Any sports game fans out there?

[Oldskool]

I am one. I have always loved the Madden series especially. One thing that's nice about liking sports games, is that they are a dime a dozen. And it's also nice to pick up games from years back and play with the old rosters. Nothing is more fun than playing with Joe Montana and Jerry Rice! :vamp:

It seems as though the general consensus is that sports games suck. I guess I am one of the few that feel that is not so.

My favorite sports games of all time are Tecmo Bowl and Madden, R.B.I, Double Dribble, and Blades of Steel (also like NHL Hockey on the Genesis quite a bit)

And sports games are some of the most fun two player games out there!

[Roganjohn]

i like sports games to an exent...my faves are

NES
Cricket
Aussie Rules Footy

SNES
Super International Cricket
Sensible Soccer (Amiga, too)
Smash Tennis

but that's it ;)

[Greg2600]

I like unique games like Tecmo Bowl, Baseball Stars, NBA Jam, etc.

[vxkens]

Never cared much for Madden or any of the EA sports sims. I always enjoyed arcade style games like Tecmo Bowl, NBA Jam, etc. 2K was a great sports series back on Dreamcast. I've got great memories of playing NHL2K all night with my college buddies. Haven't really followed it after Sega dumped the brand.

[Steven]

I love 16-bit sport games. There's a certain charm to these old games.

Baseball-wise, nothing tops SNES Ken Griffey.

NBA Jam and Live series were great.

I always enjoyed NBA Give 'N Go, too.

[ConsoleAddict]

In the pre-2K days, I owned many sports games. From M Network Baseball and Football on the Atari 2600 to Rocky on the ColecoVision in the 2nd generation.

In my NES days, I had games like RBI Baseball, Mike Tyson's Punch-Out, Baseball Stars, Pro Wrestling and Tecmo Bowl.

On the SNES and Genny, I played just about every good EA Sports game alongside stuff like NBA Jam . Super Punch-Out was another favorite.

Finally, the PSX had some great first party games like NBA Shoot-Out, NHL Face-Off and NFL Gameday. There was much more out there, like Gran Turismo.

The final gem of the 90's was NBA2K for the Sega Dreamcast.

[ryborg]

Capcom's Soccer Shootout on the SNES is not only the greatest soccer game of all time, it's probably the best 2-player sports game ever.

[WCP]

I like alot of sports games, but I must admit that going back and playing early ones is somewhat difficult. I don't mind doing it, but usually after playing them for about 20 minutes, I'm ready to stop. Of all the genres out there, I think sports games probably hold up the least over time. Here are some of my faves:


TG-16 / PC Engine:

World Class Baseball - actually a very good arcade type baseball game with outstanding background music

Power League IV - This games is a more advanced version of WCB (Power League 1). You can even play 5 players with the TurboTap! Basically, pretty much the same gameplay as WCB, but with more stadiums and a few special effects.

Genesis:

John Madden '93 - I still feel like Madden '93 might have the best overall gameplay balance (defense/offense) of any football game EVAH.

NHL '94 - Such a great pure flow and rhythm to the game.

Sports Talk Baseball - I remember getting this game the day it came out, and being totally amazed by the technology. Not the greatest gameplay in the world though.

PGA Tour Golf - I absolutely loved the first PGA Tour Golf on Genesis. Played the crap out of it.

Evander "The Real Deal" Hollyfield Boxing - Actually a pretty damn good boxing game for it's time.


SNES:

NBA Live '95 - Hands down the best 16-bit hoops game in existence, and quite possibly one of the best hoops games of all time.

Super Tennis - pretty decent game of Tennis, more arcade style.

NCAA Basketball - The first 3D basketball game that I can think of. I remember getting this the day it came out, and it seemed unbelievably next-gen at the time it was released.

3DO

John Madden Football - In hindsight, not the greatest game. Still, when this first came out, it seemed so freaking amazing.

Fifa International Soccer - Definitely one of the early killer apps for the 3DO.

Foes of Ali - Very innovative boxing game, way ahead of it's time.

Slam N Jam '95 - Very arcadey basketball, but pretty darn good.

Sega Saturn

NHL All-Star Hockey - This was one of the very first sports games out on the Saturn. It was impressive from an audio/visual standpoint. It did some unique things that no other sports game had done up until that point. This was the first sports game I can think of in which the PA announcer announced that somebody in parking section C4 left their lights on, or something like that. Seems silly nowadays, but at that time, it was new and fresh. The actual gameplay was so-so.

World Series Baseball II - One of the better baseball games on Saturn

Playstation

NBA Live '96 - I think this might be one of the most underrated sports games in video gaming history. Basically they took the engine of NBA Live '95 from the Super Nintendo, enhanced it, and then put it in a rotating, totally 3D arena with multiple camera angles. Possibly the last great basketball game before the polygon era.

