Today at EA Sports’ presentation at E3, the video game conference where many new titles are announced or gameplay footage is demonstrated, the video game company gave us the first full trailer for the upcoming NHL 16.
The upcoming installment of the award-winning hockey franchise came under mass scrutiny last year when it was released with many missing features during the titles first release on the next generation consoles. This year’s release will attempt to bridge those problems, while also bringing in many returning features from older versions of the game.
We mentioned those new features in a previous post, but here’s a recap:
EASHL will be back, as EA said they reimagined the feature:
Sharpen those skates and grab your buddies because the EA SPORTS Hockey League is back! This fan-favorite online team mode has been reimagined and lets you choose specialized player classes to deliver a balanced competitive experience on the ice. Player skill and your ability to play as a team will now be the determining factor in who wins and loses hockey games.
A new feature this year is playoff beards. Now, when you are playing with your favourite franchise in the playoffs, your players beards will grow accordingly (unless you’re playing with Sidney Crosby).
One of the oldest and most iconic traditions in hockey has arrived. With accurate representations of beard patterns, length, thickness, and growth rates for individual players, the road to the Stanley Cup just got hairier.
EA promises you can play online with your friends from the same system, in a mode which they’re calling “Online couch co-op.”
The perfect way to play when you and your friends want to jump on the couch, join forces and play some drop-in hockey online. It’s the best place to practice your team play skills before playing OTP or EASHL.
It seems they’ve also added to the popular Be A Pro mode, implementing a new progression system that makes the mode seem more advanced.
The way you play dictates the type of player you will become in an all-new Be a Pro progression system. On-ice actions directly influence attributes earned, ensuring that your Pro will reflect the way you play. Sim to your next shift and the ability to work your way up from CHL rookie to an NHL Superstar also make a return in NHL 16.
Interestingly, they didn’t show much more than the trailer at E3 as other EA Sports titles were featured much more prominently. I don’t think that’s a detriment of the game itself, but it’s noteworthy.
There’s not much they could do wrong that would make NHL 16 worse than it’s predecessor, so I’m mildly excited to play it.
