First things first, I think that EA made the right choice in ditching Patrick Kane from the front cover in lieu of his legal difficulties right now. It just wouldn't be right or good to have someone going through that on the front cover as it could become spectacularly bad for them. Innocent until proven guilty.
Last year I didn't buy NHL15 as I was disappointed at the lack of features in the game which I felt made it wrong to call a game or be sold at full price. I refused to buy it and spent another year with NHL14. I did miss not having a next-gen game but I coped and hope that this year would be better. That it is.
This year the game has returned all those features and with a bang. Be A GM was a mitigated disaster last year but is a great piece this year. The biggest addition was the morale system. It can have the potential to get repetitive but if they can work on it then it would be a good addition. The simulation speed is much improved and prospect development seems to be better with more accurate rates of progression achieved.
EASHL returns but with pre-set player classes. This works but I feel like there should be more ability to edit a players ability. EASHL is great fun to play with people and so far I have 6 points in 7 games. My biggest gripe with EASHL is that there appears to be some slight lag and a clunkiness to the players. Some of them skate as if they've got cinder blocks on their legs.
HUT has finally introduced a single player season to allow to earn pucks that way if you're not ready for the online game. Or if your team, like mine, sucks. The HUT menus are where the new, fast layouts are best displayed. Their quickness and ability to filter from one to the other is a great relief and change from the previous years. HUT gameplay is different to the rest of the game as it is more arcade like but it is still enjoyable.
Lastly on the game mode front. Be a Pro. Last year for some stupid reason they took out the option to sim shifts which made Be a Pro unplayable. That is back and there is more influence and ability to guide your player through the leagues which makes it feel a lot more personal and with the way the game progresses, it makes you want to play more.
The commentary can get repetitive and without a soundtrack is does feel a bit empty but the actual gameplay is a huge improvement with physics that feel more realistic and actually work. Some slight tweaks are needed with players going in the crease and with the puck chopping but the basis of a great game is there. The only major gripe I have with EA is their ratings with don't allow you to really feel that much of a difference between Tanner Glass and Phil Kessel. Changing those would revolutionise the game. All in all, I would give NHL16:
80/100 - A good game with room for improvement to make it epic.
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