Top Ten Tuesday: Old Sports Video Games To Play During Quarantine

Video games can be an escape for people during the coronavirus pandemic, especially during evenings when most should be sheltered at home instead of going out. If you’re a gamer that’s tired of current games, this week’s Top Ten Tuesday selects the top classic sports video games to play during quarantine.

 

10. MVP Baseball

The No. 10 spot came down to a couple of discontinued baseball video games, with MVP Baseball getting the slight edge over MLB 2K because it’s even more of a throwback (and MLB The Show is currently a solid game). MVP Baseball 2005 was deep, with strong graphics and gameplay. It was also headlined by “Jon Dowd”, a replacement player for Barry Bonds, who was not in the game. Dowd was basically the opposite of Bonds, but he was just as dominant on the virtual diamond.

 

9. Tony Hawk’s Underground

The world of Tony Hawk’s Underground series isn’t quite as expansive as something like Grand Theft Auto, but there was a lot to do in THUG and THUG 2. The second installment of the series is arguably more fun to just skate around and do stuff, and Ben Franklin even has an appearance in Underground 2.

 

8. Fight Night

NBA star Damian Lillard recently complained about having to plug in his PlayStation 3 just to play Fight Night, and there are a lot of people out there looking for a realistic boxing simulation game to play today. The Fight Night series had advanced graphics and gameplay mechanics for its time, and the roster of boxers would make it enjoyable now if you still have the game and old console to plug in and play one of the games in the series.

 

7. Wii Sports

If you’re stuck in quarantine with friends or family, Wii Sports could be something that provides considerable entertainment. From tennis to golf to baseball to boxing (and more), Wii Sports gives plenty to do, while also allowing you to get a mini workout in with most gyms closed around the country. Wii Sports is considered one of the best multiplayer games of all-time.

 

6. SSX

SSX and SSX Tricky stand out in particular among the SSX series, and they were released in 2000 and 2001. However, SSX 3 is also very strong, and there is a remaster available for purchase on Xbox One consoles. SSX 3 is Xbox One X enhanced, and it costs just $9.99 if you don’t have an old console to use for the original two games.

 

5. Smackdown vs. Raw

We’re now to a game that’s somewhat continued by way of the WWE 2K games, but Smackdown vs. Raw was arguably the peak of the WWF/WWE video games. There’s a season mode that plays out like a real scripted wrestling storyline, with great cutscenes and backstage happenings. But the SvR games stood out because of the gameplay, with many options including steel cage matches, ladder matches, and tag team matches.

 

4. NFL 2K

If a bunch of people were playing online and/or there were updated rosters, NFL 2K would be squarely in the top spot among old video games to play. Other games above and below give you more to do for story modes, but NFL 2K5’s gameplay is still better than Madden’s over 15 years later. Playing an NFL 2K game (or All-Pro 2K8) could get you ready for 2K’s return to football despite the disappointment that it will be an arcade-style game instead of simulation.

 

3. NFL Street

Unlike NFL 2K, there was no monopoly that knocked EA’s NFL Street out of business, so it’s even worse that the 7-on-7 football video game hasn’t been around for years. However, NFL Street—the original was the best of the three installments—is an excellent choice to go back and play if you have the game and a capable console laying around. You can go with a pickup game and just have some fun with a buddy, but NFL Challenge mode is a definite time-killer that can get you hooked as you look to run through each division and eventually defeat NFL Legends.

 

2. NBA Street

The “Street” franchise started with basketball, as NBA Street was an instant classic, and NBA Street Vol. 2 reached legendary status. Both NFL Street and NBA Street had a good offering of cheat codes to enter, which is always fun. “Gamebreakers” were introduced in the series, and Vol. 2 had a deep assortment of legends including three different versions of the great Michael Jordan.

 

1. NCAA Football

NCAA Football used fictional characters (everyone knew who the players actually were based on, but no real names were used) anyway, so recruiting could still be a lot of fun as you look to build a lower-level program into a power or keep a blue-blood school in contention every year. Virtual recruiting can take up considerable hours of your time while delivering entertainment as you hope for a prospect to sign with your school; and if If you’re not into dynasty mode, you could build a fictional character and try to win the Heisman Trophy in Road to Glory.