NHL 2006

Other products by Electronic Arts

Product Features

• Sports Sniper Stick - With a flick of the stick, pick your spot and execute brilliant signature shots while controlling the power and location of each shot. Create your own scoring opportunities and go to the net in style
• Realistic Puck Momentum (R.P.M.) means the puck is dangerous- hard shots can injure defensemen, shake up goalies in the crease, or knock water bottles off the net to add insult to injury
• Classic Deking Control - Movement on the ice is more intuitive as you skate and deke using the stick. Own the ice like the the glory days of the EA Sports classic NHL 94
• Fluid Skating Response - Feel what it's like to skate on an icy surface. Make smoother crossovers as you glide through turns with a more authentic response
• Create a player who looks like you, with the new Analog body and facial sculpting controls -- now YOU can raise the cup!

Product Details

• Shipping: Currently, item can be shipped only within the U.S. and to APO/FPO addresses. For APO/FPO shipments, please check with the manufacturer regarding warranty and support issues.
• ASIN: B0009Q2KKI
• Product Dimensions: 7.8 x 5.8 x 0.5 inches ; 4.5 ounces
• Media: Video Game
• Release Date: September 8, 2006
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (23 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #9,058 in Video Games (See Bestsellers in Video Games)

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  Video Games > PlayStation 2 > Sports > Hockey

• Discontinued by manufacturer: Yes

Product Description

Platform: PlayStation2

From the Manufacturer

Take complete control of every scoring opportunity and become an offensive superstar with NHL 06. With the new EA Sports Skill Stick, express your shooting style and light the lamp with highlight reel moves of an All-Star. Using classic deke controls to skate past, around, or through defenders, and then rip the back of the net with pin-point accuracy. Get offensive and score like never before with NHL 06!

Features:

• All-New EA Sports Skill Stick: Create highlight reel goals by executing the signature moves of an NHL All-Star. With a tap of the right analog stick, drop the puck between your skates, fake out goaltenders with a between-the-legs shot, or puck the puck in the back of the net with a bat-in.
• EA Sports R.P.M. Physics: new Realistic Puck Momentum (R.P.M.) means the puck is dangerous--hard shots can injure defensemen, shake up goalies in the crease, ripple the twine, or knock water bottles off the net to add insult to injury.
• Classic Deking Control: Movement on the ice is more intuitive than ever as you skate and deke using the left analog stick to move past opponents and make goalies look foolish. Own the ice like in the glory days of the EA Sports classic NHL 94!
• All-New Momentum Skating: Feel what it’s like to be on the ice. A player’s speed and size now affects his momentum and turning radius. Generate momentum to initiate speed bursts then fly past opponents, leaving real-time ice trails in your wake.
• Creation Zone: Create a player who looks like you and get into the game with the new analog facial sculpting controls. Add black eyes, broken noses, and scars to put fear in the eyes of your opponents. Create an NHL team in your hometown and build a dynasty, or edit any player in the league with an all-new player editor.

Product Description

Take complete control of every scoring opportunity with NHL 2006. Express your shooting style with the new Sniper Stick - fire off pinpointed slap shots or execute sweet backhanders in a precise location with the flick of the right analog stick. All new decking control adds to your arsenal by letting you skate around, between, and through opponents while maintaining full puck control. Shoot and score like never before with NHL 2006.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

19 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Same Ol Song From EA --- with Better Skating, September 9, 2005

By	R.M. Fernandez - See all my reviews

Fun:4.0 out of 5 stars 

PROS

- Much better skating. Smaller guys can dipsy doodle and bigger guys are less agile. Players actually push the puck ahead while skating hard.

- Better offense. You can actually work at setting up a play in the offensive zone.

- Puck factor. Goalies and players can be phased if they get in the way of a hard shot, even resulting in injuries.

- Stick handling is BACK! No longer do you have to use some seperate joystick just to stickhandle, now you stickhandle with the same analog stick you use to skate.

- Despite all the off-season movements, the rosters are probably the most accurate they've ever been in the NHL series. The rosters are as current as the middle of August, it appears (although no rookies, which is understandable).


CONS

- Nothing new in Dynasty mode, same ol stuff.

- NO WIDESCREEN SUPPORT!! Very frustrating for HDTV owners, especially considering that the Madden series has supported this since 2001.

- Sloppy interface design. There are times when the only way you can sort through a list of players is alphabetically. It's annoying when you're looking through a list of 40, it's especially annoying when you're looking through a list of hundreds. Just sorting through anything is slow...there is a 1-2 second delay just to scroll to another team.

- Playing on 'Difficult' with sliders adjusted, the game is still way too fast! The computer can make tape to tape passes and fire a one-timer for a goal pretty easily. With Shot Power turned all the way down, players can still release a 111mph wristshot. I've seen the glass break 3 times in one game (corny!).

- Meaningless attributes. Maybe it's just because I have it on difficult, but the player attributes seem to mean nothing. Everybody has a hard shot. Everybody is about the same speed. The computer was rushing the puck with what should have been a slow moving defenseman, and yet my forward with 98 speed and acceleration was unable to catch up to him on the backcheck.

- Goalies have no unique characteristics other than their own helmets. You wouldn't be able to tell the difference between Garth Snow from Dominik Hasek in this game. EA still ignores one of the most important positions. If you think about it, you only need 3 types: Butterfly, Stand-Up or Unorthodox.

- Create-a-player is weak. There are all sorts of adjustments you can make to the polygons that shape the face. But once you're done with that, you have only 3 skin tones to choose from, 8 hair styles, and 3 hair colors. So on one hand, its extremely customizable, and on the other it's EXTREMELY basic. The hair looks like something you'd see in a 1998 PS One game...


