Stinger Table Hockey: Review

Stinger Table Hockey is the first realistic bubble hockey simulator on the app store. You can choose to be one of 38 different countries, and you can also create your own teams. You can customize their name and uniforms. Stinger Table Hockey has 4 different modes to play: Single, Multiplayer, Tournament, and Skills. Each has its own unique features that keep you occupied. Stinger Table Hockey also has OpenFeint to help track your high scores. The link to OpenFeint is found within the settings, so it is somewhat hidden away.



The single player, multiplayer, and tournament modes are self explanatory. In single player, you chose 2 teams and play a quick match. In Multiplayer, using wither wifi or Bluetooth, you can face off against a friend. In tournament mode, there are 4 teams that play a round-robin type playoff to determine a champion. The only mode that needs explaining is Skills. In skills, you can choose from 3 different events: hardest shot, sniper, and shootout. The hardest shot is simple…you get an empty net, and you try to shoot it as hard as possible. In sniper, you score as many goals in 60 seconds as you can. In shootout, you score as many goals as you can…but if the goalie makes 3 saves then its game over.

The controls make a game like this fun, and Stinger Table Hockey does not disappoint. The controls are easy to learn, hold and drag up/down to move; hold and drag left/right to spin the player. It takes a little getting used to, but after a few games you should find it easy to maneuver and fun to play. The difficulty level is there, the AI is pretty good. I found myself quickly down 4-0 in my first game. It was a combination of me just learning the controls, and the goalie couldn’t stop a beach ball. No one will ever be able to replicate the actual feel of playing bubble hockey because slamming rods is half the fun. However Stinger Table Hockey brings that feel back.

Stinger Table Hockey also includes OpenFeint, with both online leaderboards and achievements. There are leaderboards for everything from hardest shot, to most goals. There are 6 achievements, spanning from your first goal, to your 100th goal. You can get up to 280 OpenFeint points.

Overall Stinger Table Hockey is a great bubble hockey simulator. It comes as close as possible to giving you that real “arcade” feel. The developer is obviously a big hockey fan, because it feels like the game is very polished, and you can feel that the developer tried to make everything feel authentic. With the 4 game modes, including multiplayer, Stinger Table Hockey will be on my iPod for a long time to come. This is the first bubble hockey simulator, and it is the first real hockey game to come to the iDevice. That being said, Stinger Table Hockey is a great game if you love playing bubble hockey, or if you like hockey in general. After getting used to the controls, be prepared to put a lot of time into this game. Stinger Table Hockey is available in most countries at a cheap price of $1.99. Nothing is stopping you from picking this game up!

Overall 5/5 (The only bubble hockey simulator in the App Store)

Stinger Table Hockey on the App Store.