Sometimes a shot on goal will caress the twine and lead to the sound of a klaxon cheering the goal. Sometimes the net minder will knock aside the shot. And sometimes all you will hear is the clank of frozen rubber meeting iron upright of the goal frame.

Backyard Hockey, for the GameBoy Advance from Atari, is a title that hits the post almost as much as it puts the puck in the back of the net. While it does have a nice array of features, this is a hit-and-miss game.

For those who may not be familiar with the Backyard series, Humongous Entertainment originated it and introduced a wonderful array of neighborhood kids who jump into a variety of athletic leagues. Throw in some of the sports stars but as children and you have a nice little link to the pros but the cuteness of children’s sports.

The latest edition of Backyard Hockey features NHL pros Mike Modano, Brian Leetch, Paul Karlya, Joe Thornton, Jaromir Jagr, Joe Sakic, Curtis Joseph, Jarome Iginia, Steve Yzerman, and Martin Brodeur.

There are several options for play, including Play Now (instant action, random teams), Single Game, Season Play and Practice. The GameLink will allow two players to hook up their GBAs for multiplayer action.

The game also has a nice options package for the GBA. You can toggle the music on or off (it is better off), as well as the text commentary. You can set the difficulty level, the length of periods, toggle penalties on or off, factor in fatigue, and activate a Rock, Paper, Scissors game to settle who wins the puck in a persistent battle between two players and who goes to the penalty box.

In season play you create a coach and the game keeps track of your team stats. You can create your team through a draft of the players, and each of the young athletes have skills rated.

And this is three-on-three hockey, so the ice is not overly crowded.

So far these are all solid shots on the net.

You take a shot on goal and the keeper covers it. If you leave him (or her) alone, the puck will be passed up to the blue line. But if you stand right in front of the keeper, the puck is frozen and there will be a face off.

Clank!

The camera is locked in a top down view. Switching to the player closest to the puck and then working them toward the puck, without getting stuck behind another player, can sometimes be hard.

Clank!

The game goes to long-time Backyard League play-by-play announcer Sunny Day, who sounds like an adult from a Peanuts animated feature.

Clank!

The game itself is not that hard to play, but those who are fans of the Backyard games will find that it lacks the personality and joy of the series. This is a sterilized version of the series that instead of being a delightful game comes across as typical hockey genre game. And in that regard, it is skating with dull blades.

Gameplay: 6

The top-down view does not enhance the gameplay and the AI is predictable.

Graphics: 6

The Backyard series is predicated on cute kids playing a game with all the antics and mistakes of young children. The animation here is very simplistic and the personality is missing.

Sound: 4.5

Yikes! The music is not very good and aside from some boinks and Sunny Day saying ‘goal’ on occasion, there is nothing here worth turning up the volume for.

Difficulty: Medium

The game is predictable, but you will have to work to score goals.

Concept: 5.8

The options package is sound but the actual game execution is lacking.

Multiplayer: 7

You can play head-to-head with a GameLink.

Overall: 6

Pass – but not as in pass the puck. This is a game that does not translate well to the tiny screen of the GBA, simply because shortcuts had to be made graphically that took out a big reason to play the Backyard titles – personality. Solid options but the game falters in terms of gameplay, graphics and sound.