The 10th Hour 06.20.08: Top 10 Sports Games

Posted by Derek Robbins on 06.20.2008

This week the 10th Hour explores a genre that it hasn't really touched before. Which sports titles made the list? 411's Derek Robbins breaks down his ten favorites.

Hello and welcome to the 10th hour! I have returned from my week-long vacation but before I start on my list this week, I have a couple of tangents I would like to go out on.

-Welllll it seems that I've got my trousers in a wad this week. My X-Box 360 has gone defunct on me yet again. Two red rings – which typically means over-heating and not the much maligned Red-Ring of Death – but they won't go away. Seriously, I have a fan on this sucker, it feels cool to touch…and nothing. Microsoft wants me to pay $90 to fix this since apparently my warranty ran out. Hah, no, fuck you Microsoft. You know what? I can go into my closet, pull out my NES, and it'll still run. My SNES, my Genesis, my PS1, my N64…they all run well. Why does your piece of shit system break when I try to PLAY SOMETHING!? ARGH. So for the time being, I am done with the 360. Period. I'm trying to sell my shitty one as we speak. I figure it's okay, because every good game that's coming out for it in the future I can just play on the PC. At least my PC doesn't shit up when I try to play a game.

-I know a lot of you are wondering: "What do you think of MGS 4?"…and my response to that is I don't know. I haven't played it yet. I want to very badly though. By the 10th hour next week I expect to have both played and beaten the game. If all goes according to plan at least.

-Carlos Zambrano may go on the DL. I think I'll just move on now.

Well first off I'd like to thank Mike Minotti of the Exploding Barrel Podcast for filling in for me last week. Much appreciated and he did a really great job of it. The only problem I felt was that FF IX was too low. I love that game fiercely and I wish it was a bit higher. Other than that, really great. Especially the placement of FF XII. I don't care what the "we hate change" fanboys say, FF XII was a sensational experience. Much better than the seventh installment at the very least.

There is a portion of a comment Mike made towards posters I wanted to reference real quick

1. I do think FFIV is overrated. I don't think its story is as
revolutionary as some say. It seemed like pretty basic, lazy fantasy
writing to me. Not much different from FFII. If you disagree, that's
fine.


Ding, ding, ding. Nail on the head. FF IV is an interesting game and had its moments but as far as actual story telling goes it is rather bland. Your lead characters are all rather cookie-cutter. I would venture to say that out of the 12 core Final Fantasy titles to be released so far, IV would have to be the second most over-valued. I'm not sure what the fan-base sees in that game. I figure it must be Rydia. That's the only explanation that I can see. Final Fantasy story-telling only became passable starting with the sixth installment. Prior to that, while fun games, the stories were certainly nothing to write home about.

Alright, now that this is out of the way…since I didn't write last week's column I can't reply to the comments of others so I'll let this section slide this week. Your comments will be back next week though.

Top-10 Sports titles

This week I hit on my 10 favorite sports games. I have mentioned before that "sport" is definitely not one of my favorite genres so this should be interesting. Now before I start the list, let me warn you of something. Before you soccer loving guys get on my case about: "NO FIFA"…lay off. I don't appreciate the sport of soccer so I don't appreciate the videogames either. I know they are well-made…it's just that they are not for me. I have only played two soccer games that I like: Mario Strikers: Charged and Megaman Soccer. So in advance, I apologize for my lack of soccer.

I also decided to throw wrestling into this list because I figure that there is no chance in hell I could narrow down a list of my top-10 favorite wrestling games.

With that said, let's get this started!

10-) ESPN NFL 2K5 - Remember when football games were good? I remember being excited for the shockingly twenty dollar NFL 2K5 and wondering how Madden would answer back. Sadly…even though the price tag was thirty dollars less, Madden outsold NFL NK5 and eventually the NFL went exclusively to EA and that was the end of this franchise…which is a shame, because I would venture to say that not only is this game better than any of the other NFL 2K titles…but I also figure it's better than any Madden title either. Kind of impressive if you think about it! What I enjoy about this game is that it's a realistic style game that plays sort of arcadey. What I mean by that is – while the scores will never resemble what you see in an arcade football title, the game-play kind of feels like that which is pretty cool. It offered all of your typical football game standbys – a franchise mode, a season mode, a manager mode, etc – and even threw in a couple of neat things. One of the more interesting things in a sports title would be the crib, which is a fully customizable room that represents you. I've seen EA try to replicate this in more Madden titles and it never quite captured the charm. It wasn't the same. On top of customizing your own room, you could also use a phone to challenge C-list celebrities to games of football. Of course, you weren't REALLY playing them…you were just playing teams that they compiled (allegedly). It was kind of neat and added some replay value to that. While football games of this caliber really aren't in existence anymore – seriously go play the latest Madden title and play this one and tell me which one feels better to you – in some ways there really doesn't need to be. If you are patient enough to update the rosters this football game is a better value than any current-day football title. Even if Terrell Owens is the cover star…ugh.



