Most sports video games that have been released throughout the history of gaming, are based purely on recreating a virtual simulation. That is to say, that they best wanted to recreate the sport they represented in the most realistic way possible. Even back when what the game developers were able to produce was severely reduced by the technological limitations of the time, most of the sports based output would aim to give players a pragmatic experience.
There have, however, been several sports games released down the years that truly bucked this trend, and instead decided to go down the wacky route. Rather than trying to bring another simulation to people, they wanted to showcase that video games were the perfect vessel to bring some fun-filled craziness to the world of sport. Whilst there were some major duds amongst them, there’s also been some truly great games, that brought hours of larger than life enjoyment to many.
NBA Street Vol. 2
You know what’s the most fun to do during basketball video games? Flying high through the air and doing ridiculous dunks that almost smash the backboard. However, most releases included an annoying thing called realistic gravity in their games, but thankfully not NBA Street Vol. 2. It was released by EA Sports, back in 2003, on PlayStation 2, Xbox, and GameCube, and was actually the second NBA Street game in the series, and the company had definitely perfected the formula that brought basketball fans so much joy in the first game.
The game was a gigantic celebration of three-on-three street basketball, and included many legendary players that made their marks on concrete courts up and down the US. It also had NBA teams and players, though, that you could select, allowing for a real mix of amateur and professional basketball wizardry. One of the most cherished things from the game was the superstar laden soundtrack, which featured some of the biggest names around in hip-hop, such as Nelly, and Nate Dogg.
NFL Blitz
What’s the best bit about the NFL? If you answered the spine-crunching hits that make you wince in horror, then you’re gonna love playing NFL Blitz. The game, by developers Midway, was released in 1997 on a whole slew of consoles, including PlayStation, and the Nintendo 64. It was originally conceived for the arcade though, and that’s exactly what the gameplay is designed for, making it so it’s incredibly easy to just pick up and play. This was a breath of fresh air for an American football game, as they’re normally insanely complicated, mirroring the real life sport.
The graphics were just the perfect blend of reality mixed with a blocky cartoon style, and the sound-effects made every tackle sound like a near-explosion. When it came to selecting a team, everyone raced to try select the Denver Broncos, who were the best in the game having won the Super Bowl the year that it was released. Unfortunately for Bronco’s fans, for next year’s trophy they’re massive outsiders, priced at a huge 100/1. Punters can find the best prices for sports betting at SBO.net, who have their top recommended online bookmakers in a user-friendly list. They also offer in-play betting, so are perfect for those who enjoy having a flutter whilst sitting back and watching the games.
Outlaw Golf
When most people think of golf, it’s an image of a middle-aged man wearing checked trousers, hitting a ball against a backdrop of silence. That’s fair enough, because that’s ordinarily what happens in golf. The 2002 release, Outlaw Golf, was no ordinary game though, and it completely turned the sport of golf on its head. It came out on GameCube, Xbox, PlayStation 2, and even eventually PC. Instead of middle-aged men in checked trousers, it starred characters that had a bit more edge to them, and they could be found either breakdancing or fighting their way across the course. They also had brilliantly charming names, such as Scrummy O’Doul, or Killer Miller.
A great gameplay feature was that every character had a ‘composure metre’, where if you were playing particularly poorly, it would sink your ‘composure metre’ into the red, which would then in turn make the game harder for you to play. This resulted in a lot of controllers being thrown across the room when playing this game. The single-player campaign was buckets of fun though, but could take a lot of time to play through, so make sure to do it in comfort, sitting on the best reviewed gaming chair.