Sports permeate the world we live in. Whether you care about them or not, nations live and breathe with the spirit of competition across several great arenas throughout the world. It’s why we have the Olympics, the World Cup, and each of our own respective region’s numerous tournaments. We take pride in our teams, our cities, and our nations as we continue to cheer our native sons and daughters to each victory.
With so much caught up in the revelry of it all, of course video games attempt to capitalize on that very same spirit. There have been sports games that have touched just about every aspect of any competitive event you can think of. Some have even gone beyond the norm and brought us amalgams of our favorite competitions brought into a new, creative, and interesting form. This list isn’t just for any old sports game. We dug through the dusty libraries and assembled what we consider the best of the best. These are the best sports video games that have been released on PC.
FIFA 12
Loathed by the old school and loved by the new, FIFA 12 was a time of pure transition for the series. Many of the systems players had come to familiarize themselves with had been ransacked and rebuilt anew to bring a fresh, new, and complex style of player control to international football. This of course created a deep divide between those who adapted to the changes and those who longed for the good old days, but FIFA 12’s praise would eventually come out far ahead of detraction. It wasn’t perfect, but it was a fresh update compared to the notorious new edition that do little more than change the roster.
For more info, check out our FIFA 12 review
NBA 2K15
By many accounts, NBA 2K16 wasn’t a very good step up for the series, which is a shame. That’s okay though, because 2K15 is still around and it was one of the better improvements in the series in terms of realism. New AI, thousands of new animations, and a welcome improvement to a lot of the features from previous years worked to give NBA 2K15 a throne to call its own in the world of basketball simulation. Whether you’re taking on the professional rosters of 2014 or building your own player to enter the system, 2K15 is a pretty amazing experience for any fan of the sport.
Want to play NBA 2K15? You can find it here
Tiger Woods PGA Tour 2004
Tiger Woods is the original rock star of golf. Bar none. Sure, he has seen better days and it’s not just because of his infamous infidelity, but when he was on top of it all, no one could touch him. The PGA games were much the same way. Not that everybody was chomping at the bit to make a golf game, but the PGA Tour games have been the premier way to simulate the world’s favorites on their grandest stage. Tiger Woods PGA Tour 2004 is gem of the collection. It was in this edition that EA not only added new tricks, but they got everything from the old to the new correctly smoothed out to make for the total package that all other games after would try to follow. Much like Tiger himself, the PGA Tour franchise has seen better days, but 2004 will always be king of the virtual course.
Major League Baseball 2K11
Someday, we just might get the MLB 2K series back on PC. Heck, someday we might just get The Show. However, as the diamond heads of the PC race cross their fingers and wait for the fated day, we can always look back at the best of yesteryear. MLB 2K11 in particular was a special year for the series. That was the year that they brought dynamic player data into the game. With online access, 2K11 would actually check how the real players had been doing in the past four week and adjust their stats accordingly. This is a system that is often a commonplace option in sports games these days, but 2K11 was the one to bring dynamic ratings to the world.
For more info, check out our Major League Baseball 2K11 review.
Football Manager 2016
If you’re less of an action intensive player and more of a strategist or director, there’s a sports game for you. The talent on the field is just one part of the equation and those boys and girls hardly do it on their own. That’s why Football Manager exists. These games have sucked up thousands of hours while each player recruits, manages, and fine-tunes their squad to a well-oiled machine and 2016 is most immersive edition yet. Between the more complex stats and control given to making your team the best, FB 2016 also features Create-a-Squad and Fantasy Squad modes to make your dream team of champions for the world stage. And while it’s got a few issues (injuries), with so much to do, 4X strategy players aren’t the only ones that get to stay up until 4AM saying “just one more thing.”
Want to play Football Manager 2016? You can get it here
Pro Evolution Soccer 6
It’s amazing to look at the Pro Evolution Soccer series and think that it used to be where EA’s FIFA titles are now. It’s true. PES used to rule the roost when it came to the international football scene, and the peak of that period was most arguably PES 6. PES 6 represents the greatest strengths of the series all gathered in one place: a simulation, an arcade title, and even some RPG elements, all gathered into one action packed road to glory. PES 6 was the first to feature a journey to an international cup, and though it was an unlicensed version of any like tournament, it offered some seriously meaningful progression to an already fantastically deep series. The heydays of PES may be over for now, but games like PES 6 are solid reminders of what Konami with football when they really give it their all.
For more info, check out our Pro Evolution Soccer 6 review
NHL 08
Hockey may not bring international crowds as much as football, baseball, or basketball, and the PC playing field has been barren of the sport for some time, but there was a short time when EA was invested in allowing PC players to get their taste of the ice. The NHL went on before and after the ’08 edition, but ’08 was most definitely the most progressing and the most giving of the series. It brought unparalleled graphics, player maneuvering and team management to interactive hockey simulation. If that wasn’t enough, you also got the chance to take a team of soft rookies to battle-hardened skaters fighting for the Stanley Cup in dynasty mode. The dream of hockey on the PC may be dead for now, but NHL 08 is proof positive that the best winter sports are possible on more than just the consoles.
For more info, check out our NHL 08 review
Virtua Tennis 3
It’s easy to figure out why tennis games don’t get made much. How much can a developer really do with a sport where the whole theme is to hit a ball back and forth on the same court? Video games have already done that for ages, starting with Pong and every variation of it. That said, Virtua Tennis 3 gets credit for making a tennis game as fun as anyone is going to make it. Sega had been getting stale with the series and would get stale after, but Virtua Tennis 3 struck at the right time with all of the right elements, bringing a certain level of variety to the game. It also helped that the game featured fully licensed and life-like characters to sell the intensity of each match and included quite a variety of game modes to keep things interesting. There might be a time to revive tennis on the PC in the future, but Virtua Tennis 3 is probably always going to be the gold standard of what can be done with the sport on an interactive medium.
