Nobody's arguing that hoplites would be equal to pikemen in frontal combat (I think). They'd get beaten, badly. However, the idea is that hoplites can maneuver better than pikemen, who rely absolutely on the integrity of their formation to win. Same deal with pikemen vs. legionaries: legionaries are more maneuverable, so they can try flank attacks.

Actually, is EB going to be using the phalanx formation for hoplites? I think it's a very poor representation of the hoplite shield wall—decent to represent a wall of pikes, but the hoplites didn't use that. Plus, it would allow hoplites to run, which would represent their increased maneuverability in a game where pikemen can turn on a dime. And the spears are way too long, and AFAIK there's no way to adjust the length of phalanx spears (although I could certainly be wrong there).

-Simetrical