Releasing in September 2015, EA Sports announced today that NHL 16 coins is only going to be available on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. This doesn’t mean PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 gamers will be left out of NHL this year though, as an NHL Legacy Edition is also coming to those consoles in September 2015. In lieu of a proper NHL 16 release on Xbox 360 and PS3, EA will offer something called NHL: Legacy Edition that sounds as if it will primarily serve as a way to play with updated rosters and schedules. “Legacy Edition brings together the most popular modes and award-winning gameplay features from nine years of NHL hockey,” explains EA’s website. “Featuring updated rosters and authentic schedules, it’s the perfect experience for fans looking to get that complete hockey fix on Xbox 360 or PlayStation 3.”
EA Sports GM Dean Richards gave out more info on a blog post in which he said the company turned to its fans and asked them what they wanted in the next edition of the current gen only game. “We spent more time listening and working with them this year than ever before,” he said. “Their most requested features and modes are in NHL 16 and include new experiences that make NHL bigger and better.” Included with the new EASHL comes a slew of new options for player customization. New face templates, stick tape designs and custom skate laces are all new for NHL 16. In addition there is the ability to grow actual playoff beards that start off as a 5 o’clock shadow and blossom into full, glorious beards as you and your team battle it out in the EASHL playoffs, a ritual that is known and loved by hockey fans around the world. Thankfully these customization options are present in every other game mode, online and off.
Also back for NHL 16 online store is online couch co-op, meaning you and a friend can have a few beers and team up online against others, this is a great way to get your practice in for Online Team Play and EASHL, and a feature that many fans have wanted back. Now that the E3 dust has settled, we’ve had a chance to reflect on what we did and didn’t like about NHL 16. To give our readers a clearer idea of what we think of the game at this juncture, I sat down with fellow GI editors Matthew Kato and Kimberly Wallace to share their hands-on impressions.
For Xbox 360 and PS3 players, EA is going to be bringing NHL Legacy Edition. This game is apparently a scaled down version of the game that also offers updated rosters and “brings together the most popular modes and award-winning gameplay features from nine years of NHL hockey.” We don’t have a trailer for NHL 16 yet but you can see a video below that gives at least a glimpse of what the game offers. Hockey Ultimate Team is possibly the biggest part of the NHL series (and nearly all of EA’s sports titles), and EA are keeping quiet on that front for now. The only news for HUT is the inclusion of single player seasons, which is likely to accompany the normal online seasons options.
Goals scored on you are intended to make you say “oh wow i’m an idiot for allowing that much space” not “how the heck does my goalie keep falling for that exact same deke?”. You’ll also notice that your goalie will have a terribly difficult time trying to find the puck and as always the refs never blow the play down because they can obviously see between the goalies legs. And the list of features missing literally drags on. Sure some of you may just buy NHL specifically for HUT or Be A Pro, so you’re satisfied. But this isn’t all about you, or me for that instance. It’s the idea that EA may have removed a bunch of features that someone else liked.
Along with the many more upgrades to graphics, precession skating, puck control and stick handling we also see playoff beards making it’s debut to NHL 16. As your team progresses through the playoffs you will notice your beards growing as they would in a real Stanley Cup Playoff tournament. NHL 16 will deliver accurate styles, length, growth and thickness on the NHL stars with the beards. The road to the NHL Stanley Cup just got a little hairier. NHL 16 comes to Xbox One and PS4 on September 15, 2015.
