One big problem I had was the lack of any kind of training mode. The Open Ice mode is basically your choice of team shooting on a net with a goalie. There’s no way to practice one timers, Microsoft’s new passing modes, or get used to the coaching commands.
NFL Fever had a great training mode and that is something that could really add a lot of value to Rivals. It’s not a big deal but it’s a little disappointing that there’s not something more substantial there.
The game play is the heart of any hockey game and the play in
NHL Rivals isn’t bad. Microsoft introduces some interesting new twists to the genre. The first new item is the face-off system. Rather than trying to time the drop of the puck or just wildly pushing a button to win the face-off there is a simple Rock-Paper-Scissors system. You have three choices, clean face off, body block, or tie up their stick. Stick tie up beats clean faceoff, clean face-of beats body block, and body block beats stick tie up. Should both players select the same option the system will randomly determine which player wins the face off. It’s a pretty simple system and
NHL Rivals does allow you to use the left and right triggers to raise and lower your stick to try and fake out your opponent. It’s an interesting system but I’m not necessarily sure that I like it more than the usual button mashing as I felt a little disconnected from the face-offs. I did manage to get past this by trying to time the face-off choice by repeatedly pushing my selection but it didn’t really feel the same.
Another cool feature is the new passing system. There are three ways you can dish the puck. The first is by pushing the left thumbstick and hitting the A button. This conducts a standard directional pass. The second way is by pushing the right thumbstick in the direction you want to pass. This executes a pinpoint, which is a little more accurate. . This is actually a pretty slick system and allows for you to quickly execute tic-tac-toe passing which is critical to the game. You can click the right thumbstick and push a direction to execute a saucer pass. I tend to be a passing freak when I play video game hockey so I was really digging this system. You almost pass too much but when it’s this easy it’s hard not to do.
The rest of the controls are solid and I had no problem getting used to them after a few games. I really liked having the turbo button as a trigger and allowing you to switch to the last defensemen with the right thumbstick (when you don’t have the puck) is a pretty good idea. The only thing I struggled with was the on-the-fly coaching. You use the d-pad to select strategies, lines, aggressiveness, and formation. It’s a cool feature but you have to do it while you play, which can be a bit difficult as you’re trying to play the game. I never quite got the hang of it but those of you who can multi-task better than I can might not have a problem with it.
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