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Apr 15, 2013 MLB 13: The Show makes it easier for newcomers With the optimism surrounding Canada’s only Major League Baseball (MLB) team in Toronto this season, it’s good timing that MLB 13: The Show does a much better job of acclimating gamers who might be new to the franchise, or jumping on the Blue Jays bandwagon.

Jan 2, 2013 Pro Evolution Soccer keeps on chugging and contending The never-ending uphill battle that Konami keeps playing with EA on the virtual pitch will continue on into 2013, but as we come closer to saying goodbye to 2012, those who are still on the fence about which soccer game is worth their hard-earned money should give careful consideration to what Pro Evolution Soccer 2013 offers.

Oct 12, 2012 FIFA 13 keeps the beautiful game going, but only slightly more FIFA is arguably the most recognizable soccer video game in the world, and EA Canada has continued to tweak it every year to keep it that way. That makes it less likely major surprises are in the offing every 12 months, but renewed competition from an up-and-coming upstart should change the way this franchise is viewed moving forward.

Oct 4, 2012 NHL 13 looks and feels the same, but the players don't skate that way It's easy to be at the top of your game when you have no one to compete with, but in the case of EA's NHL franchise, that's not necessarily a bad thing. NHL 13 is much like the previous few versions - it doesn't reinvent the way hockey is played on it because it doesn't have to. The finished product has been tweaked just enough to give it a bit of a new look and feel.

Mar 21, 2012 Grand Slam Tennis 2 offers a decent dose of tennis I've always been a fan of tennis, though I do feel it's not on the same level as it once was in the 80s and 90s when I better appreciated the beauty of the sport. Playing it in a video game form is satisfying because I can not only play the way I want, but tennis also translates well into a sports game in HD. Grand Slam Tennis 2 gets most of that combination right, but some kinks get in the way.

Nov 23, 2011 Pro Evolution Soccer 2012 is the little soccer game that could In an era where big budget sports games and exclusive deals are stifling competition and innovation, seeing an upstart try to make an impact is admirable. This is really where Pro Evolution Soccer 2012, or PES 2012 for short, comes in, because it's going up against a soccer brand in EA's FIFA that has been in the lead for a long time now. Can PES 2012 close that gap at all?

Nov 14, 2011 Batman: Arkham City is one of the best of 2011 EA's FIFA franchise may actually be its most important because it portrays the world's most popular sport, making it a draw for gamers across the globe. And though it's been the king on the virtual pitch for some time, the improvements made this year bode well, as Pro Evolution Soccer looks to up the ante.

Oct 28, 2011 FIFA 12 EA's FIFA franchise may actually be its most important because it portrays the world's most popular sport, making it a draw for gamers across the globe. And though it's been the king on the virtual pitch for some time, the improvements made this year bode well, as Pro Evolution Soccer looks to up the ante.

Sept 28, 2011 NHL 12 steps it up a notch and brings back some legends If you've played EA's NHL franchise the last couple of years, you may have noticed that not a whole lot changed along the way. Incremental updates and cosmetic facelifts made the game play and look better, but there were still some things missing. NHL 12 aims to fill in some gaps, but also makes an attempt to be innovative for the first time in a while.

Mar 23, 2011 Pro Evolution Soccer 2011 brings its 'A' game to the pitch Despite always seemingly being viewed as the upstart that never could against EA Sports' vaunted FIFA franchise, Konami has done something special with Pro Evolution Soccer 2011. Picking up from the strides made in last year's game, the .

Mar 2, 2011 Killzone 3 It's not hard to argue that Sony would love for the Killzone franchise to be its answer to Microsoft's Halo franchise. Moving in that direction, Killzone 2 was an impressive and stylistic game that made a strong case for being a premier shooting title on the PlayStation 3. Killzone 3 takes that a step further, as Guerrilla Games has put together a beautiful and captivating world amidst the hell of war.

Feb 16, 2011 NBA Jam Terms like "boomshakalaka!" and "he's on fire!" were made famous in arcades everywhere almost 20 years ago when NBA Jam thrilled gamers everywhere. Though it's had its time on game consoles before, EA Sports has brought it into the HD era with this latest iteration. The idea had promise, but the final product leaves a little to be desired.

Dec 16, 2010 FIFA Soccer 11 Between FIFA 10, 2010 World Cup and now FIFA 11, EA Sports has offered a lot on the pitch in the space of 12 months. The common thread between them is that they all offer tweaks and incremental additions that make the franchise better, but without doing anything overly radical to make those improvements.

Oct 19, 2010 NHL 11 continues great play, but changes little It didn't take very long for me to figure out that NHL 11 really doesn't that much of a step forward from NHL 10 and NHL 09. This year's game looks and feels the same in many ways, but as the old saying goes, "if it ain't broke, don't fix it". Instead, the tweaks and refinements thrown in have combined with the core fundamentals to create the premier hockey gaming experience.

Oct 1, 2010 NHL 2K11 falls short on the virtual ice These aren't the best of times for 2K Sports. Sitting out the season on the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3, they've instead focused their attention on making a better game for the Wii. With Wii MotionPlus, it stands to reason that virtual hockey on the Wii could actually work much better than it has in previous years, and though there are improvements, some fundamental flaws make it hard to enjoy NHL 2K11.

Sept 15, 2010 NHL Slapshot offers some old school hockey Sports games for the Wii already have bats, rackets and other peripherals to make it easier to play the games the way they should be, but NHL Slapshot finally gives us a hockey stick that we can finally use to shoot and score. The combination of the stick and the first NHL game for the Wii from EA Sports is very promising, but still needs some work to get better for next year.

