Top 5 Sports Games of All-Time

Post by **Jared** » Wed Mar 03, 2004 12:25 pm

At the end of my WE7I review, I mentioned how I thought it deserved to be considered in the same league as the top sports games of all time. That got me thinking about what are the best sports games of all time. I´ve got my opinions, but others do as well. And this sounds like a good story during the "dead" spring and early summer months for sports gaming.
 
 So vote for what you consider to be the top 5 sports games of all time. Post in the forum to vote. After we´ve had a sufficient # of votes, I´ll tabulate them and post the DSP top 10 games of all time.
 
 Look forward to seeing everyone´s opinions.

Brando70 · Post by **Brando70** » Wed Mar 03, 2004 12:44 pm

One can never go wrong with a good "top games" thread.
 
 My five are based partly on whether they were breakthroughs in gaming, partly on sheer fun, partly on whether I would go back and want to play them again.
 
 1) FPS Football Pro (PC) -- Ten years old and still never topped in terms of depth, realism, and fun.
 
 2) NCAA 2003 (PS2/XBox) -- The pinnacle of this series. Best atmosphere ever in a sports game.
 
 3) NBA Jam (Arcade/Genesis) -- Still the most fun I´ve ever had with a basketball game, even though the AI cheated like a Russian referee.
 
 4) Hardball (Commdore 64) -- High Heat is without doubt the most realistic baseball game ever, but Hardball may be the best two-player sports game of all time.
 
 5) High Heat 2002 (PS2) -- I only played the inferior PS2 version, and it still kicked serious ass despite having crap graphics and no options.

dbdynsty25 · Post by **dbdynsty25** » Wed Mar 03, 2004 12:58 pm

1. NHL 94 (Genesis)
 
 2. NFL 2k (DC)
 
 3. NBA 2k (DC)
 
 4. PES3/WE7 (PC)
 
 5. Tony LaRusa Baseball (Genesis) [ This message was edited by: dbdynsty25 on 03-03-2004 08:59 ]

RobVarak · Post by **RobVarak** » Wed Mar 03, 2004 1:05 pm

1. Earl Weaver Baseball
 
 2. Front Page Sports Football
 
 3. Winning Eleven Series (7:I right now, obviously)
 
 4. Madden 2003
 
 5. Gamestar 2-on-2 Basketball (Commodore 64) Still the most entertaining and addictive hoops game ever!

sportdan30 · Post by **sportdan30** » Wed Mar 03, 2004 1:09 pm

In no particular order:
 
 1. Microleague Baseball - I have such vivid memories of daily updating the stats of the players on my team and watching how it played out. Also, engaging in leagues with my friends was second to none.
 
 2. Bases Loaded - To this day, still the only baseball game I played every game from the first game to the last. My Omaha team was lights out with Lemon swinging the big stick night in and night out.
 
 3. Tecmo Bowl - Compared to todays games, sure wasn´t realistic but it was addicitingly fun. Is addictingly a word? I miss running with "Sweetness" Walter Payton.
 
 4. NHL for the Sega Genesis - Not sure if there was a year associated with this game, but it was the original. It was end to end action and for the time, the graphics were sensational and the player movement was phenomenal. Every game was exciting.
 
 5. Madden ´94 or ´95 - At one time, this was the only football series I´d ever play. I ran with the Chiefs as my adopted team because thankfully, the Cardinals left St. Louis for Zona.

Naples39 · Post by **Naples39** » Wed Mar 03, 2004 1:19 pm

There´s good stuff on this list already. Here are my top 5, mostly dictated by which games I found myself playing the most.
 
 1) NHL ´94. Still the king. I think the best of 501 game series I played with my friend in high school that spanned 2 years was the pinnacle of my gaming life.
 
 2) Tecmo Super Bowl for NES. Aboslutely blew everything else available at the time away.
 
 3) WE7/PES3. Best next gen sports game in my mind bar none.
 
 4) High Heat 2002. Wow I played a lot of games in that.
 
 5) NBA Jam. Always provided a good time.
 
