More specifically about the CPU of NHL 16, it is very good at getting puck in front of the net and scoring an open net goal - your own defence seems to be lacking in this area. And in general defence is harder, and I think it’s for three reasons. One, the poke checking (which was already not very good in EA games compared to the older 2K Hockey games) has been completely crippled, and is barely useful now. You can only lunge your stick out for a split second instead of keeping it out in the passing lane like actual players do. The other reason is that you can’t tie up players in the slot anymore. So not only is it hard to block passes, it’s also hard to have man-on-man coverage on someone in the slot because offensive players are way too slippery and its very easy for them to tap in the puck unharassed.

 

Anytime I see the CPU passing the puck towards someone in the slot, I already know it’s probably a goal, even if I’m in the right position as a defender, and that’s one of the most frustrating feelings you can have playing a video game. Many fans, however, aren’t buying it. Type in “NHL” as a hashtag into Twitter and you might end up being prompted by NHL 16 problems, a hash tag where many are filing their displeasure with the game. The latest release of EA Sports’ NHL series has fans excited for which players will be the most dominant in the game, and to the surprise of no one, the biggest names in the sport are the highest-rated stars in the game.

 

You'll also notice the ice wearing down over the course of a game. These are things that you might miss if you’re not really paying attention, but the minor details in the gameplay make the overall experience all the more enjoyable. Unfortunately, there’s no team play online this year, but you can still play ranked and unranked matches, as well as playing with your NHL 16 Ultimate Team which is comprised of all your favorite players. But sports games are such a cottage industry at this point that you can’t just judge them on what they offer at the core. I can’t speak much to what is missing on the Xbox Live side, since I don’t usually play the game online, but there were a few features absent that I found every bit as perplexing.

 

NHL 16 Hockey Ultimate team is the mode that was left the most untouched. Gamers are able to collect and trade hockey cards of their favorite players, then take the team online to play 1v1 against a random player in an attempt to move up divisions. However, the single player entity of the mode is essentially gone, which is a big loss for me personally since it’s the way I enjoy to play the game mode. Be a Pro has been sliced down to its core. No longer “live the life mode” as it was last year, in which you could play the media and live in the shoes as an NHL 16 player, this year’s iteration is as bare bones as it gets.

 

You don’t get a shot to play in the Memorial Cup to earn a proper draft spot, and you can’t start your career in the CHL or play for your AHL counterpart. You either get randomly drafted to a team with a random amount of XP to start out with (anywhere between 1200-3000 XP), or you can choose which team to play for and get 2000 XP. It’s really lame, and during the game itself, you are unable to sim when your character is sitting on the bench. It’s simple little things that are left out for no reason that make the least amount of sense. I’m really at a loss for words… NHL 16 for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 is essentially the same game as last year’s. EA has added new announcers, a change also made for the next-gen consoles (see below), but that’s about the extent of it.

 

Other than the announcers, the game is basically a copy-and-paste of NHL 16, with new rosters. Even the Stanley Cup winning cutscene is pretty much the same as before. The new user menus are finally clean of clutter (due to lack of content, unfortunately) but still manage to stutter at times. Having to use the trigger to navigate between submenus never becomes comfortable. Most gamers will agree that this is an unwelcomed outcome in and of itself, but it’s one that’s harder to accept when this new console generation has also brought higher retail costs for consumers. While I am not absolving the programmers, engineers, artists, or producer Sean Ramjagsingh of their roles in this game’s development, I feel like most of the issues with NHL 16 could have been solved by having one more year of development time. The release date of a game is usually decided by people in business suits holding the purse strings, and I just wish to make sure that they’re acknowledged for their part in this as well.