While EA Sports’ other series like Madden and FIFA saw their debut on the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One last November, the NHL series was left out. As a result, the anticipation for the first eighth generation iteration of the series was very high with NHL 16. Quite often, the first outing on each generation of consoles for EA Sports titles have been pretty are bones, but with a year of prep time and focus, EA Sports had a great opportunity to go against that terrible tradition with NHL 16. I love a good hockey game. My fondest memories still resonate from playing NHL 98 on my PC at LAN parties. The thrill of hitting the slapshot at the last second rings true in NHL 16. The actual game play in EA Sports’ latest still shines. Controls are familiar and responsive. Passes are easy to achieve, and checks hit harder than ever. This is a great-playing game. Much like the rest of the EA Sports lineup, game play is also highly customizable. Sliders can help with the difficulty, while other options can switch up certain mechanics to the player’s liking. For those simply wanting to play a hockey game, this is the best one in years. Everything is tailored to keep the on-ice action fun and interesting.

 

Maybe it is just me, but I welcome this change back to a more simple NHL game. But I’m from the NHL 94 days. In that game, all you really had was the main game plus a few skills competition modes. Online multiplayer was something we never heard of before. This is probably why I don’t miss any of the online modes. To me any sports game should only be played in local multiplayer. This way you get to rub shoulders with your opponents/teammates. These are some of the fondest memories I have with my friends.

 

NHL 16 is EA’s first foray into Hockey on the current generation. Last year’s game was not earth shattering, but that’s okay, it was still an amazing package, was filled to the brim with modes and features. Had they just brought that experience over to the current generation with some improved graphics, I knew I would have been pretty happy with it. And that was not unreasonable since Madden and FIFA came to current generation systems mostly unscathed. EA even told us they would wait a year to get NHL on current generation systems so that they could do it right.

 

In a quick rundown of some of the features missing or changed, the Winter Classic and NHL 94 Anniversary modes have been removed. Online Versus has been limited to a max of four players, down from the full twelve on the ice in NHL 16 (this will be added back in with an October content patch) and the Online Shootouts mode is gone. While you can still change camera angles during gameplay, the custom camera option is gone. The 3 Stars of the game has been entirely removed from the conclusion of games but will be added back in as part of a September patch. The Ultimate edition of the game includes two Gold card packs per week for ten weeks which is a great value if you’re really into the HUT 16. Unfortunately, in that mode there doesn’t appear to be a way to find or play against your friends.

 

I usually play Be A GM mode with the Canadiens and I was rather annoyed by their removal of the draft. I simulated my first season and traded for the first pick in the 2015 draft (commonly referred to as the McDavid Lottery). In NHL 16, the computer drafts your players and your input lies only in the decision to sign the them or not. Well, the computer decided not to draft McDavid for me, instead going for the acceptable-but-no-McDavid Pavel Zacha. Every scouting report in the game pointed to McDavid as the superior choice but the computer decided otherwise, with no way for me to influence the decision. Now the thing that boggles my mind, and I’m no programmer so maybe I’m wrong, but I have trouble understanding why having the player choose his draftees is such a time-investment that a game with 2 years development time can’t afford it.

 

Single player mode isn't forgotten in NHL 16. EA includes a GM mode, NHL 16 Ultimate Team and a Pro Fantasy mode. When you are GM, you need to worry about ho players work together and overall player morale. In the Be a Pro game your play will dictate the type of player you are as you progress from a rookie to a pro. EA Sports today confirmed that NHL 16 will be a current-gen only release.