This is why I'm getting so upset at times with EA and feel like I'm taken for an idiot. Last year, they come out swinging saying that the AI had been revamped and we'll no longer see defenseman making atrocious play on the board, the forwards dumping the puck all over the place and standing still at the blue line and goalies making dumb moves.
In the end, NHL 12 was all about that. I won't speak for online plays, it's made to be played 6 vs. 6, so the fact that the AI is more crap than Glatt in the movie Goon's won't make any difference here. But...
When you play offline and what you saw is D pinning themselves off the board without beeing pressure, AI shooting the puck over the board more often than Malkin and Giroux are packing points, you saw goalie only able to touch the puck behind the net when they are sure they going to be out of the trapezoid, and the best one, an AI programming so that a D-man will come for a change at the bench in BaP while is own team is on a 5 on 3 in their own zone makes me sick to my stomach.
No surprise anyting EA say is taken with an heavy dose of : "We'll wait and see". So far, I'm impress with what I read, what I see and what is going on at EA, but it was the same for NHL 11 and NHL 12, so I'll wait until the final product hit the shelf before saying : "Game, Set, Match" for EA.
There's two things EA as to do to make sure they are on the right track. Play 10 games on CHL level as a BaP and play 10 games on any modes, with player lock.
Have never seen one person saying over the years : "Feel like the D on the other side didn't react the right way, it's kindda odd!" No, they are saying : "Cool, I scored". So when you play and control your 5 teammates, you won't see glaring problems. When you are locked or playing BaP, everything become obvious. If you don't run around like a chicken without his head, you can see what your AI partner are doing and if it happens every game on a 10 game span, it'a sign you missed something.
Rant over I guess! ;-)