Franchise is a little more fun, but it’s packed with features we’ve all seen for over a decade or so, even dating back to early PlayStation-era EA Sports games.
NHL 17 REVIEWS PRO
Yet, Be a Pro isn’t as immersive as you’d think, because while there’s a lot of customization options out of the gate the lack of a compelling narrative hurts it.
NHL 17 REVIEWS OFFLINE
There’s also a host of game types to go with your typical quickmatch, including a Franchise mode that lets you play as a GM, and the Be a Pro player fantasy mode, in addition to the classic season, online, and offline play. The thrill of scoring a goal and competing in the playoffs is real, and just for reference I went back to compare the atmosphere to NHL 16. Because really, EA Canada made the core experience so much fun to play. Commentary is just as advanced, with so many statistics, player nuances, and play-by-play options available to draw from its giant voice clip bank.ĭespite EA’s claims to the contrary, the crew still repeats a ton of lines (if I have to hear about how invaluable it is that child hockey players “practiced butterfly style” one more time!), but it’s easy to forgive it when it does happen. The injection of real life footage, the NBC logo subliminally hovering in the corner of the screen – all of it draws you into the world of the league itself and its narrative, not just a fantasy digital realm where people happen to play hockey. NHL 17 is the best offering yet from a visual perspective, possibly of any sports game to date - a point that seems so obvious because it is the latest version after all - but the presentation itself is fine-tuned with a certain level of care I didn’t notice from some past iterations. Many sports games end up feeling unnatural even with modern hardware to bolster their physics engines, but hockey games just translate so well as a whole. Picking up advanced maneuvers bit by bit like fake shots, saucer passes, and re-learning the finesse of a slap versus a wrist shot was a joy, as were the aggressive poke and body checks and subsequent fights. Movement feels sublime at this point, and I have a lot of love for the physics of the gliding effect after sprinting, which is something clearly unique to the sport.
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