The video game world has a multitude of sports games covering nearly every sport imaginable. From Motorsports to snowboarding and every racket sport in between, there is a game out there forfans of every sport. What’s even better is how most big sports like football, basketball and Formula 1 each have their own franchises, with multiple entries over the years and constant support. These franchises are often tied to deals with the gaming industry’s top publishers, such as EA, 2K, and Activision.
Unfortunately, this means that there’s very little maneuvering room for smaller developers to create their own versions of famous sports games. Such titles were exceedingly common in the 1990s and 1980s, before all these big deals came in. Even then, however, most sports games had sequels and spin-offs shooting out from all corners. There are some forgotten gems from these days, especially due to a lack of any sequel or successive entry in the franchise.
5NHL Open Ice
This was an Ice Hockey arcade game released in 1995. This game featured hilarious, over-the-top ice hockey play, essentially a caricature of the sport, but it worked really well. The game was designed by an avid fan of the sport, and it really shows.NHL Open Iceeven features aMortal Kombatreference!
RELATED:Best Sports Games of All Time
The game includes a wide range of different play modes, including Exhibition, Season, and Playoffs, giving players a variety of ways to play. The gameplay is excellent for the time, and the enemy A.I is surprisingly good as well. It definitely deserved more entries.
4Mutant League Football
Mutant League Footballwas essentially American Football with mutants. It released on the Sega Genesis in the early 90s and is still considered a cult classic. The game features a roster of mutant teams and players, with unique abilities and attributes that make each game feel unique and unpredictable.
RELATED:Excellent Sports Games That Arent Based on A Real Sport
Teams consist of seven players that are a mix and match of robots, aliens, skeletons and trolls. The players also have parody names, based on real life players and teamst. The best feature in the game is how each team can bribe the referee twice to get penalties. The referees can also be killed, leading them to be replaced by a tougher ref. This game was tons of fun, and whilst there is a ‘spiritual successor’ that was released for online play recently, it doesn’t hold a candle to the original.
3Kelly Slater’s Pro Surfer
This game came out under Activision’s wing during the early 2000s storm of extreme sports games such as theTony Hawk Pro Skaterseries and theMatt Hoffman’s Pro BMXseries. So,Kelly Slater’s Pro Surferwas always in a tough spot trying to compete with well established franchises, fueled more by the fact that surfing wasn’t as popular a sport as the other two.
Regardless of these challenges,Kelly Slater’s Pro Surferwas a very good video game. It had solid mechanics and the graphics were good for the time. The surfing was fun and no part of it felt like a chore.Kelly Slater’s Pro Surferfeatured over a dozen unique levels and a solid cast of surfers, including the titular star, and even secret stars such as Tony Hawk. This game was a unique and fun addition to the genre, and it’s a shame it isn’t as popular as it could or should be.
2WWE All Stars
WWE All Stars is a professional wrestling video game that was released in 2011. As the title suggests, the game features a roster oflegendary WWE Superstars.The game differed a lot from the useRaw v Smackdownfranchise entries. It wasn’t as angsty or adrenaline-driven, and it didn’t take itself seriously at all. Instead, the game featured wacky character models and hilariously over the top moves and special moves. It was a fun take on the usual style of wrestling games players are used to, and it’s a shame it never got a sequel or spin-off.
RELATED:Best Retro Sports Games, According To Metacritic (& The Worst)
One of the best parts ofWWE All Starsis the creation mode, which allows players tocreate their own customwrestler from scratch. Players can choose from a wide range of body types, clothing, and accessories, and can even create custom entrance music and finishing moves. The gameplay is fast-paced and action-packed, with an emphasis on over-the-top, arcade-style fun. The controls are relatively solid and most special moves are arena-shattering, high-flying monstrosities.
1NCAA Basketball 10
NCAA Basketball 10was an unusual departure from the norm. Instead of theusual NBA centric entries, or the over-the-top caricatures players were used to, this game, released in 2010, focused on college basketball, playing through the NCAA Division 1 Championship.
In terms of graphics, they were solid with decent-looking character models and accurate, colorful arenas. The gameplay was slick and flowed well, there was no jarring bugs or omissions. The game did a surprisingly good job at making the whole thing feel like a college basketball game, particularly withthe environments, rosters, lighting, and camera angles. All in all,NCAA Basketball 10was a great game, and it’s a shame it doesn’t have more fanfare.
