When it came to arcade sports gaming in 2011, there weren't as many options as you'd typically expect. In 2012, NFL Blitz, FIFA Street, and more promise to hit your consoles and give plenty of options to gamers look for a non-sim but fun sports gaming fix. This year, MLB Bobblehead Pros, NBA Jam: On Fire Edition, and WWE All-Stars were the most serious contenders to the crown of Arcade Sports Game of the Year.

While the voting in this category was extremely close among staff members, the well reviewed WWE All-Stars took home the crown as the Arcade Sports Game of the Year.

WWE All-Stars featured over the top graphics, simple (but balanced) gameplay, and an impressive roster set with somewhat authentic intros for both current and classic WWE Superstars. Our own (and recently) departed Christian McLeod, called it "One of the best WWE Games since No Mercy" back in March.

The game featured different weight classes which caused each wrestler to have different fighting styles. However, with the signature moves, each wrestler felt different within each class as well -- which just resulted in a game which was quite fun to play.

But it was perhaps the Fantasy Warfare Mode where the game really shined. Prior to each fight beginning, you are treated to a three-to-five minute video blending archival footage of the two wrestlers that are selected for the match. These videos are masterfully produced, and set the stage for the ensuing battle better than anything seen in past wrestling games.

Other Staff Opinions

Jayson Young - I own and have played the heck out of all these games except for WWE All Stars (I only played its demo), so let me offer some mini-reviews:

NBA Jam: On Fire Edition was fun for what it is (a marginal update of a game less than a year old), but after playing a lot of EA's 2010 NBA Jam, I felt like On Fire Edition should've been a patch to last year's $50 retail version, which EA chose not to support after release. If you didn't play last year's version, you'll enjoy this updated NBA Jam. If you did, you might feel a little ripped off.

Another old Midway franchise, Hydro Thunder, recently saw a sequel. While the series has never been in the same class as games like San Fansisco Rush or Daytona USA, Hurricane was a good follow-up to the original Hydro Thunder. Unlike SEGA's updated racing games, Hydro Thunder: Hurricane offers 4-player offline splitscreen to go with its 8-player online races.

Daytona USA finally gave gamers an arcade-perfect version of the original cabinet, but SEGA needed to add more courses from other Daytona games instead of doing a simple port. Pet peeve: why do all of SEGA's recent arcade racers (Daytona, Outrun, Sega Rally) lack splitscreen support?

MLB Bobblehead Pros was good enough to be a full retail release like it was in Japan, but for some reason, Konami intentionally removed features from the North America version, then shamelessly offered these "new" modes as downloadable content. Bobblehead Pros' season mode was also incredibly simplified compared to Konami's previous Power Pros games for the Wii and PS2.

Backbreaker: Vengeance was easily the most-innovative title in any of this year's voting categories. No other sports franchise besides FIFA is even attempting to do what developer Natural Motion has done with its Euphoria physics engine. American football is centered around collisions, and no other video game to date has recreated the force and intensity of human collision better than Backbreaker: Vengeance. The control scheme, camera angle, and player animations are all massively improved over last year's retail version. If you have an Xbox 360 or a PAL-region PS3, you need to experience Backbreaker: Vengeance -- it will change your view of what sports developers can achieve on today's consoles.

Readers Choice

Winner: NBA Jam On: Fire Edition (52.82%)

Others: WWE All Stars (20.56%), Backbreaker: Vengeance (11.69%)