Release Date: September 15, 2015
The next full-fledged installment in one of the most popular sports franchises devoted to ice-hockey. Released for the eight-gen consoles, the game as usual offers the full license of the American-Canadian, National Hockey League, as well as a wide set of different game modes.
NHL 16 for PS4 and XONE belongs to a series of sports games developed by Electronic Arts and initiated in 1991, when NHL Hockey came out. As usual, the game is fully licensed by the National Hockey League, thus the player assumes control over virtual representations of real hockey players from the most popular teams.
The game offers several single and multiplayer modes. In the singleplayer component, the player will find the "Be a GM" mode again, but apart from having to acquire new hockey players for one's team this time, the player also has to do it in such a way that the players create a fruitful mixture, because each of them has their in-game personality here. Relations between one's hockey players affect their performance during matches, so they have to be taken under consideration. "Be a Pro" is the career mode, and in relation to the previous installments, a different system of progression was employed here. Also, the game features the Hockey Ultimate Team mode, which is another incarnation of the popular in-game activity – creating teams from the hockey player cards owned.
When it comes to the multplayer, NHL 16 for PS4 and XONE returns the EA SPORTS Hockey League mode to the series, but the mode as such was improved in many aspects – for instance, one can choose a specialty for their hockey player now. Apart from that, the players can enjoy 6 vs 6 team skirmishes, as well as an online co-op mode.
In terms of the mechanics, the game does not bring any significant differences to what NHL 15 had to offer. However, one has more control over their hockey players here. Also, new kinds of training sessions were added.
NHL 16 for PS4 and XONE comes with improved visuals, more authenticity brought to the in-game matches, as well as commentary by popular figures, including Doc Emrick, Eddie Olczyk and Ray Ferraro.
Platforms:
PlayStation 4
Xbox One
Developer: EA Sports
Publisher: Electronic Arts Inc.
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31GAMES
A series of ice hockey simulators based on the license of the largest American hockey league. The brand is owned by Electronic Arts, and the development is handled by EA Canada studio.
Game Ratings for NHL 16 Video Game.
Game Informer: 7.5 / 10 by Matt Bertz
A competent hockey experience still looking for a game-changing feature
GameCrate: 7.8 / 10 by Rudy Kelly
NHL 16 is definitely a return to form the NHL series, now I think I'd like to see them break that form and come up with something different. The features are there, the graphics are amazing, now the gameplay needs to catch up to the rest of the game. Hopefully they can do that next year.
Game Revolution: 4 / 5 by Anthony LaBella
Despite the draw of the EASHL and the core gameplay in NHL 16, there's a layer of familiarity that might turn away some folks. But after the missteps of last year's series entry, NHL 16 represents a step back in the right direction for EA's virtual hockey franchise and its fanbase. Some of the game modes feel underdeveloped in key areas, namely Be a Pro, but the variety on display and the hook of online multiplayer make NHL 16 an easy recommendation.
Average score from votes.
![[1:42] Be a Pro](https://cdn.gracza.pl/galeria/filmy/640x360/80135061.jpg)
