aren’t going to spend much time picking out players. They’re basically unrecognizable and nameless during gameplay anyway.
The first game I didn’t even score a goal but since I’ve started to pick up on some strategy like how to utilize the power-ups and taking out the opponent’s goalie. Overall the fun factor of the game definitely comes through but this is going to be primarily a head-to-head or online game for any potential longevity.
I’ll have more impressions tomorrow night or Saturday. Continue on for a screen that lays out the power-ups and a full game video.
February 6, 2009 at 4:11 am
Looks great but I have to wait till next week for it to come to the 360.
February 6, 2009 at 4:42 am
Is there a reason why they have the same unis on? Just the blue and red? That's odd.
February 6, 2009 at 5:37 am
There's two teams, red vs blue. The players you pick just wear the colors of the side you're playing for. There's no NHL jerseys here. I've played 4 games online, having lots of fun with it.
I'd wish you could change the camera angle to always go up for online play. When you know if you're the home or visitor at the team select screen, I can't seem to find a way to change the camera option from there. It seems to use whatever you have the camera on from the single player game. I have trouble shooting slapshots going to the down goal, but i'm getting better. All things considered, this is a great game that's a lot of fun.
February 6, 2009 at 5:49 am
love big head mode.
February 6, 2009 at 7:03 am
Man this game is a TON of fun. The only gripe is no friend invite or private rooms….you just have to call your buddy and yell 1-2-3 GO! But overall this game is money and is well worth the $10 spent.
February 6, 2009 at 11:59 am
I played 3 games offline and 1 game online, this game is F-U-N, definitely worth $10. The fact that you can play with the NHL 09 controls is awesome. It reminds me a bit of NHL Hitz, great fun here.
February 6, 2009 at 2:44 pm
No friend invite? WTH is that?
February 6, 2009 at 6:26 pm
I wish they had the real team uniforms…That would be sweet…
February 6, 2009 at 8:34 pm
One of the sacrifices of fitting it under the XBLA size restrictions I suppose.
February 7, 2009 at 1:15 am
can someone post the 40 man roster
February 7, 2009 at 7:26 pm
I realize that you can change the camera but you have to pause the game after play starts, and can't do it before the game.