Traditonal sports wise, I think the top games thus far are Madden 08, the Bigs, NHL 08, nhl 2k7, tiger woods '08, blitz the league (yes it is nasty and a great value for 20 boogs). What am I missing here? I think the new NHL is the best sports game I've ever played and it isn't even close.

Madden NFL 08 or NBA 2K8.

No contest, Forza Motorsports 2

NBA 2k7......and I don't even like basketball. Fun game to play 2v2 though

NBA2k8 or APF2k8

Apf2k8

Test Drive Unlimited. Huge (they mapped Hawaii), fun to drive around in, and very open options for how you are going to race. The fact that single player *is* multiplayer is also pretty damn cool.

NHL08 from a gameplay standpoint.

Forza 2 from a sim standpoint

All Pro Football.

No contest, Forza Motorsports 2
Test Drive Unlimited.

I consider those racing games. I may be wrong but I don't think Motor sports is what he meant.

NHL 08
NCAA Football 08
Madden 08

In that order...

I'm a hardcore football guy, but NHL 08 is surprisingly good this year.

yeah, I pretty much just meant sports games, not racing games. All Pro is really that good, eh? I'll have to check that one out. Yeah, I think NHL 08 is superb. Great upgrade this year

madden 08/nfl 08

Madden 08, NCAA 08 (because I can go back in time and take STATE) and APF...

Fight Night Round 3 without a doubt

FIFA 08

Madden 08 sucks.

Nba 2k8

yeah, I pretty much just meant sports games, not racing games. All Pro is really that good, eh? I'll have to check that one out. Yeah, I think NHL 08 is superb. Great upgrade this year

To me it is. I like how you can use the legends and you can create your own players. You can also have football leagues. Madden has just gotten too arcade like for me. I have Madden08 sitting next to my 360 with the wrapping still on it. Keep in mind they are very different games and don't play at all the same.

All Pro Football, Fight Night, NBA Street and NBA 2k7... All great stuff !!

"yeah, I pretty much just meant sports games, not racing games."

I could find a huge pile of NASCAR fans that will tell you that racing is the *only* sport :)

NHL 08 for me...

NBA Street, The Bigs, All Pro Football, Virtua Tennis 3.

I consider racing seperate and I've like Forza, PGR4, Test Drive, etc.

NBA 2k7......and I don't even like basketball. Fun game to play 2v2 though

Likewise...I can't stand the NBA but NBA 2k7 is just the most fun sports game to play on the system by far.

I'm a huge NFL guy but lol....Madden's 360 offerings have been some of the most awful games I've played.

Another vote for NBA 2K7

nba 2k8 and nhl 08 is so fun online. NO LAG

IMO

NBA 2k7 (2k8 isn't as good)
Fight Night 3
and I personally like MLB 2k7 (although it does have it's problems)

NBA2K8, MLB2K7...Madden is ok, College Football dissapointed.

Forza is a great racing sim!

Likewise...I can't stand the NBA but NBA 2k7 is just the most fun sports game to play on the system by far.

I'm a huge NFL guy but lol....Madden's 360 offerings have been some of the most awful games I've played.
Hey FreeBaGeL, I feel the same way you do about the NBA, just can't stand to watch the real thing. I want to purchase one of the NBA games though. Can you tell me why you like NBA 2K7 better than 2K8?

Thanks
Jay

I'll echo the comments for NBA 2k7 and NHL 07 (I still need to get 08). While it's not a straight up sports game, I really liked The Bigs. I played it more than I expected to play it.

My honest opinion? None of them. All I want is for a game to be better than MVP baseball, ESPN NFL 2k5, ESPN NHL 2k5, NCAA 2004, etc. So far the next gen games have been very lackluster, almost pathetic in my opinion. About the only game I can say that might be better is the NBA 2k series, and that's only because it wasn't that great before, lol. Next gen has been a big let down as far as sports games go, with the majority of that blame going to EA and their lackluster titles (plus buying all the licenses stopping anyone else from putting out a decent game).

Taylor34

My honest opinion? None of them. All I want is for a game to be better than MVP baseball, ESPN NFL 2k5, ESPN NHL 2k5, NCAA 2004, etc. So far the next gen games have been very lackluster, almost pathetic in my opinion. About the only game I can say that might be better is the NBA 2k series, and that's only because it wasn't that great before, lol. Next gen has been a big let down as far as sports games go, with the majority of that blame going to EA and their lackluster titles (plus buying all the licenses stopping anyone else from putting out a decent game).

Taylor34

I was waiting for someone to say this and I tend to agree. I think NHL 08 is the first true total next gen sports game I have played. Graphically and in other areas other games have had next gen qualities, but not on all levels. This game does it

I have to say it is Virtua Tennis 3. I had a lot of fun with the first two Virtua Tennis games on Dreamcast, and VT3 is continuing the fun on 360

surprised no tiger woods love from the crowd.

My honest opinion? None of them. All I want is for a game to be better than MVP baseball, ESPN NFL 2k5, ESPN NHL 2k5, NCAA 2004, etc. So far the next gen games have been very lackluster, almost pathetic in my opinion. About the only game I can say that might be better is the NBA 2k series, and that's only because it wasn't that great before, lol. Next gen has been a big let down as far as sports games go, with the majority of that blame going to EA and their lackluster titles (plus buying all the licenses stopping anyone else from putting out a decent game).

Taylor34

Id agree with you.. except for one major reason.

And that is eventually you have to except change and learn to change with it. Either you can remain bitter this generation and continue to compare games to what you experienced in the last generation.. or you can accept that games/times/features have changed..

