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| The Ten Sports Games |
The hardcore gamer hardly touches sports games for the most part, while many non-gamers only dip into the video game world to play sports games. It is a strange phenomenon, but it strikes a unique cultural balance and broadens the video game culture as a whole.
So, here at Joystick Division, we have compiled a shortlist of sports games that reign supreme in the genre. From an innovative soccer title to a high-flying, physics defying skateboarding adventure, these games have taken the video game world by storm, and they deserve the recognition.
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Well ahead of its time, TenEighty Snowboarding was a benchmark title for both extreme sports and racing games. Its incredibly tight controls and wicked pace made it a must have for console gamers of the era.
It is rare that a sports game is able to test the limits of console hardware, but TenEighty Snowboarding issued a level of detail and realism that rivaled anything else available. The speed, the tight Z-button induced crouching, and the sharp physics engine laid the foundation for the snowboarding renaissance of the early 2000s.
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9. Madden NFL 2005
Though the "Madden Curse" took away much of Ray Lewis' 2005 season, being on the cover of the best Madden game to date might just be a fair trade. This was the big one. The franchise's powerhouse poster-child.
And much of it had to do with the in-game features and mechanics that changed the way football games were played. The "hit stick" was implemented, giving the gamer more control over their baller, adding realism to the defense, and a new variable in the turnover battle. The defensive Playmaker tool allowed for the defenses to shift pre-snap, as well as cycle through an audible system. You know, like in real football.
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8. World Soccer Winning Eleven 8 International (Pro Evolution 4)
Fifa is the hot soccer franchise nowadays, but Winning Eleven 8 built the foundation for what the gaming world considers to be great, realistic soccer games. Graphics, physics, presentation -- all of the things that make sports games great are represented in Winning Eleven 8.
There's even a bit of genre-bending. Players could be upgraded RPG-style -- and customization is a facet that most sports games leave out. And up to seven players could play on the same console, if they happened to have a PlayStation 2 and some extra hardware. It's one of those games that comes out once in a great while, defining the genre, and setting the bar.
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7. MLB '10: The Show
As far a pure presentation, MLB '10; The Show is miles ahead of anything the gaming world has seen. The unique atmosphere of a baseball season is represented perfectly. It is about as close to reality as a video game has been able to achieve.
Authenticity is the key -- from the deep, thrilling season mode, to the crack of a deep fly ball to right center, each part of the sport has been replicated better than the competition. The Road to the Show feature, which allows the gamer to create a player and take him to the pros, is one of the best of its kind. This is the game that all other baseball games are judged by.
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6. NHL '94
NHL '94 was all about the new features and refinement. Sure, they took away the awesome fights that the series originally boasted, but we can look past that because of the robust offering that '94 gave the gaming world.
The one timer, a skilled slapshot move, was created and gave the gamer more realism and control over his players. Using the much-lauded NHLPA '93 engine, the developers were able to make tweaks and changes to it, giving the game a much more fluid and controllable players. Outside the rink, there was even a kid that would come up and bang on the glass behind the net. Not much these days, but back then, that was pretty badass.
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5. SSX 3
Building off of TenEighty's innovation, the SSX franchise blew up, putting out some of the best sports games of all time. The creme de la creme being SSX 3. Not only was the game absolutely gorgeous, it had such a huge, open feel to it, the thrill of zooming down a mountain was intoxicating.
There were terrific modes -- like Superpipe and Big Air -- that allowed the gamer to tackle huge trick courses and rack up points based on their board-grabbin' skills. The racing all took place on the same mountain, so gamers could race from the top of the mountain to the bottom in one go -- something that, though it doesn't inspire much on paper, give the game a feeling of grandness.
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4. NBA Jam
Every person that owned an SNES or a Genesis spent hours and hours on this game. It was the over-the-top sports game that started the over-the-top sports game craze of the 1990s. And Michael Jordan wasn't even in it, so if you were a Bulls fan, it was all Pippen (as seen above).
The most iconic part of the game is the 'On Fire' power-up that the gamer gets if three shots are made consecutively. But what truly made the game great was the fact that it was one of the first playable basketball games of all time. It also was the first game to use likenesses of players -- something that is still popular, and still hotly contested to this day.
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3. ESPN NFL 2K5
While many hardcore sports fans would argue that NFL 2K1 deserves this slot (and they might be right), ESPN NFL 2K5 is the single most refined and polished football game in history. Each part of it -- the announcing, the playcalling, the physics, the presentation -- is handled wonderfully.
It really is a shame that the Madden franchise runs things in the football world, because the 2K series was building a resume of incredible football titles that got stronger each year. Without the NFL license, the 2K football games have sputtered. Luckily for all the football fans, 2K5 is such a brilliant, innovative work, it remains the most playable and lifelike football title around. And it can be found in most used bins for around $5. Best deal in video game history.
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2. Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2
Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2 reached a level of critical acclaim that no other sports title has seen. Really, no title in all of gaming other than Ocarina of Time has been met with such high praise. And with good reason: Pro Skater 2 is simply a work of genius.
The courses, the game modes, the physics -- everything about the game is damn near perfect. Though Tony Hawk's Pro Skater was the foundation for all skateboarding titles to come, Pro Skater 2 smoothed the small wrinkles of the first one, making it one of the most fun and addictive games ever to grace a console.
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1. Mike Tyson's Punch Out!!
Mike Tyson's Punch Out!! isn't the most realistic game ever. But it changed the video gaming culture, making sports games possible and even cool. The protagonist is Little Mac, and he is 1/2 the size of his competitors. Each game is a battle of David and Goliath. An extremely fun and difficult battle of David and Goliath, no less.
What makes the game so iconic is its villain, Mike Tyson, and its insane difficulty. Like many arcade-style games of the era, Punch Out!! is nearly impossible to beat. The key is pattern recognition and timing. There aren't many games like it now, but the impact that it had on sports gaming is undeniable.
Honorable Mentions: Tecmo Bowl, Wii Sports, Fifa '10, Tiger Woods PGA Tour 2003, NBA 2K1, NFL2K1
Tags: Sports Games, Top Ten
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