 Hockey
fans rejoice for the season is upon us once again (finally),
and with every new season comes a new edition of the
game. While this year's season is most certainly a huge
step up from last year's, the advancements in EA's most
recent offering are not as obvious. This is not to say
that the game isn't good, far from it, just don't go
expecting the game to be leaps and bounds ahead of last
year's edition. However, if you are like me and didn't
pick up NHL 2005 for fear of adding to hockey withdraw,
NHL 06 is definitely worth a look.
NHL
06 includes all your favorite teams (and the ones
you hate) from the NHL, as well as having a few of
other national leagues (Elitserien, SM-Liiga, and
DEL), and even a world league. So if you would rather
smash the U.S. with Canada than crush the Ducks with
the Pens, by all means, go right ahead. Keep in mind
though; the rules do differ throughout the leagues.
Of course, if you have trouble remembering the rule
differences, or the new rules, there is an option
to turn down, or off, a number of different rules.
I've never been good with the rules to hockey, so
I don't fiddle with them much, but the new NHL rules
(at least the ones I know of) seem to be in effect.
The only thing missing on the players' front are those
big name rookies that we're all excited about (don't
expect to see Sid the Kid go zipping by), but that
can be forgiven since they couldn't grab rights to
the players before the season started (rules of the
draft I think).
 The
simple remedy to this, however, is to take advantage
of the "create a player" mode and build
your own hotshot rookie, or a seasoned veteran if
you prefer. "Create a Player" is fairly
basic; you get to fill in the basic player info, pick
from a small variety of equipment, set your stats,
and adjust your appearance. Don't expect to be able
to build your likeness this year, as most of the adjustment
options still leave you looking like basically the
same guy (who looks surprisingly similar to the games
producer, coincidence?) with a few minor differences.
Of course, who really cares since you'll be under
that helmet the entire time anyways. You also have
the option of dipping your creative little fingers
into the legitimate roster, adjusting current players
in a number of different ways (basically any way you
can change your created player), or swapping players
to different teams and leagues. Or you could just
create your very own team, complete with logo, uniforms,
and home ice. Set the team up and then pack it with
all your favorites from any of the included teams
and leagues, or the free agent pool. The only issue
I have with creating my own team is that the rosters
seem to reset when you enter them into a dynasty,
so both you and your opponent might end up with the
same player. Certainly not the most full featured
"Creation Zone" ever to grace the game of
hockey, but nothing to scoff at either.
Once
you've done your bit with the rules and rosters, you're
ready to settle down and get things started. Of course,
you have a number of options here as well; you can
choose to "Play Now" and just hop into a
game or you can pick one of several "Game Modes"
and put a little more variety into it. Here you can
select to play a basic "Exhibition" game,
take part in a single "Season" of varied
length, play a season in the "Elite Leagues"
of Europe, pick your favorite teams from the NHL and
around the world and set up a "World Tournament",
play a half ice "Free For All" for one to
four friends, or manage your way to the top in "Dynasty
Mode".
 In
"Dynasty Mode" you can select your favorite
team and build a dynasty in your own image, making
decisions both on and off the ice. You also have the
option of placing your created team into the mix (trading
it in for another team) and taking a look at how well
you really did when you put them together. Once you've
picked your team and the rules by which you play,
you'll be prompted to set up your GM, choosing from
a number of GM types to increase the aspects of your
team that you feel will make the most difference in
the future. From there it's off to the head office
to perform a number of tasks before sending your boys
off to the ice; including trades, contract negotiations,
staff and equipment enhancements, practice schedules,
team strategy, and even checking reports on future
prospects. Once you're ready to go you can take the
reigns and lead your team to victory, or press a button
and watch it simulate the outcome. Fear not, if the
Sim takes a turn for the worse you can interrupt at
any time. Throughout the 82-game season you can make
adjustments that will help your team grow, but make
sure you keep an eye on your finances so that you
aren't left holding the bag at the end of the year.
