The Blog for the Sports Gamer Three guys who love Sports Gaming rant and rave about various stuff.

Glen’s 2009 Games of the Year

Seeing as how Dan put together his list, I figured I would add my list as well.

- Best Football Game

This really wasn't a contest.  When you only have two football titles hitting the market in a given year, (As Dan said, the Black College Football Experience title shouldn't count, as they focused more on the music than the football gameplay,) there is only so much you can do to compare and contrast.

So, we had NCAA Football 10 and Madden NFL 10.

In my opinion, one of the most important features of NCAA Football is the Road to Glory mode.  It is the best single player feature of the game, but the problem with it is the fact that it is broken.  The play-calling AI is just so bad in it that you will see your coach make horrible play calling decisions that, as a player, you have no control over.  For example, screen passes do NOT work, and yet you will see the play called over and over... and there is nothing you can do about it.

Madden has some of the same play-calling issues in the 2:00 minute drill, but the rest of the game is just so solid that you can over look it.  There are some other issues that the game has, such as the 'Fight for the Fumble' which became one of the quickest features to disable that I've ever encountered in a game, but nothing that would cost it the title this year.

2009 Football game of the year: Madden NFL 10

- Best Soccer game

I won't lie to you, the only soccer game that I got a chance to play this year was FIFA Soccer 10, and it was incredibly entertaining.  As a person who does not play a lot of soccer titles, this game really sucked me in right away.  I rented the game and regretted sending it back when some other new titles came out later that week.  The Virtual Pro feature is very well done and gives you manageable goals (no pun intended) to complete in order to improve your player and move from lower level leagues up the ladder.

It's the only one I played, but I have no problem giving it...

2009 Soccer game of the year: FIFA Soccer 10

- Best Baseball Game

Ok.  Finally a category with more than a few choices...

This year our options are, Pro Yakyuu Spirits 6 (the venerable Playstation 3 import,) MLB2K9, MLB09: The Show, and The Bigs 2.

I have a huge soft spot in my heart for the PYS series and this years title did let me down a little.  I'm just not feeling a great deal of improvements over the previous titles.  They did add a World Baseball Classic mode to all of the other features of the game, and while it does add something different to the game that none of the American titles added, it's just not enough for me to award it game of the year.

The Bigs 2 is a great arcade baseball game (which is a niche that we really need,) and I love the fact that there is a Milwaukee Brewer player on the cover of a baseball game.  The game did feature some nice enhancements and tweaks over the last game, but again... not enough for me to award it my baseball game of the year.

Where to start with the MLB2K series?  Each year we are promised great enhancements and adjustments to the previous years game and each year we find that they've spent time on one or two aspects of the game, and then neglect others that needed a good deal more work.  Then they add in new features such as card collecting games, that are just wasted development time that could have been used to make a much better sports title.  The game has come so far from the World Series Baseball series on the Saturn... and almost none of that progress has been positive.  Needless to say, it won't be my game of the year.

That leaves us with MLB09: The Show, but only for the PS3.  As I commented on a week or so... the loading times on the PSP versions would prevent me from recommending that title to anyone, but the PS3 version is a terrific game.  The Road to the Show mode keeps making the right adjustments to make it a sensational single player experience.  What the Sony development team really needs to work on this year is their network play.  They have not had a functional online gameplay mode since the series launched on the Playstation 3 and it is something that really needs to be rectified this year.  Still, it does win...

2009 Baseball Game of the Year: MLB 09: The Show (PS3)

- Best Basketball Game

We have 3 titles to choose from in this category, NBA Live 10, NCAA Basketball 10, and NBA2K10.

The biggest surprise of this year was how much better NBA Live was over previous years titles, but it's still got a good bit of work to do to challenge the NBA2K series for the crown.   It has some issues, but it's on it's way to becoming a very solid title.

NCAA Basketball is one of those titles that is just so very average.  It's amazing that the College Hoops 2K series ended two years ago, and the EA Sports series still hasn't caught up.  It screams potential, but just needs a bit more polish.

NBA Live 2K10 was probably their most underwhelming title in recent memory.  2K offered very little in the way of enhancements this year (outside of a new way to create their commentary on the fly,) but it still was a solid enough title to earn....

2009 Basketball Game of the Year - NBA2K10

- Best Golf Game

This category begins and ends with Tiger Woods 10 for the Wii.  One of the first titles to support Wii Motion Plus, it put a great deal more fun back into golf games for any console.  I found myself making the same sort of adjustments that I make when I'm actually playing and seeing the results accurately portrayed on the screen.   As long as you stay away from the online play, you'll have a great time with this title.

2009 Golf Game of the Year - Tiger Woods 10 (Wii)

- Best Hockey Game

EA Sports has dominated the hockey category for quite some time and this year is no exception, but the surprising thing was the fact was how good NHL2K10 was for the Wii.  The "next generation" versions of the game were very slow in their pacing, but the gameplay on the Wii version felt just right.  The Wii Motion Plus control, which does take a little while to get used to, really made the game a great deal of fun, which is something that I just don't feel as much with the EA Sports series any more.

Still, the 2K effort wasn't enough to stop the EA Sports juggernaut.

2009 Hockey Game of the Year - NHL 10

- Best New Feature

The Madden 10 Online Franchise mode was an awesome addition this year.  It's incredibly easy to set up, you can run your league via a web browser or even an iPhone.  It needs some minor work for next year, but it's a huge addition to the football game of the year.

- Worst New Feature

Madden again takes the crown for this one for their Fight for the Fumble feature.  I'm playing a football game, not God of War.  Random button mashing when the ball is on the field just doesn't make any sense.

- 2009 Sports Game of the Year

This is a tough one as there were some great games across the various categories.. but to me it comes down to a football game and a golf game, but in the end, I have to go with the game that I played more than any other... that to me is a great sign of how much I enjoyed the game.

Glen's 2009 Sports Game of the Year - Madden NFL 10

Let me know what you think of my games of the year.