9-) Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3 - I can't think of a single franchise in existence that was more surprising than Tony Hawk was. It came out of absolutely nowhere and offered quality title after quality title. Of course, after the fourth one was released the quality of the series took a rapid plunge. I still say Tony Hawk's Underground 2 is one of the worst games I have ever played. Of course, that's when I gathered that the series probably wasn't marketed towards guys like me. Anyhow, let's go back to a time when Tony Hawk was good with the third installment. It was hard for me to choose between two and three, but in the end I went with the third because there was simply more to do – sure, two had skaters heaven and many things that were just flat out odd…but three felt like a more fleshed out game. You could flesh out combos for seemingly forever thanks to the fancy new revert and the actual missions you had to do seemed to be more complex. Oh sure, nothing was like rocket science…but at least the most complex it got wasn't: "Do a 360 over this object". Tony Hawk deserves a lot of credit for bringing in a crowd of people who normally could care less about skateboarding and having them be totally addicted to their game. For goodness sakes, I loved Tony Hawk so much I even bought a skateboard. *MY* white ass on a skateboard trying to do anything. That phase luckily ended quickly, but any series that can get me to try something in the real world must be doing something right. If you haven't played a Tony Hawk game yet, do yourself a favor and skip the ones that are currently on the market. The franchise has long been milked to death. Go back to the old days and you'll find an extremely competent skateboarding title that is easily accessible.

- I liked this guy?

8-) Fire Pro Wrestling Returns - The Fire Pro franchise was always one that I had heard a lot about but had never really given a fair shake. Sure I would try it out for a while but eventually I would become bored and just set it down. I'm not sure why that was. Well now that I have grown older and have garnered an appreciation for how matches are worked…I've grown an appreciation for the franchise. This isn't like in a WWE title you can hit your strongest moves in shortly under a minute…you actually have to work your way up to it. Hit weaker stuff first and work your way to the stronger moves. I really like that because if just feels realistic, or as realistic as professional wrestling can get at the very least. What I particularly enjoy about this game is the character creation system. Oh sure, the Smackdown versus Raw character creation is functional, but…the one in this game is beyond that. If you can think of a wrestler out there in the real world odds are you can create it. So if you're an angry twelve year old who hates smarks you can create John Cena and have him beat the shit out of Brian Danielson. The ability to create pretty accurate representations of wrestlers with movesets that can feature just about any move ever creates a ton of replayability and will have me at the very least coming back for years to come. I know there are fan-communities of the game out there, having fantasy tournaments between their created wrestlers , so I'm pretty positive that I won't be alone. With the twenty dollar price-tag it's worth your money and it's infinitely better than this year's or any other Smackdown versus Raw.

- Kinda brutal.

7-) NBA Jam - Boy, don't you miss the arcade scene? It seems like a lost years of my life playing NBA Jam in the arcades. Thank goodness for my parents' wallets that there was a home console release because otherwise I'm sure I would have spent a lot more money than I already did on this fantastic game. At heart, it's a very simplistic game. If you know how to turbo and can steal the ball away you're going to do a good job. I guess this game kind of ruined me because when I play basketball games today I'll jam on the steal button and get a reaching penalty almost every time. It's a bit of a shame when ‘mello fouls out in the second quarter because he can't keep his hands to himself. Anyhow, one of the most memorable things about this game to me was the announcer. He just had such a distinct and memorable voice. I bet you can recall some of the things off of the top of your head, can't you? HE'S ON FIRE. AT THE BUZZER. BOOM SHAKALAKA. TAKES THE SHOT. It was really goofy, but I would be lying to you if I told you it didn't make the experience all the more memorable. There are a lot of different versions of this game, and I really couldn't tell you which one was the absolute best so I'm just going to stick with the original title. It is quite possibly the best basketball game ever made. It keeps it simple, it keeps it sweet, and it never seems to get old. Every now and then I can break out a copy of NBA Jam or NBA Hangtime and it'll be a blast like it was back in the day. Not every sports title has had the luxury of aging this well…so it's something I recommend you play again. Just so you can see what I mean. More complex isn't always better, ask Jam.

