EA Sports announced the features for NHL 16 earlier this week, revealing that the game would make up for a number of NHL 15's missteps with a more complete feature set.
NHL 16 Features Announced, Bringing Back Missing Elements From NHL 15
The publisher has gone on to clarify exactly what game modes will be available in this year's version of the hockey sim, which will only be releasing on PS4 and Xbox One.
Here is the full list of all of NHL 16's game modes: Play Now, Be A Pro, Be A GM, Season Mode, Practice Mode, Playoff Mode, EA Sports Hockey League, Hockey Ultimate Team, NHL Moments Live, Online Team Play, and Online Versus Play.
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The post doesn't serve just to list the modes, though, also offering further details about what they will offer. Of particular interest is this explanation of how the EASHL will work, changing its format from the past (it was entirely absent last year):
"This fan favorite mode has been reimagined to deliver a competitive and balanced experience. We're removing the progression grind, that our fans told us created an unbalanced online experience, in favor of a new player class system. These player classes will be tuned to play together, each bringing their own strengths to the ice. The new EA SPORTS Hockey League is all about putting together the right mix of classes to support your team's playing style, and then stepping on to the ice and letting your skill, not ratings, be the differentiator between being good and being great."
That sounds better to me--playing another team with higher level players was simply an up-ice battle, and a focus on actual play and player types is a fairer system. Head over to the post to read a few more details about the team's design philosophy and other modes.
