Best PS2 sports games?

[noiseredux]

I started a similar thread for GameCube a while back, and happily discovered Beach Spiker's Volleyball because of it. So I'd love to do this for PS2 now.

Please suggest one absolute best title for each sport you can think of. But more importantly, let us know WHY you think it's the best and screenshots are always helpful!

I'll start with what I know. Which is slim.

Basketball: NBA 2K9



I got this for Christmas 2008 and it was a big deal to me. I'm not actually a big sports fan, but I am a big basketball fan. The Celtics had won a championship and KG was on the cover, so I had to have this as a bit of a commemorative piece. Little did I know it was actually an amazing game.

I definitely prefer the 2K series to NBA Live series. I had Live 06 for PS2 and this is leaps and bounds better. It's far more fluid to control, it looks more convincing and it just feels like after a long series, this is the game where 2K just got everything perfect (I'm comparing it to 2K3 on GameCube in this respect). So as far as realism goes, I'd suggest this one big time.



Football: Madden NFL 2005



Madden games seem like the obvious choice. I went with 2005 because I found the Collector's Edition for $2, which includes bonus materials. I'm a total sucker for extras. Anyway, smooth gameplay and great appearance. I'm not a huge football fan, but it's great to have a solid title for that once in a while when I'm in the mood.

What makes the Madden 2005 Collector's Edition of special interest to we retro enthusiasts is the inclusion of 16-bit and 32-bit versions of Madden that have been updated with the current 2005 roster.



Hockey: NHL 06



This is a no-brainer guys. This is the 2nd best hockey game ever. The first, is of course, NHL 94. However over the years developers have worked so hard at making everything realer and realer in hockey games, that the basic fun and ease of playing got sucked right out of the games. Problem solved with NHL 06. You see this game is basically a realistic looking version of NHL 94. Seriously. If you're used to playing 94, then you can just pick up a PS2 controller and dominate this game. It's amazing. It even includes 94 on the same disc as a bonus!




Tennis: Sega Sports Tennis



Why is this one awesome? Simple! It's basically a remake of the Dreamcast's Virtua Tennis 2. I probably needn't say more, as the Virtua Tennis series is pretty obviously great. This version allows for 4-Player co-op



Volleyball: Summer Heat Beach Volleyball



I chose this game based on one simple fact: it's pretty much a rip-off of Sega's wonderful Beach Spikers on GCN. Basically you have beach volleyball made totally simple. Very easy for casual gamers to pick up and play, but a deep enough game to figure out strategy. I like vball games for co-op.




so fill me on everything else, what are your pics and WHY for:

Baseball
Basketball
Football
Golf
Hockey
Soccer
Tennis
Volleyball

any other sports you can think of to add are welcome. I don't care if you're into realistic sports games or arcade-style. Just help open our eyes to what's awesome, since many of us (myself included) tend to ignore the myriad sports releases that flood the shelves and have no idea how to separate the good from the bad.

[dsheinem]

Baseball - if the "The Show" games are half as good on the PS2 as they are on the PS3, these are a no brainer. Get whatever is newest, the series keeps improving.

Basketball - I like the NBA Street series

Football - one of the Madden games obviously. Your best bet would be 07 or 08, as the best Madden is almost always the one the lead team designs last for a console before moving on to next-gen hardware.

Soccer - haven't played any for the PS2

Tennis - ditto

Volleyball - are you serious?

[noiseredux]

Volleyball - are you serious?

Quite. Have you ever played Beach Spiker's on GameCube? It's a Sega release, and might as well just be called "Virtua Volleyball." It basically requires ONE BUTTON and the analog stick to learn how to play it, which means its casual-gamer friendly (great for co-op with the wife), but it also requires strategy and teamwork as you progress. Great game really, so I wouldn't rule out any sport/game to surprise me.

EDIT: DSH, I'd love if you went in to a bit more detail as to why you're making these suggestions too...

[jfrost]

Pro Evolution Soccer is always the safe on the PS2. FIFA surpassed it on the newer generation of consoles, but it uses a older engine on the PS2, so it isn't that polished. I reckon 2011 is decent, but I also see everyone playing 2008.

If you're looking for something more arcadey, you should take a look at Sega Soccer Slam. Ridiculous and fun game.

[SuperAnthony64]

I thought Blitz the league was fun. If you are looking at real football then NFL 2k5 its supposed to be the best football game up until madden 2010.

[Croooow!]

I recommend NFL 2k5 as well. I'd love to see the series come back if the antitrust lawsuit against EA could succeed as the game was better than Madden 2005.

[noiseredux]

I thought Blitz the league was fun.

can you elaborate here? I'm really trying to get some good conversation going, rather than just everyone naming games and leaving the thread.

[Harvey]

I'll second Blitz:The League. While I like Madden as well, Blitz' over-the-top action is more pure fun. You're doing more than playing football in Blitz. You are playing through a season with an interesting and fun story about your team which deals with a corrupt team owner, a dirty mayor, a hot-shot young player, and a mean veteran.

You're also betting before games so that you can get better training equipment, you're dispensing steroids and other PEDs while trying not to get caught, and you're "leveling up" your players.

Finally, in the game you're trying to injure your opponents while you're playing defense and pulling off sweet moves on offense so that you can build your "Clash Meter" (I think that's what it is called) in order to pull off even better moves and tackles. All this adds up to a bigger cash bonus at the end of the game.

Two flaws with the game: 1) the loading times are the worst I've experienced on the PS2. 2) there is no franchise mode--you only play one season and that's it (though it does take a decent amount of time to play through). Still, an excellent game IMO. Oh yeah--one more fun thing is the fake history that the makers of the game have come up with--these make the loading times more bearable.

[Opa Opa]

Intellivision Lives! on the ps2 has a great football game. My uncle and I spent about 12 (nonconsecutive) hours playing a tournament and it was pretty awesome. I need to get some original hardware for the next game.

Of course you're probably not looking for something that old.

[hashiriya1]

GT4 is the best motorsports release for PS2.