Hockey Ultimate Team is EA Sports’ mode for the NHL franchise where you can collect cards of past and present players to build a dream team that you can take out on the ice for glory. As in previous iterations of the game, HUT offers a variety of ways to play including offline and online modes. You can earn HUT Coins and NHL Points through a number of different activities which you can then use to buy new packs that contain either rare or common cards.
Booth’s hockey team is relatively young, but the BHC co-chairs have ambitious plans for the club next year. They want to expand to other business schools in the area, including Ross and HBS, as well as hold regular tournaments on Chicago ice when the weather permits. They’re also exploring the possibility of hosting a hockey tournament at Booth in early May to capitalize on students’ less hectic schedules.
One of the more significant changes in this year’s iteration of the mode is the addition of women’s players to the lineup. It’s a welcome change that’s long overdue. EA Sports also revamped the in-game commentary and slowed down the video highlights to give a more realistic feel. This is a good improvement, but the slo-mo dynamic camera still gets a bit repetitive and I hope that at some point EA will add more variety to its highlight reels.
As always, the most important thing in HUT is getting your hands on a great team to play with. Once you have that, the rest is all about racking up a ton of coins and points through a combination of offline and online play. You can then use these to buy new packs that can contain any player in the game. If you get lucky, one of those packs will contain a superstar card that can elevate your team to the next level.
EA Sports also made a few improvements to HUT this year that help it stand out from other sports video game modes. For example, you can now unlock new challenges by playing HUT Challenges, which are unique scenarios that pit your team against a CPU-controlled team with specific objectives. If you complete enough of these, you can earn rewards like player packs, NHL Points, and items like jerseys or goaltender helmets.
Another new feature that’s available on both online and offline is HUT Squad Battles, which allows you to play against other teams built by HUT players across the world for a chance to win special rewards. This is a great way to test out your online skills, though it can be frustrating if you face off against high-level teams that can quickly wipe you out.
Overall, Hockey Ultimate Team is a solid way to play the NHL with friends or strangers around the globe. However, it lacks the depth found in other sports video games like Madden and FIFA. It does have some nice improvements this year, but it’s hard to justify upgrading if you’re already invested in the mode.