Top 10 Sports Games of the Year
by 
Over the coming weeks I’ll be listing out my Top 10 Games of the Year. This won’t be a recap of the 10 highest rated games per Metacritic…reviews be damned. However it will be a summary of how I view the them from what has turned out to be one of the best years ever for sports gamers.
Some of the factors of consideration I have gone through are longevity, fun factor, general gameplay, technical achievements, online experience, and innovation. Last year the game that would’ve taken the top spot was The BIGS. This year there are several worthy candidates for the honor.
Before I begin listing off the best games I thought I would mention the two games I liked the least of any this year…FIFA Street 3 and Facebreaker.
Through most of the year I had FIFA Street 3 pegged as the worst game I had played. The only redeeming quality was the unique visual style of the game. It was frustrating and dreadfully boring to play. There are very few games that I just want to stop playing when I’m trying to form impressions and this is one of them.
Then came Facebreaker which I actually had some hope for but turned out to be exactly the opposite of what the new Freestyle label is supposed to represent for EA. The action was so fast and intense that it literally hurt my hands to play it, having to take breaks after just a minute or two and cramping them up again immediately after playing more. Any game that is physically painful to play is going to be a failure.
November 29, 2008 at 5:23 am
Yes, 1st….
My top five:
1) The Show 08
2) NCAA Football 09
3) NHL 09
4) NCAA Basketball 09
5) NBA 2K9
Honorable Mention: Madden 09…I know people are still hating on Madden but the game has improved.
November 29, 2008 at 5:28 am
My opinion of most disappointing:
1) MLB 2K8
2) Lack of Microsoft first party sports games….Bring back LINKS
November 29, 2008 at 5:33 am
Out of the sports games I played this year, I think NBA 2k9 was the best.
November 29, 2008 at 5:40 am
NHL 09 tops my list followed by Fifa 09 and NBA 2K9… NCAA 09 Was better than Madden due to the online dynasties and it just seemed a better play.
November 29, 2008 at 5:45 am
id love to see your list
November 29, 2008 at 6:17 am
Yes, Links was awesome and could be really good on the 360….
1) MLB: The Show
2) Madden
3) NHL 09
November 29, 2008 at 6:17 am
1. NHL 09 2. the show 08 3. NBA 2K9 4. Madden 09 5. Fifa 09
November 29, 2008 at 7:18 am
1. NBA 2K9
2. MADDEN 09
3. THE SHOW 08 ( WOULD BE #1 IF THERE WAS NO LAG ONLINE)
99999999999999999999999. MLB 2K8 LOL
November 29, 2008 at 8:34 am
Don King Presents Prizefighter and NFL Tour get my vote for worst sports games this year…
November 29, 2008 at 8:37 am
my top five: NCAA Football 2009, NHL 09, NBA 2K9, FIFA 09, and Madden NFL 2009
November 29, 2008 at 9:17 am
Prizefighter was definitely the worst sports game this year. Facebreaker shouldn't even be considered a sports game. It's an arcade button masher. WWE Smackdown vs. Raw should be considered a sports game if Facebreaker is.
November 29, 2008 at 9:56 am
1>NBA live 09
2>Pro evolution soccer 2008
3>NBA 2k9
November 29, 2008 at 10:21 am
Not a single sports game has been as good as NHL 07, 08, or 09 in the past 3 years. Simple as that.
The show was awesome, and I think it's going to be awesome this year, the first year after the first TRUE ps3 quality game. Gonna be great.
November 29, 2008 at 11:24 am
1) NHL 09
2) NCAA Football 09
3) Fifa 09
November 29, 2008 at 11:34 am
do u have any info on the black colle football game for 360. just saw the preview on tv during the grambling and southern game.
November 30, 2008 at 1:45 am
1. NCAA Football 09 – 9/10
2. Madden 09 – 8/10
3. NBA 2k9 – 8/10
The worst is Head Coach for sure.
November 30, 2008 at 1:51 am
LIVE B ILLMATIC PATNA
ANY an EVERY EA game>2Ks BEST
aint dat RITE PASTA???
November 30, 2008 at 2:38 am
Lots of good ones, the best were
1. NHL 09
2. MLB 08 The Show
3. FIFA 09
4. Tiger Woods 09
5. NCAA Football 09
6. NBA 2K9
7. Madden 09
8. NBA Live 09
9. WWE Smackdown vs Raw 09
10. NCAA Basketball 09
Bad ones (some have bad physics which kill it)
1. MLB 2K8
2. Facebreaker
3. Prizefighter
4. FIFA Street 3
5. Top Spin 3
6. NBA 09 The Inside
Medicore
1. NHL 2K9
2. Blitz 2
I'm probably missing something, but i've not played Head Coach or any of the All Play Wii games
November 30, 2008 at 3:17 am
I can narrow it down to 2:
1. NHL 09
2. FIFA 09
All the other sports games come up short when compared to these two titles. When games like these two are being made at the quality that they are, it just makes the mistakes and annoyances in other sports titles (2K9, Live, etc.) that much more painfully obvious and inexcusable.
