Odd Year for Sports Video Games

This has been a fairly odd video game year. This year Pro Evolution Soccer returned as a viable choice for soccer gamers, NHL hockey stands out as the premiere game from EA Sports, and 2K looks to put an even further distance between itself in the competition with emphasis on developing a great wrestling game.  Take a look at my recommendations, and go out and spend your money on what will no doubt be hours of entertainment.

Madden NFL 16

Madden’s back again, and it’s more of the same. The improvements from year to year within the Madden series are generally small and unwarranted. I get the feeling EA Sports believes they’ve already built the ultimate football game, so major improvements don’t need to be made. Or they just have zero competition in the football game genre so they don’t have to try that hard to sell the game. 

EA Sports did make one good major improvement, and that was bringing back EA Trax’s back. EA Trax is a feature in all EA Sports games that allows players to listen to EA’s selected music playlist as they play. For some reason, last year’s version of the game didn’t include it, and the generic orchestra music they replaced it with got old very fast, so thanks EA for correcting a mistake that I don’t know how you made in the first place.

Regardless of why EA Sports hates to make major improvements to Madden, they do love to give minor improvements like making player’s faces and hairstyles more realistic. The problem of course is that these players are almost always in their helmets so it’s virtually unnoticeable. 

I guess Madden attempted to make one more major change to their game with the addition of new catching motions for wide-receivers, and defensive backs. Unfortunately the result of this change was a complicated system to do what was once the simplest part of the game. This new catching now allows annoying and virtually impossible catches to happen all the time. We can thank Odell Beckham Jr for this new impossible catching being made possible. It pains me as a video game and football fan to say this, but this Madden is a no buy for me at its current price of $59.99

WWE 2K16

WWE 2k16 hit stores on October 27, 2015. The last version of the game garnered mixed reviews, but I’d definitely say it was money well spent if you consider the longevity of the game. It offered many game modes that allowed you to relive historical moments in WWE/F history, begin a career as a created superstar, and even be the booker of all the shows and PPVs. The superstars in the game looked great, the number of different types of matches were satisfying, and the DLC was worthy of a buy. The bad side was that the commentating doesn't seem to have been updated in 2–3 years, there are major match types missing, and the ability to create your own superstar provided limited options. 

All the things in the last version of the game are in the new version, but improved drastically. Last year’s game was rushed, and was missing key parts of the game like match types, a member of the commentating team, and the ability to create a female wrestler. WWE 2k16 feels as if it had time to be developed, finished, improved, and then released to consumers. The biggest additions to this new game seem to be a better ability to create a superstar, new commentary, and additional match types. It’s great they focused on improving all their negatives from last year. Lets hope that now that there are no blaring weaknesses that wont become compaciant. Along with those improvements 2K has created the largest roster in a WWE game ever. 

2K continues to express their excitement about making this game as current as they possibly can. I give this game a definite buy, rather you’re a fan of pro wrestling, or not. It simply just works as an enjoyable experience.

NHL 16

EA Sports isn't known for their graphics, but they might be after this game. NHL 16 brings graphics that rival live television. Along with their graphics, NHL 16 brings new game modes, game modes that haven’t been seen in years, and a new “How to Play” mode. The “How to Play” mode is great for new users, because it not only explains how to play the game, but also the general rules of hockey. The gameplay is probably the most refined of any EA Sports game. The players move effortlessly, avoid being caught in silly game animations, and seem to be able to shoot at will. 

This game is fun just as a general video game. Add in a ridiculous amount of game modes, realistic graphics, and a simple to use controls and you have a great buy.