 Needs to mentioned--Baseball Stars, and does Super Mario Kart count as racing/sports game?

jimd · Post by **jimd** » Wed Mar 03, 2004 1:35 pm

RBI Baseball (the original for NES)
 
 Tecmo Super Bowl
 
 NHL 93 or 94 (?)
 
 WE6I
 
 Gameday 98 (not sure if I have the right year or name, but that 989 NFL title with graphics that blew Madden away and pretty decent gameplay).

pk500 · Post by **pk500** » Wed Mar 03, 2004 1:38 pm

1) Championship Manager (PC). There´s never been a more immersive, complete, realistic sports game ever, even if it is all text.
 
 2) Gran Turismo (PSX). Yeah, it had lousy racing AI, but it completely changed the driving game genre forever. Great graphics, incredible car selection, fantastic handling model, amazing tuning model. The series hasn´t progressed much at all with the two sequels other than graphics, and it risks going stale unless GT 4 is really special, but the original GT was f*cking brilliant.
 
 3) Tecmo Bowl (NES). Tecmo Bowl and Super Tecmo Bowl were the most fun football games I´ve ever played, even to this day. Pretty realistic for the day and insane fun.
 
 4) Track and Field (arcade, NES). Come on, admit it: Somewhere, sometime during your life if you´re age 30 or over, you´ve pumped quarters into a Konami machine to pound buttons and win the 100 meters or hurdles. And the NES console version was the most brilliant, button-mashing multiplayer game ever.
 
 5) Virtua Tennis (DC). The most addictive sports game ever. So simple to play -- one button and the joystick were all you needed. But so tough to master. And VT remains graphically gorgeous even to this day and remains as one of the top multiplayer sports games of all time.
 Honorable mention: NCAA Football 98 (PSX), World of Outlaws Sprint Cars (PS2), Gameday 98 (PSX), NFL 2K (DC), Hot Shots Golf (PSX), Interplay Sports Baseball 2000 (PSX), Winning Eleven 6 (PS2), Links 2004 (Xbox), Project Gotham Racing 2 (Xbox), Vanishing Point (DC), Metropolis Street Racer (DC), F355 (DC), Pole Position (Atari 2600), Colin McRae Rally 2.0 (PSX), Aggressive Inline (Xbox), Tony Hawk´s Pro Skater (PSX), Dave Mirra Freestyle BMX (DC).
 
 Lord, I know I´m forgetting something big. Good thread!
 
 Take care,
 PK [ This message was edited by: pk500 on 03-03-2004 09:46 ]

Slumberland · Post by **Slumberland** » Wed Mar 03, 2004 2:15 pm

1. Baseball Stars - first venture into the wonderful world of create-a-team and create-a-player
 
 2. Winning Eleven 7 - most exciting sports game ever
 
 3. High Heat 2002 - I played the crappy PS2 version too, but loved it. Pitching a perfect game with Kevin Appier, what a rush.
 
 4. NBA 2K - creating teams and playing through a season with my roommates on the same team, amazing stuff
 
 5. Home Run King - major problems, but still an overlooked classic

BBReBozo · Post by **BBReBozo** » Wed Mar 03, 2004 2:45 pm

1) Grand Prix Legends -- This game introduced me to F1 and the joys of PC racing. The pinnacle achievement in PC gaming IMO.
 2) Links series -- Played more holes of this in the early- to mid-90s than I can even speculate. Best of all was when my dad and I played together on the same PC.
 3) NCAA football series for PS2/XBox -- College football baby.
 4) Colin McRae Rally 2.0 -- In terms of quality, as close to GPL for a console as we´ll ever see.
 5) NHL 98 -- Not a concensus choice in the series (´94 seems to be the favorite), but it´s my favorite because, like Naples, I associate playing this game with friends of mine as a great time in my life.

