What a year for sports games! Is this the best year for sports games ever? I think so and all you have to do is take a look at the games that have come out this year and maybe you will agree. Lets take a look at each sport and we will let you make your own conclusions. Yes this article will be filled with sports cliches!

MLB The Show 09

Baseball | PlayStation 3 (metacritic 90)

Baseball games lag a year behind so we only have the 09 series of games until April of next year so we will base this on the 09 series of baseball games. The two major titles are MLB 2K9 and MLB The Show 09. The PS3 has a huge advantage here since MLB The Show has clearly been the best baseball series for the last few years and it is an exclusive series.

2K Games’s MLB 2K series seems to always be messing with their control scheme and somethings have been a hit or a miss and to me they have been striking out more than hitting home runs, I do like the pitching scheme though. The Show’s controls are always solid and its career mode has been one of the best for a long time allowing you to put tons of hours into the game. This career mode has spawned other games in other sports to try and come out with career modes close to its level and frankly its been working! So in a way what MLB The Show accomplished could in some part have made all of the other games better that were about to list.

This year MLB The Show was the best yet and if they just keep adding features while keeping the same solid gameplay and tightening it, while improving the online features and lag issues this series will be great for years to come. 2K Games needs to step up their game in this category since they hold the exclusive third party rights to Major League Baseball and so far a first party game has been brushing them back.

Madden 10

Football | Xbox 360 (metacritic 85) & PS3 (metacritic 85)

This years winner for football by default, but everybody can say that this years Madden was the best in a long time. The Online Franchise feature has revolutionized the way you can play Madden with your friends and made for long lasting excitement and competition between you and your buddies. The co-op play needs some tweaking but is a nice addition and also a new way to play.

Not only did they add these new modes they completely revamped the physics and the momentum. Runners can now move after getting wrapped up and you can also get gang tackled which makes attributes more important and you can really feel now while playing what makes the different players great which is a great achievement for a football game.

With improved gameplay and new features this years Madden was a HUGE step in the right direction. Theres still a few things that need to be added to be the Best sports game out though for example its lacking a great career mode. The career mode exist but this is an area where other games have made great strides while Madden’s has remained stagnant and on the dull side. Another thing is online teams or team play (preferably with your career player) there is a way to do this right in a football game (4 v 4?)and if they pull it off I just might cry.

NHL 10

Hockey | Xbox 360 (metacritic 89) & PS3 (metacritic 89)

EA Sports Hockey League Rocks and Be A Pro Mode Rocks! All other sports games can take a hint from the success of NHL 10 the past two years. If you have great features and great gameplay you will sell a lot of games. I haven’t bought hockey games in years but I am hooked. I haven’t had as much fun with any other sports game as I have with the past two iterations of this franchise simply for those 2 game modes. On top of that this year the gameplay is tighter and they improved the modes they already had and gave the Franchise mode an overhaul with Be A GM mode.

Put simply this game is great. Don’t change the formula here EA and you’ve got a great thing going here. If I am to point out any annoyance it is with the DLC that is available to buy improvements for your player online. I wrote a blog post recently about EA going DLC overboard check it out. With that said if you haven’t given this one a shot, you have to. Unless you don’t like a good time you’ll love this game.

NBA 2k10

Basketball | Xbox 360 (metacritic 83) & PS3 (metacritic 83)

Tighter one this year than the past but after playing both games I can still clearly say that 2k10 gets the win here. Their player animations are second to none in any sports game. Every player plays and moves and shoots like that player its really an amazing thing to see. Live improved on their gameplay this year but are still a ways off from that realism. Another thing that was amazing about this game is the Commentary in the Association mode. There has never been commentary in a sports game any where close to being as good as this commentary. During a game in Association they will talk about your upcoming oppenents, your performance in past games and give you updates on whats going on in the rest of the league. There was even a special presentation on my teams Oct. 31st game because it was halloween…Brilliant.

It comes closer to watching a live game than any other sports game and thats saying something. Also the new My Player mode is a great addition that adds an addicting progression style of gameplay that will appeal to gamers who love to put in tons of hours into their games and have something to show for it. On the down side there were some frame rate issues on my 360 version before I installed it to my hard drive. When the frame rate bogs down it can take you from sucked into an NBA game to realizing oh yea this is just a video game in a split second, it can really hamper the immersion. If you are having trouble with this I suggest installing it to your hard drive, it helped me a lot and haven’t really noticed much since. Also on a down note is the online is broken at launch. This is a major pet peeve of mine. I can’t stand when a game is launched and there aren’t enough servers or they don’t have it functioning properly (example: EA’s Battlefield series – last two titles hardly worked online at all the first few days until they added more servers).

