August is, somehow, almost over, and, as hard as it is to believe, we’re quickly approaching the end of summer and the beginning of fall. Don’t fret though, because that means we’re also entering the beginning of the meat of the sports season. Football will be kicking off soon, baseball pennant races are about to take off, the WNBA playoffs arrive shortly, and the start of the NHL and NBA seasons won’t be too long after. Alongside all of these will be sports games for fans to get excited about, argue over, and enjoy — at least sort of.
While in some ways this is a golden era of sports games, especially with current graphics, they’ve also never been more frustrating. Many of our favorite sports franchises are plagued by microtransactions, glitches, or don’t even exist anymore. It’s enough to make some people throw their hands in the air and just go play the old games again. For those who want to do that, this is the list for them. Let’s go back in time and talk about the best sports games ever.
NCAA Football 14 – PlayStation 3, Xbox 360
For some fans of the NCAA franchise, they prefer NCAA 04 or 05. While those games are excellent and don’t get hampered by a lot of the extra fluff of 14, there are two key aspects of 14 that make it a superior game. For starters, the servers on 14 are still running which means players can continue to update their own rosters to at least semi-modernize the game. A dedicated community on the Operation Sports forums has been doing this for years and it’s helped keep the shelf life on 14 fresh. This ability to customize the experience allows players to do a lot with 14, whether it’s to follow along with modern re-alignment or create fun what-if scenarios.
The other aspect of 14 that puts it above previous iterations is the playbooks. Going back to the older games can be rough because the playbooks and AI are designed to follow the trends of the time when running the ball and playing conservatively was the norm. You could absolutely spread the defense out and throw the ball, but it could get a little clunky sometimes with wide receivers dropping passes and playbooks not designed to move fast. NCAA 14 on the other hand is a little more modern in comparison with plays like the read option and spread systems being a much more normal part of the game.
MVP Baseball 2005 – PlayStation 2, Xbox, GameCube, PC, PSP
MVP Baseball 2005 was so ahead of its time that it was for years the benchmark standard that every other baseball game was trying to reach. Minor league teams, the ability to edit ballparks, and in-depth franchise modes gave this game infinite replay-ability. Fans still have fond memories of the hours they sunk into MVP baseball and we can see why when we consider that a lot of these features went away for years. The ability to create our own ballparks for example was a recently celebrated addition to MLB: The Show 21.
While this is a game that likely has aged it was never really the gameplay that felt so great about it but rather all the extras around it. The soundtrack was great. The roster creation was in-depth and addicting. It had fun minigames. There was just so much to do and, in an age where sports games usually only offer three options, it’s nice to go back to something with so many fun extras. They don’t make games like this anymore, literally, because MVP Baseball was discontinued after this due to licensing issues.
ESPN NFL 2K5 – PlayStation 2, Xbox
Yes, it’s very trendy to call ESPN NFL 2K5 the best NFL game ever made, because everyone is very tired of Madden. However, it would be a lie to say there isn’t a little bit of truth to that statement. Mainly that, presentation-wise, few sports games in general have been able to top 2K5. Games would start with Chris Berman giving a quick rundown of the two teams, it would give insight into players mid-game, and the menus would diagnose how a team typically schemed itself.
Above all else, players looked normal as they moved around. QB’s took actual steps, players would have mannerisms that looked natural as they walked up to the line, and it helps for an older game look good despite the age on it. It was the little details that helped the game stand out in a time where it was acceptable for sports games to look clunky. Unfortunately, with some games still unable to overcome that clunkiness, it seems that 2K5’s impact on sports games did not go beyond the cult favorite status it has today.
Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 2 – PlayStation, Nintendo 64, Dreamcast
The game that defined an entire genre. The game that impacted the musical taste of hundreds of kids. The game that even Tony Hawk himself says was the best. Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 2 had a cultural impact that went beyond “good sports” games. It is for many people their favorite game thanks to incredible level design, fun missions, and movement that feels great. While actual skateboarding is an achievement when a few tricks are strung along, Pro Skater 2 made the idea of thousand-point combos a norm.
Even now, all these years later, Pro Skater 2 is still considered the model that every skateboarding game is held to. It’s the higest rated sports game on Metacritic and even the remake Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 1+2 didn’t come close to achieving the same cultural status. Fans will always love Pro Skater 2 and it’s earned every bit of praise it’s ever received.
NBA Street Vol. 2 – PlayStation 2, Xbox, GameCube
Basketball and video games have always had a weird relationship together. It took a long time for the simulation games to really approach a status that was considered as good as the NFL and college football games also being made. Now though, despite being considered one of the most consistently good sports games out there, franchises like NBA 2K are kind of frustrating. They just constantly have a problem with them whether it’s microtransactions, the shooting, or unskippable ads. Too often these issues get in the way of the fun of playing basketball.
This is when it’s time to go back in time and look towards NBA Street Vol. 2. While not as flashy as the modern 2K games, the NBA Street series did one thing extremely well: the arcadey basketball is extremely addicting. Breaking ankles, throwing the ball off backboards and defenders heads, the street games capture the fun of basketball in a way that modern games sometimes fail to do. Throw in a good mix of real players alongside fake ones and we have a combo that is still just as fun now as it was back in 2003.