It’s Olympics time! In all honesty, this is an event I look forward to every four years. It’s a chance to watch some sports that never get TV coverage otherwise. I was lucky enough to be around Sydney for the 2000 Games, and I remember fondly the raw positive atmosphere that was around at the time.
Don’t be surprised if our content drops off a little bit over the next two weeks as we’re glued to the TV (or, I will be) watching sports rather than playing games. Sorry in advance!
In the meantime though, and to get into the Olympic spirit, I would like to take this opportunity to point out my five most memorable sports games of all time. Let us know your favourites in the comments below!
5) Super International Cricket
Most of the rest of the world couldn’t care less about Cricket, but in India and Australia? REALLY IMPORTANT SPORT. Because there’s such a limited audience for the sport, cricket games tend to be low budget and crap, but Super International Cricket on the SNES was a work of brilliance. It managed to recreate the basic idea of Cricket while at the same time being arcade-ish and accessible.
The multiplayer was dynamite, too. I think Super International Cricket might have been the most played SNES game I owned, actually, even outdoing Super Mario Kart.
4) F1 World Grand Prix
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F1 games come and go, but this N64 game was a really addictive little game. For the time, the physics and sensation of speed were spot on, and while the game didn’t look great, and was restricted to two-player multiplayer, in the hands of two skilled players, doing a 90-minute 60-lap full-on racing simulation was a taut, tense affair where a single mistake could cost you the game.
There are, of course, better quality F1 games now, but World Grand Prix was the most memorable one, again for the multiplayer.
3) Sega Soccer Slam
I love hardcore soccer simulations as much as the next guy, but what happens when you take the basic idea of the sport and turn it into a free-for-all brawl? Sega Soccer Slam is what, and boy is this an addictive take on the sport.
Again this is a game where the memories are all in the multiplayer (notice a common trend here?), but Soccer Slam is perhaps the one game on this list where we barely bothered with the actual sport. It was far more fun to run around beating up one another. The developers behind this game went on to make a Mario interpretation of the same basic formula, but it was weird to watch Yoshi physically assault an overly-sexualised Princess Peach (and no, I’m not joking there).
2) Mario Golf: Toadstool Tour
Of all the games on this list, this is the one I found most addictive in single player. The secret here was in the design of the courses – no gold game before or after has had such interesting layouts. The mechanics were tight, the game looked divine, and the Mario theme was used really intelligently. I have my fingers crossed that there is a Wii U game in development.
1) NBA Jam
Surely you all saw this coming. What happens when you take a high-energy sport, make it so far over-the-top that it goes beyond ridiculous, a commentator that is actually worth listening too (how has this never happened again?) and short, sharp matches? A recipe for chewing up all my coins at the arcade, is what :-(.
There was a fine follow-up too. NBA Hangtime on the N64 was a work of multiplayer genius. I really need to try out the modern remake of this series sometime.
I always preferred the original Nintendo 64 Mario Golf to Toadstool Tour. TT isn't a bad game by any means (and it has a highly humorous opening) and had the more Mario-ish course design, but I have pure nostalgia for Mario Golf – unlocking Metal Mario, finishing off Ring Shot, and playing with the human characters – while with TT I do not.
I think the thing that got TT over the line for me was the "double tap" for extra spin that you could apply to the ball in your shots. That small addition really did boost the technique required to be good at the game, imo, and made it the more rewarding experience.
But only just – believe me, I loved the N64 game as well.
Thanks for the input!
I personally throw in my vote for DiRT 2. Despite the game being a simulator, a sub-genre that I find extremely annoying, the game is still absolutely magnificent. Everything feels just right.
I've never played a DiRT game. Should I be ashamed of myself? 😛
Bah! Humbug! I'm not really a fan of the summer games, so it's a good excuse to turn off the TV and play games instead. Winter sports are more my thing, so my games tips would be Supreme Snowboarding (sadly broken on anything but Win98) and the official game of Torino 2006 (because I was there, although I didn't get to see anything). Bring on the snow!
No, it just happens that DiRT 2 is really, really good, especially for a racing simulator.
Yes you should.
Matt, I can provide you with a Dirt3 code (assuming my vouchers still
work…) but I hope that you would you would review or comment on it in
an appropiate manner and not put it down after 5mins saying its crap!
You could even write about it, something like 'first time playing' or 'first impression'.
I happily admit to anyone I have not played Skyrim nor does its genre interest me. Ashamed? Sure. Sorry ? No.
Would I try Skyrim If I was asked to and provided with means to? Sure
I'd try it. But that doesnt mean I have to automtically like the genre.
Everyone has their own preferences.
That's a deal. I will happily review DiRT 3 as a complete newcomer to the genre.
Email me at matts@digitallydownloaded.net and we'll get this thing happening.
Done. I dunno I might take V8 Ninjas view on this. They have the feel sorted (and visuals and physics). Although I like racing games arcade and sim types, I always struggled with the harder ones despite trying to use them properly. Some couldnt be played properly using keys for example on keys and were recomemnded to use a wheel for the right feel and conrol.
Some games were either too arcadey/unrealistic or too difficult/hardcore.
They have made it easy and enjoyable at different difficulty levels to play a more serious racer. Even the car setup is only a few sliders which doesnt need an engineering degree to figure out.
It might be down to the more accurate physics models but I havent really looked into that aspect and only familar with some of how they implemented physics into the game
I prefer Dirt2 to 3 as it has a slightly different theme but they are similar game engines.
Good Game took a good look at dirt2 and dirt3 and they arnt racing gurus but it might not be your style to look at others reviews first
Forget the Epyx Games series and the infamous Sydney 2000 PC game?
You could choose Epyx as the country flag and of course the obligatory rocket man
http://www.mobygames.com/game/c64/summer-games
http://www.mobygames.com/game/c64/summer-games-ii
http://www.mobygames.com/game/c64/winter-games
aaaand
http://www.mobygames.com/game/c64/official-americas-cup-sailing-simulation
Bundled with the hardware due to current events at the time. I may have only ever figured out how to play it properly a few times out of many.
Cough,cought… Sports Champions… cough, cough… dang this cold!