There are several gameplay modes that can be chosen from the main menu of the game. These include exhibition mode, playoff mode, and an Olympic mode that is loosely based on the
1994 Winter Olympics. The object of the Olympic mode is to simply win the
gold medal while the defeated team receives a
silver medal. In order to qualify for the gold medal game, the player must rank in the top four in either "League A" or "League B" during the
round-robin format; an
X refers to a win while an
O refers to a defeat. Achieving this will promote the player's team to a playoff of eight teams that will determine the gold and silver medal recipients. Teams that belong to opposite
leagues eventually play against each other in the playoff mode. Periods can either last for one minute, two minutes or three minutes long.
Referees can be set to either
real (similar to real
international hockey),
normal (similar to the
NHL), or
free (involving a visually challenged referee who only calls for
icing). In the
real mode, penalties are given for every body check while most body checking is allowed in
normal. However, both participants that are involved in a
fight are penalized in both
normal and
real mode. This is offset by using extremely short durations in the penalty box due to the unrealistically low period durations. ==References==