NHL 06 – XB – Review

Finally, the NHL is back, both on
and off the ice. No longer will hockey fans have to endure long, depressing
winters without their beloved sport to help keep them company. This means new
players, new rules, and for the virtual hockey fanatic, a whole slew of new
hockey games for their favorite video-game system to choose from. Sadly, the
lock-out wasn’t only damaging to the sport and its fan base, but it has also
taken an incredible toll on some of the players as well. I’m fully aware that
a lot of guys in the league will suffer some sort of minor setback, or
depletion in skills after sitting last year out, but apparently, according to
EA at least, every single goalie in the NHL has experienced some sort of
head-trauma, and has completely forgotten how to play the game. Gone is the
excruciating defense that made last year’s offering unplayable, which now has
been replaced by dumbfounded goaltenders, and a skate-freely type attitude on
offense. Will these additions, or subtractions (depending on your stance) be
enough to separate 06 from its competitors? Well, surprisingly, the answer is
yes.

Much like every EA Sports title to
come along, this year’s hockey game has a few new features that will help
separate it from last year’s game. Much like Madden’s Truck Stick, 06 features
the new Skill Stick option, which has now been mapped to the right analog
stick. What’s the Skill Stick you ask? Well, to be quite frank and honest with
you, an unnecessary, although not completely useless offensive addition. Now,
anytime players wish, they can perform certain “skill” moves by tapping the
right analog stick in the appropriate direction. I know this sounds cool and
exciting, and sometimes it is exactly that, but way too often it turns out to
be nothing more than a disrespect to the game of hockey. One problem is that
the moves are preprogrammed and give you very little control over the shot
itself, and a lot of the times you just press the right analog stick and hope
for the best. Sadly, this usually results in an over-the-top 360 spin, or a
fancy between the legs shot, none of which you need to be trying in any thing
other than the all-star game. If I remember correctly from my playing days,
just trying one of these moves would either get you benched, or punched in the
mouth for showing off. I know the developers were trying to recapture the
offensive glory from their previous games like NHL 94, but at this point in
time people have come to expect realism, not something we witnessed in a game
more than 10 years ago.

Luckily, you never have to
actually press the skill stick button if you don’t want to, as the manual deke
from a few years ago has now been moved to the left analog stick. This
actually works out pretty well, and even though the left stick is also used to
control your player, performing deke’s while moving forward is easier than
ever. You will be skating your way around defenders and schooling goalies in
no time at all, and unfortunately, this is one of the games major flaws. Like
I mentioned above, the goaltenders in 06 have forgotten every ounce of
technique training they’ve ever received. Just flinching at the goalies this
year will cause them to drop to ice in a desperate act of flailing. Once on
the ice, though, they have the uncanny ability to pull off some of the most
spectacular saves ever witnessed in a hockey game. Heck, half the time the
goalies aren’t even looking at you when they somehow manage to throw a glove
in the air and stop your perfect snapshot. I understand why the developers did
this, and it does indeed make for some exciting replays, but it also causes
way too many goals to be scored. Usually just skating wide and then passing to
the off-side winger, or center, for a one-timer will result in a goal, and
only because the goalie dropped to the ice as soon as the pass was released.
Don’t get me wrong, the goalie animations are some of the best we’ve ever
seen, but when they come at the cost of numerous goals and wide-open offense,
it’s just not worth it.  

You also have to try desperately
to keep the computer from scoring an insane amount of goals on you, and in a
very cheap manner I might add. You know there is going to be a problem when
you’re forced to turn the shot accuracy, game speed, and puck handling ability
all the way down, and at the same time turn the shot blocking, pass
interceptions, and poke effectiveness all the way up, just to keep the score
and pace of the game at a realistic level. So unless you deal with the sliders
immediately, you are going to experience some very high scoring games, and I’m
talking like 9-8, and 7-6 on a regular basis. The defense in the game is kind
of a double-edged sword, though. On one hand, they play very little D once you
enter the offensive zone, and allow you to skate freely around the net or when
setting up plays; so getting the shots you want is never a problem. But on the
other hand, the defense’s performance in the neutral zone, and during
breakouts is much improved from last year’s version. Also, the checking in the
game isn’t so devastating anymore, thankfully. Players are now required to
build up momentum before they try to throw a check, or else they will simply
bounce off the intended target, and take themselves out of the play.
Hip-checks also happen more frequently as well, but this time they actually
occur when they should, like when crossing the blue-line or entering the
neutral zone. Sometimes you will even be treated to a player losing his stick
or helmet after a big hit, but I would have like to see this more often,
especially in the defensive zone.