BBReBozo · Post by **BBReBozo** » Wed Mar 03, 2004 2:47 pm

<TABLE BORDER=0 ALIGN=CENTER WIDTH=85%><TR><TD>Quote:<HR></TD></TR><TR><TD><BLOCKQUOTE>
 On 2004-03-03 10:15, Slumberland wrote:
 
 4. NBA 2K - creating teams and playing through a season with my roommates on the same team, amazing stuff
 
 </BLOCKQUOTE></TD></TR><TR><TD><HR></TD></TR></TABLE>
 
 Funny, that´s what I did with the NBA2K series as well. I´m not a big basketball fan but it was a riot to create a team of your buddies (most of mine are under 6 feet tall) and take them up against Shaq and Kobe. Too much fun.
 
 Which is why ESPN Basketball pissed me off so bad when it only allowed you to create a maximum of 10 players. They lost a customer until that is resolved.

JRod · Post by **JRod** » Wed Mar 03, 2004 3:07 pm

1) WE/PES The reason it´s number one is it´s getting better and better. If they put real leagues and a better fanchise mode it would be unreal.
 
 2) Championship Manager - It´s taken a hit for me. I think SI Games lost focus with CM4 and CM 03/04. It also lost why the CM series was so addictive...you could progress through a season in a few days.
 
 3) Tecmo Bowl - Enough Said.
 
 4) High Heat Baseball - Best baseball AI and gameplay. It makes MVP, ASB, and WSB look like rookies because all three still can´t match HH.

rheller · Post by **rheller** » Wed Mar 03, 2004 3:23 pm

1. Madden 04
 2. NCAA Football 04
 3. Tony LaRussa Baseball (PC)(Includes all the expansion disks and Oldtime Baseball) It´s the only game that I know of that I could play against TEAMS of old. (With Names and correct numbers)
 4. High Heat 03 (PC)
 5. NBA Live ´95 (PC) Certainly not the best looking of the series, but it is where the non horizontal view started

Toper · Post by **Toper** » Wed Mar 03, 2004 5:40 pm

WINNING ELEVEN 7 - Probably the best representation of it´s sport ever.
 
 NHL 94 - Best game of the series on the genny; Got me interested in hockey and may have helped jumpstart the NHL´s popularity in the U.S. in the mid-late 1990´s (along with Gretzky´s trade to L.A.).
 
 NCAA FOOTBALL 2004 - Looking at both single and multiplayer (to include online) experience, this is probably the best football game you can get right now.
 
 HIGH HEAT BASEBALL 2004 - The only baseball game on this generation of consoles that does not have any "game killing" flaws.
 
 NBA 2k1 - Along with it´s NFL brother, this game helped move Dreamcasts, and forced major revamping in the NBA Live series.
 
 Toper

Boom · Post by **Boom** » Wed Mar 03, 2004 8:13 pm

1. NCAA Football 2004 (PS2): Great game-play offline and online. A sports game that I can never get bored of and am always ready to play a game. Just absolutely fantastic in every aspect.
 
 2. High Heat Major League Baseball 2002 (PC): One of the few baseball games that I played through an entire season and enjoyed every minute of it. Always something new to see and it just never got boring for me.
 
 3. Tiger Woods PGA Tour 2004 (PC Only): Great golf game with a great online and mod community. Difficulty allows for all level of players to play and enjoy. Great graphics, good ball physics and a lot of fun.
 
 4. NFL Gameday ´98 (PS): When I think of my favorite football game, this one immediately jumps into my mind. The best of the Gameday franchise and it was just awesome stuff. The graphics blew my mind and the advanced controls helped to separate the men from the boys. I was on the USS Wasp in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea playing this for a whole lot of money!
 
 5. NBA Live ´97 (PSX): Much the same as above. I was on ship and we used to play tournaments with this with the chance of winning some pretty nice money for liberty call. I think more than the game itself, it was just the environment and the fun this game brought us as it allowed us to get away from the boring and dull every day life on ship.

mobiggins · Post by **mobiggins** » Wed Mar 03, 2004 8:26 pm

Here´s my faves from the good old days:
 NES era:
 1. Tecmo Super Bowl--to quote a song from about the same time, "you can´t touch this!"
 2. Blades of Steel--still love the digitized title screen speech. This was just greatness.
 3. Baseball Stars--need I say more?
 4. Track and Field II--with a turbo joystick, it was actually playable, and what a game it was!
 5. Double Dribble--was to basketball what Blades was to hockey.
 