June 9, 2010 ModNation Racers Sackboy was a big hit in LittleBigPlanet, but the character's legacy has clearly spread into ModNation Racers, a kart racing game that could be better than a lot of gamers might think.

May 18, 2010 Split/Second One of the nice things about a game like Split/Second is that it seems to be so unlike anything that Disney Interactive would typically come out with. That includes the notion that it would be the publisher you would least expect to try to breathe new life into the racing genre. But in Split/Second, they've put out a game that may succeed in at least starting a new thinking process toward racing games.

May 12, 2010 FIFA 2010 World Cup South Africa It's only six months after EA launched FIFA 10, but with the world's greatest sports tournament around the corner, a game focused on the World Cup was a given. While it doesn't take any major leaps forward from what FIFA 10 already offered, it does make some useful gameplay tweaks and brings scenarios that are really fun to play.

Apr 14, 2010 MLB 10: The Show It's not easy being a gamer and a big baseball fan these days. EA has a slew of sports titles but abandoned the MVP Baseball series leaving fans in the cold. The MLB 2K franchise has seen better days, and continues to struggle. That leaves MLB 10: The Show, a PS3-exclusive title that has taken real strides forward for the franchise in its credible bid to become the master of the diamond.

Apr 1, 2010 MLB 2K10 For a sports gaming franchise that has seen much better days, the pressure was on for MLB 2K10 to help rejuvenate the once proud series back to the top of its game. While there are incremental improvements that help polish up the overall package in this 10th anniversary version, the final product is still many innings away from respectability.

Dec 18, 2009 New Super Mario Bros. Wii Find anyone who may have held a Nintendo game controller during the 80s and early 90s, and you can probably bet that they've played Super Mario Bros. at least once. The mustachioed plumber and his sidekick, Luigi, are some of the most iconic characters in gaming history, and that's unlikely to change.

Nov 20, 2009 FIFA Soccer 10 EA's FIFA titles are the type of sports games that keep on improving but don't necessarily do it by leaping forward in great lengths. FIFA Soccer 10 really does fall along those lines, but the incremental improvements put together by EA Canada combine to create a solid experience on the virtual pitch.

Nov 16, 2009 NBA Live 10 Of all EA's sports titles, NBA Live might be the weakest link going back the last few years. Though it could sport superior visuals over the 2K franchise, it hasn't quite been able to get the gameplay side of things right. NBA Live 10 isn't a revamp by any stretch, but at least it's a good step in the right direction.

Sept 30, 2009 NHL 2K10 Hockey finally made its way onto the Wii last year with NHL 2K9, marking the first time gamers could use their hands to make plays, score goals and win fights in a virtual rink. It was a noble effort, overall, but the gameplay was a little clunky and tough to really get used to. This, among other issues, was what NHL 2K10 was meant to solve.

Sept 25, 2009 NHL 10 It's not hard to say that EA really made an impact with NHL 09 last year, arguably the best overall video game hockey experience they've produced. This largely explains why NHL 10 isn't a great leap forward for the franchise, but rather a series of tweaks, refinements and additions that are meant to provide a more well-rounded package.

Sept 8, 2009 Grand Slam Tennis When the Wii was first introduced at E3 in 2006, Nintendo did a whole show and tell using its own Wii Sports tennis game. They had us (the press) swing our arms with the Wii mote, as if it was a tennis racket.

Oct 6, 2008 NHL 09 If every Canadian boy's dream is to play in the NHL someday, then it's hard to see how a video game can empty the void of never realizing that dream. It's easy to say that because so few end up making it, while so many end up forking over the $60 to buy an NHL video game each year.

May 16, 2008 MLB 2K8 Sports games can be a real mixed bag. I know that going into any game based on any sport, but MLB 2K8 was an experience in frustration that I wasn't quite ready for.

April 29, 2008 Mario Kart Wii Review If the mark of a good game is a gamer's inability to put the controller down and take a break, then Mario Kart Wii does plenty to fall into that category. What's astounding about that is just how the game stays familiar, while almost reinventing itself at the same time. No easy feat for any game.

April 03, 2008 Ninja Reflex Review The title of this game almost sounds like one of those kids movies where some 10-year-old secretly dons a ninja outfit and fights crime once that final school bell rings. Not quite, but it would be close if real-life kids wear those ninja outfits at home.

March 07, 2008 FIFA Street 3 Review FIFA Street 3 marks the debut of the series onto next-gen platforms (no Wii version, unfortunately), and looks to expand and improve on what has been a so-so series thus far. The first two games had interesting ideas but the execution was either off or just didn't look right.

February 29, 2008 Thermablade Until the Thermablade, skates never had a truly revolutionary added component over the last 20 years. Sure, there were tweaks that may have helped form a skate to a player's foot faster. Except that's hardly surprising considering NHL players can get just about anything they want custom made.

February 5, 2008 Xbox Live Arcade Is it just me or is there a real lack of sports games available through Xbox Live Arcade? The issue came up for me when I sorted through the list of over 100 games that are currently available, and noticed that very few bore any name that resembled something from the sports genre.

December 7, 2007 Year-end Sports Gaming Column Sports games have to be among the best cash cows for game publishers and developers. It's the one genre that is guaranteed to show up with something new each and every year. Of course, newer doesn't always mean better, but in the case of the games on this list, that's exactly what it means.

 

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