- FOR THREEEEE.

6-) NHL ‘94 - I have to be honest, this is a game that I wish I had played when I was younger. For whatever reason when I was growing up…I was quite apathetic towards hockey. It just seemed boring. Today I actually am quite fond of the sport – particularly playoff hockey – but I still never really got into the games for some reason. Well, my friend Jeff got on my case for not mentioning NHL '94 in my top-10 best Genesis games column and it got me thinking – "Gee, if he thinks it's among the best the Genesis has to offer…it must be good!" I have to say, he was absolutely right. The game is an absolute blast to play even today. It looks rather simplistic and is played from a vertical camera angle…but what it lacks in graphics it makes up for in substance. For such a simplistic looking game, it FEELS like hockey. It doesn't feel like I'm just controlling a guy to get to a puck, it feels like an intelligible game of hockey and that is something I can truly appreciate. Spending some time with the season mode was quite addictive and I actually found myself doing that: "Just one more game" dance. I haven't played as many hockey games as your average person but I find it hard to believe that even in this day and age that a hockey game topped this one. I understand why it was such a hit now. It was ahead of its time and is a true classic. I recommend anyone reading this who hasn't given NHL '94 a try download it on an emulator and play it you badass pirate you to hunt down the game and play it. You will not be disappointed. I feel this game would have been higher on my list if I had grown up playing it, so sorry in advance Jeff.



5-) NFL Blitz - Get together with a friend and play Madden. What was your score? I figure if neither of you can play defense…you're probably at least in the 40's right? Well in NFL Blitz if you couldn't play defense you would have scores that reach in the hundreds! One of my very first experiences with the game was with my friend Scott…and the score was something like 119-112. Yes, scores in this game could be pretty large. Of course, this was because the offense was simple and easy to execute. Plus you could pull off some insanely ridiculous plays. I used to always get the ball hiked back to me and would be afraid of getting sacked. My lord do I hate losing yardage. So I'd always fade back. Run, run, run and throw the ball to the most open receiver. Interestingly sometimes I would only gain like 10 yards on this incredibly long pass plays but at least I didn't get sacked! The earliest Blitz game was probably my favorite because it didn't bother instituting rules. You could just run and gun and it was fun enough. Sure, defense was functional but who wants to get good at the defense when the offense is so damn good? I mean the sooner they score, the quicker you can get back on offense right? I still have a copy of this game for the N64 and every so often it gets some play. It's still a complete blast to play today and I really don't see that changing anytime soon. It's much better than that Blitz the League garbage at the very least.



4-) WWF No Mercy - When I think of sequels that improve exponentially over their predecessors this is one that comes to mind. WWF No Mercy was technically the sequel to WWF Wrestlemania 2000…but it improved so very much that there wasn't the usual: "Just stick to the original talk". It was a simply fantastic title. What I liked the very most about it – and still don't think has been quite replicated today – is the branching storylines. Each and every title you had to chase had a storyline attached to it. If you wanted to get that WWF Title you had to work for it dammit! In this game though, your actions have repercussions. Let's say that you lose a match. In Wrestlemania 2000 if you lose a match you have to try again. That's all there is to it. If you don't like it, tough shit. In No Mercy if you lose a match the story continues and acts appropriately. A matter of fact to achieve 100% completion of the story mode you actually have to lose at certain matches to see what would have happened. I think that is really neat. Yes, yes, today's wrestling titles give you the illusion that you're making a choice but for the most part your choice ends up with the same conclusion. In WWF No Mercy it felt that your actions actually had consequences and I really liked that. Another improvement with this title would have to be the character creation. It is much, much better than what you would find in Wrestlemania 2000. Don't get me wrong, you won't confuse it with Fire Pro Returns as far as excellence goes, but for its time it was something to behold. You may have found yourself wondering why wrestling fans were excited when we were told that WWF No Mercy could be re-released for the wii with an updated roster. It's because the game is so impressive that no matter what the graphics look like…it will always be highly playable. Don't let the graphics fool you one bit, this game was ahead of its time. For myself and everyone else who enjoys shouting /wooo/ this title is a masterpiece.