Those of you who don’t like to
throw punishing hits, however, will be glad to hear that clutching is back,
and it’s actually quite useful this year. Though sadly, it just doesn’t happen
that often either; and when it does take place, it’s the same repetitive
animation over and over again. Believe it or not, clutching and grabbing along
the boards is a very big part of hockey, especially while in the defensive
zones around the net. I’ll never understand why things like this are kept to a
minimum, when other unnecessary features like … let’s say… the skill
stick, are implemented from year to year. With EA’s competitors gaining
ground, if not passing them, because of their “realistic”take on the sport,
you would think that it would concentrate on making its game more lifelike.

NHL 06 sports the usual features
from the past, as well as a few new additions that will keep you busy for a
while. Dynasty, season, all three elite leagues, a new world tournament, and
the free-4-all mini-game, which is pretty much a rip-off of its competitors,
are all present this year as expected. You can also create your very own
custom team, which is surprisingly fun, and has more options than last year.
You also have more control when creating players as well, as the face mapping
from the Tiger Woods series has now made an appearance here, but somehow just
isn’t as polished as it should be. People who like to take the experience
online will be glad to hear that playing on Xbox Live is available again, but
sadly, not much has changed in that department either. You can, however,
download the latest rosters, keep track of leader boards, and track down
friends for head-to-head matches, but nothing too great or out of the
ordinary, just enough to keep you happy.

Complaints aside, this year’s
version is probably the best of this generation. The improved hitting,
skating, puck handling, and goalie animations really add a lot of realism to
the game. Even though it still isn’t the most realistic hockey game on the
market, it is, however, the flashiest and the most fun to play. So if you can
look past the brain-dead goaltenders, and the over-the-top skill stick, you
will find an enjoyable hockey game, but only after you have dealt with these
issues.

Gameplay: 8.6
The new motion capture animations for checking, skating, and puck handling
really takes this year’s game to the next level. Although the goalies desire
to fall down every two seconds does make for some exciting replays, in the end
it only causes the score to get out of hand.

Graphics: 8.9
This year’s version, although only slightly improved, is the best in the
series. The arenas are spot- on, and the player models look more accurate now,
but for some reason a lot of the shorter players look kind of chubby thanks to
the new scaling system.

Sound: 8.7
Standard EA Trax fare. Hard rock tunes mostly fill the air, but for some
reason, I just didn’t enjoy this year’s songs as much as the previous
versions. Regardless, if Fall Out Boy, American Head Charge, and Pennywise
interest you, you’ll be right at home in the audio department.

Difficulty: Medium

Concept: 7.7
I really like using the left analog stick for deking, as the reaction time is
super smooth, but the skill stick was quite useless, at least to me. I prefer
my hockey to be on the realistic side, and the idea of pulling a triple sow
chow to win the game is quit nauseating to me, but the rest of the additions
are quite welcome indeed.

Multiplayer: 8.2
Xbox Live, leader boards, friends list, nothing else to really say here, just
good old fashion multiplayer fun.

Overall: 8.4
Many people will come away from NHL 06 feeling kind of confused, at least I
did. I mean there is no denying EA when it comes to slick presentation, fluid
gameplay, and topnotch animations, but its breakneck pace, and broken goalies
will definitely take away some of its charm. Anyone who can look past these
shortcomings, or who actually prefers the arcade style of gameplay, will be in
hockey heaven; everyone else might want to look elsewhere for a more realistic
experience.