<s>
NHL	B-Application
17	I-Application
is	O
an	O
ice	B-Application
hockey	I-Application
simulation	O
video	O
game	O
developed	O
by	O
EA	O
Canada	O
and	O
published	O
by	O
EA	O
Sports	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
is	O
the	O
26th	O
installment	O
in	O
the	O
NHL	O
game	O
series	O
and	O
was	O
released	O
for	O
the	B-Operating_System
PlayStation	I-Operating_System
4	I-Operating_System
and	O
Xbox	B-Device
One	I-Device
consoles	O
in	O
September	O
2016	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
development	O
team	O
focused	O
solely	O
on	O
eighth	B-Application
generation	I-Application
console	I-Application
versions	O
for	O
NHL	B-Application
17	I-Application
,	O
citing	O
an	O
increased	O
player	O
base	O
on	O
those	O
consoles	O
over	O
seventh	B-Application
generation	I-Application
ones	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
They	O
utilized	O
Electronic	O
Arts	O
 '	O
Ignite	O
engine	O
and	O
built	O
the	O
game	O
off	O
of	O
that	O
,	O
attempting	O
to	O
generally	O
improve	O
on	O
the	O
series	O
 '	O
previous	B-Application
installment	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
They	O
introduced	O
gameplay	O
improvements	O
in	O
terms	O
of	O
artificial	B-Application
intelligence	I-Application
and	O
physics	O
as	O
well	O
as	O
new	O
mode	O
such	O
as	O
the	O
World	O
Cup	O
of	O
Hockey	O
tournament	O
mode	O
and	O
a	O
revamped	O
version	O
of	O
"	O
Be	O
a	O
GM	O
"	O
,	O
a	O
simulation	O
mode	O
where	O
the	O
player	O
acts	O
as	O
a	O
team	O
's	O
general	O
manager	O
,	O
titled	O
"	O
Franchise	O
Mode	O
"	O
,	O
which	O
now	O
features	O
team	O
owners	O
and	O
team	O
relocation	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Similar	O
to	O
the	O
past	O
two	O
NHL	O
titles	O
,	O
NHL	B-Application
17	I-Application
features	O
presentation	O
in	O
the	O
style	O
of	O
the	O
NHL	O
on	O
NBC	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Upon	O
full	O
release	O
,	O
NHL	B-Application
17	I-Application
received	O
generally	O
positive	O
reviews	O
from	O
critics	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
NHL	B-Application
17	I-Application
is	O
an	O
ice	B-Application
hockey	I-Application
simulation	O
video	O
game	O
powered	O
by	O
the	O
Ignite	O
engine	O
,	O
created	O
by	O
Electronic	O
Arts	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Players	O
are	O
able	O
to	O
select	O
from	O
three	O
different	O
control	B-Device
schemes	I-Device
,	O
called	O
"	O
NHL	B-Application
'	I-Application
94	I-Application
controls	O
"	O
,	O
"	O
Skill	O
Stick	O
"	O
and	O
"	O
Hybrid	O
"	O
;	O
NHL	B-Application
'	I-Application
94	I-Application
controls	O
are	O
very	O
simplistic	O
as	O
they	O
strictly	O
use	O
the	O
controller	O
's	O
buttons	O
for	O
actions	O
,	O
aside	O
from	O
moving	O
the	O
player	O
,	O
which	O
the	O
left	O
stick	O
does	O
;	O
Skill	O
Stick	O
controls	O
utilize	O
the	O
controller	O
's	O
right	O
stick	O
in	O
order	O
to	O
both	O
shoot	O
and	O
deke	O
;	O
Hybrid	O
controls	O
are	O
similar	O
to	O
NHL	B-Application
'	I-Application
94	I-Application
controls	O
but	O
have	O
some	O
more	O
action	O
options	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Improvements	O
were	O
made	O
to	O
parts	O
of	O
the	O
game	O
's	O
artificial	B-Application
intelligence	I-Application
and	O
physics	O
systems	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
