Welcome to Pixel Count Tuesday!
Here in America we are busy preparing for the Super Bowl on Sunday. It’s an unofficial holiday in these parts with plenty of food, football and commercials. Even people who don’t watch football tune in for the spectacle. There is a tradition where EA simulates the Super Bowl using Madden NFL and that got me to thinking about what sports are best when played on a video game.
Without a doubt, Madden is the most popular, but is it the best? Hockey, free from the constant breaks in gameplay and offering a flowing experience has always been my favorite sport to experience through video games. Soccer and basketball are largely similar to hockey and are a blast to play for the same reasons. Even racing games seem like they would translate better than football, yet Madden outsells them all, much to the annoyance of some who feel that it is the same experience every year.
So that leads to the poll question: what is the best video game sport to play? Vote below and leave a comment stating your reasons for your vote. Play ball!
Loading ...
No Blitzball?!
I had to vote for wrestling, simply because I feel that’s the most video game-ish of these choices. Designing a wrestler and battling against your friends is some of the most fun I’ve had playing a video game, back with Wrestlemania 2000 on the Nintendo 64. We designed our intros, personalities, movesets and everything, and would talk the ultimate amount of trash.
What, no Mario Tennis? For shame.
But for real, Fight Night Round 4 is my most played sports video game. My friends and I made virtual doppelgangers and beat the shit out of each other on an almost nightly basis.
I voted wrestling for similar reasons to Eddy.
We all made wrestlers based on people we didn’t like and then beat them up, don’t deny it.
I voted for other mostly because I’ve been playing A LOT of the SSX reboot, and I’ve logged countless hours into both the first and third installment of Skate. I can’t count out some old schoolers though. I’ve also sunk many a splitscreen hour, with friends and my cousin with Super Mario Kart, Mario Kart 64, and Double Dash, I played LOTS of Mario Golf: Toadstool Tour, where I’m way better at golf than in real life. Also @Mitch, I did play Mario Tennis too.
What, no League of Legends? Starcraft? The title “Best Video Game Sport” mislead me somewhat. 😉
I voted “Other” as playersbro reminded me that SSX is indeed a sports game. I haven’t played the reboot, but a quick go on SSX3 at the weekend reminded me how much fun the series is. Can anyone convince me to check out the new one? Haven’t heard much about it here and I like to hear everyone’s opinions on the ol’ Sushi.
It totally depends which friends are over. My cousin loves Fifa, one roomate loves NBA, the other NHL. I chose Racing because it’s one of the few where someone new doesn’t have to know the rules, anyone can just jump in and play.
@Petyr, the reboot is actually nicely done. It feels just like any other SSX and the soundtrack is very fitting for it. The ridiculous tricks and combos are back and now the locations you can ride have no predefined boundaries so you can explore different lines and areas. I definitely would recommend picking it up
Wrestling just managed to edge out boxing and racing for me. I played a ridiculous amount of the Smackdown versus Raw games a few years ago. Much like Eddy and James, i loved how much you could customize your own character.
I am a big fan of the Skate series. Innovative control setup (no need to button mash for tricks and combos). Plenty of different missions to do. Lots of unlockables and customization options. No need to worry about how stats will affect your character, since it’s all about your own skill with the analog sticks. It’s also a very fun game to boomerang the controller with your friends with.
I voted for baseball because of MLB: The Show.
Not only is it the best looking sports game it also is wildly addicting with its road to the show mode. I’m really looking forward to picking up this years iteration after skipping last years.