OVERALL

Great game for the price. On the PS2 version they have included the "retro" version of NHL 94. There is no rhyme or reason as to why this was included, other than maybe this is the feel the developers were trying to bring back to the NHL series.

The game could be slower and the shot speeds are wildly arcadey, but overall this is a good game. It improves upon some of the weaknesses of NHL 2004 and probably makes the game more fun to non-hockey fans...

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The Anti-NHL 2004, September 21, 2005

By	M. Buck (Brooklyn, N.Y. United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Fun:5.0 out of 5 stars 

Let me start off by explaining what I mean by calling EA's NHL 2006 the Anti-NHL 2004. NHL 2004 was an awesome game--extremely realistic, tight checking/defense. NHL 2006, however, is NOT the super-tight checking/defensive game. It is, though, an awesome hockey game to own--but gameplay is a little on the arcade side, though. The lack of a simulation feel keeps the game from getting a perfect score.

When I played it the first time I thought it wasn't going to be all too realistic with it being such an "open" game. Which in many ways, it isn't too realistic. The game does, however, have its realistic points--From pucks hurting players, players having personal realisms (small guys can turn on a dime where the larger player are less agile, but can knock over players just by you skating into them), hockey arenas are near perfect, skilled players have skilled deke moves, updated rosters (to mid August) and the new NHL rules. The more open game is true to how it is this season in the NHL. I have watched many games and the game is very open now--much less clutching and grabbing.

This game isn't perfect, though. The goalies aren't very tough to beat, and the AI seems to score a ton of bogus one-timer goals and wrap-around goals--your goalie moves away from the post and then does a belly-flop dive way too late to make the save (goalies are far too aggressive and they over-play the puck on a constant basis). The other problem is when you play the game on difficult, every single player on the AI's team plays like they have attributes of a 99-rating. No matter how fast a player you have, the AI has faster players--and they score at will. The game just becomes too arcade-ish. The sounds of the game are perfect, but the play-by-play needs to be changed (just turn it off and enjoy all the sounds at the rink).

The game comes with the retro NHL '94 version originally on the SEGA Genesis and SNES. It's nearly a perfect clone, however, there is no NHLPA license for the retro version NHL '94--so don't expect Gretzky, Messier, or anyone from the NHL during that time. It is fun to play the retro '94 version and then play NHL '06. You get to see just how far the game has come.

Online play isn't that great either. Players find too many ways to cheat and mess with their modems to create intentional lag and many also exploite the wrap-around glitch. It's quite a dull experience and is more frusterating than fun. Maybe it's because of the game being too arcadey. Roster updates are dead-on, though, and new players are added to the game as they appear in the real NHL (they added Sidney Crosby, Ovechkin, Lundqvist, Prucha, etc.)

NHL '06 is a great game and a must buy if you like an arcade/semi-realistic game. Learn how to play defense (goaltender)--you are going to have to. Play the game like how you see the real NHL and don't go taking players out of position to make hits--you'll pay for it. If you disliked NHL 2004 because it was very realistic, but too much clutching and grabbing (just like the NHL two years ago), then you will love this game as it's much more open (just like the NHL now). If you love arcade hockey--get this game. If you want total simulation and a true hockey feel, this game may annoy you beyond belief.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Much better than NHL 2005, September 15, 2005

By	Mike (Here and There) - See all my reviews

Fun:4.0 out of 5 stars 

It seems like I favor every EA NHL release that ends with an even year. For example, I liked NHL 2002, but not 2003. I enjoyed NHL 2004, but thought 2005 was deplorable. NHL 2006 basically uses the same engine as 2005, but with all the improvements in gameplay that made NHL 2005 impossible, or unenjoyable, to play.

The game is a lot more fluid than it's predecessors, though it can still be hard to get a one-timer off. The rosters are actually fairly accurate, given how many transactions have occured since the lockout ended. Heck, even with the licensing that this game has obtained from such hockey manufacturers as Itech, Bauer, Jofa, CCM, Vaughn, Brian's, Sher-Wood, Eagle and Koho (forgive me if I left anything out), you actually get to have one of the most realistic gaming experiences out there. You can even see the Motor City Casino advertisments on the JLA's Scoreboard!

The thing I wasn't too keen on was the limited Create-A-Player options you have, though most of this probably gave way to all the manufacturer's having their product in the game. By comparison, I was a huge fan of ESPN NHL 2K5 because of the intense level of customization you could have for players. Another thing is that the rosters don't necessarily reflect all of the talent on the teams (AHL All-Star Goalie and Detroit Red Wings goaltending prospect Joey MacDonald was overlooked on this game, but managed to be featured in Gretzky NHL 2005.) Nevertheless, this still remains one of the coolest hockey games available.

As always, the Elite Leagues are featured in this game, and there's also a "retro" NHL 94 game that you can play (though due to licensing issues, most, if not all of the names, have been changed from the original rosters.) There are plenty of goals and fights a plenty, so you won't be short on action anytime soon.

The only thing I could suggest, aside from more customization options, would be to scrap the Elite leagues in favor of teams for the AHL, ECHL, and possibly the UHL and WHL, as to create the possibility of having some of the more intense roster management out there for Franchise modes, as well as to have the kids in Bakersfield or St. John's to play as some of their favorite local teams.

All and all, good game for the money. If you can pick this up from amazon.com for around $26, then that's definitely worth the price of admission.

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