Halftime Battlin' Bands

Also known as: N/A

Developer: The Dovetail Group

Halftime Battlin' Bands has you putting together a halftime show for a football game. At the bottom of the screen, you'll see the Jazz Scats - Swivel Hips, Wahoo, and Mr. Bassman. Apparently that trio is very wealthy because you're putting the halftime show in THEIR stadium, Jazz Scat Stadium. You take the role of the drum major in the "number one football band," the Scrimmage Stompers. Kind of a lame name for a band, don't you think? I'm not a football fan, so I don't have a lot of terms to work with, but what about the Touchdown Tenors? Or the Audible Allegros? Sack Serenade? Tackle Tempo? I can go on if needed. The Score could work, too. Since you score in football, and a score is a written musical composition…so, there you go. Anyway, despite the lack of creativity in naming the band, the game itself has some creative aspects to it. You want to create band formations and put on a good show. The catch? There's also a rival band putting on a show, and your goal is to outperform them…even if it means playing dirty. What other game allows you to use hotdogs to taint a musical performance with mustard? Anyway, the end result of Halftime Battlin' Bands, while amusing in concept, simply isn't done great. After one battle, you probably won't feel like starting up a second. I give the Dovetail Group points for originality, but this simply isn't a game that I'd recommend.

Review added: 07/21/2026

Hockey

Also known as: N/A

Developer: Gamma Software

Hockey, put out by Gamma Software, is…well, a hockey game. I've got mixed feelings about this one…on one hand, I like some of what Gamma Software did, but on the other hand I also don't like some of what they did. The main focus of my confused reaction is that it's a team of four players (including the goalie) against another team of four players. The game supports up to four players, but you may wind up teaming up with computer-controlled players. Gamma Software handled that well. Like in most modern sports games, if a computer-controlled player gets possession of the puck, you suddenly take over that player. That's nice, so you're always right in on the action. However, the negative to all of this is that the hockey rink is only the size of the screen…so, there isn't really a lot of room for a four-player team. I think Hockey would have been better off if this was a two-on-two game of hockey instead, giving players more room to maneuver and less opportunities for you to shoot the puck only to suddenly find yourself controlling a different member of your team because the computer-controlled teammate happened to skate in front of your shot before it made it to the goal. Another downside to the game is that it does not support a single player game. That's right - the boxart boasts the computer-controlled teammates, but Gamme Software didn't bother programming in how to teach the computer how to shoot or play offensively…which may also be why the control immediately switches to the player once a player has the puck. Still, though, it's a bit of a disappointment that this can't be played solo. Overall, Hockey is a passable adaptation of the sport, but it can also be a frustrating one at times. If you're fan of the sport, and if you’ve got at least one friend over, you'll probably find enough here to like it…if you're not, then you may not be playing this game for too long.

Review added: 07/21/2026