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Something that doesn't come under discussion much in these forums are sports games. That's excluding the ongoing slagging off of EA for releasing a FIFA game every six months!
So sports games then?
I think they're great, but find it awfully odd that I can enjoy playing a console sport that I'd get very little enjoyment from either watching or playing for real.
Take golf, for example. I've played a number of golf games, and found them quite enjoyable, yet I'd never be found out on a golf course, or sitting in front of the television watching it!
Then there are other sports games that are quite popular, such as the Madden games, or a decent Ice hockey game. These make excellent games, but the sports themselves just don't really appeal.
So how come the games do?
Is it because I'd like to achieve sporting greatness, but am a lazy slob?
Is it because it can be a quick game, then switched off, rather than an adventure that may take some time to achieve anything?
Is it because sports games often make great multiplayer games?
I'm not really sure what it is, maybe it's just that some sports games are fantastic, just like any other games, and i enjoy them for that reason only, because they're good games?
So sports games then?
I think they're great, but find it awfully odd that I can enjoy playing a console sport that I'd get very little enjoyment from either watching or playing for real.
Take golf, for example. I've played a number of golf games, and found them quite enjoyable, yet I'd never be found out on a golf course, or sitting in front of the television watching it!
Then there are other sports games that are quite popular, such as the Madden games, or a decent Ice hockey game. These make excellent games, but the sports themselves just don't really appeal.
So how come the games do?
Is it because I'd like to achieve sporting greatness, but am a lazy slob?
Is it because it can be a quick game, then switched off, rather than an adventure that may take some time to achieve anything?
Is it because sports games often make great multiplayer games?
I'm not really sure what it is, maybe it's just that some sports games are fantastic, just like any other games, and i enjoy them for that reason only, because they're good games?
They are like most games I suspect, they allow you to live out your dreams of doing things that you wouldn't ordinarily be able to do in real life:
Scoring a 147 break on World Championship Snooker.
Scoring a goal for Arsenal in the UEFA cup on FIFA (no-one else will, will they?).
Sinking a 80ft putt at Pebble Beach to win the US Open against Tiger Woods.
Leading England to victory in World Cricket.
All these sorts of things you just can't do as the average gamer in real life unless you are Jimmy White, Tony Adams, Darren Clark or Nasser Hussain, but games allow you to do it, which is what good games are all about.
The best ones for me cover the genres that I like. I enjoy driving sims so things like Colin Mcrae Rally and TOCA Touring Cars appeal to me, because of the realism and the fun elements (flipping a car and rolling a few times, then being able to carry on without a headache.)
I also like the genres that 'mix' sports with other genres, like Rollcage, which is both driving and shoot 'em up, and Wipeout, still a very addictive game even today.
You could even look at Tomb Raider as a sports game, if you think of Lara as a game hunter and not an tomb raider. (Try to get all the bats on the first level without wasting bullets and so on....)
So it's not really the multiplay element that comes into it for me, although footie games are great fun with your mates, and co-op mode driving games like TOCA and F1 really let you feel like a team because you have to work together to get your team the most points.
For me it's being able to do things that I would never really be able to do without dedicating my life to a particular sport. As a gamer I can excel at all sports, and still be allowed to munch fatty foods.
Sports Games: No Pain, Just Play'n.
Scoring a 147 break on World Championship Snooker.
Scoring a goal for Arsenal in the UEFA cup on FIFA (no-one else will, will they?).
Sinking a 80ft putt at Pebble Beach to win the US Open against Tiger Woods.
Leading England to victory in World Cricket.
All these sorts of things you just can't do as the average gamer in real life unless you are Jimmy White, Tony Adams, Darren Clark or Nasser Hussain, but games allow you to do it, which is what good games are all about.
The best ones for me cover the genres that I like. I enjoy driving sims so things like Colin Mcrae Rally and TOCA Touring Cars appeal to me, because of the realism and the fun elements (flipping a car and rolling a few times, then being able to carry on without a headache.)
I also like the genres that 'mix' sports with other genres, like Rollcage, which is both driving and shoot 'em up, and Wipeout, still a very addictive game even today.
You could even look at Tomb Raider as a sports game, if you think of Lara as a game hunter and not an tomb raider. (Try to get all the bats on the first level without wasting bullets and so on....)
So it's not really the multiplay element that comes into it for me, although footie games are great fun with your mates, and co-op mode driving games like TOCA and F1 really let you feel like a team because you have to work together to get your team the most points.
For me it's being able to do things that I would never really be able to do without dedicating my life to a particular sport. As a gamer I can excel at all sports, and still be allowed to munch fatty foods.
Sports Games: No Pain, Just Play'n.
how about you rewrite the article and change the every six months bit to every 3 weeks!!!
Its true!
Its true!
Something that doesn't come under discussion much in these forums are sports games. That's excluding the ongoing slagging off of EA for releasing a FIFA game every six months!
So sports games then?
I think they're great, but find it awfully odd that I can enjoy playing a console sport that I'd get very little enjoyment from either watching or playing for real.
Take golf, for example. I've played a number of golf games, and found them quite enjoyable, yet I'd never be found out on a golf course, or sitting in front of the television watching it!
Then there are other sports games that are quite popular, such as the Madden games, or a decent Ice hockey game. These make excellent games, but the sports themselves just don't really appeal.
So how come the games do?
Is it because I'd like to achieve sporting greatness, but am a lazy slob?
Is it because it can be a quick game, then switched off, rather than an adventure that may take some time to achieve anything?
Is it because sports games often make great multiplayer games?
I'm not really sure what it is, maybe it's just that some sports games are fantastic, just like any other games, and i enjoy them for that reason only, because they're good games?
So sports games then?
I think they're great, but find it awfully odd that I can enjoy playing a console sport that I'd get very little enjoyment from either watching or playing for real.
Take golf, for example. I've played a number of golf games, and found them quite enjoyable, yet I'd never be found out on a golf course, or sitting in front of the television watching it!
Then there are other sports games that are quite popular, such as the Madden games, or a decent Ice hockey game. These make excellent games, but the sports themselves just don't really appeal.
So how come the games do?
Is it because I'd like to achieve sporting greatness, but am a lazy slob?
Is it because it can be a quick game, then switched off, rather than an adventure that may take some time to achieve anything?
Is it because sports games often make great multiplayer games?
I'm not really sure what it is, maybe it's just that some sports games are fantastic, just like any other games, and i enjoy them for that reason only, because they're good games?