[Bonjour43MA]

I'm really starting to hate the NHL XX series from EA. Every year we get minor updates to the graphics engine and NO updates to the sound effects (wtf same play-by-play as NHL 10?), but then the gameplay itself is updated which leads to a bunch of inconsistency in scoring and completely different "feel" than the previous year (and not always for the better).

I HATE this game for:

- Online play. Laggy as hell - I press a button and my player moves literally 1 second later, which in a fast-pace match is just HORRIBLE. Why EA hasn't fixed this since NHL 07 is beyond me. No, it's not my connection, as I've had different modems, routers, and ISP over the years and it's ALWAYS like this. I noticed this espeically during peak time (night time, weekends). Disgusting. I've probably lost/manual quit at least half of my total game losses because of this. I don't mind getting beat by good players, but not when I can't control my players.

- Stupid AI, espeically the goalie - diving for pucks when there is no need, leaving an empty net for the opponent to score on; kicking the legs out for no reason when the opponent's player skates across the front of the crease; staying deep in the net when a clear slapshot from the point is taken, with no traffic in front; the list goes on and on. I don't know how many times I've cursed at my goalie for doing stupid shit that led to goals against that were unnecessary.

- Online play - did I mention this? The online experience this year is just HORRIBLE. I've even thought about selling this game because it's so bad and online is pretty much the only thing I play.


I LOVE this game for:

- Playing as your home team and players. Nothing beats it after watching a game on TV, then re-living it through a controller. It's just really fun!

- Nice goals when executed properly. Killer dekes, passes, one timers, breakaway goals, etc etc....

- Playing against other people and competing to win...

I just realized that each year I HATE the game more and LOVE it less, compared to the year prior. It's almost like EA is trying to make it more "realistic" by adding a bunch of shit to change the gameplay, but it's becoming less and less fun to play. It's becoming sloppier, harder to control, slower (default setting), clumsier, and overall just not enjoyable... sigh.