 Honorable: Mike Tyson Punch Out, R/C Pro-Am 1&2
 
 SNES/Genesis Era
 1. NHL 94
 2. International Superstar Soccer Deluxe--where Winning Eleven got its start. Amazing game and worth tracking down on Half.com or ebay. Was sold in the US in VERY small quantities, and is next to impossible to get ahold of.
 2. FIFA 95--gotta love the Goooooooooooool! celebration the longer you hold down the button.
 3. World Series Baseball--they were all good on the Genesis
 4. Madden 94
 5. Mario Kart

XXXIV · Post by **XXXIV** » Wed Mar 03, 2004 8:38 pm

Im assuming we cant use racing games....
 
 1)ESPN NFL 2K4 XBOX
 2)Madden 95 Genesis
 3)NCAA 2004 XBOX
 4)EAs NHL original on the Genesis
 5)Madden 99 PS1

Blublub · Post by **Blublub** » Wed Mar 03, 2004 9:35 pm

1. NHL ´94 - It was tough to pick this over WE, but it´s the first thing that popped into mind. I probably logged more games with this than any other.
 
 2. WE7 - This year´s model the best in hands down the best series of games.
 
 3. NCAA 2004 - That DS tournament was a blast.
 
 4. FIFA ´98 RTWC - Sure it´s comical compared to the latest WE, and of course recent FIFA have been heaps of dung, but I logged more time than I care to admit with this one. It was a blast trying to qualify with the Solomon Islands. Also my first online league, we actually played two full 32-team tournaments over modem connections. Stats and results were actually plausible, totally unlike today´s FIFA.
 
 5. NFL 2K - While 2K1 was the better game, this was the first time I ever bought a system based on the video of a game. It´s still amazing what they were able to do on the DC at that time.

vader29 · Post by **vader29** » Wed Mar 03, 2004 9:52 pm

1. Tecmo Super Bowl (SNES)
 2. Sega Sports Tennis 2k2 (Dreamcast)
 3. Blades Of Steel (NES)
 4. NCAA Football 2004 (PS2)
 5. NHL ´94 (Genesis)

seanmac · Post by **seanmac** » Thu Mar 04, 2004 1:32 am

Let´s see...
 
 1. ESPN NFL 2K4. It´s really the best sports game I´ve ever played, and the best looking as well. So good that I almost take it for granted.
 
 2. NFL2K1- The first online console sports game, and I´ve probably logged more hours with it than any other game as a result. And to think they did it all with dial-up.
 
 3. NHL94- Loved 93 as well, but this one was the pinnacle of the series. My dorm room was packed eight deep that year with people waiting to play.
 
 4. ISS64- Haven´t played the WE series on PS2, but the N64 version was easily the best game available on that platform, sports game or otherwise.
 
 5. NBA Street- I don´t generally care for arcade style games, but Street was the best representation of basketball I´d seen to that point (and it still has some elements in which it outdoes ID), and it was a killer multiplayer game.

Leebo33 · Post by **Leebo33** » Thu Mar 04, 2004 2:13 am

1. Winning Eleven 7 - believe the hype
 2. High Heat 2002 - I know it isn´t the best version, but it was my first taste of the series and the version I played the most.
 3. ESPN NFL 2K4 - This was the first year since 1996 that I didn´t buy a version of Madden. I didn´t miss it.
 4. Tiger Woods 2003/2004 PC - as realistic as any sports game out there IMO.
 5. FPS Pro Football - responsible for getting me back into gaming after a long hiatus.

J_Cauthen · Post by **J_Cauthen** » Thu Mar 04, 2004 2:17 am

1.) Major League Baseball - Intellivision
 
 This is the game that turned me into a video gamer and primarily, a sports video gamer. My buds and I got so good at it that we´d play 12 innings plus before anyone could score.
 
