Finally decided to get new NHL game after not getting 19. I actually like the gameplay, it feels fresh after skipping a game. I love playing EASHL and Threes with a couple of friends. That being said, playing against CPU is as frustrating as ever. It seems like EA just can't figure out how to make it challenging without making the opposing CPU superhuman and downgrading your CPU. I played a couple of HUT challenge games on Superstar, and was just insanely frustrated after them. The offensive strategy is making superhuman passes so fast that you can't humanly keep up, and taking advantage of your own CPU players also not being able to react fast enough. Then when you regain control, you have to fight off a forechecker that predicts your every move. And if you survive that, you can't find a passing lane because your own players stay nice and tight covered by the defenders. Your players won't ever challenge the defenders on the rush like the opponent CPU does, they just skate in a simple formation that doesn't give you any passing lanes. And in the offensive zone, your players pretty much stay static, or skate backwards so that when they in a rare occasion get open, you have less than a second to pass it on or you get hit off the puck. There is just zero support, offensively or defensively, from your own CPU against the oppossing CPU with superhuman reflexes, and it honestly makes offline unplayable for me.
