GameCube NintendoSpin.com / Previews / NHL '06

Posted on July 26th, 2005 - 1965 Reads

Rated Everyone 10+ NHL '06 GameCube Preview

-- Written by Justin Joseph



 Hockey videogames have been in existence ever since the console industry was born. There were the original Ice Hockey and Blades of Steel on the NES. There were the infamous NHL '94 and '96 on the SNES. There was Wayne Gretzky's 3D Hockey on the Nintendo 64, and now we have this generation! EA's NHL franchise has been in existence for years on end, and it started with NHL 2003 on the GameCube! Unfortunately each year's iteration have been chock full of arcadey elements that caused them overall to not really be true simulations of the sport. They all combined certain elements of past generation titles and elements that wouldn't really be seen in an actual hockey game. But based on all recent hands-on previews and trailers of NHL '06, EA Canada seems to have a chance with finally having gotten the formula right!

EA Canada does indeed claim that the best source of their feedback is the very fans of their NHL titles. For the past couple of years, the biggest thing they've heard was there was just far too much hitting to make it seem like an authentic NHL experience. This is indeed correct because both NHL 2004 and 2005 are absolutely horrible with this. This "feature" caused a lot of frustration with players who really desired to set up true offensive set ups in their respective scoring zones. But instead of dumbing down the defensive AI like you would think they would, they instead chose to go the route of boosting the offense. This will supposedly make deking more accessible and allow for the possible addition of flashy maneuvers.

The source of inspiration of giving this game an offensive boost actually came from the very popular NHL '94 on the SNES. In that game, players were able to use the D-Pad for quick dekes that would help them to fake out the opposition. In NHL '06, deking will be controlled fully by the left analog stick. Supposedly with a few nifty turns of your controlled player you will be able to zip by the defense and make the goalie go bonkers trying to anticipate your next move!

Now with the other stick free, EA Canada has been able to create a whole new level of gameplay in hockey's normal mechanics. Each player on your team will be highlighted by a circle or star at their base and the actual star players have the ability to pull off unique "trick moves" that not many are able to! You will simply choose a spot on goal that you wish to fire upon, and then tap that stick in one of the four directions in order to initiate a star player's trick move! These "tricks" can include spinoramas, toe drags, bat-ins and inbetween-the-leg shots. It is then made known that you pulled off something sweet afterwards if the puck hits the back of the net with a very nice celebration! Jaromir Jagr's one-handed salute anyone? What makes the celebration a little humiliating is the defeated party isn't allowed to skip through the celebration either!

Next, to have a better mindset of where your shot will most likely end up, EA Canada chose to implement an in-net bullseye! This bullseye will locate just where your shot is headed, and that will do nothing but help your team's strategy in setting up plays. Another small addition to this year's iteration that allows for more realistic puck handling is the use of the "push puck" technique. This is basically used when players are charging down the ice on a breakaway or other situations and they give the puck a nice "boost" infront of them so the rest of your line can be ready for a nice one-timer! But you also have to be careful to not overuse the feature either. Doing so causes less control over the puck with your player and will give the opposition an easier chance with taking it away from you!

So just what is it that makes NHL '06 seem like it may finally be a more realistic simulation of the sport? That my friends, is how the defensive AI responds to you when you're in their territory! It's no shocker that NHL 2004 and 2005 featured defensive AI that would flatten you every chance they got. Heck, it almost seemed like they were "magnetically" attracted to you sometimes with how cheap they could get. But in this year's iteration, EA Canada has literally made them "take a step back." When your team gets into the offensive zone, rather than having the defensive AI immediately come after you and try to make your life miserable, they will more or less play "coverage" like they do in real life. So instead of just objectively checking you and making you mutter various curse words under your breath, they will "play angles" and more often attempt to put a break in the offensive setup you're trying to execute!

Supposedly you'll now have the opportunity to set up some real shots, rather than what many have tended to do in recent years with one-timers. Goalies are supposedly even tougher this time around as well, and will make you work for your goals. That has been said before, so we'll see just how far their "intelligence" actually goes, but from what many critics have seen, taking your time to set up a good shot instead of getting those constant "gimme goals" will happen more often than not.

Something that was added in season and dynasty mode is the ability to actually intervene in simulated games. In the case that your team might be losing in the third period and you wish to give them your "expert" assistance, you now have the option of jumping into a game in order to give your team a shot at getting a come-from-behind victory! Going for this kind of win actually gives you a nice little bonus award in the paycheck department.

With regards to actual authenticity to the team's rosters for this year, don't expect to see 100% accuracy. Because of the lockout and a new CBA just having recently been agreed upon, there's no telling who will be where when the final product arrives. There are so many free agents out there right now that there's no telling how accurate the final rosters will be, but EA Canada has promised they're doing their best to make it happen. However, some of the actual rule changes, such as the goalie's marginally smaller pads, will indeed be making it into this game. So there will be a little bit added in there, but don't have high expectations in regards to roster accuracy.

In terms of the game's graphics, a lot of nice little things seem like they will make this experience even more authentic. The more players spend in a certain area of the ice, the more it will appear "degraded." So eventually a particular area may appear "snowed over" from excess use of your players' skates! Real-time ice trails will also appear behind your team's players as they skate across the ice surface, and you will see very nice "ice spray" effects if you pull a quick brake! Player models are looking very nice as always, and in the final stages of this game's development, most of them should come out looking crisp.

So as you could probably tell, I'm still very much skeptical about this game turning out to be what I've wanted for so long. There still seem to be remnants of EA's rabid arcade style of hockey in this game, but we shall wait and see just how much of it shows up in the final product. Let's just hope we can finally have a hockey game in which we don't have to worry about being flattened without even having a puck, and can finally feel good when setting up a great play in the offensive zone! It's more or less three weeks away, let's hope EA Canada delivers!

Recent Previews

Page generated in 0.01998 seconds; 6 queries executed. Copyright © 1999 - 2007 Jesse MacVicar - All Rights Reserved.

Partners - Creative Uncut - Codename Revolution - Nintendo Wii News - PlayStation 3 - Nintendo Gamenet