Hot Air: Iced

Since the title of this column is “Iced,” it seems appropriate to reflect upon the games that are set in winter- or ice-themed worlds.  Not games with ice levels, mind you, but games where the entire game happens in a cold, icy or snowy environment.  Here’s what I’ve got:

Kickle Cubicle: This game is all about kicking stuff: ice blocks primarily.  Since nearly the entire game is set in an ice world, it is definitely appropriate to have on this list.  A clever puzzle game for the NES that involved cute characters.

Fire ‘N Ice: Now, this was also a puzzle game — apparently ice-based puzzle games are a thing — that apparently is either a sequel or a prequel to Solomon’s Key, but is far more… heh heh… low-key, as it revolves around using ice blocks to put out fires and is quite good.  Also one of the last few NES titles.

Ice Hockey: No ice-themed list would be complete without this.  We all know that the ultimate team is two skinny guys, a normal guy, and a fat guy, but some people still seem to think that other, less ideal, combinations for teams would be okay.  What are they thinking?  Regardless, you’ll note the entire game is played on ice.

Snow Bros: This was Capcom’s version of Bubble Bobble, but involved two princes being changed into snowmen instead of dinosaurs.  Not a bad game, and one of the most valuable NES games in America due to its low printing run.  Two-player simultaneous, baby!  That was hardcore back in the day.

Metal Gear Solid: The Twin Snakes: What?  You thought every game on this list was  going to be a NES game?  You may have forgotten, but Metal Gear Solid was set in the north-westernest, coldest corner of Alaska, and the parts that were actually set outside were in a constant state of blizzard.  Possibly the best game overall on this list, and let’s not forget that Raiden was nowhere to be seen.

Elf Bowling 1 & 2: While a faithful port of both of the first two Elf Bowling games, those happened to be very low-frills Flash games, so this was technically an even lower-frills port, with no extra features or bonuses of any sort.  Still, the first Elf Bowling was set in the North Pole, so qualified it is!