The intro to the opening game, a Game 7 Stanley Cup matchup between the Los Angeles Kings and New York Rangers, looks like something NBC would have broadcast on my television last June. From the outdoor shots of the city to Mike Emrick and Eddie Olczyk overlooking the ice in the announcers booth, this was the first time the attempt at a studio-style presentation in the NHL games has nailed it spot on. And then the game started, and it felt like you expect an NHL 16 game to feel, albeit with some subtle new enhancements to how things operate. When you couple the presentation with things like improved player collisions and puck physics, the initial impression that the game has taken a step forward into the current generation of hardware. It hasn’t. In fact, the NHL series may have regressed considerably.

 

Some of the various game modes have been scaled back drastically, while others are no longer present at all. The online leagues (EASHL) have disappeared, as has the option to play a normal season or the popular Winter Classic games. With that in mind, if you absolutely smash an opponent with all your might then his helmet will go flying off and he’ll be left skating around hatless until his shift is over. If you manage to stop an opponent’s rocketing slap shot with your stick then it will break in two and your player will have to make his way over to the bench for a new one.

 

While I can relate to these frustrated gamers, I’m enough of an NHL addict that playing online 1-v-1 mode is enough for me to get my fix, for the time being. Maybe if I knew about this before selling my Xbox 360, I would have stuck to NHL 16 for the current-gen consoles. Nevertheless, as frustrated as I am with the absence of EASHL, I am beginning to appreciate the next-gen graphics and gameplay. As a result of these “technical hurdles” the game has launched with a number of modes and presentation elements missing. Like Destiny, this year’s virtual hockey experience comes off feeling like a much smaller experience when compared to contemporary games and even other games in the NHL franchise.

 

Perhaps you're not the type of player that spends time playing against AI or building your long-term dynasty, so you'll be eager to learn about what the multiplayer options in NHL 16 are. Well, unfortunately the trend of cutting features continues here as well. The recently introduced Be a GM Connected is no longer offered. The franchise's most prolific online offering, EASHL, where players could create and grow their custom player, while participating in drop in or team games against others, is absent. The thousands of competitive hockey fans will have to find other ways to entertain themselves, perhaps by playing the basic online versus or (as the developers promise) Online Team Play with real teams and players only, to be patched in at a future date.

 

Alongside the graphical leap, one of the major all-stars in NHL 16 is the presentation. Unlike most sports games that have a commentary crew created with in-game models, including the recent Madden NFL 16 with Jim Nance and Phil Simms, NHL 16 actually chose to record the new NBC Sports commentary team of Mike ‘Dock” Emrick and Eddie Olczyk themselves. This does look a little bit awkward at first as the real life commentators are put in front of the in-game background, but getting them like this is well worth that transition period.

 

Presentation is one of the areas where the game actually steps up. The integration with NBC makes it feel like an actual broadcast; more so than in any past iteration. The real life commentators against game backgrounds is jarring at first, but no creepier than digital Jim Nantz and Phil Simms in Madden. Some of the commentary can be off at times, OK downright ridiculous, but the attempt at making it more organic is definitely appreciated. A step that can only be taken with a new console generation. The missing modes will be back. Until then, play NHL 16 the way it was meant to be played. You and a few buddies on the couch, battling it out to see who will win.