Top 10 Sports Video Games

#10: “Tiger Woods PGA Tour 10” (2009)

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Tiger Woods will undoubtedly go down in history as one of the great golfers of all time, and the titles in this series are will no doubt secure that legacy. This installment is particularly noteworthy for introducing “Play the Pros” mode, which incorporates live stats from actual tournaments, on top of the beautiful recreation of legendary courses like Pebble Beach. Also this is one of the few games out there where the Wii version is superior to it’s 360 and PS3 counterparts, due to the inclusion of Wii Motion Plus.

#9: “MLB ’09: The Show” (2009)

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Baseball isn’t the fastest sport, so it’s not the most natural choice for a game, but this title shows how much fun it can be. It took a solid sim and improved the “Road to the Show” mode, where you create a player and see him go from being a prospect to a superstar, this time giving you more control over your avatar’s base-running. The top-notch PS3 graphics look beautiful, even when you’re not having the best day at the plate.

#8: “WWF: No Mercy” (2000)

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Though it’s debatable whether or not pro wrestling is actually a sport, but there’s no question that this is a great game. While the company is known today as the WWE, No Mercy offers a whopping 65 playable characters, including guys like The Rock and Triple H, along with an extensive create a wrestler function. Whoever you play with, taking part in a ladder match is particularly fun, whether you hit your opponent with it, or climb to the top and slam him into submission.

#7: “NFL Blitz” (1997)

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Sure, the “Madden” games are good, and we’ll talk about them in a bit, but this arcade-style football game is perfect for when you don’t feel like taking things too seriously. Unlike the real deal, here you need 30 yards for a first down, but scoring still happens pretty regularly . If you’re having a tough time on defense, you’re free to let your anger out with a late hit against your opponents. It’s a raucous good time and a relic of the days when E.A. didn’t have exclusive rights to the NFL.

#6: “NBA Jam” (1993)

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Here’s another arcade-style game that provides an equally silly take on sports, but sets its sights on basketball. Teams are reduced to two men a side, and they get in each other’s faces constantly with outlandish blocks. The defense won’t be able to do much when a guy scores three times in a row and he gets on fire, giving him unlimited turbo and making him almost untouchable, much to delight of over the top commentators. Hang Time and Tournament Edition were also noteworthy, but the original is the true classic.

Known as “Fifa Soccer 10” in North America, EA’s soccer sims were getting better and better with each installment, but the series really peaked with this title. Whether you’re interested in the experience of being a pro footballer or you want a taste of what it’s like to manage a club, this title has what you need. They revamped the game’s Manager Mode, improving the transfer system, allowing you to see international soccer news, and generally making it a more realistic experience.

#4: “Madden NFL 2004” (2003)

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We can’t endorse Michael Vick’s off-the-field actions, but he graced the cover of our favorite entry in the series of football sims that’s among the biggest franchises in all of gaming. The title added a training camp mode, which allows you to run drills like Pocket Presence and can in turn improve your players’ abilities. Once you’ve got them up to snuff, the full games are even more fun, thanks in part to the impressive visual detail seen on the players.

This boxing title is notorious for having one of the toughest final boss battles in the history of gaming, but it’s a great time even when it’s at it’s most difficult. You play as Little Mac, a scrappy young boxer trying to work his way up to the big time, and he faces some steep challenges along the way. Later repackaged as just “Punch Out” when the license with Iron Mike expired, The cartoonish, arcade-style gameplay is addictive as hell, and the retro visuals manage to stand the test of time.

#2: “Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 2” (2000)

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Here’s a skateboarding title that’s simply one of the most fun games ever made. We shudder to think about the amount of hours that we lost collecting SKATE letters, tracking down the secret tape, and trying to pull off tricks like the elusive 900. Even once we’d exhausted the single player objectives, there was still an endless amount of replay value to be had, from battling our buddies in multiplayer to holding onto the crown and becoming the “King of the Hill.” Before we get to our number one, let’s take a look at some honorable mentions: “Tecmo Bowl” “Wii Sports Resort” (2009) “Skate” (2007) “Virtua Tennis” (1999) “Mario Tennis” (2000)

#1: “NHL ’94” (1993)

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Sports games have come a long way in terms of their graphics and sophistication, but nothing can match this hockey title for pure fun. It built on its predecessor, which was among the first hockey games to use a vertical camera angle to show the action, by adding more features like shoot-outs and goalie control. Most importantly, the title introduced one-timers to the series, which was one of our favorite techniques to run up the score against our friends in multiplayer. Even today, the newer NHL games try to replicate the NHL 94 experience with special modes, just to give you an idea of how big of an impact this game had. Do you agree with our list? What sports game kept you on the couch and off the field? For more sporting top 10s published daily, be sure to subscribe to WatchMojo.com.