By Josh Riley
2/14/2016, 1:00 p.m.
Tweet to: @Slickster_Mag

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For any fans of the previous NHL games before the pro stick control scheme was introduced, when it was simple button commands, the new control scheme may have been harder to play with and difficult to adjust to. For anybody who is entirely new to the NHL games starting with NHL 16, it may have been fairly easy to get used to. If you have no idea what I’m talking about, allow me to break it down for you. The previous control scheme for the NHL series of games was rather simple; if you were playing on the Play Station 2, it would go something like this: X button to pass, Square to shoot, Circle to body check, Triangle to deke, R1 to dump pass, left joystick to move the character. Now the way it works with the pro stick scheme gets a bit confusing at times, but bear with me here.

The layout is something like this, assuming you are playing it on the Play Station 4: If you do not have possession of the puck, then flicking the right stick up while skating into a member of the opposing team will do a body check, if you do have the puck, it will shoot. To pass the puck to a team member, you would hit the R1 button, whereas hitting R1 without the puck will do a poke check. The poke check is a rather useful move when trying to steal the puck from the opposing team.

You are not limited to Pro Stick controls. You can go into the settings and change to the Classic Control scheme using the buttons. Either way you play, it’s a fun game for hockey fans and non-hockey fans alike. Whether you play by the rules, or without them, all that matters is enjoying the game. That, and knowing how to play it!