NHL ’06 Preview

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!