NHL 16 Trial Available Now For EA Access Subscribers, Get 10 Hours of Gamplay

[Vikes1]

Seems like some pretty mixed reviews so far...which isn't too shocking. But was still hopeful of a few more positive responses. Hopefully some of the issues ( frame rate and lack of penalties) will be patched early.

[RoyalBoyle78]

Played it for a few tonight, much better than last year, im liking what I see. And love the Barclays for my islanders 😁

[canucksss]

Quote: Originally Posted by bwiggy33

I played for about 45 minutes last night and as much as it's a more polished game, it's still the same AI. I can go 1 on 4 into the offensive zone with any player on my team. No way in hell that ever happens, EVER. It is so infuriating and ruins the game. I haven't adjusted the CPU Strategies yet but I can't imagine it will fix anything because I'm sure they're the same settings as they have been since they brought those in. CPU Strategies fixes a lot of issues I have with the game, just not the neutral zone pressure. Goalies are actually pretty refreshing other than the animations. Their movement is what I've wanted for years but they need to completely get rid of all of the goalie animations and make new non warp speed ones. Some of the ones they pull off or attempt I haven't seen since watching replays of 80's hockey. It's honestly shocking how they can possibly think the goalie animations are good. Maybe that will be a next year type of thing. Just like someone else said the framerate goes bonkers at lower game speeds. I had mine on 1 and it was fine the first 10 minutes. All of a sudden my screen was just shaking. I will probably post more as I play, but I won't lie I may not even play the 10 hours unless I start seeing some good things. Really at this state if you play online I could see it being fun but other than that it's another year of bad offline play. Quite honestly I wouldn't be so negative if this game actually changed from year to year, but since it still feels nearly identical to past versions I don't have much hope it will get better through using the rest of the trial. Nonetheless I will try and keep an open mind.

Quote: Originally Posted by brandon27

So, I just got 4 games in tonight. I'm at a loss for words on this one. It's better, on the surface, but beyond that, it's the same old terrible AI. It's a bit improved in some spots, but terrible in so many others still. I actually quit a game tonight. 7 minutes in to the first period, I'd given up 5 goals, on 6 shots. All instances where my D-men just stand around and do nothing in front of my net while I fight for the puck in the corner, then they magically throw it out front, the shooter can move, basically warp into the shot while my D-man barely even moves to acknowledge the play. 4 straight shots in a row, almost identical scenario. I hoped earlier when I saw a player kick a puck out of a scrum across the ice, I hoped I was seeing things. However I saw it many more times tonight. There's still so many instances still where the AI players don't seem to be effected at all, in any way by physics. They accelerate so much quicker, turn so much quicker. It's not even close to the same in comparison as to how your players skate. Then, to top it all off. 3 games tonight. Not a single Penalty on the CPU. NOT ONE. So, the only way to enjoy the game is to just turn penalties completely off, because its ridiculous for the player to spend time on the PK all game, while the CPU apparently does nothing wrong. GM mode has some nice additions, I can say that. How it all works in the long run though is whats important. I'm not sure anymore that it's a full price buy for me. It's NHL 15, with a facelift to me so far. I'm going to mess around with the difficulty and some sliders over the weekend to see if that helps, but right now, I've got a major decision to make on what I do with this one. It feels good at times, theres times when playing it is fun, but then theres times where for some reason it's like the AI flips on it's superman switch, and you might as well just put down the sticks and take what they're about to give you. I have no problem loosing a game to the CPU. I went 2-1 tonight (well 2-2, it game me a loss int he game I quit from too) Like I said, no problems loosing, but I hate feeling cheated by the AI. I'm left feeling that quite a bit playing this so far though.

First off thank you very much for posting your thoughts about this game. I AM DISAPPOINTED AGAIN...even if this is an early access, I dont know if EA would patch this up prior to the official release. BUT with the same issues as before, I cannot really believe why EA is doing to this franchise.

AI issues, Easy access to the zone, NO NZ pressure, Lack of penalties, etc. leaves me bad memories and reminder why I skipped EA NHL for the past 3 years.

Thanks again for posting. I AM STILL TRYING TO PUT SOME HOPE, I guess its just me, a die-hard Hockey fan.

[canucksss]

Quote: Originally Posted by jaiman

Attachment 106192 This screen grab is from the latest NHL 16 cameo trailer. You can see it here: https://twitter.com/xbox/status/642096415976456192 Looks like a five-celebration cutscene to me! How about that for false advertisement. Kind of a shame, but expected I guess.

I like one of the comments there, "we get it the mascots are there". Where's the 5-man team celebration which is in the real NHL game?

[Södy]

Whoa the same lame menu tunes again? I want a real soundtrack!

[Simple Mathematics]

Quote: Originally Posted by jyoung

I was hoping that the crowd atmosphere would be better for playoff games than it is for regular season games, so I simmed ahead to a Stanley Cup Final clinching game between Anaheim and Tampa. Unfortunately, the crowd is still really quiet even in Cup games. NBA Live still has the best crowds in sports gaming IMO. NHL's crowds are near the bottom of the genre as far as activeness and excitement go. It also looks the like Stanley Cup celebration scene is pretty similar to what it was in NHL 15. The cup ceremony starts at timestamp 26:30 if anyone just wants to see that.

Wait. Didn't they say they changed the SC celebration last year? Looked the same as the one that's been in the game for about 12 years now.

[ComaFaction]

As someone who has been fairly critical of this year's game, I just jumped into Play Now as the game installed and had a very enjoyable first experience - MUCH better than my experience with '15!

A few things I noticed:

- Some AI issues are still there, as people have mentioned, but I found the computer AI played a fair but competitive game of hockey on All-Star/Hardcore. They actually outshot me 29-10, but Bishop held me in the game. I thought the CPU took what I gave them for the most part and made some creative plays in my zone as well.

- Goalies played very well and I didn't see too much flopping which was refreshing.

- Tyler Johnson felt quick and slippery, while Stamkos was dangerous everytime he touched the puck. Similarly, Kane was shifty with the puck for the CPU. The players felt and looked to have more range in ability (at least from the 1 game I've played).

All in all, I'm excited to spend more time with the game - which I wasn't expecting. Kudos, EA!

[18 eighty 5]

Just down loading now for a trial but having read comments on here I am pretty confident I know the game will not be that much better than what we have had for so long now.

Rocket League gives a free, unscripted, organic sporting experience. If they could get that type of puck physics going in NHL it would be terrific. Not believing it will happen this year though.

Sorry, quick edit ... very glad I get to have a go of the trial version because for the first time since I signed up on Operation Sports I haven't followed the development of the new NHL game. I highly doubt I will buy it as I still have 15 sitting on the shelf and it has been un installed from my PS4 for months now. This series is just not winning in my book. It is meandering toward an eventual pulling of the pin. I am so confident that despite a new veneer the same old game will be beneath it that I have no interest in this year's product. I'm sure the trial will prove this.