 2.) Superstar Ice Hockey - Amiga
 
 The first of the great franchise building sports games, and a ton of fun to play. Still gets a little play from me now and then.
 
 3.) NASCAR Racing 2003 Season - PC
 
 The most skillfully crafted simulation I´ve ever played - this one is in my blood and won´t let go, especially now with all the mods it´s getting.
 
 4.) Madden Football - Genesis
 
 I can still remember how I was mesmerized by this POV presentation. The first one I´d seen in a team sports game. It didn´t hurt that it played the best game of action football I´d ever seen either!
 
 5.) Leaderboard Golf - Atari ST
 
 This was the first 3D golf game I saw. I had dreamed of such a presentation two years prior to its release. When I saw it, it was like seeing a dream come into fruition. In retrospect, it didn´t play that slick a game of golf, but the point of view presentation drew me in. It was the pioneer that ultimately led to what I think are the best playing golf games of today: Links 2004 XBox, and Tiger Woods 2004 PC.

btmmayor · Post by **btmmayor** » Thu Mar 04, 2004 2:53 am

1) Nascar Racing 2003 for PC
 
 No contest.
 
 2) R.B.I. Baseball for NES
 
 Get 2 guys together who really know how to play the game and its a masterpiece.
 
 3) Tiger 2004 for PC
 
 Every round is different and its the only game outside of Nascar 2003 that actually feels like you are playing a sport instead of a video game.
 
 4) Computer Baseball by SSI for Apple II
 
 The first game I can think of that a roster update was actually released for, and this was in 1982. Computer Quarterback by SSI was also a one of a kind game at the time and equally as good as its baseball brother.
 
 5) Summer Games for Apple II
 
 An olympic game that still to this day is the best party game I´ve ever played. Also still to this day the best olympic game ever made. I´m at a loss to figure out why a modern day version (that doesn´t suck like Sydney 2000 for the DC) can´t be made, especially in an olympic year.

TheMightyPuck · Post by **TheMightyPuck** » Thu Mar 04, 2004 5:34 am

1. CM (in any incarnation -- fell in love with 3, am mad about 4 et al.)
 
 2. Grand Prix Legends -- simply amazing -- still
 
 3. Pro Evo 3 for PC (holy freaking cow the things the kids have done to make this great game even better)
 
 4. Virtua Tennis (more like Virtua crack--multiplayer madness)
 
 5. Earl Weaver Baseball (My friend had this on the Amiga and it opened my eyes to the possibility of "video" games)

kevinpars · Post by **kevinpars** » Thu Mar 04, 2004 10:11 am

1) FPS Sierra Football Pro 97 (PC)
 
 A lot of Football Pro people might disagree with the version, but this was the first year that you could create custom plays and game plans and setup the AI teams to use them. It took a lot of work, but I set up a 30 team college league with custom everything. Each team played a unique style. I used a mix of custom college teams that someone on the net had created. One guy had created an old Southwest conference league with bumped up attributes. Let me tell you, if you could beat Texas or Texas A&M you were a good video football player! It was a blast to play this game - even if it took FOREVER to sim a weeks worth of AI games on my old Packard Bell.
 
 2) NCAA 2000 (psx)
 
 As much as l love the PS2/Xbox games, this version was the one that got the most of my playing time. Sure, the hardware was outdated, but the game was the best. I loved nothing more than to setup a season with a 16 team playoff at the end. In the playoffs you would find out quickly who was rated too high in the polls and who had real talent. I got a lot of sleepless nights with this one.
 
 3) High Heat 2001 (PC)
 
 Thanks to Bill Abner´s glowing review of 2000, I was a HH junkie. 2001 was a little (ok,a lot) buggy but had everything I wanted in a baseball game. I was playing this game long after all of the other sports games were on the shelf. This one stayed on my PC until 2002 was released.
 
 4) Madden 98 (psx)
 
 Liquid AI!!!
 
 I actually played this version more than any of the others. Sure, it was hard as hell to run the ball, but it was my first taste of psx gaming and by this point Sierra had made a complete mess of the FPS Football series.
 
 That is more than enough.