Next-Gen Sports Game of the Year

[bwright25]

I guess you had to play a lot of Fifa the past 2 years to understand how bad the gameplay is this year.

[YoungBuck3]

I guess you had to play a lot of Fifa the past 2 years to understand how bad the gameplay is this year.

I've played thousands of games of FIFA and I, and everyone I play with for that matter, think the gameplay is the best yet.

[HenryClay1844]

Fifa getting the nod, shows just how weak the next gen games have been. Unlike most people here, this has been the number one game I play for years, and it's my favorite sport. But I am just getting bored with FIFA and next gen, wasn't enough of a step up for me. Changes very subtle. Leaving out modes inexcusable. Commentary and presentation well bellow NBA2k. Although there appear to be few bugs, which is nice for once.

[Bruce LeRoy]

My choice of next gen sports game of the year is NBA 2K14. Because it's the only next gen sports title thats truly a next gen experience despite all the valid flaws. Team 2K too next gen to heart, it wasnt just a buzz word to them, they really wanted top deliver the wow factor. To me Fifa and Madden are just upgraded versions of their current gen counter part. Just like EA afraid to take chances but with no comp, why taken any chances and be innovative? Guess thats the way they think. 2K took a chance and it kinda backfired but the gameplay and graphics are amazing and im sure the off court issues will be corrected. 2K will be better off in the future, while EA will still be trying to catch up.

[DruMoMo]

From a gameplay standpoint, NBA 2k14 is the best sports game ever made. But....the online issues are just too much to ignore. Outdated rosters for online games, poor connectivity, not being able to play friends(you can try but good luck), old NBA today clips, not being able to access all the modes when said servers go down. Gives me a headache. But as I said before, once you get into the on court action, the game is a beauty.

[JBiggy]

In my opinion, you can lump gamers into 2 categories, CASUAL and HARDCORE. As a HARDCORE gamer, I feel I need to weigh in here. Madden didn't really mess with their chemistry, BUT it has been a while since Madden has really transcended sports gaming. EA doesn't risk much and probably shouldn't be rewarded much either. I haven't played a FIFA game for a number of years, but I hear good things. I will leave it to better minds to comment on that game (THE HARDCORE FIFA PLAYERS). I have been a loyal NBA2K fan since the Dreamcast days and, in all honesty, this is the worst 2K released. There are CASUAL 2K gamers. They talk about graphics and gameplay. They play it every once in a while, set it for 5 minute quarters, play a quick game as their favorite team and that's it. For that scenario, 2K is probably fine. With that said, any HARDCORE 2K gamer has been spending a lot of time in 2K's forums the past 6 weeks. This game stinks. Where is the create a player? Where is couch co-op in MyGM? Why is every mode built around VC? Why do all the MyPlayers look like designers? Why are people losing their files and their characters? Why can't we connect online? Most importantly, WHY DOES 2K REFUSE TO ACKNOWLEDGE IT??? On a surface level, you can give 2K a nod. They made it look pretty in order to sell it to the CASUAL 2K gamer. The game as a whole shouldn't have even cracked the top 3.

[Steven78]

Just curious how you can have a NG sports game of the year and NG has been out just over 6 weeks.

So basically this is best launch sports game?

[ANDROMADA 1]

I've only played next gen madden, its okay. I'm not interested in soccer or basketball. I say don't give the award to anybody. To me game of the year must be spectacular. Maybe next year there will be a great product to choose from. Till then they can keep trying.

[Mos1ted]

As long as I've been a member of OS (10+ years), the past year or so is probably the least amount of time I've spent on this site. That was due to a couple of things: my boredom with current gen sports games and my lack of optimism for any innovations on the horizon that would re-ignite my interest. Then the PS4 came out, and I bit the bullet and decided to buy one along with NBA 2K14 and Madden 25. NBA 2K14 was a no brainer for me given 2K's track record, but I took a huge leap of faith buying Madden 25 after disliking every Madden released in the past 9 years.

NBA 2K14 was the game I played first obviously, and like others, I was impressed with the visuals and gameplay. I'm not one that played modes outside of Association and NBA Today on current gen, so I was forgiving in the lack of options and game modes. However, after putting in Madden and seeing how "full" it was compared to 2K, I came away thinking that Madden was the better value.

No, it's not a true representation of NFL football the way most of us want it to be, but one cannot discount the subtle gameplay improvements made for the NG version over the CG version. The majority of the issues I had with the CG version, and the reason why I disliked every version that came out, were fixed, or at least addressed, in the NG version. That only makes me optimistic that Madden 15 (or whatever they plan on calling it) will be closer to dethroning NFL 2K5 as the greatest football game of all time. In fact, I would argue that if Madden 25 NG just added the presentation elements present in 2K5, it would have supplanted or at least been ranked along side of it -- finally.

I plan on getting FIFA in the next couple of days even though I don't follow soccer or know the sport that well. However, the fact that all three games have the one feature that was missing in current gen (player weight and momentum) makes me interesting in playing sports games again.

[DESIGNATEDxiLLZ]

Re: Next-Gen Sports Game of the Year

NICE! I think so too

[grandpooba]

Spot on for FIFA! Really just Next Gen launch title of the year but still that speaks some volumes. Fifa's play is smooth, interface makes sense and is clearly the best FIFA ever. Not something that can be said for other franchises who make their initial jump to next gen. As an Xbox one owner day one, I bought Madden 25 as one of two games with the launch.. I owned it on the 360 and took advantage of the $10 upgrade. As I played more the bugs kept popping up i.e. ea login issue, having to restart the game. Also the monster LB/DB's and interception hawking on what was otherwise a good pass but the player launches right into the line of fire to int. My actions after playing were such: traded in Madden 25, got NCAA 14 on the $15 promo for the holidays (great game, best of the franchise- 360); and get Fifa on digital download because I can tell I'll be playing this version for quite a long time.

[Bruce LeRoy]

NBA 2K issues can be fixed, im not worried about that. For a debut next gen title they out did themselves if you ask me. 2K nailed the most important parts to me, gameplay and graphics! It will take Madden and Fifa 5 years if ever to catch up to NBA 2K. Seems as if some people would rather have a lame port than a new experience. Im pleased to know that most people on OS think NBA 2K14 is Next-gen game of the year despite its flaws.

[Mos1ted]

Re: Next-Gen Sports Game of the Year

NBA 2K issues can be fixed, im not worried about that. For a debut next gen title they out did themselves if you ask me. 2K nailed the most important parts to me, gameplay and graphics! It will take Madden and Fifa 5 years if ever to catch up to NBA 2K. Seems as if some people would rather have a lame port than a new experience. Im pleased to know that most people on OS think NBA 2K14 is Next-gen game of the year despite its flaws.

While gameplay and graphics are indeed very important aspects, most people who have issues with NBA 2K14 NG are complaining about the legacy modes: MyGm and MyCareer (with online being very problematic as well). A person can only play so many quick games before they want the games to actually mean something. That's where sports games long-term appeal comes into play. Most would argue that those modes were better on CG and that most 2K14 fans would have settled for a "lame port" with NG graphics.

I have NBA 2K14 on the PC and the PS4, and the PC version is the more complete game, and that's despite the PC version missing some features that were on the CG version.