NHL 16: Expert Reviews and Impressions of EA Sports' Hockey Title

NHL 16 isn't spectacular, but it's good. That seems to be the consensus among experts. It's hard to find a rating below 7.8 or above 8.5 online. I scored the game an 8.3, but let's take a look at three other reviews of EA Sports' newest virtual hockey game.

Seth G. Macy, IGN, 7.8

While it was one of the lowest review scores, Seth G. Macy's writeup still highlighted the best aspects of NHL 16. NHL 15 was a feature-starved title that felt incomplete. As Macy wrote, that's not the case with NHL 16:

"This time, the list of modes and play options available in NHL 16 makes it feel like a worthy successor to the hockey games of years past." 

EA Sports Hockey League and fully functioning versions of Be a GM and Be a Pro are also back. While there's still a lack of customization in the franchise modes—when compared to other sports video games—you can at least feel as though you've experienced a complete title.

Macy took the audio from Doc Emrick, Ed Olczyk and Ray Ferraro to task. He wrote:

"For me, the only reason I’d want to skip games would be to avoid having to hear the same repetitious Doc Emrick, Eddie Olczyk, and Ray Ferraro commentating lines over and over again." I'd also agree with Macy on this front as well. It usually takes several games before you begin to hear repetitive commentary.

In just the second game I played, I heard entire stories repeated. That's not ideal.

Mat Paget, Gamespot, 8

The on-ice trainer was the most impressive thing about NHL 16 in Max Paget's eyes. Paget wrote:

"

NHL 16 is exciting not only for dedicated fans due to the return of the long-lost modes of years past but also for new players or even people who just want to get better. The On-Ice Trainer (OIT) is an awesome alternative to tutorials, and it makes me hope that other companies, not just those making sports games, will find a way to implement similar tools.

"

Tutorials are a tricky thing. The key is to implement the information without making it intrusive. If at all possible, the best practices should kind of seep into your consciousness while you play rather than stop the action to teach you a lesson.

That's exactly what the OIT does in NHL 16.

Paget didn't like the menus. The setup is clunky in Ultimate Team but not so much on the main menu. Even still, if poorly structured menus is the worst aspect of a game, things could be much worse.

Rich Grisham, Games Radar, 4/5

You'll be hard-pressed to find a sports game with a more authentic atmosphere. Rich Grisham of Games Radar concurs: 

"

The best parts of NHL 16 jump off the screen. Arenas are filled with raucous fans shouting team-specific chants, mascots mill about and react to the action on the ice, and a near-palpable electricity permeates the air. The sounds of skates pushing through ice, pucks clanking off goalposts, and players slamming into the boards are superb. Horns boom with an eardrum-bursting din when goals are scored, with spectators reacting instantaneously with ecstasy or agony, depending on their affiliation.

"

If you pause the game at any point and pan the camera into the crowd, you'll see exactly what Grisham is talking about. The diverse group of fans emote facially, and they demonstrate the appropriate body language.

Minus the rudimentary commentary, every sound that comes from the game is topnotch. On the downside, Grisham brings up a good point as it relates to player ratings and their sometimes indistinguishable traits: 

"

In practice, there seems to be very little difference between teams other than their jerseys; individual player ratings are so relatively close to each other that they feel virtually irrelevant. Hockey has always been the toughest sport in which to represent specific athlete talents, and I’m as hard-pressed as ever to distinguish one player from another unless I’m looking at them close-up between shifts.

"

That's something EA Sports may have to consider changing in the future. If there's not a big enough difference between Sidney Crosby and, say, Ryan Kesler, the ratings-to-ice translation may need to be tweaked.

Overall, the issues are minimal for NHL 16. If you're a hockey fan and don't already own NHL 16, you're probably missing out.

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