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NHL 06 - Hands On Preview
Jon Wilcox
19/07/2005
TVG grabs hold of the side of the rink and tries to stay standing in this hands on preview of the latest EA NHL game...
For readers on the European side of the Atlantic it may come as a surprise to learn that the total number of NHL matches held in North America during the 2004-2005 season has been exactlyâ¦zero. You read that right â“ there hasnât been a single NHL match for that whole time, and the reason for that (as recent Live8 performers Pink Floyd will tell you) is, money. So perhaps itâs fate that TVG received a preview build of NHL 06 from Electronic Arts around the same time as news broke that a deal had been struck between the NHL and the Ice Hockey players on July 13th,which means that the 2005-2006 season has been given the go ahead.
As usual there are enough modes to keep NHL fans happy with Dynasty Mode, Exhibition Mode, Season Mode, EA Sports World Tournament, EA Sports Free-For-All and finally Elite Leagues, not to mention the online elements too. One of changes made by developers EA Canada is the ability for gamers play their own created team (which weâll talk about shortly) in the Dynasty Mode and guide them to greatness all the time trying to satisfy the demands of the franchiseâs owner. Of course gamers can still take one of the real NHL teams through the mode, but this addition is sure to please a lot of fans of the series. Whilst Exhibition Mode and Season Mode are quite self-explanatory NHL 06 also includes the EA Sports World Tournament which is the titleâs unofficial World Cup of Ice Hockey with teams from all across the world (including Great Britain, France, and Russia) all coming together to decide the best, while EA Sports Free-For-All offering a selection of bruising objectives such as âhighest scoring team winsâ. This last mode in particular certainly allows for some fast ice action which would be perfect for Wi-Fi encounters on a certain handheld console (thatâs if you ever feel like bringing the franchise over to the portable consoles, EA). Finally NHL 06 includes a European flavour of Ice Hockey with the inclusion of the Elite League, which feature some of the National Championships that take place on this side of the Atlantic including the Swedish Elitserien and the Finnish SM-Liiga.
As an added extra for fans of the franchise, NHL 06 features the somewhat nostalgic NHL Hockey 94 so gamers can relive the on ice action the way it was played in the mid-1990s. Recreated in all its glory (including the pale blue ice) NHL Hockey 94 is sure to take many older fans of the series back in time especially with he annoying theme music tinkling out of the TV speakers (Thank God we now have EA Trax!) The nostalgia only comes integrated with the PlayStation2 version of NHL 06 though.
As with most EA Sports titles, NHL 06 also includes in-depth customisation tools that allow gamers to build and edit their own NHL players as well as create their very own Ice Hockey team. Within the so-called âCreation Zoneâ gamers can build a hockey player with a wide range of physical and skill attributes that can be customised via a series of sliders or by using the two thumbsticks. Basic physical attributes (such as height and weight) of current NHL players and their skill stats can also be edited so gamers can make their team the best Ice Hockey team in history. Finally in the Creation Zone, hockey fans have the chance to form their very own team from scratch, choosing the name, nickname and home rink before selecting one logo from a pre-created range and choosing the home and away kits for the seasons ahead. The new team can then be built up by selecting any of the players from any of the teams in the game, which is sure to be the source of many discussions in living rooms across the territories. Gamers can also choose one from nine crowd chants for their team including the amazingly modest âWe are the bestâ and â We ruleâ and any one of thirty-six arenas to call home including the âAmerican Airlines Arenaâ, the âHP Pavilion at San Joseâ, and the âPepsi Centerâ.
Electronic Arts has spent a lot of time over the last fifteen years of the franchise trying to develop a true representation of both playing hockey and the NHL experience. For the first time the company have implemented a strong use of the right analogue stick (the âSkill Stickâ) for special skills much in the same way that theyâve done recently in the FIFA franchise. The use of the stick in NHL is more specific that itâs football counterpart however since the skills are purely offensive and can only be accomplished by a selected group of players. Although it seems frustrating (which it is), at least this first version of the Skill Stick shows that EA are trying to develop the game further so expect this element to grow in future iterations. The use of the right analogue stick isnât the only change made to the control system in NHL 06 with EA implementing the side-to-side motion of the left-analogue stick for dekes â“ a return to a similar technique used in earlier days of the franchise. With the changes made to the control system it certainly seems, even at this stage, that the players really are skating on ice with the team at EA Canada certainly managing to replicate that fluidity in NHL 06.
Of course no EA Sports title nowadays would be complete without EA Sports Trax, and NHL 06 is no different with bands including the Kaiser Chiefs, American Head Charge, and Fall Out Boy all adding to some of the tracks to the gameâs jukebox. As well as the menu track-listings, Electronic Arts have also brought the sound of the rink to the game with an ambience made up of the quintessential organ music, and crowds jostling, whistling, cheering, hollering and chanting their way throughout the matches as the surprisingly flowing commentary by Jim Houston plays over the top.
