Poor hockey. Last year, all of EA’s yearly sports titles were on current-gen systems except NHL 15. Not only was this further proof of its third fiddle status in EA Sports’ roster, but was also a crime as it was one of the best entries in the long-running series. A year later, the franchise is finally debuting on current generation consoles, but is unfortunately facing an uphill battle. Although NHL 16 has been overhauled graphically, it’s stripped of several features and releasing the same day as Destiny.

 

This is just a small sampling of what’s missing and if you’re interested in all of it, I really suggest checking out the list over at Operation Sports if you haven’t already done so. Overall it’s the best looking game in the series, but it doesn’t really have that “next-gen” feel. The game just doesn’t look as crisp as other sports games that have come out for the PS4 so far and even though EA has stated that the game had a full twelve month development cycle, it feels rushed and a bit incomplete. Ugh, okay, here we go. We’ve been told that over 35,000 lines of new commentary were recorded with the inclusion of a new broadcast team, yet you’ll still hear constant repetition from game to game and often within the same game. If I hear Doc Emrick say that a shot was “accidentally blocked” one more time I’m going to punch someone (Extra Life should be fun this year with Glenn close by).

 

Although its gameplay is fast, realistic, addictive and accessible, NHL 16 has managed to leave myself and many others aggravated and wanting. The main reason for this is its lack of fan favourite modes like EA Sports Hockey League (6-on-6 online team play), Online Team Play (one-off games played with and against real people), Live the Life (a light-RPG flavored career mode), and Online Shootouts. Those are just a handful of the missing modes and features that loom over the series’ first next-gen outing and will undoubtedly affect its sales. Joining them are missing pre-season games, a removed NHL 94 tribute mode and eliminated practice drills. The modes that did make the cut include Play Now (exhibition matches), Be a GM (create your own dynasty), Be a Pro (Live the Life’s predecessor), NHL Moments Live (a chance to relive memorable moments from the NHL), Online Versus and Hockey Ultimate Team.

 

However, all that physics jiggling and man-junk rendering couldn’t save NHL 16 from the harsh reality of player review scores. Over on GameStop the average user rating is 4 out of 10 and only 28% of people recommended the product to their friends. Ouch. So why exactly is the game rated so low? Well, one anonymous gamer wrote… “NHL 16 is a complete joke. The fact that EA believed that they could reproduce nhl 14 with new rosters and commentators and sell it as the a new and novel game is just ridiculous. Every facet of the game is the same as nhl 14 besides minor cosmetics i.e. player pictures, commentators and the physics tweaks that ea claims to have put in (I for one have not noticed). Main point of this review… DON’T BUY THIS GAME”

 

In the defensive zone, AI teammates seem to have some trouble marking defenders in front of the net, which makes it incredibly important to succeed at playing the puck or else you’ll find yourself watching the opponent celebrate the puck in the back of your net. The opponent AI is also entirely too proficient at scoring on one-timers and snap shots from the face-off dots and slot area, even against the higher-rated goalies in the game. The combination of these things makes it, at times, almost impossible to stop the CPU from scoring at will if you’re not personally taking responsibility for either the puck carrier or the CPU opponents awaiting their scoring opportunities; a tough ask to play one-against-many when the AI on your team is letting you down.

 

Like I said, it sounds super cheesy, but it actually makes the games feel like they’re being played on NBC. Sure, that’s not the best hockey broadcast outlet, but it’s cool here. I only wish we could play through the Winter Classic with this new presentation stuff. As far as the new generation of NHL 16 is concerned, this package isn’t nearly strong or complete enough to justify an immediate purchase. The missing features create huge content gaps that are practically unacceptable at this point in the franchise’s lifespan.