Top 10 Sports Games of All-Time
5) NHL 09
Like Madden, EA's NHL franchise gets a new release every single year. NHL 09 earns a spot on this list because it just does everything well. The game engine got a huge overhaul the year after 09 was released which, also like Madden, made the game start to feel start to very realistic. Having to worry about real life skating physics like building momentum and battling for the puck along the boards wasn't fun anymore. NHL 09 was the last 'arcadey' NHL game there was and because it was able to reap the full rewards from all the years of improvements up until then, it stands out as the best game in the series. Some veterans of the NHL franchise still choose to play 09 to this day (myself among them). NHL 09 also introduced the 'Be a Pro' mode.
NHL 09 won numerous 'best sports game' awards the year it was released – a level of critical acclaim that none of the subsequent installments have been able to replicate since.
No SEGA NFL 2K5 or NBA JAM?