After last year’s disappointingly shallow NHL 15, it warms my heart to see NHL 16 make major strides toward a comeback. Salvaging the previous game’s already strong and exciting fundamental hockey simulation and great looks and combining them with tons of expansive modes for both long-time fans and newcomers, this year is a return to form in the most important ways, other than its still-unreliable online play.
The hockey game presented here has all the speed, hits, and excitement of the real deal. The action on the ice is fast and fluid, and the controls feel responsive and accurate. Spotting a hole in the defense and exploiting it for a goal never failed to lift me off my seat, fist-pumping like a crazy person. The whole thing looks and feels so much like the real thing that replays are almost indistinguishable from broadcasts, with scratches on the ice, reflections on players' helmets, and team mascots whipping the virtual crowds into a frenzy all working wonderfully to put me in the game. However, as real as it looks, there are times when the framerate simply chugs; thankfully that’s usually limited to off-ice intros and fan reactions, but it's really jarring given how good everything on the ice looks.
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The hockey game presented here has all the speed, hits, and excitement of the real deal. The action on the ice is fast and fluid, and the controls feel responsive and accurate. Spotting a hole in the defense and exploiting it for a goal never failed to lift me off my seat, fist-pumping like a crazy person. The whole thing looks and feels so much like the real thing that replays are almost indistinguishable from broadcasts, with scratches on the ice, reflections on players' helmets, and team mascots whipping the virtual crowds into a frenzy all working wonderfully to put me in the game. However, as real as it looks, there are times when the framerate simply chugs; thankfully that’s usually limited to off-ice intros and fan reactions, but it's really jarring given how good everything on the ice looks.
Continue reading…
Continue reading...