What sports game are you playing?

[noiseredux]

I feel like Sports games are sort of a secret shame around these parts. Like 'everyone' plays them, but is too embarrassed to admit it. So whatever. I'll invite the cries of "brogamer" and start this thread.

What sports game are you playing now? What features might be new or exclusive to this edition? Were you able to make your own team or player and have cool/funny pics to share? How's your season progressing? ETC...


I'm currently playing Madden NFL 08 right now, on PC.



Thanksgiving got me in the mood to play a football game (something that happens very rarely) and I started digging around to see what my options were on PC. Turned out there weren't many options. Thanks to Luke, I was led to Madden 08 which had been the last release for the series on PC. But what really intrigued me was that there was still a pretty devoted fanbase playing 08, releasing mods for the game and updating its roster.

To my knowledge, I've actually not played a Madden game prior. But I'm having a lot of fun right now. I decided to run through the game first playing it completely vanilla. No mods, no updated roster, etc. I want to get a really good impression of what the game was like as released before I delve further in. Then I'll mess with customizing the game - including putting together my own custom soundtrack of 2008 tracks.

Anyway, my Patriots are currently 7-0


So what are you guys playing?

[BoneSnapDeez]

I play sports games all the time and I'm pretty vocal about it.

Lately I've been playing International Track & Field - Game Boy Color version. It's a black cart which means I can play it on the Super Game Boy. Fun game, but it does rely greatly on button-mashing. I'd like to "upgrade" to the PS1 version soon.

I've also been working my way through T&E Soft golf games like Waialae Country Club, Pebble Beach Golf Links (all four versions - SNES, Genesis, Saturn, 3DO), and T&E Virtual Golf. Been playing some Neo Turf Masters (NGPC) on the side too.

[JoeAwesome]

I absolutely love the Blitz: The League series. Beat the original, the x360 upgrade, and just beat 2, and enjoyed every broken bit of it: rubberband AI, random glitches, and predictable play calling

Seriously. Actually, the stories are funny, the gameplay is entertaining, and I like the customization that's offered, too, but even the "negatives" don't make it an unpleasant experience... Just frustrating if you're not expecting it.

[ExedExes]

I just got the gold medal (over 10K) on the Activision Decathlon.

I also did Auto Racing on Intellvision Lives! just to unlock the bonus commercial by completing the goal. That was high class entertainment for 1979.

Man, those T&E games are a piece of work right? Ever play Wicked 18? There's so much loading time on the SNES!

[Jmustang1968]

Madden 25 on the PS4. Just joined an online league but have only played 2 games so far. Been tough adjusting to playing on a PS console since I have been playing Madden on Xbox and 360 since 04/05.

[Luke]

I had no clue that Madden 08 was the last release for the PC. What a shame, as I always preferred the PC versions.

There are a few sports games that I haven't put down since they were released. Too many to list actually. Currently I've been playing a lot of Madden 94 (snes) Mutant League Football (genesis) NHL 94 (sega cd) NHL 2002 (ps2) and NCAA Football 10 (360).

I plan on picking up the new NHL game as it has an updated nhl 94 included, but I'm still waiting for the price to drop. Plus, I haven't played a hockey game yet that I prefer over NHL 2002. What's so great about NHL 2002? In short, everything. The developers nailed the mechanics of hockey. Max out the difficulty, turn everything on manual, and get ready to coach your tail off. The defense and offensive strategies are spot on. You read your rivals defense and offensive patterns and it's difficult to lose, even on All-Star difficulty.

The commentators are hilarious, insightful, and there are plenty of "inside jokes" to make it worth playing a full season.

The AI for the referees is near perfect and I can't ever remember getting a cheap call.

And like with real hockey, the game gives you that sixth sense of knowing where everyone is, even if they're not on screen. On defense if I'm running a collapsing box plus one, I know exactly where the plus one will be. If I'm running an umbrella offense, I know where my two forecheckers are. And the best part about "coaching" is that your opponent will also switch their coaching style, so it keeps the game interesting.

Plus they really got line changes right. As in real hockey, if you decide to make a line change at the wrong time, you are bound to get scored on. Also, if you make a line change at the right time, your opponent's goalie will be left undefended.

This reminds me that I need to pick up a back up copy or three of 2002.

[noiseredux]

This reminds me that I need to pick up a back up copy or three of 2002.

and you still need to pick up a copy of NHL 06 for PS2. It plays fantastic and also includes NHL 94 as a bonus. I seriously keep my eye out for you when I'm at Gamestop etc, but finding CIB cheapo sports games there is pretty rough nowadays as those are the types of games to get relegated to yellow sleeves. :\

[Luke]

This reminds me that I need to pick up a back up copy or three of 2002.

and you still need to pick up a copy of NHL 06 for PS2. It plays fantastic and also includes NHL 94 as a bonus. I seriously keep my eye out for you when I'm at Gamestop etc, but finding CIB cheapo sports games there is pretty rough nowadays as those are the types of games to get relegated to yellow sleeves. :\

Man. NHL 06 on PS2 isn't even showing up on gamestop.com.

[BoneSnapDeez]

I just got the gold medal (over 10K) on the Activision Decathlon.

I also did Auto Racing on Intellvision Lives! just to unlock the bonus commercial by completing the goal. That was high class entertainment for 1979.

Man, those T&E games are a piece of work right? Ever play Wicked 18? There's so much loading time on the SNES!

Activision Decathlon is a game I've had my eye on for some time - I'd like to pick up the Atari 5200 version.

Intellivision sports games are pretty interesting - as many were released as unlicensed and then licensed variations. So Golf became PGA Golf, Soccer became NASL Soccer, Basketball became NBA Basketball, etc. All those variations must be a nightmare for 2nd gen collectors.

As far as the T&E golf games go I still need to pick up Wicked 18 and the N64 Waialae Country Club.

[TSTR]

I still fire up Blades of Steel for the NES at least once a month and run through a tournament. Did it again a couple days ago. Always pick Toronto; they have the best colors.

My buddy down the street went spend-happy on Black Friday and got a new 55" TV and some 360 games, including NBA 2K14. Haven't got to spend a whole lot of time with it, but for jumping in a few multiplayer games it was fun. Considering I spend like zero time with modern sports games, I was pleased to see I could get a handle on it fairly easily.