Annual sports games are often hit or miss for longtime fans of the respective franchise. Last year's NHL game from EA Sports, for example, was a massive miss in the eyes of gamers and hockey aficionados alike. Aside from implementing new puck physics and other upgrades that helped create a more true-to-life experience on the latest pair of consoles, it came at the cost of a number of fan-favorite modes.
Now Electronic Arts is starting early and letting consumers know that this year's entry in the series, NHL 16, will restore a number of missing modes – as well as upgraded certain aspects of the title.
While there were a number of missing features in the latest game, one of the more missed offerings was undoubtedly EA Sports Hockey League. It shouldn't come as any surprise then that EA was listening to fans and has put that returning mode at the forefront of its announcement.
Despite being a championed feature of the NHL games, NHL 16 will be debuting a revamped version that's been fine-tuned with the help of dedicated fans of the series, according to EA.
"We’re removing the progression grind, that our fans told us created an unbalanced online experience, in favor of a new player class system. These player classes will be tuned to play together, each bringing their own strengths to the ice. The new EA SPORTS Hockey League is all about putting together the right mix of classes to support your team’s playing style, and then stepping on to the ice and letting your skill, not ratings, be the differentiator between being good and being great."
Accompanying EA Sports Hockey League is the return of 6-on-6 online team play, which was one of the best parts about previous entires. Jumping online with a line's worth of friends and taking on a group of six others has always been a blast, and that likely won't change with the mode's return in the latest iteration of NHL.
Aside from these two modes, EA released a list of all the modes that will be offered in NHL 16:
- Play Now
- NHL Moments Live
- Be A Pro
- Hockey Ultimate Team
- Be A GM
- EA Sports Hockey League
- Season Mode
- Online Team Play
- Practice Mode
- Online Versus
- Playoff Mode
It's good to see that Electronic Arts has heard its fans and is ensuring that it makes amends with those that felt scorned by last year's offering. There's still much left to see from NHL 16, like actual gameplay, but that will all come in due time. With E3 2015 quickly approaching, fans should finally get their glimpse of the newest entry in the annual series sooner rather than later.
NHL 16 is arriving for PS4 and Xbox One sometime this September.
Source: Electronic Arts