If they attempted to do that this year, it's not very noticeable. Visuals/Presentation: While NHL has lagged behind a lot of other sports games in the graphics department for a number of years running, it seemed to make some efforts to bridge that gap in recent years. That has been tweaked this year and you'll typically get a handful of man-advantage opportunities per game. This meant that you rarely had a chance to flex your offensive muscles on the power play.
When you take over a franchise, you're tasked with assembling a team of 20 scouts that will evaluate both pro and amateur talent, meaning the quality of your scouting will likely affect the quality of drafting, trading, and free agency decisions. EA Sports has overhauled the mode's scouting system from top-to-bottom. The customization and breadth of drop-in options brings a bit more depth to the gameplay options and that's a good thing.įor offline players, Franchise Mode appears to be largely similar to the product rolled out last year, but with one exception. The "World of Chel" seems like NHL's response to NBA 2K's popular Blacktop mode, and it's a pretty decent first effort. You'll rarely see two online characters take to the ice in the same loadout. Users can outfit their playable characters in a wide variety of clothing and equipment, ranging from wacky jackets, sweatshirts and pants to NHL team-branded merchandise and jerseys.
Along with World of Chel comes pond hockey venues and a massive upgrade in the player customization department.