The reason why I'd say I agree with you is because I had more pure out "FUN" last generation with the sports games. They were a great combination of easy to learn controls, gameplay that was addictive and fun. But thats not to say fun cant be had this generation. The games just have alot more to the learning curve, but most titles have carried on the basics of the gameplay. Madden still plays like Madden, NBA 2K still plays like 2K.

If you dont learn to change with the generation.. you will eventually find yourself in a position where *everybody else* is too busy having fun with Madden, NBA2K or whatever to listen to you.. and you end up stuck by yourself complaining because you fell in love with a game thats 4 or 5 years old now.

Never forget the whole point of playing any "game".. is to have fun.

Id agree with you.. except for one major reason.

And that is eventually you have to except change and learn to change with it. Either you can remain bitter this generation and continue to compare games to what you experienced in the last generation.. or you can accept that games/times/features have changed..

The reason why I'd say I agree with you is because I had more pure out "FUN" last generation with the sports games. They were a great combination of easy to learn controls, gameplay that was addictive and fun. But thats not to say fun cant be had this generation. The games just have alot more to the learning curve, but most titles have carried on the basics of the gameplay. Madden still plays like Madden, NBA 2K still plays like 2K.

If you dont learn to change with the generation.. you will eventually find yourself in a position where *everybody else* is too busy having fun with Madden, NBA2K or whatever to listen to you.. and you end up stuck by yourself complaining because you fell in love with a game thats 4 or 5 years old now.

Never forget the whole point of playing any "game".. is to have fun.

Actually I don't have to accept it as a consumer, and I won't buy an inferior product just because it's "next gen". I'll play whatever game is the most fun--in fact I still play a lot of Tecmo Super Bowl with friends because nothing has really beat it yet as far as "fun factor". I'm probably going to download rosters for NFL 2k5 here pretty soon so I can play a season of that.

Take NCAA for example--how much fun is it to just trample your opponent game after game? If I move it up to Heisman, the computer cheats ridiculously, and if I leave at all American, I crush the cpu because they can't move the ball at all. How much fun is that?

I'm sorry, but if a product isn't continuously improving, I won't buy it anymore. Why reward their lack of effort?

There's a lot of this going around on "next gen". A lot companies are focusing purely on the graphics and forgetting about the gameplay. The pgr series is a good example as well. PGR2 was a fantastic game, an almost perfect package. PGR3 though was horrible, half-***ed game.

Next gen sports don't necessarily have to be a huge leap, a minor upgrade would be ok--but right now we're getting an inferior product at a higher cost.

Taylor34

I could find a huge pile of NASCAR fans that will tell you that racing is the *only* sport :)

They're probably "huge" because they don't get enough exercise. I always laugh a little when people say driving is a sport. :-)

I'm not big on sports video games, but I had a blast with Wii Sports. If Nintendo had made the controls just a little bit more accurate, it would have been even better.

NHL '08 no contest.........the graphics and gameplay in that game are insane.

NHL 08 here too.
Borderline perfect.

Fight Night a distant second.

NHL 08 here too.
Borderline perfect.

Fight Night a distant second.

Hell Yeah! My thumbs wear out from playing it. I've had to resort to sanding my thumb every few days just to keep the peeling down :) (no joke)... What a great game. They need to fix that online roster glitch, but once you work around that the game is great... let me count the ways:

-awesome single-player dynasty mode
-awesome single player practice modes
-great MP, smooth, and fun!!!
-so much to learn, so many ways to get good!

I can't see how anyone who's played this could knock it, it's too darn good!

Take NCAA for example--how much fun is it to just trample your opponent game after game? If I move it up to Heisman, the computer cheats ridiculously, and if I leave at all American, I crush the cpu because they can't move the ball at all. How much fun is that?


Taylor34

Everyone I know that buy Madden and NCAA football don't buy it to play the cpu, They buy it to play real people.
Playing people is a lot of fun.
Fun enough to play the game year round.

Madden '08- Many people will gripe on this game, but it's the best Madden ever from a gameplay standpoint. It has a few glitches, but no more than any other football game. My only personal gripes are that the A/B gap protection is weak like in every madden, and there is no slide protection in the next-gen Madden to compensate, and you can't formation shift in Next-gen madden- which actually is a good thing now that I think about it.

I play the CPU as much as I play other poeple, btw... I just play them differently. Madden is a video game first, football sim second... since I've started viewing it that way, I've come to enjoy it more. Having said that, ESPN 2K5 was still the most fun I've ever had playing a football game- still waiting on something to top that. If Madden would actually do something with the ESPN license...

Fight Night is somewhere on my list, but honestly, as a boxing sim, it kinda sucks. Too many broken gameplay mechanics, and the career mode was devised by 7 year olds. I'm glad the series is taking a short Hiatus, because it needs just a few tweaks to be where it needs to be.

Fight Night Round 3

I'd have to go with fight night rd 3, I've probably bought and sold the game about 3 times now. I just neeed to play it every few monthes, and I'm starting to get my friends into it for now until GH3 and RB hit. My friend is a huge fan of fraizer and I'm a big fan of ali and we just have wars. He's extremely good at setting up the big hit(Fraizers strength) and I'm diligent with my dodgeing counter hits and footwork. The online component is pretty broken but I have more fun fighting friends anyways. My friends have a blast with MLB teh big show(whatever is the more arcade one).

Madden 08

Tiger Woods 07 is also good (Haven't played 08)

If we include motorsports, there are many exceptional racing games.

Fight Night Round 3.
Based on feedback here, I may try NHL 08...

NHL 08---has anyone played this online? Can you still skate around like 07 while holding the right analog left or right without anyone being able to check the puck away from you? It was the only thing I couldn't stand about 07. Total cheapness online. If 08 still has that it knocks it way down IMO. Otherwise, from a single player aspect it is the best I've seen.

Fight Night Round 3 is also excellent.