NHL 16 Available Today For Xbox One & PlayStation 4, Post Your Impressions

[BL8001]

Quote: Originally Posted by nddurst

I'm seeing the same thing...would be nice to know. I think that same issue has been patched before in previous versions of the game if I remember correctly...so if it is an issue in NHL 16 and enough people bring it to EA's attention, I bet they could fix it.

I have seen it quite a bit, once again even more after this mysterious gameplay update.

[BL8001]

Quote: Originally Posted by sweetjones

How is the sound effects in 16? Last year the sound effects were really low except if you watch recorded gameplay.

They are ok on a normal monitor.

They sound great on a 5.1 or higher home stereo system.

They also sound great through the Xbox one stereo headset.

Balance wise it would definitely be nice if they raised the goal horns. Everything is at max default with the sound so you could lower everything but the goalhorns to increase their volume.

[BL8001]

If anyone wants to see video of any particular team let me know and I will make a video of gameplay with them.

I won't be able to do it until later tonight but I will be happy to oblige any game matchup requests.

[snc237]

Good game. Still needs work however it's heading I the right direction. Problem is I'm enjoying madden so much (first time in years) that I'm not overly interested in NHL at the moment

[Swiffle]

Picked up NHL 16 on Xbox One last night. Have been playing offline. Have not played NHL 15, mainly comparing to NHL 14/PS3.

Hardcore Pro seemed really easy, but Hardcore All-Star seemed ridiculous with computer firing tape to tape to tape passes all over the ice. Touched a couple sliders to slow the game down a bit, feels a bit better.

Current gripes:

Turning down game speed slider makes game choppy. This one is really really bad. ~Unplayable.

AI is still unrealistic and somewhat frustrating to play against. Offensive zone entry for you is still easy, offensive zone entry for them is pass back and forth in neutral zone repeatedly until something opens up. Create a Play is gone, customizing AI (stuff like dump/carry or pinch from blue line/back off)seems to only be possible for your team? The AI does use some dekes and some offensive creativity. Mainly constantly trying to set up a one-timer on the backdoor. Unfortunately this takes some effort to defend, because the usually AI fires off perfect passes from any angle, even to people behind them at odd angles. This appeared to be made up for by making goalies stop a lot of one-timers and well-aimed shots from high scoring areas. Need to tweak and see, and also play online to compare though.

It's really hard to defend. Every game is raking up shot totals. Positional defense isn't easy, poke check and stick lift are somewhat useful. You lose agility still though so missing pokes and stick lifts costs you positioning. It's hard enough to stay with people as is. Trying to use the awful sweep stick mechanic is tripping people up often. Hitting is toned down, seems okish? Trying to deny or limit shots on goal overall is really difficult.

In Be A Pro, the play-by-play calls me Backes instead of "Andrews" half the time. Go figure.

There was some issue with menus skipping around? Conveniently caused my be a pro to not get saved when I pressed up from cancel to go to exit without saving instead of save and exit. This also happened in other places, even the main menu.

Dump and chase still seems pointless, it's still hard to create pressure on puck carriers with their instant reaction passing plays. Similarly, the AI dumping the puck in was a turnover unless I overskated it or made a bad pass somehow.

Stuff I liked:

The on screen pops give some useful feedback on aiming, faceoff strategy/timing. Passing indicator is kind of useful, helped me line a few passes that would have gone wayward since i'm not laser precise with them. It's nicely customizable so you can turn them off though. The player indicator is really large with some of the tips, but thats scalable with some options off.

Presentation is fairly good. As I mentioned I'm jumping to NHL 16 from NHL 14, so I didn't see a lot of how things were last year. The commentary is overly generic, but sports game commentary is really really difficult to keep fresh, so I'm not going to complain too much. Intro cinematic, arenas, mascots, even fans, all look alright.

Framerate was pretty consistent it felt like. (Other than lower the gamespeed slider)

Animations definitely smoother than NHL 14.

Need to dive into EASHL and online VS soon and see how that is.

[pencerm]

Can anyone tell me if create a team is in the game? I don't care about how many options there are, etc. I'm just curious if it's an option. Also, are there any legends in the game outside of HUT? I'm a casual hockey fan. NHL 13 was one of my favorite games because I could create a team, start a franchise mode, add all my favorite players and legends and check people as hard as I could. I'm a pretty simple guy.

[Splitter77]

Quote: Originally Posted by tjung0831

Last 10 minutes or so of some Blues and Stars action and a little of the Scottrade atmosphere. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FvrpmF08kzY

ugh. that 4th dallas goal is the typical ea crap goal.

[gopher_guy]

I've played 3 games so far (2 play now and one online vs)

It's a very good game. Is it a true to life hockey simulation? No. Don't buy the game if that's your only expectation.

Is it a fun game that most hockey fans will enjoy? Yes. I'm glad I bought it.

Gonna start tweaking a little more with the sliders and strategies before jumping into my GM mode, but I am liking a lot of what I'm seeing.