[half-fast]

EA Sports doesn't make a good hockey game. They're an old franchise that has one leg up on all other companies who have or want to make a hockey game. I have a lot of appreciate towards the contributors on this site that spend dozens, maybe hundreds of hours assembling these slider settings for all of us, but let's face the facts - No amount of sliders, patches or unter updates will make this game good, ewven if it is currently the best and most realistic game yet. It is simply beyond EA to make a realistic hockey game because they try to please everyone.

We all know what issues plague this series, so I'll keep the list to the things that really destroy it.

1) AI - playing against the cpu in a GM mode is absolutely stupid and frustrating. I know ppl who have fun, but most of the ppl I know that play are NEVER happy, even when they say they are having fun, all they do is complain about the gameplay. The AI cheats to win, cheats to let YOU win, is either way too easy or way too hard(unfair). Very seldom do I play a game I'm satisfied with, and as long as they have lucky bounces and the high number of staged goals that you can see coming a mile away, I will NEVER be happy with this series.

2) Online play - while here you think, ok the AI is unfair so I'll play another human, EA in fact helps teams catch up and gives them garbage goals so ppl who are getting killed will come back for one more game, in turn buying next year's title. The very fact that I can play someone online, have 45 shots to 7, almost ALL the time on attack and be leading by 3 goals just to have them cluster 3 in to tie me is simply ridiculous. EA doesnt have regular luck, they create luck to keep games as close as possible. Inversely, when I play a tight game online, the score is lopsided somehow.

3) Simulation or Arcade? - EA tries to make every audience happoy by making the game the best of both worlds ... unfortunately, it works out that this game is most fun to the casual gamer. Most of us that are on this site want simulation sports, which is something that will never happen to EA hockey as long as they continue to cater to kids and casual gamers ... not that you shouldnt cater to them at all, but I somehow think an xbox live title with lesser functionality would be more ideal for those people.

We want accurate stats, no bs goals or plays, smart AI, both in gameplay and in management(on and off ice) and EA *can* do this, but they cater to both crowds which puts the game into some sort of weird hybrid category that is just bologne.

I hate to rant, but with all the tuner updates, all the slider settings for each tuner, my own slider experiments, playing dozens of hours in every mode imagineable trying to find something fair, challenging and fun, I have utterly failed, wasted a TON of time I would rather spend on a sporting franchise worth a look and frankly cant see how I will be buying next year's title.

I wont go into a full comparison, but let's even compare FIFA and NHL. I play both sports in real life, and I certainly am not saying stick handling is easy, but it is indeed far easier than ball handling, and yet FIFA does such a good job with ball handling and skill moves, and NHL looks like ice hockey for nes in comparison. The dekes are limited in numbers and in flexibility, and there are such a small number of celebrations to boot for after youve pulled off a great goal.

Sorry to rant all, but I just cant take it anymore. This game is just a facelift of last year's. They need to take time off and create something new and special or we need a new company to walk in and create something different.