- Games in 3D!

3-) Super Punch Out - I have to be honest with you right now. While I enjoy wrestling, I find boxing to be completely dull. A fight cannot hold my interest. I suppose I prefer my fighting fake. With that said, it feels sort of weird that one of my favorite sports games is indeed a boxing title – Super Punch Out. As my friends over at the Exploding Barrel Podcast have said before, Super Punch Out is a game that is absolutely clamoring to be remade. Can you imagine playing this game on a balance board? Do you know how much fun that would be? It'd be the most realistic a console boxing experience could ever hope to be! Well, enough dreaming of what could be…let's talk about what already was. Super Punchout is divided into four different classes, with four different fights in each so you have 16 separate encounters with sixteen different fighters all of whom fight differently. For each one you need to memorize a unique pattern and fight accordingly. If you do this particularly well you can knock the opponent out particularly fast. My brother for example was able to knock Piston Hurricane out in fourteen seconds flat, which is pretty neat. To be quite honest, trying to get a better time is one of the most appealing portions of the game. Sure, you can have a long slug-fest with a guy when you're learning his fighting style…but something is super satisfying about knocking that same guy out in under a minute. It's like you're really adopting to their fighting style and acting accordingly. I enjoyed that each and every rival boxer was memorable too. They weren't your throw-away cast of characters. I still can remember guys like Bald Bull and Super Macho Man from the top of my head. It's pretty cool. There hasn't been a new punchout game in a very long time. I can only hope that somehow, someway Nintendo decides to revive this franchise like they are assumedly doing with Kid Icarus. If they don't, they really need to step their game up.

- Wait a minute...

2-) Tecmo Bowl Before the football genre was corrupted by EA and their exclusivity demanding ways, there was a simple little football game for the NES called Tecmo Bowl. Much like Blitz, Tecmo Bowl takes an arcade approach to football. In the game, there were only 8 different play choices, 4 runs and 4 passes, which made it much friendlier to newcomers than the giant playbook that you see in football games nowadays. The single player consisted of just taking on every team on the roster, and while there weren't that many teams, I assure you that single player wasn't the primary focus. Multiplayer took the spotlight, as it usually does in sports games, and made Tecmo Bowl into the classic game that has been remembered for years. It's pretty amazing how big of a reach this game has. Why, just the other night I was listening to the radio and they spent almost the whole show recalling their days of playing Tecmo Superbowl. Sure, a lot of the calls degenerated into: "Bo Jackson is awesome!" but…that's how you can tell a game is a classic. Years after it is released, it is still in the hearts and minds of those who have played it. That…is admirable. Even more amazing is how well it holds up. I have a seven year old brother named David who is very finicky about video games. He tends to care about graphics it seems. I had him play Tecmo Bowl and he ended up liking it a whole lot. It holds up magnificently well to even the gamers of today, so much so that a lot of us feel no football game has come close to matching its success. It's good to see that it is getting a revival on the DS, the world could use a good football game after sitting through the same damn Madden game year after year. I know I'll probably get crap for the lack of Madden on this list, but I could care less. Madden is far from the best football title out there. It goes to this.



1-) MVP Baseball 2005 - This is probably a somewhat controversial pick for number one, but this is my list after all…and I've never been more ensnared by a sports game than by MVP 2005. Everything about this game just screams perfection to me. In today's baseball games, a lot of the action is done with the right analog stick. Their rationalization is that it makes it feel more realistic. No offense, 2K games…but unless I'm swinging something, odds are it won't feel realistic to me. Pressing buttons works just fine and that's what you do in MVP 2005. You aim your pitch, time your release…and let ‘er rip. No tilting, just pressing…and it's super easy to execute. The batting involves simply just correct timing. It seems simplistic, but it's brilliant in execution. As a baseball junky, no baseball game has ever made me feel more satisfied. The gameplay isn't the only thing that this game has going for it though, it has a lot of neat extra things as well. It features a complete minor league farm system. THAT'S RIGHT COMPLETE. The MLB 2K series only throws in one or two per team and calls it a day, but MVP 2005 had complete farm systems. It felt deep. On top of that, you also had the ability to play in the World Baseball Classic, which had just been founded. While by no means a game-changing mode it's pretty cool to have. I'm still a big fan of idea and can't wait until the WBC next year. It's amazing that my only complaint about this game has to do with ONE song from the soundtrack. Tessie, this god awful abortion of a Red Sox song, is the first song I heard when I started the game. It felt like I was playing "Red Sox: The Game". It would have been like me starting up Earthbound (+1. Fuck yeah) and hearing a "Secret of Mana" track. That's not what I came for, so take it the fuck out. As a sports game, I would argue that MVP 2005 is the most complete experience out there and the only conceivable way I could see someone disliking this title is if they hated baseball in general. I wish EA had secured the rights to baseball and 2K sports the right to football. If it had, perhaps the sports market today would be far more enjoyable.

