The NHL series has shut out its opponents for a half decade, thanks to an innovative skill stick feature and amazing graphics that left its only competition, the old “NHL 2K” series, in the dust a long-time ago. More Realistic Goal tending: More rebounds and more realistic rebounds make for a game that thrives on second chances and tough defense. That's exactly the way every NHL game should be. While Crosby is regarded as the best all-around player in the NHL, Washington Capitals left wing Alexander Ovechkin is arguably the best pure goal scorer. Crosby racked up 36 goals last season, but for the fifth time in his career, Ovechkin racked up at least 50 goals in a season (51 to be exact.) There are legitimate questions about his ability and willingness to defend, but there is no doubting his offensive attributes.

 

Even when contact isn’t significant, it affects puck possession in more subtle ways than had previous been possible in NHL 16. Thanks to the skating system in NHL 16 feeling more “weighted”-you’ll feel your players making the effort to turn sharply and hustle-it’s much more difficult to try and simply skate from end-to-end with a player to score goals. AI defenders are skilled with poke checks and spatial awareness and will ride you to the side boards or simply dispossess you of the puck if you don’t have a strategy for once you enter the offensive zone. There can still be frustration in possession where you’ll check a puck carrier and then your player’s reaction to the hit will stall them long enough for the opponent to keep the puck, however. The puck can get “tied up” under a fallen player and the game doesn’t react well enough to give you the chance to take control, which is unfortunate.

 

Unfortunately, this is another case where expectations were greater than reality. It’s not that the on-ice product is bad with NHL 16. In fact, once you decide to start a game in Be a Pro, Be a GM, or any of the other modes, actually playing a game of hockey might be better than ever. The new NBC presentation package makes it feel like every game is Game of the Week, and commentary from the team of Mike Emrick, Eddie Olczyk, and Ray Ferraro is stellar. I’m about 40 games into my Be a GM mode in NHL 16 (I play every game of the season), and I’m just now starting to hear some repeat commentary, but I’m still getting surprised here and there.

 

Dekes are made even more fluid thanks to the enhanced puck physics. Where before the puck has always been approximated as a small ball, it has now been retooled to take on the characteristics - size, shape and weight - of an actual puck. While this might not seem all that crucial, it makes the game play more realistically ever than before. Much like in the real sport, you’ll see more random bounces and goals off of rebounds that weren’t possible before. Physical sports are closer to Tag on the spectrum I mentioned before. They are, at the end of the day, fairly simple experiences that require a little bit of team communication and an understanding of where a ball needs to go.

 

We are constantly teaching droves of four-year-olds across the world how to play nearly all of our physical sports. They can become complicated at high levels, but at the bottom, they are not. NHL 16 is the first outing on next-gen consoles for one of EA Sports' most popular franchises, and this was also my own first experience with the top-end consoles. Me and the NHL series go way back but the last edition of the game I played was NHL 09 on PC. A lot has changed since then. Score a hat-trick in ice hockey and hats are thrown from the crowd onto the ice. There are no hats in NHL 16.

 

The choice is yours, but these are just some things to keep in mind when debating whether to buy NHL 16, and for which console. Casual gamers can’t go wrong with the next-gen graphics and gameplay. If you haven’t already ditched your current-gen consoles, all of you hardcore gamers who have become attached to coveted game modes such as EASHL and GM Connected might want to hold on to them, at least until EA Sports decides to give back what it took away from next-gen gaming.