The NHL 16 release date is just months away and while EA did not announce the specific date we know a lot about the NHL 16 release that gamers and fans will want to know today to get amped up and ready for the game. Even before E3 2015 there are a lot of details for gamers to learn about the NHL 16 release and the new NHL 16 features that are coming to consoles this fall. Playing the next game sends us into the action, where we quickly notice another sim issue. When your player comes off the ice, we can’t choose “Sim to next shift”, all we can do is sit on the bench and watch and wait until either you chose to go back on or your coach puts you back in. 

 

NHL 16 BE A PRO, arguably the main single player mode, which allows you to create and control your own player and have him grow through his career into a top NHL player. As we start this game mode we notice a much different menu style than previous games. This menu is very boxy and spread across the entire page and at times is difficult to navigate, even after hours of play, it also looks messy and unorganized. Looking through the modes that advance play, we can either play the next game or sim it by finding it in the calendar tab. Simming allows us only to sim the entire game in one go, no time based simming like in previous games, this is all or nothing.

 

Finally, NHL 16’s Be A Pro mode will once again let a hockey player work through minor leagues before heading into the NHL, a feature that was omitted from last year’s release. “Their most requested features and modes are in NHL 16 and include new experiences that make NHL bigger and better.” The fate of your team is at your fingertips with all-new enhanced goalie controls. Precision Skating captures the authentic look and feel of a goaltender’s momentum and precise movement as you control them in the crease. When the shots start flying, decide whether to make controlled positional saves or commit to high risk athletic saves that may leave you vulnerable to secondary chances.

 

Collision Physics in NHL 16 have also been improved. All twelve players can now stumble at any time, whether it’s by being hit by an opponent or tripping over a teammate. Instead of a pre-determined outcomes, players realistically react to their movements. Player sizes, ratings, speed, center of mass and physicality are all factors that go into determining this. This is a spectrum. How much you have to give yourself over to the machine with any given game plots that game’s location on that spectrum. Playing Tag requires very little buy-in from the player. You agree that you’re playing and you use your already-existing faculties to play. Playing Dwarf Fortress requires a massive amount of adaptation of your mind and body. You change the way you interact with your computer, the visual language of games, and your relationship with text in games.

 

Getting to the place where you feel like Dwarf Fortress is actually giving you something wonderful and fulfilling takes days or weeks. Like all discipline, it is uncomfortable and frustrating. EA spent two years developing the game for PS4 and Xbox One after skipping NHL 16 for the consoles in an effort to get it just right. Despite the extra development time, the game falls well short of expectations. The crowds are more authentic than ever, reacting as they would (and importantly not all in unison) to the action on the ice, but this is where some major omissions on EA's part become noticeable.

 

Let’s get this out of the way immediately, NHL 16 is a pared-down experience for players of past iterations. When compared directly against last gen versions of the series over the last couple years, NHL 16 looks bare-bones. Sure, there is still the standard NHL modes of Exhibition, Be a GM, Be a Pro, NHL Moments, and Hockey Ultimate Team but even some of these modes have been pared down to have less features than their last gen counterparts. In particular Be a GM and Be a Pro are both stripped versions of past iterations.

 

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. You can easily change whether the small quirks happen or not and how often via the settings menu, where you can also change just how simulated or arcade-like you want your hockey experience to be, along with the complexity of the buttons.