NHL 06

"A Great Game with some minor issues."

EA's NHL series has always been a great series for the hockey fan to play. My first game personally was 2000. NHL 2000 was an incredible game, and it actually sparked my interest in hockey. I then bought NHL 2004. It was still a great game, but not quite as good as 2000. I bought NHL 06 to see what the next generation was going to be like, and was not disappointed.

Gameplay

The Gameplay in NHL 06 is pretty much the same as the rest of the series. With a few new additions. You can now use "Skill Stick" with a player that has a Star Rating (85/86+) that totally fakes the pads off the goalie. This addition is a little cheap however, as the goalie will not stop the puck 75% of the time. Manual deke is now used by the Control Stick, instead of the C-Stick. I preferred the C Stick, but the control stick works well just the same.

The updated Dynasty Mode is still relatively the same. You can negotiate trades, contracts, upgrade staff, equipment and the arena. The works. The Owner sets you a goal and you must complete it. However, several areas bring this mode down. The goals can sometimes be very hard to complete giving your position during the seasons. Simming means that the simulations won't stop for other team's trade offers. Which really made me sad, I want to see other trade offers. As usual, you can trade a 60 player for a player a little bit better each time until he is a superstar. Which is good or bad sometimes. The better teams in real life will almost always play you in the playoffs. I did a dynasty, and the whole time I either played Detroit or Calgary in the Stanley Cup finals. You also cannot Fantasy Draft the Dynasty, something I wish could have happened.

The Dynasty is also good. You substitute a created team into it. The "Sim Intervention" option is great. If I don't want to play for a whole game, I use this. Then can sub in for the computer at the start of each period, or with 5 minutes remaining in them. This idea was a stroke of brilliance. You also get extra upgrade points for winning those games. Players will email you about ice time, so instead of guessing how each player is, you can work it out for yourself.
Finances also have Fan Loyalty now, so you can keep fans happy, or make them sad to make a quick buck. All the old things that made this mode good was included.

There is a "Player Editor" option now. You can change the Stats and Equipment of your favorite players without recreating them. This is a good idea.

Creating players is completely revamped. Now you have new options to change your players looks and such. Creating teams was a little disappointing, now you can only choose about half the stuff you could pick in 2004, and it was all the same things too.

The Free Agent Pool is stuffed to the brim with fake players. This was annoying to empty them.

Overall, I'd give the Gameplay an eight out of ten.

Controls

The controls in the EA hockey games have never been much of an issue. They are easy to learn and adapt to. Buttons are located in good spots for quick plays and reacting under pressure. The only thing I could ask for would be full customization for where buttons go.

Controls get a nine out of ten.

Graphics

The Graphics were incredible. Players look almost exactly like they do in real life. No surprise there, EA always but their best skate forward in making the graphics great. However, the crowd's faces are terrible. They lag slightly and the logo's on the jerseys of the Crowd needs work. The other half of the crowd are 2D, making sense. As you don't want them to lag more.

On the plus side, the Ice gets worn down from the start of the period to the end. The coaches are the real coaches from real life. It's all great!

The Graphics receive a 9 out of ten.

Sound

The Sound effects in the game are good. Sometimes the Crowd gets mixed up, however. Once, I won the game at home in a run for the Cup. It was the Eastern Conference finals. My home crowd booed me. That needs fixing.

The EA Trax are fairly good. I enjoyed most of the songs they put in. Some need some reconsidering, but overall the Soundtrack was good.

The Sound Gets 7.5 out of ten.

Replayability

Since it is a sports game, there is virtually unlimited replayability until you get bored. I played it for a long time, got bored, and recently got into it again. The Replay value is very high for this game. I think it deserves a 9 out of ten.

Buy or Rent?

It depends on the price. If you can find it for below 27 dollars, buy it. If any higher, I recommend renting it first. Then if you like it, buy it. No sense on wasting money on something you might not like.

Overall, NHL 06 is a good game for any person to buy, or rent. I would recommend it to the next person, until 07 is out, that is. I gave it an 8/10. Just because Gameplay is all that is really important to me.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 11/27/06