[JaredL]

I think in general football games lose a lot of their replay value for me because the computer just cheats at the hardest difficulty level and the next level down, which I usually play, is too easy.

You'll see all sorts of crap, from linebackers outrunning receivers, ridiculous bounces, the opposing defense shifting in the direction you're running every single time, sucky defensive lineman that dominate my future HOF O-lineman every single down etc. In particular I remember one game where I was sacking the quarterback and just as my guy was diving for the sack, the ball was released and went rigth to a receiver in the front corner of the end-zone. I watched a replay and what happened is the ball went basically straight down and bounced off the tackler's shoulder and went straight to the guy for the TD. Absolutely impossible in real life obviously, and I never once saw anything vaguely similar happen in a two-human game or at easier difficulty.

Similarly, baseball games can suck when you play on the hardest settings. Perhaps it's been updated, I have a couple year old version of High Heat. On the second-hardest setting, even control pitchers can't place the ball for [censored]. If I try to throw a waist-high outside fastball the ball goes to the same spot nearly every time - just wide of the strike zone. If I try to adjust and throw down the middle he grooves it right down the middle, so you can get to where you can't hit the outside or inside part of the plate. Sure pitchers have off nights, but a control guy should not game after game have this happen.

Another issue with these settings is that to make the game harder they tend to even out the teams. This has gotten better, but for example how fast your opponents are is irrelevant because they jack up everybody's speed on the other team to a ridiculously high level. Same goes for the defensive line. It doesn't matter if it's the 49ers defensive line or Seattle's, they will both equally dominate my offensive line and I can't run for [censored].