After a sad previous year for fans of the National Hockey League, many will be welcoming a new season where the players actually... well... play. This also means another new iteration of EA Sports’
NHL franchise. And while there are a few new (but welcome) additions to the gameplay, the core of the game remains vastly unchanged. In fact, those who love to go online will be very disappointed with the lack of change to the online experience.
The two most notable additions to NHL 06 come with the new Skill Stick and Targets. With the right analog stick, a player can now take total control of their skater as they look to outmaneuver and sneak the puck past the goalie for a score. This Skill Stick allows your star to perform signature moves, including toe drags and through the legs shots. The welcome addition of Targets helps those of us who just can’t seem to know where we are aiming at any given time. As you hold down the shot button (or use the Skill Stick), you’ll be able to position your aiming cursor into various locations within the net. Just like in real estate, you’re always thinking "location, location, location."
For those of you who are Sim-junkies, the Dynasty mode now contains an Assistant Coach option, which allows you to make line selections and let the Assistant perform substitutions, or just allow this Head Coach Wannabe to do all of your dirty work. You can also interrupt the simulation of games to earn extra cash for your Franchise, by putting you into a situation on the ice and allowing you to live up to the challenge set forth. Finally, the NHL All-Star game is in town and you have all of the control.
Another notable is the return of classic deking, in which you can quickly shift your control stick to make your player fake out defenders and goalies. Just don’t ask me if this also means the return of the move that scores every time, because I’ve never been able to score at will. But with the improved AI, I have to think that it is limited as NHL 06 absolutely feels harder than previous years.
