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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.

The problem, though, is that sports games can get kind of stale when the changes are more cosmetic than mechanical. The NFL Madden franchise is arguably the best out there, but has it really changed over the last few years? Other than the way it’s played on the Wii, it hasn’t been tweaked a whole lot.

And you could even argue that other franchises like Winning Eleven, FIFA, NBA 2K and a few others need creative infusions to revitalize them. It’s not that sports games have gone to the dogs (though you could say a few aren’t far from it), but how do you make something a lot better when you have to churn it out year after year?

Competition is one way of doing it, and it shows with this list of what I consider the five best sports titles of 2007.

5. Virtua Tennis 3
If you ever had a Sega Dreamcast, Virtua Tennis was like the definitive game for that console. It was just great tennis from top to bottom. Four players could play doubles, singles matches had plenty of flair and the mechanics and execution were easily the best seen in any tennis video game.

Microsoft came close with Top Spin, but the previous-gen and current-gen have been sorely lacking in good tennis. But with Virtua Tennis 3, a lot of that same magic from the past came back. It’s the quintessential example of a game that is easy to pick up and play. Becoming a real pro at it will naturally take time, but at least the initial learning curve isn’t all that difficult.

But another big reason VT 3 deserves to be on this list is because it’s a great game on all three platforms (Xbox 360, PS3 and PSP). Sure, pro tennis is missing some of the antics and colourful personalities of John McEnroe, Jimmy Connors and Andre Agassi, but that should leave the door open for something to offer in the future.

4. FIFA 08
EA’s first two attempts for the FIFA franchise in the current-gen fell somewhere between total flops and mediocre outcomes. They came across as stale, unrefined and even drab and dull on the visual side. They just weren’t up to snuff in many ways.

But with FIFA 08, the franchise finally arrived into the current-gen with really strong performances in both the Xbox 360 and PS3. For one, the players actually look decent. You don’t see that layer of what appears to be baby oil all over these guys. Pro wrestlers might take advantage of baby oil, but soccer players will only go as far as to style their hair before heading out onto the pitch. No, but seriously, the character models saw a dramatic improvement, and the extra animations are very noticeable.

This helps since the “Be a Pro” mode was a great addition. Having an ISO camera stuck over the one player you can control on the pitch is actually a lot more fun than it sounds. You won’t be standing around like one of those security guards who spend the whole time staring at fans —and watching anything but the match.

And who wouldn’t get excited at the chance to use Toronto FC and actually score some goals? Chances are, if you were to play the MLS season, you could probably hit the net a lot more than those poor souls in uniform could.

3. DiRT
This may not come across as a sports game per se, but racing is generally considered to be within the realm of sport. Besides, if poker, gymnastics and the dog show make the cut on sports channels, then DiRT should be a shoo-in for gamers.

From start to finish, this is a great game. The environments are beautifully lush, no matter if it’s a picturesque greenery, smooth sand dunes or anything that resembles an urban locale. The presentation is just top-notch, including tons of replay options that include the Dukes of Hazzard-style slow motion feature. Heck, even the menu system is a big departure from what you’d normally see. It’s like the opening credits of a dynamic movie like Spider-Man.

The physics and damage modeling are superb, to say the least, and you’ll sometimes wonder if DiRT falls into an arcade or sim category. Either way, it doesn’t matter because the point is that you’re racing and any nicks or bumps you take can affect the way your beast runs. It’s got a satisfying career mode (even if its multiplayer is a bit weak), and never seems to get old.

Without a doubt, this is probably the best racing game this year (although Forza 2 is a great one also), mainly because it can draw in just about anyone. Even those who aren’t really into racing games can appreciate what DiRT has to offer.

2. Skate
After years of pure dominance by Tony Hawk and co., EA manages to pull off a great game in Skate. And to do that, they approached a bunch of other pro skaters who would otherwise not be in Tony’s games. I don’t really know much about Danny Way, Paul Rodriguez and Rob Dyrdek, but these guys are well-known in skater circles, and they come together in a big way in this one.

You could pick this game and start pulling off all kinds of moves with relative ease. Except that it’s not as easy as it seems. See, in order to do all the flashy things like grinding rails, doing kickflips or the classic ollie, you need to execute it all with the right analog stick. The way EA describes it, the stick is meant to be an extension of the actual skater’s body, meaning that you would need to think in real-life terms when pulling off those death-defying moves.

It’s a slick little system that is just the centerpiece of a great presentation package. The game looks great every step of the way, and the music and ambience is all there, too. Plus, even the personalities of these pros come out at all the right times.

It took years, but Tony Hawk didn’t reign supreme in the virtual world of skateboarding (real life is different), now that there’s a new game in town.

1. NHL 08
EA clearly abandoned its old ways with last year’s NHL 07, a game that gave new life to the battle between EA and 2K Sports. For the first time in years, EA seemed like a real credible challenger with a hockey game that played like, well… real hockey. Gone were the outrageous open-ice hits that only seem to happen twice a game in real-life. Gone was the outlandish arcade feel of the game with its cheap plays and ridiculous speed.

NHL 08 raises the bar even more. It’s quite possibly the best hockey video game ever made because of its sheer interest and adaptation of the actual sport. You won’t see Daniel Briere flatten a monster like Zdeno Chara anymore. Nor will you see a slowpoke like Nik Antropov beat Scott Niedermayer in a race to the puck. And if Sheldon Souray has the hardest shot in the NHL, it sure looks like it in this game.

And it’s great to see that the AI is so smart that it won’t fall for the same tricks more than once (OK, maybe twice). For those of you who think you can streak down the wing and feed the slot for one-timers, good luck getting them through a collapsing defense. Even the commentators get into it, pointing out a team’s futility by actually calling it for what it is.

In every respect, NHL 08 is a great experience, and EA’s attention to detail should be commended after years of seemingly ignoring why 2K Sports was beating them on an annual basis. If you’re a hockey fan, you owe it to yourself to play this game.

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G4 Canada (formerly TechTV Canada) launched in September 2001. G4 is the one and only television station that is plugged into every dimension of games, gear, gadgets and gigabytes. Owned Rogers Media Inc., the channel airs more than 24 original series. G4 is available on digital cable and satellite. For more information, see www.g4tv.ca.

Tech News on G4

Year-end sports gaming column

December 07, 2007

By Ted Kritsonis - G4 Canada