| NHL 16 | |
|---|---|
 Revised cover art featuringJonathan Toews | |
| Developer(s) | EA Canada |
| Publisher(s) | EA Sports |
| Series | NHL series |
| Engine | Ignite(PS4, Xbox One) |
| Platform(s) | NHL 16 NHL: Legacy Edition |
| Release |
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| Genre(s) | Sports |
| Mode(s) | Single-player,multiplayer |
NHL 16 is anice hockeysimulation video game developed byEA Canada and published byEA Sports. It is the 25th installment of theNHL series and was released on September 15, 2015, inNorth America and September 17 and 18 inEurope,Australia andNew Zealand. The game was released onPlayStation 4 andXbox One, with a separate release forPlayStation 3 andXbox 360 titledNHL: Legacy Edition.Jonathan Toews of theChicago Blackhawks is the official cover athlete, marking his second appearance on anNHL cover, followingNHL 11.
Featuring game presentation in the style of theNBC Sports Network,NHL 16 runs on EA Sports' advancedIgnite game engine and features many game modes, including one that has the player take control of their own custom player and pursuing a career in theNHL and one that has the player play as the manager of any NHL team. The fan-favorite EA Sports Hockey League (EASHL) mode, an onlineco-operative play mode, also returns to the game after being left out of the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One versions ofNHL 15, the game's predecessor. Upon release,NHL 16 received positive reviews and was declared an improvement overNHL 15 by critics.
NHL 16 contains several game modes; "Be a GM", where the player controls the general manager of a team of their choice, "Be a Pro", where the player controls their own custom player and progresses his career, Hockey Ultimate Team, where the player collects cards of real-life players, build a team, and then take on either players online or A.I. teams, and EA Sports Hockey League, abbreviated as EASHL, a multiplayer-only mode where players can use their own custom player to join other teams, also with custom players controlled by other people, and take on other teams.[1][2] The EASHL returns after being dropped from thePlayStation 4 andXbox One versions ofNHL 15. It features some changes in its progression system to address balance issues, including a switch to a class-based progression model similar to Be a Pro mode, and the removal of attributes and boosts.[3] A beta for the EASHL mode was available forNHL 15 owners from July 30 to August 10.[3]
Other features included are offline and onlineshootout modes, online team play, which has the user take control of players from real-life teams, and online versus, a simple head-to-head match.[2] Returning to the game is theNBC Sports-style presentation, which features the network'sscore bug, which is now updated and can now be displayed in a transparent view instead of disappearing, as well as commentary provided byMike "Doc" Emrick (play-by-play),Eddie Olczyk (color), andRay Ferraro (ice-side reporter). Emrick and Olczyk's actual selves are present during the pregame intro cutscenes.[2]
NHL 16 did not have a cover vote in contrast to the previous year's iteration. At the 2015 NHL Awards, it was revealed thatPatrick Kane andJonathan Toews of theChicago Blackhawks, who had won the2015 Stanley Cup Finals, were selected to be on the cover of the game. It is Toews' second appearance on the cover of anNHL game, followingNHL 11.[4] It was supposed to be Kane's second appearance as well, followingNHL 10,[4] but on August 12 EA Sports announced that Kane would no longer be appearing on the cover of the game in light of the fact he was the subject of a police investigation over a sexual assault allegation.[5][6]
NHL: Legacy Edition is an updated version ofNHL 15 for thePlayStation 3 andXbox 360, based onNHL 14. There are some minor changes, such as the menu music; however, the EA Sports logo is instead shown for the album arts, the NHL Moments Live from 2013–14 is replaced by some new ones that were made available as the2015-16 NHL season progressed, and in the "Custom Team" game mode the team name selection is improved.[7] TheNHL 94 Anniversary Mode is also included.
NHL 16 launched in North America on September 15, 2015, in both a standard edition and a deluxe set, which includes bonus content for use with theHockey Ultimate Team game mode.NHL: Legacy Edition launched in North America on the same day asNHL 16, but it was released in a standard edition only. InCanada, an exclusive PlayStation 4 bundle launched with the game simultaneously, packaging both a PS4 console and a copy ofNHL 16.[8]
| Aggregator | Score |
|---|---|
| Metacritic | 80/100 (XB1)[9] 78/100 (PS4)[10] |
| Publication | Score |
|---|---|
| Game Informer | 7.5/10[11] |
| GameRevolution |   [12] |
| GameSpot | 8/10[13] |
| GameTrailers | 9.0/10[14] |
| IGN | 7.8/10[15] |
Upon its release,NHL 16 received positive reviews from critics and received much more positive reviews compared to its predecessor,NHL 15, which received more mixed and average reviews from critics.[16][17][18][19] OnGameRankings, the PlayStation 4 version holds a 79.67% rating, based on 23 reviews,[20] and the Xbox One version holds an 82.23% rating, based on 15 reviews.[21] OnMetacritic, the PlayStation 4 version holds a 78/100 rating, based on 28 reviews,[10] and the Xbox One version holds an 80/100 rating, based on 18 reviews.[9] Critics generally felt thatNHL 16 was an improvement overNHL 15. They directed acclaim at the fun gameplay of the game's wide variety of game modes as well as the return of the EASHL mode. Some criticism was aimed mainly at some lack of depth in these game modes as well as the game's menus and interface.
Mat Paget ofGameSpot awarded the game an 8/10. He complimented the content ofNHL 16's game modes as well as the inclusion of the On-Ice Trainer, which he believes would help brand new players and would work very well in the game's Be A Pro mode. He stated, however, that the game's menus can sometimes be confusing to get around.[13] ForGame Informer, Matt Bertz wrote that EA Sports are heading in the right direction withNHL 16, but he felt that they failed to bring any "game-breaking quality" in terms of gameplay. Bertz complimented the game's improvedartificial intelligence system for opposing teams as well as theNHL on NBC game presentation.[11] Anthony LaBella ofGame Revolution found the inclusion of several game modes to be positive for the game, but felt that some of them were not thoroughly developed enough. LaBella also enjoyed the revamped EASHL mode as well as the game's presentation.[12]
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