Sports games that are still interesting to play today?

[FerretGamer]

So, I got into a strange thought about how we haven't had an NHL game on a dedicated handheld since NHL '07 on the PSP. Basically, I still play NHL '07 since it is the best handheld game of NHL that we have and it is almost a decade old. This is similar to how people still play and adore NHL '94 or ESPN NFL 2K5 because in many cases the experiences haven't been improved upon or replicated.

I thought this could be an interesting topic since we often think that old sports game immediately become irrelevant. For the most part, that statement does have some truth (the countless versions of Madden). However, there are some sports titles that are still fun and interesting despite being outdated by technology, rosters, and teams. For this list, we should avoid stuff like Mario Golf etc. since those games really don't have anything that date them outside of technology.

What are your 10 most interesting/relevant sports games to play today?

My tentative 10 in no particular order:

1. NHL '07 - PSP

As I mentioned before, there hasn't been an NHL game released on a dedicated handheld console since this entry. It also happens to be a very competent game of hockey with decent commentary, gameplay, and graphics. (Note: I am aware of Backyard Hockey for DS which may have come out around the same time.)

2. ESPN NFL 2K5 - Xbox

Aside from the fact that this game is interesting from a historical standpoint. NFL 2K5 was just an incredible game of football that even fans that didn't enjoy the game could get into. The presentation was incredible for its time and still is incredible to this day. The game released at $19.99 against a full priced Madden. It's just too bad that EA snatched up the NFL license after this and we were never given the opportunity to see the series grow further. NFL 2K5 is still considered the gold standard for a NFL simulation to this day.

3. MVP '07: NCAA Baseball - PS2

A very similar situation to the one above just reversed. At the time, EA was really doing a great job with it's MVP Baseball series. However, 2K snatched up the MLB license as "payback" to EA and left EA without any license for their baseball game. Therefore, MVP College Baseball was created and gave sports fans something they never had before, college baseball! This game is just fantastic and still great to play to this day. It's great to take my Terps and play through this. The series only had two entries for '06 and '07. I doubt we will see another game like this for quite some time.

4. Arena Football: Road to Glory - PS2

Another "one-off" series that will probably never see a new entry. RtG was the second and last game based on Arena Football. Yes, there was a game based on Arena Football. EA basically was trying to grab as many exclusive licenses as possible. The game isn't bad (quite fun) and is a nice diversion for those bored of Madden.

5. High Heat Baseball 2004 - PS2/Xbox

The High Heat series (famous for it's commercials featuring Sammy Sosa "It's so real") was about the only decent thing the house of 3DO was putting out right before their bankruptcy. The license was acquired and is still owned by Microsoft who has done absolutely nothing with it. HH Baseball was a fantastic game at the time and still has a pretty strong following more than a decade later.

6. Wayne Gretzky's 3D Hockey - N64

Wayne Gretzy's 3D hockey did for hockey what NBA Jam did for basketball. It's basically over the top 3 on 3 hockey action. I'll be blunt, I love this game. It's an incredible blast with a group of people as well. I don't think this game will ever get old for me. It's accessible, fun, and competitive. It's the perfect multiplayer game despite it being nearly two decades old!

7. NHL Hitz 20-03 - Xbox

Might as well mention this one while we were discussing Wayne Gretzy's 3D Hockey. Hitz is very much the spiritual successor to the aforementioned game. However, Hitz is also a surprisingly deep hockey game that has aged really well. It's a blast to play and unfortunately it died off with Midway.

8. NBA Street Series (still deciding which entry I enjoyed the most)

A really great series that unfortunately faded away for whatever reason. NBA Street is "pick-up" style basketball and uses famous parks and street courts as the venues. It has similarities to NBA Jam, however, NBA Street is a much stronger single player experience.

9. NHL 2002 - Xbox

I admit it, I love hockey and I love hockey video games. I think that EA crafted an almost perfect game of hockey with NHL 2002. In fact, most of the NHL games from EA around the time were just great. I included this one as well to show that EA really has let the NHL series slide off into a perpetual state of mediocrity. There is something wrong when previous versions of NHL got it "right" especially so long ago. NHL '15 is nothing short of a disaster and '14 wasn't any better. *As a bonus, the commentary was brilliant and comedic in NHL 2002. To be honest, I don't think EA would allow some of the stuff they said in a new game.

10. College Hoops '08 - XBox 360

I'd say this is the last good college basketball video game. I know that EA released two games past this one ('09 and '10). However, they were never as good as the last one put out by 2K Sports. Unfortunately, 2K didn't pursue to renew the NCAA license and basically abandoned the series. I'm not sure if it was strictly because it wasn't worth it for them financially. Regardless, EA acquired the license but ended the series in 2010. We have not seen a new college basketball game since and we might not ever because of the NCAA and their craziness.

There are plenty others that I find interesting for various reasons:
Blast Lacrosse (the one and ONLY Lacrosse game on any video game console)
NHL Rock the Rink (EA's take on Midway's NHL games)
NHL '94
NBA Jam
NFL Blitz
Blitz: The League
All Pro Football 2K8 (2K's last grasp at a football game without the NFL license)
Mutant League Football
NHL 2002 (Gameboy Advance Version)
NHL Slapshot
NHL 2K11 (Wii)
MVP Baseball 2005
Microsoft XSN - NFL Fever, NBA Inside Drive, NHL Rivals
NBA Courtside 2002
Ken Griffey Jr. Baseball
World Series Baseball '98 (Saturn)
MLB Power Pros 2008 (Wii/PS2)
Tecmo Super Bowl

If this has been done before, just ignore it and I will accept my searching skills to be deficient. I know there will be some users (RSG) here that will be interested in this.

