Last year's release of NHL 15 was easily a disappointment for hockey fans. After having to wait an extra year to get their fix on the latest generation of consoles, the game may have looked and sounded fine but was rather low on content, as many of the expected modes were either gutted or missing. NHL 16 was going to have to do a good deal of work to keep players interested in checking out the series again. Luckily, the team did just that.

Don't be surprised if you experience some déjà vu when you first start the game, though. Once you get past the title screen, you'll be thrown into the first game of the Stanley Cup finals with the Chicago Blackhawks and the Tampa Bay Lightning. After some real-life footage of the city of Tampa Bay and the introductions by Mike Emrick and Eddie Olczyk, you're sent to the ice to play all three periods of the game. For the most part, it is still a trial by fire method for learning how to play the game, but now you get an on-screen hint system to help you out.

You'll start by learning how to get the timing down to win a faceoff before learning how to do slapshots, body checks, wrist shots, and so forth. You're even given a guide when you're within shooting range of the goal, so you'll know which side of the net the defender is leaving open at the time. All of these hints and prompts appear without slowing things down. If you still feel like you need to learn more, you can hop in the training mode, which lets you train for one-on-one scenarios and team scenarios.

The inclusion of a training mode is a small sign of what NHL 16 has in store. While last year's game only let you play as teams from the NHL, this year's entry brings back the other big hockey leagues. From the CHL to the AHL to Liiga, there are plenty of matchups you can create between teams that would otherwise never meet on the ice. Those leagues are also available for play in the returning Season mode and Playoff mode, giving you some incentive to play these multiple times to see different opponents.

Be a Pro has also gotten an overhaul in some parts. You can be randomly picked by a team, but you now have the option to select exactly which team you want to be a part of from the beginning. You also have the option to start in the minor leagues and play there for a season or two before moving up to the NHL. If you want, you can even stay in the minors for the rest of your career and build up your reputation. It is a somewhat small but still brilliant addition to the mode that will hopefully get expanded in next year's iteration to include international leagues.

The one part of this mode that can be irritating is the coach's AI. The coach seems to want your player to be a good, all-around player, but it comes at the expense of those who are specialists in a few particular skills. You can be the best defenseman on the team, but you'll get demoted if you take a few shots on goal that don't go in. Likewise, you can score hat tricks for every single game, but you'll be placed squarely in the second line if you can't block shots or do a good check. Real coaching doesn't happen like that for potential team superstars, and that's something that'll have to be improved to make the mode more convincing and realistic.

Be a GM sports also has a few improvements. In addition to managing your NHL team, you'll also have to manage the affiliate AHL team. While AHL management isn't as deep, it adds an extra layer to the process. Morale is also in the game, as you have to manage player and team morale based on their playing situations and the effects of trades and firings. Getting rid of a problem player, for example, may boost the team morale, but the same goes for trading away old players. Big-name players won't request to be traded if you give them more play time. Other similar scenarios give the mode some intrigue for those who like seeing the behind-the-scenes stuff.

Ultimate Team, a venerable staple of all of EA's recent sports games, returns mostly untouched. You're still building a team with trading cards and using loads of in-game currency or real money to buy more booster packs in hopes of assembling the perfect team. A new feature is the ability to play a single-player offline season, so you'll go through a few 10-team ladders in lieu of going through online competition. While it isn't a true substitute for online competition, especially since you need to get through a number of easy teams no matter your skill level, the opposition is tough enough that the experience remains satisfying.

EA Sports Hockey League is the mode people were really clamoring for, and it has also returned. The only change is that you aren't leveling up your chosen character on your team. Instead, you choose a role, much like a class system, and try to fill that as best as possible, since they're meant to complement one another just like a real hockey team. You can play couch-vs.-couch with four players locally per system, or you can play a six-vs.-six online game. This means that someone has to play as the goalie, but the controls for that position have improved, so simple button presses are now mapped to execute maneuvers like dives and dropping down into the butterfly position.

One piece of advice that needs to be given for those interested in EASHL is that you're better served playing for a club, preferably one made up of your real-life friends. Though it isn't necessarily the fault of the game, teaming up with random strangers seems to be unreliable, as people bail once their team starts losing. Playing with established clubs doesn't garner the same reaction, so if you're one to finish a game no matter the outcome, that's the best way to go about it.

The only mode to not receive any changes is NHL Moments Live. Just like before, you're given a list of notable moments from the 2014-2015 season, and you have the option to re-create or alter the moment. The four difficulty levels and differing goals ensure that the mode has some legs, but the strange omission here has to do with the 2015-2016 season. It isn't that the season is missing, but when you click on it, the list is empty. Even a month or two after the season has begun, there's nothing here as far as big moments go, so it'll be interesting to see when those moments will finally be added.

As far as gameplay goes, the base is largely the same but with some minor tweaks. Physics still play a big part, as your momentum determines how well you'll stop or how fast you can go on the ice when shifting from one direction to another. Body checks are hard, and you can feel when a slap shot is taken with full force. Pucks are no longer magnetic, so you can be slightly out of position to take a pass and see it slip by if the receiver isn't attentive. Like before, this is certainly a more offensive-minded game than a defensive one, but there are a few tweaks to remedy that for those with sharp eyes. In between periods, you now have a coaching report that tells you how you're doing overall and how you're doing in certain areas. You're given highlights of what needs improvement and what's going right, and that information can benefit those who are working on being more aware of their activity in the rink.

The graphics were a strong element of last year's game, and this year's entry retains a good deal of that. Player faces look great, and uniforms still retain a good amount of fluid movement as you speed down the ice. Beards of varying lengths are now a thing, which purists will enjoy once the playoffs come around. Arenas are distinct with special features like the Tesla coils in the Tampa Bay stadium, and there's even the presence of mascots like Wild Wing and Stinger in the crowd and on the ice when the home team wins. Crowds may be slightly less detailed than the players, but they're attentive, and glass and ice show loads of wear and tear before and after the game starts.

The story is pretty much the same for the sound as well. The announcing crew is on point but mostly because they rarely use player names during their lines. They do say the team names for all of the leagues, but the big change is that they have a natural flow to them. Blowouts and close games are treated differently, so it really feels like the drama of the game is coming through in their speech. Elsewhere, effects like slapshots and sirens when the home team scores remain strong, while the use of orchestral music in menus and title screens feels good, though not as stirring as 2K's efforts in one of its last hockey games. Licensed music is there for those who like it, but since it's relegated to face-offs in arenas, you'll be hard-pressed to tell what's playing when this occurs.

NHL 16 feels like what NHL 15 should have been. The gameplay remains largely the same, but there is at least some effort to get newcomers more familiar with the mechanics. All of the modes are back and fully intact, while the presentation is solid save for a few hitches here and there. It would be nice to see something that's actually new, but considering how bare the previous entry was, getting these modes back is a good start.

Score: 7.5/10