[mebby]

I just downloaded the demo late last night and played 3 games (been out of town this week). I guess I'm suprised at some of the nit-picking on here as I honestly found the game to be a nice improvement from 11, a pretty good representation of the sport, and a lot of fun to play.

I'm 36 and I've played soccer all my life so I'm certainly not a newb to the sport or to console gaming (been playing video games all my life too).

I'm loving the new defense. It makes you think about what you're doing instead of just jockeying and stabbing all day long. I took me until my second game to realize that I have to control my player a bit differently. In 11 if I was defending someone and I was running along with them (say down the touch line) and they stopped I would have to basically push the stick back in the opposite direction to get stopped. In this year's game I can simply let off the stick - this will take some getting used to but overal I like it.

I like how the computer AI actually passes the ball around, and more specifically how they will now pass the ball back and reset. It doesn't feel like they are just constantly pushing forward anymore.

Yes - the computer dribbling skills are maybe a touch TOO good at times but I hope sliders will help address this.

I found that higher levels of play (such as World Class) seem MUCH more difficult than in past games. Not a big deal - just need to recalibrate myself.

Commentary and crowd audio is fantastic and right on queue (especially crowd reactions).

Goal keepers seem much more realistic this year although I'm hoping to find a better balance in toning down AI striking skills (I got lit up in my first game).

Even on slow, the game feels a touch too fast. I'll try "very slow" if that option is available (haven't checked yet).

The graphics and presentation are beautiful to me. This is always a very personal thing to assess so I won't bother questioning why others compain about things that seem petty and immaterial to me - my view on these things is no more or less important than their view, it's just a matter of personal taste I suppose.

Overal - I believe that this is a continued big step in the right direction for this franchise. I'll be buying it on or near release day... very solid game in my opinion.

I sometimes think that the user community puts too high of expectations on these games for the simple fact that they have gotten so good that they are dangerously close to perfection and this makes people seek that perfection with a passion. So if i were EA I'd take the harsh criticism as a bit of a compliment (although an annoying compliment!).