This week on Operation Sports Fact or Fiction our panel of sports gaming experts takes a look at several different topics being discussed within the community the past few weeks.  From whether if Madden is a lost cause or not to if Dynamic DNA is a major waste of time to if NCAA Football 09 was a disappointment.   Be sure to chime in with your own thoughts as well in this weeks OS Fact or Fiction!

#1 With no CPU sliders, Madden is already a lost cause for this year.

Will Soistman: Fiction. While this is very surprising to say the least, there is no reason to call this game a lost cause yet. The gameplay and graphics look far superior to previous versions, the simulated stats in franchise mode look perfect, and there have been fixes made to the game via the pre-release community feedback. There will be workarounds, hopefully not as bad as NCAA, and the MySkill rating might help eliminate the need for the CPU sliders. Don't count Madden out yet.

Rob Fetter: Fiction. I don’t think that it’s a lost cause. There is always the hope that their Madden IQ thing will work out and be the best thing to happen to sports gaming since online play. Odds of that aren’t likely, but not having sliders in a game shouldn’t make it a lost cause; some gamers are actually old enough to remember enjoying sports games before sliders were released. Personally I think that some people already spend too much time searching for the perfect slider combination, and sometimes you just need to relax and try to enjoy what they give you.

Dave Branda: Fiction. I might be in the minority, but I hate sliders. I think they do more to help people create a fantasy world they believe is true rather than mimicking reality. With that said, if Madden acts as advertised and actually scales the game to your skill level we might not need sliders anymore.

Chris Sanner: Fiction. If Madden is a lost cause, it isn't because of a lack of computer sliders. I am particularly worried about the AI issues some on the boards are talking about right now, but I have also been hearing a few good things about head-to-head play. Really, the fact of the matter is Madden is not a lost cause and could still be a really good game. However, if it has some of the same type of nagging flaws its little brother NCAA has, Madden will just be a nice game that had so much more potential.

#2 The Dynamic DNA feature in NBA Live is a giant waste of time.

Wil Soistman: Fiction. Are you kidding me? I have been waiting for this in Madden for 5+ years. I cannot believe this is finally going to be integrated into a video game. I have been wishing that I could one day watch a pro sports game and replay it EXACTLY like I witnessed, with the same starters and bench players that were used. It may be rough in the beginning, but by the middle of the season I am sure that any kinks will be worked out, and hopefully EA will incorporate it into other franchises in the coming years.

Rob Fetter: Fact. The fact that they’re updating and spending time to attempt to keep the game fresh is a good thing, but so often the cry from developers when they don’t get desired features into a game is that there just wasn’t enough time. To me the daily roster update is just wasted time. I don’t really care if Kobe has an off night at the line and his free throw shooting goes from a 99 to a 97, or if Shaq hits a three in a blow out game and they raise his 3-point shooting ability to a one. If they’ve got the man power to spend on this then that’s fine (and they should considering Live 365 is coded in now and should be mostly outsourced), but I don’t want to hear them crying “we wanted to get it in, but just didn’t have the time” next year when it comes to actual improvements for NBA Live 2010.

Dave Branda: Fiction. I am going to be optimistic on this one. On one hand, it is a great idea that could possibly solve one of the all-time great sports video game problems: How do you distinguish between two players and make each one special and unique while mimicking the real-life playing styles?

On the other hand, this screams 'EA will totally botch the execution of this the first time around.' My guess is Live 09 is hopefully paving the way for this to be a revolutionary feature for Live 2010 and beyond.

Chris Sanner: Fact. Yes the actual updating is outsourced and yes this is going to be huge for guys who actually play the game online, but NBA Live needs to skip the glitz and glamour features and just try to play good, solid basketball again. The game just isn't that good and it doesn't matter how much you polish a turd, it's still gonna be a turd at the end of the day. If EA Sports wants to truly get NBA 2K off its back then the company will have to address the root issue sooner or later, and the root issue is that NBA Live hasn't been the best basketball game on the market in a long time, period.

#3 Now that we know more about all the other sports games in 2008, MLB 08: The Show is going to be the best sports game this year.

Wil Soistman: Fiction. We simply cannot deem a champion this early. Remember the Patriots? Anywho, Madden looks promising and what about FIFA? Im sure there are other sports games as well that could fly under the radar and surprise us all. MLB 08 is a great game, and most likely will be nominated for sports game of the year by many publications.

Dave Branda: Fiction. Full disclosure time: I haven't played The Show. Bill Gates is my father and all that.

With that said, I still think we have some promising titles coming out in the next few months that could challenge The Show. FIFA is looking to turn a great '08 campaign into an even better '09 campaign. NHL 09 could continue the momentum that began last year. NBA 2K9 still has room to turn a very good-to-great offering into an incredible one. And College Hoops looks to expand upon the greatest game ever made! Oh wait.

Chris Sanner: Fiction. It's too early right now, but the chances of any other game unseating The Show aren't as good as some would think. NBA 2K9 is going to be solid again, but I really don't feel the total package is going to be able to compare with The Show in the end. NHL 09? While my personal game of the year last year was really good, none of the new features really excite me all that much. Madden? I don't think Madden will even be considered for game of the year right now, call it a hunch.

#4 Considering all of the bugs, NCAA Football 09 was a disappointment.

Wil Soistman: Fact. I get so angry when I play this game against the computer. It is very frustrating to see the AI just pick apart my defense over and over again. That, and the fact that the roster editing didn't work right until a patch this week, the pass rush is anemic, and the offensive game is overall too easy. There is hope, with TWO patches coming for the game and the designers still staying in contact with the community, the game can drastically swing the other way. But for right now, it is a disappointment.

Rob Fetter: Fiction. It all just depends on how high your expectations for the game were. My expectations of the game weren’t mind blowing, so to me it definitely wasn’t a disappointment. The game does have flaws, as all games do, (except apparently MLB 08, which I've yet to play since I am lacking a PS3), but really overall I still believe that NCAA 09 plays well offline despite its flaws. Where the game really shines is online. I don’t see how this game couldn’t have met gamers expectations here, it features the smoothest gameplay I've seen from EA in a football title, and the experience online has given me a wide range of games from defensive battles, to high scoring shootouts, and many varieties in between. The addition of the online dynasty makes me believe that the NCAA disc will be visiting my 360 at least a couple of times per week all the way until NCAA 2010’s release. So to me this game is definitely no disappointment.

Dave Branda: Fiction. Personally, I'm having a blast playing with some friends in an online dynasty. Sure Jimmy F'n Clausen went 19-for-20 (with the one "incomplete" pass being an INT) in a game I lost to Notre Dame, but the fact is, despite flaws this game is incredibly fun to play and dare I say the best NCAA game since 2004.

With some smart patching and the ability to tweak gameplay with sliders (I just got electroshocked), this game is not lost. The aspects of the game you can't patch -- namely the visuals and capturing the look and feel of college football -- are already there.

Chris Sanner: Fact. Am I having fun with the game? Yes. Do I find this year's NCAA game to be more fun than any other recently in this series? Yes. The problem is, I don't like having to restart games and such due to the game freezing or from bugs that screw up the technical game of football. When the game works, it's really fun to play. Unfortunately, NCAA Football 09 is a disappointment because the bugs held it back from being a truly great game. It's still a really good game, but when you think about how good it could have been, you are left with an empty feeling in your stomach.