Do they not test this stuff? Or do they not expect the game to be that popular? It doesn’t make sense. The online should be working soon though as they have said they are working diligently on it, and with the Crew mode being a huge addition for the series this year they have to. With that said they announced there is a patch coming in 2 weeks and it will focus on the frame rate issues and the online functionality. They also allowed a vote by fans of what other things they would like tweaked or added for this upcoming patch which is pretty cool for them to do.

If the online gets fixed to where it is functioning properly I have no problem saying that I think this is the best Basketball game I have ever played.

FIFA 10

Football (Soccer) | Xbox 360 (metacritic 91*) & PS3 (metacritic 91*)

A few years back Pro Evolution was the clear winner of this sport but the last two years much like hockey Fifa has stolen the crown and turned this game into one of the best games in any sport. Yet to be released in the states FIFA 10 has already become the fastest selling sports game ever! That is quite the accomplishment. Like I said before if you have great gameplay and great features you will sell a lot of games.

FIFA has a Be A Pro mode similar to NHL 10′s which is a great thing. You also have the online team play where you can form teams and take ten people online at a time and play against other squads, that is an amazing 10v10 online play in a sports game where teamwork is important, WOW! I am excited for this one to hit the shelves in the states so I can get a chance to get my hands on it. Even though I haven’t played Fifa 10 yet I still feel comfortable handing the fastest selling sports game ever the cup this year.

*European reviews as the game hasn’t launched yet in the states.

Forza Motorsport 3

Racing | Xbox 360 (metacritic 93)

Ok this one is a tight category with 2 great games already coming out last month and 1 more to hit this month. My edge at this point is leaning towards Forza 3, with myself being addicted to the demo and chomping at the bit to take this one for a long drive I think it will be my winner. Customizable multiplayer, upgraded car and vinyl customization, 400 solid cars, 100 tracks, super strong community, your very own storefront and a great history of some of the best physics in the genre, this one will be possibly the best sim racer since Gran Turismo 2.

Next game on the list is Dirt 2 which takes what the first Drift did great and improved upon it and then take what was not so great and fixed it. The online was a downside of this series last time with not being able to race on the track with actual opponents. Now the online is a great addition and is fully featured and fun. The game also has a slick presentation and a fun career. The best part of this game is definitely the physics. Before, I said the Forza series has some of the best physics, well the Dirt series has THE best physics in the genre (especially the crash physics). With all that said there just still isn’t as much here to enjoy over a long period of time as Forza 3′s limitless features, customization, and community.

Next game is NFS Shift, I really liked this game and there is a lot to say for EA revamping the racing franchise this time around. It has great graphics and the best cockpit view I’ve seen. The game also has an amazing sense of speed where you can really tell when you’re going 150+. Also the online portion is a solid addition and was a blast. On the downside of NFS there’s only about 60 cars and you can’t customize the controls which I didn’t particularly like the 3 that I got to choose from. I also kind of still want something else for the NFS series even though it is a good game I would like to not see them try and be Forza or Gran Turismo. Quite frankly it won’t be as good as those games that are pure monster sim racers. I would love to see NFS go back to what they used to be and I’m not talking about open city tuner racing. I am talking about NFS when it was racing on open road courses in beautiful environments while avoiding the cops in only the best exotics out there. If there is one thing missing from the racing genre it is exactly what NFS’s old identity was, not what it’s transformed to after years of an identity crisis. I really think a lot of people would buy into another Hot Pursuit, I know I would.

Fight Night Round 4

Boxing | Xbox 360 (metacritic 87) & PS3 (metacritic 88)

Well I guess the only legitimate competitor to Fight Night Round 4 is Punch Out for Wii which is a fun game but lacks in the feature department. Fight Night Round 4 however has an upgraded physics engine and an awesome new system of fatigue. You have to fight with a strategy and never before has height and reach meant so much in your boxing style in a video game.

This game really brought realism of boxing to another level. On top of the great gameplay add in that awesome multiplayer where you fight for a title with your own created boxer and a fun career mode offline and this game definitely has everything you could really want from a boxing game.