key	O
improvement	O
to	O
the	O
AI	B-Application
was	O
the	O
"	O
Reactionary	O
Save	O
Intelligence	O
"	O
system	O
made	O
for	O
goalies	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
EA	O
also	O
developed	O
new	O
motion	B-Application
capture	I-Application
for	O
the	O
goalies	O
to	O
match	O
the	O
movements	O
of	O
real-life	O
goalies	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
NHL	B-Application
17	I-Application
features	O
several	O
game	O
modes	O
including	O
both	O
new	O
and	O
returning	O
ones	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Players	O
can	O
also	O
play	O
one-on-one	O
matches	O
with	O
other	O
NHL	B-Application
17	I-Application
users	O
online	O
in	O
the	O
Online	O
Versus	O
mode	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
EA	O
Sports	O
Hockey	O
League	O
(	O
EASHL	O
)	O
allows	O
players	O
to	O
create	O
a	O
custom	O
player	O
and	O
join	O
clubs	O
formed	O
by	O
other	O
NHL	B-Application
17	I-Application
users	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
For	O
the	O
second	O
time	O
in	O
the	O
NHL	O
series	O
,	O
the	O
World	O
Cup	O
of	O
Hockey	O
is	O
playable	O
;	O
NHL	B-Application
2005	I-Application
was	O
the	O
first	O
NHL	O
title	O
to	O
feature	O
it	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Also	O
added	O
to	O
NHL	B-Application
17	I-Application
is	O
the	O
ECHL	O
,	O
a	O
North	O
American	O
hockey	O
league	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
According	O
to	O
NHL	B-Application
17	I-Application
lead	O
producer	O
Sean	O
Ramjagsingh	O
,	O
the	O
developers	O
wanted	O
to	O
take	O
from	O
the	O
series	O
 '	O
previous	B-Application
installment	I-Application
and	O
generally	O
improve	O
on	O
it	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
development	O
team	O
within	O
EA	O
Canada	O
wanted	O
to	O
improve	O
on	O
the	O
overall	O
gameplay	O
by	O
introducing	O
a	O
better	O
physics	O
system	O
and	O
enhanced	O
artificial	B-Application
intelligence	I-Application
.	I-Application
</s>
<s>
They	O
utilized	O
Electronic	O
Arts	O
 '	O
Ignite	O
engine	O
as	O
a	O
foundation	O
to	O
NHL	B-Application
17	I-Application
and	O
built	O
the	O
game	O
off	O
of	O
that	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
While	O
the	O
development	O
team	O
of	O
FIFA	O
within	O
EA	O
Canada	O
had	O
transitioned	O
to	O
the	O
Frostbite	B-Operating_System
engine	I-Operating_System
from	O
Ignite	O
for	O
that	B-Application
year	I-Application
's	I-Application
entry	I-Application
,	O
the	O
NHL	O
development	O
team	O
continued	O
to	O
use	O
Ignite	O
,	O
though	O
Ramjagsingh	O
speculated	O
about	O
possibly	O
using	O
Frostbite	B-Operating_System
in	O
future	O
installments	O
of	O
the	O
series	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
game	O
also	O
dropped	O
support	O
for	O
the	O
older	O
seventh	B-Application
generation	I-Application
of	I-Application
video	I-Application
game	I-Application
consoles	I-Application
for	O
the	O
first	O
time	O
,	O
following	O
the	O
NHL	B-Application
:	I-Application
Legacy	I-Application
Edition	I-Application
port	O
of	O
the	O
previous	O
year	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Ramjagsingh	O
cited	O
the	O
increased	O
player	O
base	O
on	O
eighth	B-Application
generation	I-Application
consoles	I-Application
as	O
a	O
reason	O
why	O
the	O
developers	O
wanted	O
to	O
