[Dazraz]

I have played every version of EA's NHL series. In the days of the Megadrive it was my favourite game. Nowadays it's more like scraping into the top 5. As a simulation it's better than ever but it's far short of the complete package when you start looking at things such as the lack of depth in the Dynasty Mode & the weak presentation (generic commentary, repetitive cut scenes).

EA seems to have tunnel vision in regards where they feel the game needs to go. Being obsessed with the physics driven gameplay is no bad thing, but EA need to wake up to the fact that not everyone is into the HUT mode.

1.) EA need to completely rework the presentation elements.
2.) Not everyone wants to play using the up/down cameras. Give us a proper Broadcast camera with the ability to adjust height & zoom levels. Why on earth did EA incorporate a custom camera feature that didn't allow you to customize the Broadcast camera?
3.) NHL has gone the same route as FIFA by way of the ever expanding number of leagues represented in the game. Sadly it's fallen foul of the same issues that the FIFA series has suffered from. A game between 2 top NHL rivals should feel alot different than a match up between AHL or European teams. What we end up having is the same feel & look to each game along with the same patter from the commentary team. NHL games should have a more intense feel to them along with Team/Player specific commentary. This is one of the areas 2K have addressed so impressively with their NBA series & will likely impress upon with their forthcoming NHL title.
4.) Dynasty Mode needs to be completely revamped. Franchise Modes in other games are far beyond what we get in NHL 11. The mode needs to be expanded to allow for multiplayer for both Offline & Online gamers.
5.) Realistic number of penalties within a game. The latest tuner set has seen the number of penalties reduced to 1 or 2 a game even with all penalty sliders maxed out.
6.) Ability to switch off the damn awful first person perspective during fights.