It’s fair to say that the sports genre of gaming isn’t in the best place right now. Fans of the genre’s leading franchises likeFIFA,NBA 2K,andMaddenhave become frustrated with the yearly products. Many feel that only minimal improvements are being implemented year on year, whileplayers are being pushed towards modes like Ultimate Team, which reward those who pay for microtransactions. Because of this, the sports genre is often dismissed when it comes to discussing some of the greatest games of the month, year, or decade.
RELATED:The 10 Best Sports Games Of 2020, Ranked (According To Metacritic)
However, this dismal is unjust, as the genre has provided the gaming industry with some of the best and most enjoyable games ever released, from many of the world’s different sports.
10Wii Sports
When gamers first got a glimpse ofWii Sports,not many would have guessed that the party game would one day be considered alongside games likeHalo: Combat EvolvedandSuper Mario World,in terms of its acclaim as a launch title. WhereasCombat Evolvedproved that the Xbox would be a serious competitor to Sony’s PlayStation 2,Wii Sportsensured gamers that the Wii’s motion controls weren’t just a gimmick and that they were going to provide endless hours of fun.
Wii Sport’s gameplay is simplistic, yet its mechanics are so well-crafted that many people would continue to boot up the launch title years after its initial release in 2006.
9NBA 2K11
As mentioned before, theNBA 2Kseries isn’t in the comfiest of spots right now. The latest entry into the yearly series,NBA 2K21,received backlash from fans, exemplified by its brutal0.8 User Score on Metacritic.
Thankfully, theNBA 2Kseries hasn’t always been a disappointment.NBA 2K11,in particular, was a fantastic entry in the series that many players still revisit today despite it releasing over a decade ago. The game had an incredibly strong roster of players and also featured the memorable Jordan Challenge mode, which let players revisit some of Michael Jordan’s most legendary moments.
8MVP Baseball 2005
Currently, theMLB: The Showseries is the dominant force in baseball gaming, a trend that looks set to continue following the latest game’s inclusion on Microsoft’s Game Pass service. However, beforeThe Showdebuted withMLB 06: The Show,sporting juggernauts Electronic Arts releasedMVP Baseball 2005.
RELATED:10 Excellent Sports Games That Aren’t Based On A Real Sport
Granted, improvements have been made to baseball games in the last decade and a half, butMVP Baseball 2005stands out for perfecting the formula that theMVP Baseballfranchise had been working towards, making it enjoyable to pick up and play even to this day.
7Madden NFL 2004
Much like withMVP Baseball 2005, NFL video games have been improved and fine-tuned since the release ofMadden NFL 2004. However, the game nailed all of the fundamentals of a football video game.
Madden NFL 2004featured significant gameplay improvements such as Playmaker Controls, which offered players a more immersive and seamless experience as they could now change plays on the fly. Furthermore, the game added Owner Mode for the first time in theMaddenseries, allowing players to manage the business side of an NFL team instead of just the sports side.
6Tiger Woods PGA Tour 2003
The mid-2000s were clearly a great time to be a sports fan, asTiger Woods PGA Tour 2003is the third game in a row on this list from that time period. Although golf games are starting to make a comeback, they have all struggled to improve upon the foundations thatTiger Woods PGA Tour 2003set,with its simple yet engaging swing and putting mechanics that have proven difficult to improve upon.Electronic Arts have recently announced its return to the golfing scene, though topping the publisher’s 2003 effort will be a tough task.
Tiger Woods PGA Tour 2003is one of this list’s most critically acclaimed entries, exemplified by its whopping 92 Metascore.
5WWF No Mercy
Of all of the recent sporting franchises that have been lambasted in recent years, theWWE 2Kseries has arguably had the most significant downfall. Criticisms from fans and reviewers came to a head with the release ofWWE 2K20,a buggy mess that caused 2K to take a break from the series' simulation-style for a year and release the stop-gapWWE Battlegrounds.
WWE’s recent gaming hardships are a great shame, as the wrestling brand has been responsible for some of the best sports games of all time. Classic arcade titleWWF Wrestlefestis a contender for best wrestling game and consequently almost made this list, but the attitude era’sWWF No Mercynarrowly beat it to the punch.The fighting gamedid exactly what any good sports game should strive to do, as it encapsulated gamers who weren’t previously fans of the sport.
4FIFA 10
FIFAis yet another series that has received backlash in recent years. Many fans have pointed toFIFA 10as evidence of their lack of interest with recent releases, as the 2009 release is seen as the last game that made significant improvements. This is evidenced by the fact that the game barely shows any age today, and still feels great to pick up and play.
Moreover,FIFA 10was one of the last games to make noticeable changes to the Career Mode, as today’s flagship mode Ultimate Team was still in its infancy at the time.
3Football Manager 2012
Sports Interactive’sFootball Managerseries has provided a convenient alternative to those who have reached the end of their tether with EA’sFIFAseries. As the name suggests,Football Managerdifferentiates itself fromFIFAandPro Evolution Soccerby focusing purely on the management side of the sport.
RELATED:5 Best Retro Sports Games, According To Metacritic (& 5 Worst)
Unlike many of the other mentioned franchises, theFootball Managerseries is still considered to be making good progress today, with the latest title receiving an impressive85 Metascore. However,Football Manager2012is the game that makes this list, thanks to its significant improvements to the scouting and transfer features.
2Mike Tyson’s Punch-Out!!
Mike Tyson’s Punch-Out!!certainly isn’t the most complex or layered game on this list, though its simplicity is precisely what made it such a hit in the ’80s. This factor is also what makes it enjoyable to play today.
Along with the simple yet enjoyable gameplay,Punch-Out!!is iconic for its cast of characters. Although Mario appears as the referee, it’s the competitors that have the spotlight, led by memorable names and faces like Glass Joe, Bald Bull, and, of course, Mike Tyson, who is still considered to beone of the greatest final fights in gaming history.
1Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 2
Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 2is currently the joint second-highest-rated game on the review aggregator site Metacritic, with an eye-watering score of 98 that has only ever been beaten by the classicLegend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time.Rockstar Games’Grand Theft Auto IVand Namco’sSoulCaliburare the only other games to sharePro Skater 2’snear-perfect rating.
The iconic skateboarding game was recently remastered as part ofTony Hawk’s Pro Skater 1 + 2,letting players experience the classic title with modern visuals.
