The game setup had no major changes with the “play now” and dynasty modes. You can still create players and teams. The one thing I really was drawn to from the start was the World Tournament mode in which you can play your favorite country in a World Cup style tournament using either a default roster of NHL stars from that country or you can choose your own roster. I was really impressed with the idea and liked it immediately. The dynasty mode is pretty consistent with those in the past games. The owners goals is an interesting feature but doesn’t always make sense as some owners seem to want you to lose rather than win. Wait, maybe that is actually realistic (sorry Blackhawks’ fans). The game seemed fairly updated with the all the roster changes that were made prior to the start of the 2006 NHL season. I believe the tough part for the game designers was to factor the skill level for all the players after the one year layoff, especially the older NHL veterans (i.e., Brett Hull who just retired because his skills have fallen so low).

The game play is very good and fast paced. The game is actually easier to pick up than I remember and found it fairly easy to set up to get players open in space. I also found the one timer shot very easy and effective to use. The game lets you use the right analog stick for left and right dekes either to shoot or just handle the puck. Additionally, the game’s A.I. is fairly solid as the defensemen will stand up the forwards at the line and won’t readily let your forwards just fly up the ice. The only lacking part of the A.I. is that the goalies are still somewhat weak and will allow goals that they really should not at times. Again, the pace is very fast which really makes the game move along and enjoyable to play. The new NHL rules have been incorporated and definitely open the game up to foster greater scoring.

The graphics are truly incredible. Everything from the arenas to the players is very detailed and well done. I was particularly impressed with the look of the rink surface during the cut scenes. I think EA really put a lot of effort into this area and it shows. The players do resemble themselves and gives you a real life feel when playing the game. The sound is also well done from the on ice action to the announcers. It is definitely a game you want to play with the volume turned up.

NHL 06 is a very good game and great for playing with your friends or even online, which is available to those who like that feature. I would strongly recommend it for any NHL fan and for the average sports fan that doesn’t have a hockey game in their collection, you can’t go wrong. Put on the foil and get ready to play some old time hockey.