Triple Play '97 - This game was somewhat similar to NBA Live '96, in terms of them basically taking the gameplay of Tony LaRussa Baseball for the Sega Genesis, and putting it in a rotating, totally 3D baseball stadium, with multiple camera angles. Also, this was the last great sprite based baseball game before the polygon era.

NFL Gameday - When Madden failed to show up that first Xmas, NFL Gameday was there to take it's place. After awhile, everybody just forgot about Madden, lol.

[j1e]

If you're into baseball, MVP Baseball 2005.

[Icarus Moonsight]

If it has arcade/party qualities, sure. Kunio sports games, Baseball Stars (NES), Tecmo Bowl, NBA Jam/NFL Blitz... Even Wii Sports stuff is a lot of fun now and then. Otherwise, anything Hockey is always a winner.

The more real-life is attempted or aimed at, the less likely I'll enjoy it. I'd rather just go to a batting cage or something.

[jonebone]

I buy a NBA and Madden game every year for the current gen system and play them for months. In terms of retro games, some of my favorites are Tecmo Super Bowl, RBI Baseball, Baseball Stars and NBA Jam.

[chrisbid]

i will join the arcade sports choir

the new nba jam for the wii has potential

i also enjoyed mlb power pros on the ps2/wii

[Compute]

I'm a sucker for Genesis EA NHL games, 98 being the king of the franchise for me. NHLPA 93 was my favorite, but with 98 being one of the last genesis games released in the US, there is a LOT packed in. If Mutant League Football counts, I'll throw in on that (with every other Genesis fan!).

[TonyTheTiger]

I love Madden 2002. Lots of time spent with that one.

All the Genesis hockey games. They're fantastic.

NBA Live '95 was great back in the day. Haven't played it in years though.

Wayne Gretzky's 3D Hockey is fun as hell.

And you'll laugh at me for this but I do enjoy a good game of Mega Man Soccer.

[TheGam3r]

I love the NHL Series especialy NHL 06 and NHL 94, Gretzky NHL 2005 on PS2 is super fun and the 2K Series is amazing and NHL 2K6 Rules.

[miaandjohnrule]

I like unique games like Tecmo Bowl, Baseball Stars, NBA Jam, etc.

This. And I would also throw in the Mutant League Football and Hockey.

[Zing]

I always preferred NES Hockey over Blades of Steel. It was pure, simple fun.

[Arkhan]

You can't go wrong with any of the SNK baseball games on NES.

I also liked the sega football games.

I don't even like football.

also, Sports Talk Baseball on sega is great. It's probably my favorite baseball game.


and I don't even like baseball, lol.

[UnpluggedClone]

google 4 gaga

[Zing]

Double Dribble was good until discovering the one spot on the floor where the guy never, ever missed the shot.

[peachstapler]

RBI Baseball (NES) + a well-stocked fridge of beer = FUN

[ryborg]

Double Dribble was good until discovering the one spot on the floor where the guy never, ever missed the shot.

ONE spot? There's like 5-6.


RBI Baseball (NES) + a well-stocked fridge of beer = FUN

This is true.

[Nature Boy]

RBI Baseball (NES) + a well-stocked fridge of beer = FUN

I love playing RBI 3 on my NES. I try to make it a little more difficult by holding myself to a single or double when I hit the gaps if I thought that's all I get in a real game kinda thing.

My other favourite baseball game is StarLeague baseball for the 8bit Atari. I even hacked it so that it shows Jays vs Tigers (at Comerica, since my Blue Jays are always the visitors), and added some new trivia too.

Outside of those two I'd add NHL 95 (SNES) and NHL 08 (Xbox) as well as Tiger Woods 2003 (Xbox) as my top 5 favourite sports games of all time.

There are lots of others that I like, but those ones I keep going back and playing the most for sure.

[Clownzilla]

Tecmo Bowl 3 Final for Genesis should be required "reading" for anybody wanting to develop a sports game. It's simple, fun, well polished (only a few minor bugs), has the appropriate player licensing, and keeps good stats (which are easy to access). It STILL is relevant to gaming today and easily stands up to the quality of modern sports games. As a matter of fact, if Tecmo were to release this EXACT GAME (with online play) on Xbox Live, PC, PS3 Online, etc. and offer REAL updated NFL rosters every year (I know there is a legal issue at the moment) then this game could last indefinitely. Please note that the current Tecmo Bowl Throwback is junk and should not even have the Tecmo Bowl name.

[SegaAges]

I love the NHL Series especialy NHL 06 and NHL 94, Gretzky NHL 2005 on PS2 is super fun and the 2K Series is amazing and NHL 2K6 Rules.

NHL 94 is awesome.

Do not forget Mutant League Football.

[andrew_77751]

all pro basketball. it is a great 2 player game with a password to save your stats in season mode