Legacy AI issues, for example, continue to haunt the game – particularly in the offensive zone, where teammates can’t seem to figure out how to run the systems I’ve called. Trade AI is improved, and behind the scenes there’s a new system of valuing players and draft picks in trades that feels a lot closer to reality than in past years.įor all the improvements, there are still some things that need to be addressed though. The trade deadline is now a race against the clock, simulating the real world’s tension for GM’s who must either find a deal or risk being left out in the cold.
#NHL 21 NEXT GEN PRO#
While Be A Pro was clearly the center of attention this time around, Franchise mode also got some great upgrades. Do I promise to keep the opposing team from scoring, or do I want to call my shot and promise I’ll get a goal instead? I’m loving the off-ice conversations I have with my agent and teammates, and getting called over to the bench by my coach during a game ramps up the tension and pressure. From the menus to the content, everything feels new and exciting at long last.
Not only does Be A Pro now feature conversational dialogue choices with your ownership, coaches, teammates, and media, but there are also luxury items you can buy using your salary to give yourself permanent or temporary stat boosts.Īfter years of the mode largely being ignored, it feels like Be A Pro finally got the overhaul players wanted. What about overhauling Be A Pro into a ‘live the life of an NHL player’ mode with RPG-like choices and repercussions? It’s all that and more. Expect to see some truly horrific skating styles come out of that tool. Let’s see how they did.ĭistinctive skating strides? Not only did that make it in, but your created players can have their own custom-made stride thanks to a toolset that includes the ability to change your body angle, your stride style, your arm movement – the whole nine years. There were two key things listed in my NHL 20 review that I wanted to see in NHL 21: distinctive skating strides and a Be A Pro overhaul into an RPG. Connor McDavid versus three Calgary Flames players seems unfair thanks to the addition of chip and slip dekes this year. Goaltenders are also improved, even after the overhaul last year that saw them get over 400 new animations, with better reads on developing plays allowing them to get in position and give up less cheap goals. In addition, Svechnikov’s lacrosse-style goal is in the game and technically possible to pull off, though I haven’t managed it yet, as is Kucherov’s ‘no move’ shootout deke.Ĭhanges are also found on the defensive side of the puck, with AI that makes much smarter decisions about gap control, do more to challenge and limit zone entries, and there’s more dogged pursuit of the puck by opposing forwards. There must be a Crosby fan on the development team, as they’ve added the back-of-the-net bank self-pass that he uses so effectively to create room, as well as the Mohawk turn he’s been known to use to open up for cross-ice passing. The skating, revamped last year with RPM Tech 2.0 to allow ‘on the fly’ puck pickups, gets subtler tweaks this year with the addition of chip and slip dekes to avoid contact either in open ice or along the boards. I’m not sure if EA is finally getting the message or if this is just some kind of trap 2020 is laying for fans of the EA Sports NHL franchise, but NHL 21 finally gets the kind of improvements players have wanted for years. Ryan Nugent-Hopkins turns the puck up the ice against the Calgary Flames.
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