Blades of Steel was one of the first hockey video games for Nintendo's classic NES game system. However, the series had pretty much been missing in action for 10 years prior to the debut of Blades of Steel 2000. Under normal circumstances, you wouldn't expect a decade-old sports game franchise to return seamlessly with a smash out-of-the-box hit--but the original Blades of Steel was such a classic that players everywhere had high hopes for the comeback. The verdict? Unfortunately, we found Blades of Steel 2000 to be an unpolished attempt at a next-generation hockey game that could have used a lot more time in development. Graphics boast few frames of animation, and control is unwieldy, to say the least. On the bright side, managing rosters is made easy by simplified menus, and, of course, the game features all the NHL teams and a season mode. But these features offer little consolation. Simply put, there are much better hockey games out there, including NHL 2000 and FaceOff 2000. Blades of Steel 2000 is only for players stuck in the past. --Robb Guido Pros: All the NHL teams Cons: Poor graphics and controls compared to other hockey video games.