Playing like a sub-game from Konami’s Bishi Bashi – but on steroids – Hooockey!! (what’s with the extra o’s?) is an offbeat interpretation of air hockey. Unlike the real thing, the game could never provide the opportunity to break your friend’s fingers with a high-speed puck (yes puck). However, it does for some reason manage to be curiously entertaining – albeit in the short term.

You control a paddle at the bottom of the screen with which you must knock a puck into your opponent’s goal at the opposite end. Neither competitor can cross the halfway line, so you’ll have to blast some well angled shots in the hope of catching your rival unawares. A harsh critic would describe Hooockey!! as Pong with brass knobs on, but to do so would be unfair.

You see, every so often a power up floats onto the table; knocking the puck into this initiates one of several bizarre effects. For example, your goal can be boarded-up, your paddle size enlarged and in some cases you’ll even end up with multiple pucks on the table. Okay, it may sound simple, but as you make your way up the ranks, your manga-like opponents become increasingly cunning.