EA SPORTS bounces back with NHL 16
By @StefanKubus –
Before you can begin watching NHL hockey on your television, you can get a head start on the action on the virtual ice, thanks to the latest installment in the long-running EA SPORTS NHL video game franchise. NHL 16 hit stores Tuesday and brings a wealth of new features that were disappointingly left out in the first PlayStation 4 and Xbox One installment (NHL 15).
Perhaps the biggest positive this year was the development team’s decision to directly consult the gaming community for feedback. The Game Changers program featured a panel of 12 people from the community, voted by their peers, who were given full access to the development process and were continuously in on the process – and will also be involved post-release – to provide real-time feedback.
After falling short in year one in the new consoles, who better to consult than those who are the biggest die-hards of the series?
Game modes
With this year’s motto being “Play together, win together,” there’s plenty of ways to send a saucer pass to your friends, both online and offline.
NHL 16 marks the reintroduction of the EA SPORTS Hockey League which, as it sounds, is a virtual hockey league where you and up to five of your buddies can take on other teams to climb the ladder to the top. This was one of the highest-played game modes toward the end of the Xbox 360/PlayStation 3 days when it really picked up.
While the EASHL requires you to play games with your teammates, you can also play six-on-six drop-in hockey to quickly get into a game. Personally, I prefer drop-in Online Team Play to the EASHL, simply because of how easy it is to jump into a game. Of course, you can always play together offline right in your living room, too.
Hockey Ultimate Team is back once again, a highly-addictive game mode that allows you to build your own fantasy team with virtual cards to compete online. You can purchase these cards with the in-game currency, earned from completing games within the game mode, either against the computer or other online players.
Be a Pro and Be a GM also make a return in NHL 16. The former allows you to take a created player (or existing player) up through the ranks of the Canadian Hockey League and into the NHL, where you ultimately try to win as many Stanley Cups as you can and get into the Hockey Hall of Fame.
Be a GM puts you at the helm of an NHL franchise as general manager. You can start a ten-year career or a 25-year career if you wish. New this year is Player Morale system. Gone are the days of simply trading for an all-star team, going on to win the Cup every season and calling it a day. Now, each player on your NHL and AHL team has his own personality. You’ll find yourself dealing with trade demands, teammate relationships and more by calling team meetings or adjusting your roster to affect the team’s overall on-ice performance. It’s a welcome touch of realism, but if it seems like too much to manage, you can always turn that option off and run a more low maintenance Be a GM career.
NOTE: A big patch update on day one (roughly 2GB on PS4) adds a handful of new game modes, such as EASHL drop-in, Shootout Mode, the NHL 3-on-3 overtime rule change, along with other minor enhancements and fixes across the board.
Core gameplay
If you’re new to the series, the new Visual On-Ice Trainer provides visual aids that help project shooting targets, passing lanes, open teammates and more.
Something I noticed right away that was fresh in the gameplay was the seamless puck pickups players will make. No longer will they stop moving their feet and reach back to grab the puck. Now, players can corral the loose puck while in motion. It’s a small, but noticeable and welcome animation. The only disappointing thing is it seems to happen at random.
Also, I’ve still experienced the same old foolish A.I. when playing an exhibition against the computer. On some occasions, you can skate back-and-forth across the ice in the neutral zone to mirror the opposing defender to block a lane and rather than the player passing back to his defenseman or dumping the puck in, he’ll skate back-and-forth with you until a lane is clear.
What I particularly liked was how defensemen handle the puck along the blue line in the offensive zone. Now, the d-men can crossover and walk the line while facing the goal. Previously, if you wanted to move left to right across the line, often you’d find yourself spinning around in a circle, bringing the puck outside the zone and back in to frustratingly put yourself offside. In the handful of games I played, that fortunately wasn’t an issue for me.
The core gameplay mechanics aren’t perfect, and likely never will be, given the unpredictable and physical nature of ice hockey, but EA SPORTS still provides a realistic experience for fans to control.
Presentation
As someone who is a nitpicker about authenticity, the arena authenticity is at an all-time high, thanks to both the most realistic graphics to date and the new additions this year. Expect to see the Tesla coils in Tampa, the cannon in Columbus and, of course, Al the Octopus in Detroit. Additionally, EA SPORTS has added in some new touches, such as mascots for all 30 teams and some updated goal horns. However, not all the goal horns are accurate. And with how increasingly impressive the graphics are, it leaves me wanting the ability to create my own arena even more, a feature the series implemented only in NHL 2004.
EA SPORTS has also updated the NBC Sports presentation overlays to match the real-life counterpart. The duo of Mike “Doc” Emrick and Eddie Olczyk return in the booth, with Ray Ferraro once again adding commentary between the benches. I noticed the “Robo Cam” was added this year when the instant replay gives you the view from inside the net.
Perhaps one of the cooler aesthetic additions in NHL 16 is the playoff beard. Now, you’ll be able to see the likes of Brent Burns and Henrik Zetterberg rocking their iconic postseason beards come playoff time.
Creation
Despite the lack of arena creation, the customization elsewhere is nice. This year boasts the deepest customization for your own created player, whether you want to give him yellow skate laces, black blade holders and a candy cane tape job on his stick.
Unfortunately, unless you’re in EASHL or HUT, you cannot create your own team offline, either; the Creation Zone is strictly for creating players.
Conclusion
All in all, if you want your virtual hockey fix for 2015-16 and especially if you didn’t experience NHL 15 on PlayStation 4 or Xbox One, pick up this year’s installment. Even if the gameplay is not to your liking immediately out of the box, EA SPORTS provides enough sliders and tuners to allow you to play how you want. The game modes, some pretty addicting, will keep you busy this season.