With the release of the Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Remastered, we wanted to take a look at the Top 10 video games of all time, but there are simply too many to not cause uproar about the choices. Instead, we rank the Top 10 sports video games ever—an almost equally difficult task.
10. WWE SmackDown! vs RAW 2009
There have been some great wrestling games over the years, including the new WWE games made by 2K, but we went with one of the SmackDown! vs RAW games. The now-extinct series had tons of matches to play with friends for hours, and also a cool career mode to play by yourself. The new 2K games are more stale for the career mode, as you just try to win matches, as opposed to SmackDown! vs RAW where you try to get 5 stars by having crowd-pleasing matches.
9. MVP Baseball 2005
The only console baseball game to make the list was far ahead of its time. MVP Baseball 2005 had the longest dynasty mode in history, allowing you to go 120 seasons with your team (the Cubs would have been able to win a title if you somehow started in 1908!). It also had an owner mode that could last 30 seasons. Perhaps most impressive, though, is that it would have been realistic thanks to the minor league teams and players—all the way from Single-A to Triple-A.
8. SSX 3
The snowboarding video game from 2003 was the third installment of the SSX series. Like SSX and SSX Tricky before it, SSX 3 was simple, yet awesome, and it included some memorable characters. The first three games were awesome, but the series has gone downhill since then, showing how difficult it is to make a great snowboarding game.
7. Backyard Baseball
This wasn’t a console game, but it still makes the list. Who can forget the Mighty Melonheads and legendary Pablo Sanchez? Backyard Baseball was the perfect old-school sports computer game, and is still fun to play to this day. Don’t let anyone tell you that Pablo Sanchez isn’t the greatest athlete of our generation.
6. NBA Jam
Another absolute classic is NBA Jam. Whether it was at an arcade or on console, NBA Jam was great. The only bad part is that it can get a little repetitive, but trying to beat legends and fictional teams like Santa’s Slammers—and then getting to play with them—is the best. Teams could be just as lethal from beyond the arc as they are throwing oops in NBA Jam.
5. NCAA Football 13
While Madden continues to spin its wheels every year, the latest installments in the NCAA series was everything we wished the NFL game was. In NCAA Football 13, players could start out as an offensive or defensive coordinator (or head coach) at a small-time school and try to earn a job as a coordinator or head coach at a bigger school. There was realistic recruiting where the smaller schools will be a longshot to get star recruits, and it included in-depth things like scheduling team visits. I haven’t even gotten to the player career mode, where you play the senior year of high school and try to get into the best college possible. Then, you try to win a National Championship and the Heisman, neither of which were close to automatic if you increased the difficulty. NCAA Football had the personality that Madden lacks.
4. NBA 2K11
2K had been making NBA games for a while, but NBA 2K11 (when Michael Jordan was on the cover for the first time) is when we knew the NBA 2K series was for real. The Jordan Challenge mode where you could play the most iconic moments of MJ’s career was spectacular. It definitely had some issues, but 2K11’s problems were less annoying than more recent games, such as this year, where 2K has still refused to release an opening night roster, and has a career mode that forces you into a tragic storyline, even though it’s called “MyCareer.”
3. NFL Street
The last three games on the list are tough to top, with the first NFL Street coming in at #3. NFL Street 2 was great, too, but NFL Street had something that could not be repeated or topped. Games were challenging, there were tons of players (including legends), and the customization was tremendous for its time. You could basically make whatever kind of team you wanted as you ran through the NFL, but there were tough decisions with so many elite players to chose from. They should really think about remastering this game like they did COD 4.
2. ESPN NFL 2K5
This could have easily been #1 as the best (only?) simulation NFL game ever. Over a decade later, NFL 2K5 remains the greatest football video game of all-time, topping every Madden since. The MyCrib, where you could play against celebrities with super teams, is more in-depth than anything Madden has ever done. I mean, it had customizable furniture, a trophy case, a movie theatre, and much more. And the gameplay remains miles ahead of where even Madden 17 is. It would have been great to see what 2K Sports could have done if EA didn’t buy exclusive rights make an NFL game. Sad.
1. NBA Street Vol. 2
And at #1, the iconic NBA Street Volume 2. This was a game that could be played for hours either by yourself or with friends. The fictional legends like Biggie Little and Stretch will always be remembered by those who played NBA Street. Be A Legend mode was awesome and intimidating at the same time, especially when you faced legends—whether real or fictional… Man, they don’t make games like they used to.