Last year, thousands of NHL fans in need of a hockey fix turned to the digital realm for sweet release and despite critical response leaning heavily in favor or 2K Games' competing ESPN NHL 2K5 offering, the majority of these armchair Gretzkys went with the trusted name of EA Canada's simply-titled NHL franchise. Since entering the icy area of digital puck-handling and pad-stacking in 1991, EA's hockey franchise has remained one of the most consistently solid and entertaining of their sports lineup, despite being one of the poorest-selling outside of the great white north. In recent years however, the franchise has found itself facing some rather stiff competition in the form of the formerly Sega-owned Visual Concepts development studio, now going under the name of 2K Sports, and their increasingly impressive - not to mention inexpensive - 2K brand. Whereas EA Canada's NHL series has been receiving criticism as of late for its slightly arcade leanings, complete with an abundance of odd-man rushes to the net, cross-check happy defense-men and seemingly blind referees, 2K Sports had quickly built a name for themselves by providing a slightly more simulation-oriented game of hockey - a more accurate representation of the play-making strategy and finesse that complement the sheer aggression that takes place on the ice. For the last two years, the 2K franchise has received the nod from both the videogame media and hockey enthusiasts by a fair margin. In hopes of preventing 2K Games from scoring a proverbial hat trick and taking the lead in the first period of the next console generation, EA Canada took NHL '06 back to the drawing board to see if they, like the NHL itself, could come out of a disappointing year with a better game of hockey to offer.

The best Offense is...

Just as the recent changes made to the NHL rule book were made in hopes of increasing the amount of scoring opportunities per game, EA Canada has gone about tweaking the gameplay for NHL '06 with exciting, offensive hockey on their mind. As any hockey nut can tell you, the key to offense is open ice – the more room left open to move with the puck, the more opportunity there is for an open shot on goal. Rather than simply dumbing down the defensive AI as a means of creating these openings for the player, EA Canada has dialed back the blood-lust of the opposing defense-men and made them more technically proficient. Players that enter the offensive zone will no longer have to worry about having the digital manifestation of Joe Sakic's teeth rearranged, but instead will have to deal with opponents that use better positioning and trapping plays to cut off the route to the net, as well as any available passing options. Hockey fans that have groaned every time a digital defense-men has gone for the player on an odd-man rush instead of blocking the passing opportunity will likely drop their jaws in a profound mixture of awe and glee the first time their one-timer opportunity is snatched away. Use the same deke or pass to the same player too many times and the defense will catch on and begin pressuring players and robbing you of the puck mid shot. The computer will even rearrange the standard lines to pair up the opposing team's better defense with your star offense. Those worrying that goals may come too easy as a result of players playing the angles rather than lining them up need not lose anymore sleep, as the goalies have also received a significant boost in AI and are far more difficult to put a puck past. While we still haven't arrived at the point in which Dominic Hasek and Marty Brodeur display immediately noticeable differences in playing style, the boost in competence is a nice step in the right direction.

Hits are still present – this is still hockey. They've simply been relegated to a more realistic role, frequent but not consistent, generally performed outside the sight of the referee, and often used during mucks and grinds against the boards. The massive arena-erupting, knock-your-skates off hits are now events to actually get excited over, rather than incidents that occur every few seconds. It would be interesting to see EA take the next step with the physical aspect of hockey, and somehow incorporate the intimidation factor. More so than any other sport, when a check is performed in hockey, it's done not only to dislodge the puck, but also to ensure that victim is looking over his shoulder and thinking about not getting hit for the rest of the game, instead of more pressing matters like play-making. A gameplay element such as a 'concentration guage' that would decrease each time a player is hit while holding the puck, and subsequently impact their likelihood of losing the puck while dekeing or getting into fights would add another layer of strategy to the mix. Just something to add to the wishlist for NHL '07. As it stands however, the changes made to the artificial intelligence substantially alter the feel of the game in a positive way, forcing the player to play more thoughtfully while at the same time actually providing enough leeway to make each offensive rush an enjoyable and fast-paced affair.


The hits may not come as often in NHL 06, but that doesn't make them any less brutal.

Finally, the league seems to have also bowed to the referee's union, and granted their demand for mass laser eye surgery. The boys in the zebra stripes can actually see now, which means nailing someone with that cross-check from behind right in front of the linesman isn't quite the defensive keystone it once was. Amazingly, such actions now actually result in penalties, and given the new defensive AI and increased amount of open ice, penalties have a much larger effect on the momentum of a game. A player that makes skilled use of passing plays in a 5-on-4 situation is almost assured a healthy number of open shots on net, making for some very tense situations for the player with the man in the penalty box.