[Watch] Old Time Hockey looks to bring back the early days of the sport before there were helmets

Hockey is one of the world's most dangerous and intense sports, and that's with the players wearing helmets and masks. There was a time when a jersey and shoulder pads were all these guys would go out onto the ice with, but the evolved concern over player safety has made that a thing of the past. Developer V7 Entertainment is looking to revitalize that very past with Old Time Hockey.

While EA currently has the monopoly over the NHL license, Old Time Hockey tells the story of a struggling team in the aptly named Bush Hockey League during the 1970's when ginormous afros and mustaches were in vogue and disco was at its peak.

V7's Director Karthik Venkateshan had this to say:

"Everything from NHL 94, Blades of Steel, to other sports titles like NBA Jam and Tecmo Bowl inspired us. We wanted to recreate that old familiar experience of playing these games on the couch with friends."

Old Time Hockey is not meant to be an actual simulation of the sport, as you can probably tell by the spontaneous combustion of the nets and the focus on all-out brawls. The game will feature a story mode as well as a unique control scheme the developers are calling "Beer Mode," which allows you to play the game with one hand while drinking a beer in the other. Smart.