November 30, 2008 at 3:24 am
What exactly is the new freestyle brand suppose to represent. Come on, they canceled NBA street in Favor in this Freestyle brand and they are not even gonna come out with another NFL arcade game when they have the license. Sports games are stating to all become the same. There is no creativity anymore.
November 30, 2008 at 3:36 am
The show was amazing on the PSP. I'd love to play it on a PS3.
November 30, 2008 at 3:38 am
wow nba 09 the inside lol i was in target the other day so i just decided to play it there for like 5 mins it was terrible i would neva buy it
November 30, 2008 at 4:30 am
I'd probably go with:
1. Madden 09
2. NCAA 09
3. NBA 2K9
4. NHL 09
November 30, 2008 at 5:47 am
MLB 2K8 probably wins the biggest step back award considering how good 2k7 was…
November 30, 2008 at 6:52 am
This is an absolute joke…NHL 09 is the best sports game ever made, easy. I love Madden, NCAA and some others but it's not even close. NHL 09 hands down.
November 30, 2008 at 7:36 am
I haven't played all of them, but I'd say NHL 09 is definitely 1st. Followed by NCAA Football 09 just barley edging out Madden. The online dynasty in the college game is great and I'm still addicted to it.
November 30, 2008 at 7:38 am
this topic reminds me of the sad state of sports gaming currently…. the best title is a hockey game??? it's enough to make you want to pick up a shotgun and start shooting zombies and forget about sports gaming…
November 30, 2008 at 7:58 am
I don't know that NHL 09 is the best ever sports game, even though it's damn good. For some reason – although I play in a full-time league, I just don't pop in that game for fun that much. Great game, but people are now finding cheapy ways to score (like those constant dump-in rebound opportunities around the net) like most games and the goal scoring is a tad more "random" than say, FIFA. Anyway my top 10…
1)FIFA 09 (Ramped the difficulty way up this year and made it a more realistic football experience)
2)NBA 2K9 (Have some issues with the cheesy AI, keeps this one away from the top spot)
3)NHL 09 (All around greatness…not many weak spots here. Maybe the overall fun factor doesn't do it for me though)
4)NCAA Basketball 09 (Maybe not deserving of this high a rank relatively speaking, but man, what a comeback for this series. MM08 was putrid)
5)NCAA Football 09 (has some kinks to work out, and I hated losing franchise games to crashes on the post-game loading screen)
6)NBA Live 09
7)Tiger Woods 09
8)Madden 09
9)NPPL Championship Paintball 09 (oh yeah…)
10)NFL Head Coach 09
I dunno, those were all the ones I own
November 30, 2008 at 8:09 am
NO da BEST sport GAME is 2K9
NHL 09 is very good but end of da day itz STILL HOCKEY & every1 kno's B-BALL >Hockey
November 30, 2008 at 8:28 am
BCFX I need that game now!
November 30, 2008 at 8:54 am
Getting a bit thin on content?
November 30, 2008 at 9:02 am
fam QUIT IT
ERRRRBODY no dat LIVE=GANGSTA an 2K=4 da BITTIES
dis man kno's wut he's talkin bout
November 30, 2008 at 10:43 am
@swizzy U rite fam
I lUV LIVE (DA BEST B-BALL GAME in da WORLD) thinkin 2K9 is BETTA dan LIVE datz
STUPID STUPID
ERRRY 1 BENDZ OVA @ TEAM GWAP
November 30, 2008 at 11:53 am
it tru yall
fo shizzle
November 30, 2008 at 5:39 am
i dont have ps3 so i cant put the show in so mine will have to be
1)NHL 09
2)NFL Head Coach 09
3)Madden 09
sadly, those r the only recent sports games i have right now. i played the nba 2k9 demo and loved it so that might have been in there and i am getting ncaa football 09 for christmas hopefully and if not ill get it myself so that cant be in it yet. also i really liked fifa 09s demo
November 30, 2008 at 12:53 pm
ncaa football 09 is the winner in my opinion..it sucks because madden 09 could have been great but ncaa once again shits all over madden
November 30, 2008 at 12:59 pm
2K9
EZ how U think LIVE DIED
more $$$ dan RESPECT & it WASN'T CLOSE it was by a LANDSLIDE
December 1, 2008 at 3:53 am
1. NFL Head coach 09
2. MLB The Show
3. NHL 09
December 1, 2008 at 3:58 am
Best 3
1. NCAA Football 09
2. Madden 09
3. NBA Live 09
Worst 3
1. MLB 2k8
2. NFL Head Coach
3. NBA 2K9
December 1, 2008 at 5:35 am
I eat team guap for breakfast and shitt em out at night.
-Jus
December 1, 2008 at 8:18 am
N H L 09
December 2, 2008 at 10:38 am
If you own a PS3 you know the best game is (hands down) THE SHOW. The is no comparison.