For more info, check out our Virtua Tennis 3 review
UEFA Euro 2008
2008 was a year of great change for EA and their football titles. It was that year that Pro Evolution had a misstep while EA seemed to take their own product more seriously than ever. This culminated in their companion piece to the UEFA Euro tournament that year. Long considered cheap knock-offs of an already considered inferior product, UEFA Euro 2008 was a massive change against that. It invited players from around the world to take part in a competition in which they would actually score points for their nation by playing as their favorite team during the tournament. Furthermore, it featured the fantastically rehashed gameplay of FIFA 2008. Gone were cheap, sluggish and difficult mechanics. The game brought action, control, and visuals that would make players roar with pride as they took their club down the field to the winning goal. FIFA 2008 may have made a statement about EA’s emerging force against Konami and the Pro Evolution Soccer franchise, but UEFA Euro 2008 nailed that statement down with resounding force.
For more info, check out our UEFA Euro 2008 review
Videoball
Here’s the simple, yet bizarre short take of Videoball: what if hockey, soccer, basketball, the classic game Asteroids, and a real-time strategy game were all one game? That casserole might sound like a real mess, but it’s actually far more delightful once you taste it. Videoball invites players into its ridiculous world to make them do battle over numerous game boards their own objectives and a grand slew of customizable rules. The game has an old-school style mixed with a fresh aesthetic that games frenetic and hectic all the way to the last scoring point. Videoball may not be an actually sport… for now, but it certainly draws off some of our favorite things about them.
Want to play Videoball? You can get it here
Out of the Park Baseball 17
Football fans aren’t the only ones that get a dynamite strategy game. If you’ve ever wanted to take on your own baseball team, raise a fresh bullpen and take them to the World Series, all from the comfort of the manager’s box, then Out of the Park is most definitely the game. What sets OotPB 17 apart from the rest of the pack? It’s the first one to actually be licensed by the MLB Player’s Association and official MLB organization, meaning you can actually take the lead of all of the teams vying to prove their worth on the way to the grandest stage in the game. Out of the Park Baseball has as much going for it as any football club manager game and perhaps then some as you play between numerous stats that will guide you to the best roster you can get your hands on.
Want to play Out of the Park Baseball 17? You can get it here
FIFA Manager 13
Of course not everybody want to jump around franchises. If you wanted more control over your team and knew there was a means to take your favorite hands-on football franchise and play it entirely from the director’s aspect, wouldn’t you? That’s the idea behind the spin-off that is the FIFA Manger series. These have always been a bit more of a selective taste, but they certainly give players the experience of running every aspect of a team as you try to take clubs of every level and push them to the limit. FIFA Manager 13 gave players more options than any previous entry in the series when it came to team build, recruitment, personal lives, practice, and even compound and promotion. The debate inevitably comes up between which is better out of FIFA Manager and Football Manager, but when it comes down to it, FIFA Manager arguably has a gloss and complexity that transcends the production values of any other management simulator out there.
For more info, you can find our FIFA Manger 13 review here
OlliOlli 2: Welcome to Olliwood
Skateboard games have hit hard times. All of the major attempts to try to make these games work hit the wall like a newbie rolling down the ramps for the first time. It would seem as though Skateboard games were simply destined to die with the late 1990 and early 2000 era, but Roll7 refuses to let the concept fade to black. The OlliOlli games are ridiculously addictive and cool, bringing a sort of endless runner vibe alongside the trick and stunt-based gameplay that made games like Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater a blast. OlliOlli 2 pushes everything good about the first one to the next logical level, bringing multi-route levels and multiplayer into play along a bag of new tricks and an extensive gathering of ridiculous new levels. Roll7 makes a strong case that skateboard games aren’t dead, no matter how hard Tony Hawk and Activision have tried to kill them.
Want to play OlliOlli 2: Welcome to Olliwood? You can get it here
Baseball Stars 2
Do you love a good sports video game, but are put off by so many of them that all go for the most realistic thing possible? Just want something that’s all about over-the-top pageantry and offers solid gameplay to boot? Look no further. Baseball Stars 2 is straight out of the old-school arcades and lurking on Steam. This game is difficult, as it was designed to eat your quarters, but there are few games that host all of the greatest parts of baseball and bring it to you with such a fantastically colorful and action-packed quality. Baseball Stars 2 is the kind of thing you probably won’t ever see made these days, but it’s certainly well worth a try for any fan of the sport and any lover of the old-school Neo-Geo arcade classics.
Want to play Baseball Stars 2? You can get it here
Rocket League
If you’d ever sat around wondering why you couldn’t play football in a car, we would probably question your sanity. Luckily for you, there’s a game that satisfies that weird need and it just happens to be awesome. Rocket League is far more fun than it should be for a number of reasons. This cart racing football competition is super easy to understand, but it contains nuances that separate the pros from the everyday regulars. Knowing when to let a rip with that boost and which way to turn your car to get the right trajectory means victory and defeat on the fast-paced fields of Rocket League. Luckily the game is so colorful and inviting that it’s easy to lose yourself in putting in the time to get better.
Want to play Rocket League? You can get it here
That’s our list for now, but of course we welcome your opinion! After all so many of these franchises have yearly additions each with their own features and everyone has a year that’s near and dear to them. Did we miss your favorite franchise? Tell us about it! What’s your game of choice in the sporting world? It might just end up on here as well.