not	O
port	O
the	O
game	O
to	O
the	O
consoles	O
of	O
the	O
previous	O
generation	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
first	O
trailer	O
for	O
NHL	B-Application
17	I-Application
,	O
dubbed	O
the	O
"	O
Vision	O
Trailer	O
"	O
was	O
released	O
on	O
April	O
26	O
,	O
2016	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Similar	O
to	O
NHL	B-Application
16	I-Application
,	O
a	O
public	O
beta	O
for	O
the	O
game	O
was	O
active	O
from	O
July	O
28	O
until	O
August	O
4	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
NHL	B-Application
17	I-Application
was	O
released	O
for	O
the	B-Operating_System
PlayStation	I-Operating_System
4	I-Operating_System
and	O
Xbox	B-Device
One	I-Device
consoles	O
on	O
September	O
13	O
,	O
2016	O
in	O
North	O
America	O
and	O
September	O
15	O
in	O
Europe	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Pre-orders	O
of	O
any	O
edition	O
of	O
the	O
game	O
came	O
with	O
a	O
special	O
EASHL	O
equipment	O
bundle	O
as	O
well	O
as	O
a	O
unique	O
goal	O
celebration	O
,	O
imitating	O
the	O
one	O
from	O
NHL	B-Application
'	I-Application
94	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Pre-orders	O
made	O
through	O
the	O
Xbox	B-Device
Games	O
Store	O
came	O
with	O
a	O
free	O
month	O
of	O
EA	B-Application
Access	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Sports	O
,	O
Fox	O
Sports	O
,	O
CBS	O
Sports	O
,	O
as	O
well	O
as	O
the	O
MLB	B-Application
's	O
own	O
Cut4	O
news	O
subsidiary	O
reporting	O
on	O
it	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Samit	O
Sarkar	O
of	O
Polygon	O
stated	O
that	O
"	O
NHL	B-Application
17	I-Application
is	O
shaping	O
up	O
to	O
be	O
the	O
kind	O
of	O
game	O
that	O
could	O
bring	O
the	O
series	O
back	O
to	O
its	O
previous-generation	O
heights	O
,	O
"	O
complimenting	O
the	O
game	O
's	O
gameplay	O
improvements	O
and	O
the	O
new	O
additions	O
to	O
the	O
EASHL	O
mode	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
He	O
also	O
praised	O
the	O
game	O
's	O
improved	O
AI	B-Application
systems	O
for	O
CPU	O
teammates	O
and	O
opponents	O
as	O
well	O
as	O
the	O
online	O
connectivity	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
NHL	B-Application
17	I-Application
received	O
mainly	O
positive	O
reviews	O
from	O
critics	O
upon	O
release	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	B-Operating_System
PlayStation	I-Operating_System
4	I-Operating_System
version	O
holds	O
a	O
78/100	O
score	O
on	O
review	B-Application
aggregator	I-Application
site	O
Metacritic	O
,	O
based	O
on	O
26	O
reviews	O
,	O
while	O
the	B-Device
Xbox	I-Device
One	I-Device
version	O
holds	O
a	O
77/100	O
score	O
,	O
based	O
on	O
23	O
reviews	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Paget	O
felt	O
that	O
the	O
game	O
presentation	O
was	O
repetitive	O
and	O
that	O
the	O
game	O
was	O
not	O
too	O
different	O
from	O
NHL	B-Application
16	I-Application
,	O
stating	O
that	O
"	O
there	O
is	O
n't	O
a	O
standout	O
mode	O
or	O
feature	O
that	O
makes	O
this	O
game	O
substantially	O
better	O
than	O
its	O
predecessor.	O
"	O
</s>
<s>
Bertz	O
criticized	O
the	O
lack	O
of	O
an	O
in-depth	O
career	O
mode	O
,	O
comparing	O
the	O
NHL	B-Application
17	I-Application
Be	O
a	O
Pro	O
mode	O
to	O
the	O
story-driven	O
NBA	B-Application
2K	I-Application
MyCareer	O
mode	O
,	O
which	O
he	O
enjoyed	O
more	O
.	O
</s>
