Unfortunately, my favourite modes in the past were Be A Pro and EASHL in NHL 16. EASHL just doesn’t exist in the game anymore. And Be A Pro is missing a huge feature - simulating between shifts. Since there’s no simulating between shifts, instead of playing 20 minute periods in that mode, it defaults to 5 minute periods. And since you’re playing only 5 minute periods, the game lets you play about 80% of the game (even if you’re not a top player on the team) to make up for the shortened periods. This is how Be a Pro was the first year they implemented it, and its hard for me to go back to playing this way. It’s not realistic and doesn’t feel as immersive. You don’t get that feeling of being one player in a team of 20 this year.

 

It was such a revolutionary mode when they first introduced it, because you got that feeling of what it was like to be only one cog in the machine for the first time, and to have that gone from this mode is devastating. So I’ve been stuck playing Be a GM, and even that feels old to me because I stopped playing Be a GM since NHL 09 when they introduced EASHL and Be a Pro. While the game itself looks pretty slick at first glance it kind of falls a bit flat the more you play. First, the good. The players generally move and react better than they have in previous versions of the game but they still could use some work. The attention to detail in the arenas, at least the ones I’ve actually been to, is pretty outstanding. It’s something that’s been long overdue as each arena in the NHL 16 tends to have its own quirks so it’s great to see that all reflected here. The camera angles for replays and such also tend to feel like a broadcast presentation adding to the feel of the game.

 

The way players move across the ice, the way arenas and crowds add to the drama, the variety of means available when it comes to scoring and the sheer visual quality continues to represent a near-high point in terms of realistically portraying the sport in question. Perhaps only NBA 2K does a better job of converting its chosen content to digital. This year, We Got This Covered made its first trip to sunny Los Angeles, California for E3 2014. It was an amazing experience, which just so happened to coincide with the city’s noticeable but muted Stanley Cup Finals fever. After all, the conference came about in early June, when the Kings were taking on the Rangers, and were damned close to winning it all for the second time in just a few years. I never got a chance to go to one of the games, due to ticket prices and booked flights, but I was at least able to demo NHL 16 - something that substituted well, at least for this hockey mad Canuck.

 

NHL 16 is one of the most frustrating sports releases to date. The core experience has been markedly improved. Players and arenas look more realistic, using video footage of the commentators was a stroke of genius and the impressively rendered fans actually seem to be reacting correctly to the unfolding events. More than just improved visuals, gameplay mechanics feel more realistic and polished, leading to a satisfying game of hockey. Unfortunately, in the process, a number of coveted modes and features have been dropped entirely. Losing a few would be acceptable, but there’s a plethora of excised features that will be missed - most notably EASHL. Those simply looking for a great game of virtual hockey will find some enjoyment here, but dedicated players who enjoy digging deep into the various modes EA has introduced over the years will be sorely disappointed.

 

Speaking of modes, NHL 16 is noticeably lighter than old-gen iterations on PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 (and, in fact, the old-gen version of NHL 16, which is a clone of last year's), and this is where the overall package begins to diminish. Online Team Play is gone, as is EA Sports Hockey League, which were two community lynchpins. You can still play single ranked or unranked games online -- everything goes very smoothly when connected, with reasonable load times and no noticeable lag -- and you can bring your Ultimate Team online, too.

 

Hockey Ultimate Team is still enjoyable in its own right, with the ability to create unique squads with a hodgepodge of players from different teams, leagues, and skill levels. It might just be NHL 16's meatiest and most substantial option. Previously EA exercised some braggadocious claims about the visual quality of NHL 16, including the “individually” rendered 19,000 members of the crowd and how each piece of padding under the jersey is geometrically accurate to the real-life pads so that the cloth simulations properly bounce and move against the players just like in real life.