- Manny Being Coverstar.

Honorable mentions: RBI Baseball, Madden 2004, Super Mario Baseball, Super Dodge Ball

Well that's it for this week. Again, sorry for no soccer games. It's just not for me. As always, if you wish to give me feedback, praise me, scorn me, etc…my e-mail address is [e-mail] or [e-mail] Your choice. You could simply comment down below, of course.

Before I go though, here are some good links from around 411's game section

Mike and AJ Minotti orate the exploding barrel podcast. This week AJguy takes us back to 2004 as he finally beats Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater. They also discuss MGS 4 and tell us of a rumor regarding…MEGAMAN 9! Holy shit, I want that. Here's hoping. As always, good job guys!

Theo Fraser pens Nintendophiles and he discusses the latest in Nintendo news. One of the things he mentions is Mario Super Sluggers and how it DOESN'T HAVE WIFI PLAY. Dammit, I was really wanting that. Mario Baseball was one of my favorite ‘cube games so it's sad to not see it have wifi play.

Owain J. Brimfield brings us the Wonder Years and this week he talks about the best multiplayer titles of back in the day. He brings up classics such as Mario Kart, Street Fighter, and Zombies Ate My Neighbors…but HUGE props for the General Chaos mention. Even if you do admit to not totally loving it.

Mark Salmela brings us B3yond the Report and as usual, there's a lot of good stuff here. He mentions how the PS3 out-sold the 360 in May. All I have to say is: "Good". Fucking Microsoft. Yes I am bitter. He also brings us details on Resistance 2. Yay! Make sure to check Mark's review on MGS 4 as well. I'll write a review one day, I promise!

Chris Vicari brings us some Forgotten PC Games yet again and this week he talks about shooters. All I have to say is: "Hail to the King, Baby". Loving that Duke Nukem Chris

Vincent Chiucchi brings us half of a list dedicated to Jack Thompson this week. It's the craziest things he has ever done! This is actually a pretty funny read…I particularly enjoyed the Tale of the Tape. Can't wait until the conclusion next week Vince.

Chris Evans writes the PC-Centric Extravaganza. This week he brings us news about Spore and some Portal 2 rumors. Among other things. Keep up the good work, Chris.

Chris Scott writes the Red Snifit and this week brings us his top-10 favorite games. It seems like a lot of people are doing these…so I might have to bust out my top-50 next week. We'll see though. Keep up the good work, Chris

The Curryman – John if you will – asks if hype can ruin a game before it's even played? Yep. If a game can't live up to the hype it tends to collapse on itself. Sadly. He talks about highly hyped upcoming titles such as Spore and Resident Evil 5. Good stuff all around.

Tommy Coloma is the moderator for Fact or Fiction. This week he pits THE CURRY MAN against Owain "The Letter" J Brimfield. He asks such questions as whether they would be interested in a DOA or Ninja Gaiden game if Itagaki wasn't involved (I probably would. I am a fanboy though) and whether or not gamers would just move on after a few weeks from MGS 4 looking for the next big thing. Good stuff from all involved.

Rod Oracheski's achievement unlocked – which updates on the same night as I do – discusses 10 future games that could changed achievements as well as a couple of current ones that already do

Joe Roche writes the Full Circle which updates on the same night I do. You do a good job Joe, but I am super pissed at Microsoft right now. I DO have to praise you for the Chun-Li pictures though. I hope the new Street Fighter movie is "So bad it's good" like the original!

Well, it's time to go. I'm out.

Til' the cross-roads