Even if you’re not a huge fan of boxing this game is accessible and will actually teach you a little bit about boxing strategy without you even knowing it. Try taking a jab at this game if you haven’t already.

Skate 2

Action Sports | Xbox 360 (metacritic 84) & PS3 (metacritic 84)

Skate 2 is a great game and even greater if you have friends to play online with. With the unique thumbstick controls it can be challenging but sometimes challenging equals rewarding when you pull something off that you’ve been trying for a while. One of the best parts of this game is the video editor and video sharing. You can create your own skate tapes by placing cameras, messing with angle, zoom, slow mo and more. Right after you create your video you can upload it for people to judge. What this one feature did was cause me and my friends to try grinding down the same rail over and over again for hours trying to get exactly what we wanted. Isn’t this what real skaters do? The sense of freedom and expression you get with a game like this is exactly what the sport is all about right? I hope to see more innovation with this series in the years to come as of now the only downside is that it can get repetitive.

Tiger Woods PGA Tour 10

Golf | Wii (metacritic 88)

This is the only sports game that comes out on all 3 platforms that is a clear winner on the Wii. The other franchises change to be kid friendly or just aren’t any good at all. Tiger Woods 10 is one of the few third party titles that concentrates on the Wii’s strengths and not trying to build around its weaknesses. The Wii’s controller is made for golf and that only increases with the Wii Motion Plus attachment. The Wii version also includes a frisbee golf mode that is not available on the other systems. The graphics for the Wii are also top notch for that system. A quick note on the 360 and PS3 versions of this game I am really disappointed in the graphics. The Golfers look great but isn’t golf about beautiful courses and scenery? Where are the gorgeous backdrops and the detailed buildings? Anyways now that I got that off my chest back to the great version of the game, the Wii version. Tiger Woods 10 on the Wii is a great reason to have thy system. If you have let your Wii collect dust while playing your 360 or PS3 give this game a shot it might just have you standing back up in front of your tv again. Put simply Tiger Woods 10 for the Wii is a hole in one!

Wii Sports Resort

Multi-Sports | Wii (metacritic 80)

When the Wii laucnhed it had one killer game that came with the console and SOLD the console. Its been a while and third party publishers have tried to recreate the success with the results being underwhelming. Wii Sports Resort was hyped by Nintendo and it delivered for the most part. If you were expecting some sort of new great innovation again or massively deep modes then you will be disappointed. It would have been nice to see a skill progression system where your Mii gets better at activities over time and it would have been nice to see online play. On the other hand If you were wanting what the first Wii Sports had with better control and more games then you will be happy. No matter what anyone says it is a blast to play with your friends and provides a great experience that can not be duplicated any where else. I am curious as to what kind of sports games might come out for Project Natal or PS3 motion controller but until we see this is a great game and it’s as good as you’re gonna get on the Wii.

UFC Undisputed 2009

MMA | Xbox 360 (metacritic 83) & PS3 (84 metacritic)

Although this wasn’t the first UFC game it really felt like it was as this was the first good one. It had it all for a fighting game, fun online play, great career mode, great graphics, and solid gameplay. The fighting system was deep and allowed gamers to really tinkers with all the different styles and techniques of MMA. We will see when the next game comes out if they continue to build on the success of Undisputed.

EA’s MMA comes out in November and we will have to see what that game has to offer. Regardless this category now has at least one very good game.

SIDE NOTE
I did not include Wrestling in this article as Smackdown vs Raw 10 is coming out on the 20th and there are some changes to the game this year which I have to play before I can give feedback. Also there are no reviews yet.

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As you can see each category has at least one great game, sometimes more. I don’t know if we have ever had a gaming year where every single major sport has a great game. Overall the games average a metacritic score of 86.5, a lot of this has to due with EA Sports overhaul since Peter Moore took over there. Since that has happened we have seen a steady improvement with their franchises and I hope it continues. 2K continues with its Basketball dominance although the gap is closing. We also have new franchises that are doing well like UFC and Skate.

If you are into sports games things are looking good for you. If you are not a sports games fan then maybe its time you start giving some of these games a chance as they have a lot more to offer than they used to with deep skill progression, creativity, and great online components.

I remember just a few years ago I had a wish list of what direction I wanted sports game to go and its almost like my dreams are coming true. Keep it up all of the developers who are making these games and thank you for reading my mind you creepy psychics.