[Sarge]

TECMO. SUPER. BOWL.

That is all.

[FerretGamer]

TECMO. SUPER. BOWL.

That is all.

A good one! I almost forgot about it and I've included it in the longer list.

[Sarge]

I can't even count the hours I sunk into that game. It's actually the game that got me into football in the first place. I remember getting an issue of Nintendo Power that covered it, and I drooled over all the statistics in there. Being the huge RPG fiend I was, a game full of numbers just made sense for me, even if it was sports.

So, I'd go through seasons just seeing how much I could run up on the opposition. I'd be disappointed if a team scored on me! I actually went through the entire season with every team in the game, eventually. Even the Patriots. (Speaking of which, I still can't believe that play call by the Seahawks last night.)

I never really felt like the SNES/Genesis versions of TSB were quite right. Not sure why. I also put a lot of time into Tecmo Super Bowl III, and that was interesting because you could go through multiple seasons, and eventually unlock legendary players. Even though their actual names weren't used, it was fun figuring out who was who. (For example, RB Bears was Walter Payton.)

I see you've got NBA Jam on there, and that's a great choice. I played the mess out of Tournament Edition on my PC, and the recent reboot is pretty great, too (I have the On Fire Edition).

[retrosportsgamer]

Helluva list.

Tops on my list would be Coach K College Basketball for the Genesis. Total one-off, system exclusive. EA even took the next year off before starting the March Madness series on PS1. Used the NBA Live engine - real rosters (just #'s of course), college playbooks and you could customize the NCAA tournament, or play a full season that led into a tournament. I was playing that game regularly into the summer of 1997. I still play it every year in March.

We put together a game here of College Hoops 2k8 a while back. You could still download updated rosters up to 2012 I think. Unfortunately online you had to use the default, even if you all had the same ones. I never picked up the EA series releases after that, I know '10 has maintained its value and is around $40-$50 depending on the system (360 seems pricier).

[FerretGamer]

Helluva list.

Tops on my list would be Coach K College Basketball for the Genesis. Total one-off, system exclusive. EA even took the next year off before starting the March Madness series on PS1. Used the NBA Live engine - real rosters (just #'s of course), college playbooks and you could customize the NCAA tournament, or play a full season that led into a tournament. I was playing that game regularly into the summer of 1997. I still play it every year in March.

Very interesting, RSG. Thank you for mentioning it!

So, is Coach K College Basketball considered the first college basketball game? (to Google I go!)

Edit: Ok apparently Nintendo released the first college basketball game... WTF. It was developed by none other than HAL Laboratory! I'll keep researching but it seems that this is the earliest college basketball game with NCAA licensing.

[prfsnl_gmr]

Edit: Ok apparently Nintendo released the first college basketball game... WTF. It was developed by none other than HAL Laboratory! I'll keep researching but it seems that this is the earliest college basketball game with NCAA licensing.

Don't play that game (or the hockey game with the same engine). It is awful and literally nauseating.

[SirGawain]

Ken Griffey Jr. Baseball was awesome. Similar to TSB III, they didn't use real names. All of the Philadelphia players were Rocky references. NFL Street 2 is in the same vein as NBA Street. Anthony Munoz is a glitch in the game. If there is a fumble, he is there. Blitz: The League 2 is probably my favorite though. So over the top and just fun to pick up and play

[Flake]

Wii Sports Resort. These are not deep takes on sports but they are a lot of fun nonetheless.

I'd also like to say something nice about T&C Sport Designs for the NES. It is wacky but still the most fun I've ever had with a skate board game.

[FerretGamer]

Edit: Ok apparently Nintendo released the first college basketball game... WTF. It was developed by none other than HAL Laboratory! I'll keep researching but it seems that this is the earliest college basketball game with NCAA licensing.

Don't play that game (or the hockey game with the same engine). It is awful and literally nauseating.

I looked at screenshots and wow...

Ken Griffey Jr. Baseball was awesome. Similar to TSB III, they didn't use real names. All of the Philadelphia players were Rocky references. NFL Street 2 is in the same vein as NBA Street. Anthony Munoz is a glitch in the game. If there is a fumble, he is there. Blitz: The League 2 is probably my favorite though. So over the top and just fun to pick up and play

All excellent choices. I agree that Blitz: The League is a lot fun and Midway did a great job with a non-licensed football game thanks to EA's exclusive NFL agreement.


NBA Live 2003 was another interesting game because it was the first one to feature gameplay using the right analog stick. EA was trying very hard to compete against the NBA 2K series and did a commendable job with the 2003 version.

A weird stipulation in the MLB exclusive agreement allowed console manufacturers to produce their own MLB simulation. As a result, Sony took advantage of this and we saw MLB: The Show rise. The irony is that now MLB: The Show is considered the best baseball game and we haven't seen a new entry from 2K since about 2013, I believe. As a result, Xbox baseball fans do not have a baseball game available to them anymore.

The exclusive deals for NFL and MLB really did not benefit the consumers in any way. We lost the superior NFL series as well as the superior MLB series.