After last year's game inexplicably omitted the ability to simulate to your next shift, NHL 16 at least brought that feature back from last gen's Be A Pro mode. But EA Canada still has not improved the series' annoyingly long loading times between shifts. You can expect to waste 10 seconds staring at a black screen every time you step off the ice, which adds up to about 3.5 minutes of in-match loading per game if your coach is giving you 20 shifts a night. I don't understand how a game like NBA 2K16 can get my character out of his seat and onto the court in only a second or two, while EA Canada's hockey title continues to trip over the same technical hurdle.
The transition from a first-person perspective (while sitting on the bench) to whatever third-person camera you're using during gameplay is also very disorienting for your first couple of strides coming onto the ice. EA should include an option to keep the camera locked into a third-person view for the entire game to make line changes more seamless.
The AI Suffers From the Same Issues in Every Mode
I've already written a lot about the AI problems that make all of NHL 16's offline modes a pain to play, but for Be A Pro, specifically:
-Your AI teammates will only look to create one-timers on offense, and since the CPU is terrible at turning their bodies and setting their sticks to receive passes, most of their one-timers will have no power and will fly way off target due to poor pre-shot preparation.
-Your teammates rarely win one-on-one battles for the puck, and will frequently make poor decisions whenever they are pinned against the boards or stuck behind the net, leading to lots of unnecessary turnovers.
-Trying to play offense in NHL 16's Be A Pro mode feels more like an adventure in babysitting than a hockey night in Canada. You'll need to dominate the puck and take most of the shots yourself because no one else on the ice can be trusted to make winning plays.
-Defending the CPU's attack isn't much fun, either, since all they do is spam one-timer passes into the slot until they finally luck out and squeak one through multiple sticks/skates/limbs/bodies for a goal. The inability to tie up opposing forwards and take away their stick (a feature that still has not been transplanted from last gen) makes it frustratingly difficult to defend the CPU's go-to scoring tactic.
There's Nothing Beyond the Ice
Aside from the 20 seconds it takes to simulate your weekly off-ice training and read the latest two-sentence performance report from your bosses, there's nothing in NHL 16's Be A Pro mode to break up the monotony of grinding through 82 regular season games. You can't even play the All-Star Game on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One if you happen to be selected (again, you could last gen).
The training sessions could have been interesting if they were actual mini-games that you could pass/fail instead of being simulated events. A live practice mode like in NBA 2K16's MyCareer would also be a welcome addition, as it would give players an opportunity to work on their moves and explore their skills/limitations in a pressure-free environment.
EA Canada's dormant Fight Night franchise proved that the company is capable of creating a compelling story mode for high-definition consoles, yet the career modes in their NHL games remain stuck in the 1990s design style of boring text bubbles and stat spreadsheets. Most single-player video games coming from major publishers these days are essentially interactive movies. Twenty three months past the PlayStation 4's and Xbox One's launch, Visual Concepts shouldn't be the only sports developer whose career mode is built around cutscenes and storylines. This should be the standard for all career modes, like it has become for most other triple-A gaming genres.
The Entry Draft Logic Is Buggy
If you can endure the mental torment of playing alongside minor league teammates who can't skate, shoot, pass, or defend -- and you miraculously manage to win the Memorial Cup while recording league-leading numbers -- your created character could still get drafted in a late round, or not get drafted at all due to a bug in Be A Pro's performance report logic. You can post the most goals, assists, and points in the minors, but your own coach and general manager will still think poorly of you. And for some unknown (and still unpatched reason) so will all the other NHL teams looking to draft you.
You Can't Scan Your Face Into the Game
NBA Live, FIFA, and UFC all give gamers some way to put their real face onto their created character, either via EA's Game Face website, or by downloading a free mobile application. NHL 16 doesn't support either option, forcing gamers to choose from a few pre-built faces, heads and haircuts. If you want to make a woman, you'll only get to pick from a paltry two(!) female models, plus you'll have zero control over your hair and facial features.
Commentators Use Male Pronouns To Describe Female Skaters
Be A Pro players have had the option to create female characters since NHL 12. But even after changing the commentary team last season, NHL 16 is still referring to female skaters as "he" instead of "she" during gameplay. Hearing "He skates it into the slot!" or "He shoots; he scores!" when the person with the puck is clearly not a "he" significantly limits this mode's appeal for female hockey fans.
So how about it, moving forward what do you want to see changed in NHL's Be a Pro mode?