NHL 06 (PlayStation 2)

Sound: Commentary

It flows nicely and has plenty of side-comments and interesting remarks as the match progresses. The commentators are obviously enjoying their job and put the same amount of enthusiasm into the game as they would do a real match.

Sound: Effects

There are plenty of nice effects in the game, from the swish of skates on the crackling-crunching ice to the oof as players connect. Again EA have done the genre proud in the audio department and they don’t stint at all.

Sound: Music

EA’s own TRAX feature heavily in their games, especially on the PS2 which doesn’t feature custom soundtracks. So you’re treated to their list of rock tunes with which to enjoy the match, all well and good if you happen to like their tune-list but if you don’t then you’ll probably turn off the music.

Net & Multi-Play

For those of you with a PS2 broadband adapter, you can enjoy the game online as well. Sadly I don’t have one of those so I can’t really cover the online side of the game, but expect furious competition from human players and a wealth of Ice Hockey gameplay to be had.

Otherwise you’ll need to invest in a multi-tap or two, gather some friends and enjoy the cold of the Ice from your own front room.

Final shot

After the vaguely disappointing NHL 05’ EA are back on track and in the zone with NHL 06’. If they can keep this up for the NHL 07’ then they’ll be on to a sure fire winner. The game feels as though it has finally matured and all the visual and control, gameplay kinks have been mostly ironed out. There are still a few lessons to be learned and they’ll come in time, until then it certainly is one of the best EA Ice Hockey games to date and with the inclusion of NHL 94’ you can relive the simpler glory days as an added bonus.