NHL Breakaway '98 is a 1998 ice hockey

Ice hockey

Ice hockey, often referred to as hockey, is a team sport played on ice, in which skaters use wooden or composite sticks to shoot a hard rubber puck into their opponent's net. The game is played between two teams of six players each. Five members of each team skate up and down the ice trying to take...

 game for the Nintendo 64

Nintendo 64

The , often referred to as N64, was Nintendo′s third home video game console for the international market. Named for its 64-bit CPU, it was released in June 1996 in Japan, September 1996 in North America, March 1997 in Europe and Australia, September 1997 in France and December 1997 in Brazil...

, PlayStation, Sega Saturn

Sega Saturn

The is a 32-bit fifth-generation video game console that was first released by Sega on November 22, 1994 in Japan, May 11, 1995 in North America, and July 8, 1995 in Europe...

 and Microsoft Windows

Microsoft Windows

Microsoft Windows is a series of operating systems produced by Microsoft.Microsoft introduced an operating environment named Windows on November 20, 1985 as an add-on to MS-DOS in response to the growing interest in graphical user interfaces . Microsoft Windows came to dominate the world's personal...

. The game also has Rumble Pak

Rumble Pak

The is a removable device from Nintendo which provides force feedback while playing video games. Games that support the Rumble Pak cause it to vibrate in select situations, such as when firing a weapon or receiving damage, to immerse the player in the game. Versions of the Rumble Pak are available...

 support for the Nintendo 64.

Features and gameplay

NHL Breakaway '98 offers one of the most original features ever to appear in a hockey game: the Momentum-Based Checking System. Players can actually out-skate and out-muscle each other, depending on a player's size and speed. For example, some players may be smaller but are fast, while others may be slow but possess the strength and size to do all the dirty work. For instance, if a large, fast player such as Eric Lindros

Eric Lindros

Eric Bryan Lindros is a retired Canadian professional ice hockey player. Lindros played junior hockey in the OHL for the Oshawa Generals prior to being selected first overall in the 1991 NHL Entry Draft by the Quebec Nordiques...

 gets moving at a high rate of speed, the power behind his check is greater than what someone like Pierre Turgeon

Pierre Turgeon

Pierre Turgeon is a retired Canadian professional ice hockey player who played in the National Hockey League for the Buffalo Sabres, New York Islanders, Montreal Canadiens, St. Louis Blues, Dallas Stars and the Colorado Avalanche...

 could produce. The game sports most of the usual play modes, and you can always take on a friend in the Versus mode. If you edit a player, the name and number will appear on the player's back, which is a great feature that lets you put yourself in the game. This game does not feature play-by-play announcers, but there is a public address announcer in the game that only speaks when penalties are called and when a player scores a goal the name and number are said.

Reception

IGN

IGN

IGN is an entertainment website that focuses on video games, films, music and other media. IGN's main website comprises several specialty sites or "channels", each occupying a subdomain and covering a specific area of entertainment...

gave the N64 version a decent 7.4 out of 10 overall despite little criticism about the graphics saying it was "a bit bland and could use a dash of color."