The more careful you are in your management, the more
money you'll have to spend for your next season, so
keep your fans and players happy. All in all, it makes
for a very solid management mode, with only a few
small issues, like no salary caps (at least none that
I can find).
In
case you actually still buy sports games to play the
sport, on the ice has never been this good. The controls,
A.I., graphics, and sound are all solid and make for
a complete game experience. You have all your basic
control functions at the press of a button, of your
choice for the most part, and now you have some more
advanced moves at the flick of the stick. You can
now deke using the Control Stick, making your dekes
a slightly more natural part of moving your player
than before, but if you have trouble with the movement
there is still a button for auto deke. For all you
hotshots out there you now have use of the "Skill
Stick" (C-Stick) to pull off some of the more
impressive shots in hockey like spinoramas, toe drags,
and between-the-legs shots, assuming the player is
good enough to pull off the moves. Simply flip the
stick in a particular direction and watch him move.
It's a nice idea, but this particular control isn't
as responsive and it's completely useless if you have
weaker players that have no special moves. A better
use would have been allowing aimed shots just by tapping
the C-Stick or even a Check Stick, anything that would
find function for everyone on the ice. For those skaters
with less skill, you can still take aim with the Control
Stick and fire the puck into the top corner, or slip
it right between the goalie's skates. Of course, don't
expect these all to go in, the goalie doesn't like
to let those pucks past.
 The
A.I. has all the moves in all the right places, making
it hard to carry away the game even on easy, but don't
expect great plays from your own mates, because the
game is set up to let you do most of the work. Occasionally
your D-men will drop down to block a shot, and your
goalie will work his butt off, but offense is all
you, which is made easier by the one-timer feature
unless your guys don't want to get into position.
The other drawback to the A.I. is EA's standard cheap
comeback A.I., which will cause the opposition to
make the most impressive plays in order to keep the
game close, or cheat you out of your win at the last
possible second. I had a team score 3 goals to tie
and pass me in the last 2 minutes (with accelerated
clock speed) of a game in which they hadn't managed
to score in before that. Sometimes it feels legit,
but sometimes it just isn't right and it can really
annoy the heck out of the player. On the other hand,
you could always adjust the sliders to your liking
and make the game as hard or easy as you want.
Visually
the game is impressive with the most beautiful arenas,
realistic cut scenes, and a variety of camera angles
to choose from. As far as I can tell, players haven't
really changed that much in the last ten years, aside
from their faces and a few little details that you
probably won't notice except in the cut scenes, but
they still look great. The puck plays clearly on the
ice and you can see when you lose control of it, or
when it slips in past your goalie, although you might
lose sight of it in front of the net on occasion.
 The
sounds of hockey may not seem as important as the
sights, but I still like to have the complete experience.
Most of the basic effects sound good, and you may
not notice them in the heat of battle. The EA Jukebox
is back, and once again filled with music that just
doesn't feel like it belongs at a hockey game, but
that may just be me. I can't stand most of it in game
or in menu and would rather have more generic organ
tunes playing during the game, but at least I can
turn it off. The announcers also need some work. I
don't know how many times per game I'll hear the same
useless tid-bit about a particular player or the words
"One Timer!" blurted out in the same strange
tone. Sure the real announcers sound that way, but
they have so much more variety in what they say and
how they say it that it doesn't get on your nerves
as much. A few more recordings of some of the more
likely comments wouldn't hurt. Even Madden doesn't
say the same senseless remark this many times per
game.
The
only major issue I take with the game is one that
I take with almost every single game put out by EA,
lack of a solid instruction manual. I for one would
appreciate complete information on how to play the
game and use new features, what certain options do,
and maybe some "rules" information for new
comers to the game. I don't want cliff notes, I want
the book.
Minor
flaws aside, the game hits the net where it needs
to the most and it makes for a great game of hockey.
If you love hockey and own a Game Cube you'll definitely
want to pick it up, as there is no real competition
on the system this year. Hitting the ice, hitting
the puck, and hitting the other players has never
been this much fun.
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