Budweiser Racing Game
Shopping for a sports gamer is probably one of the hardest things to do. They most likely already have any sports title they would be interested in and by the time Christmas comes along all the sports games would have already been released months ago. So anything they’ll get will likely be an old game. As impossible as it might be, Spawn Kill has got you covered with this Gift Guide for Sports Gamers. Coming from a family that is crazy about sports, I always find it difficult to buy games for my brother for Christmas because any sports game he wants he’ll get, but over time I have picked up a few tricks of the trade. Here are some gifts, in no particular order, that is meant for the sports gamer in the family.
FIFA 10/NHL 10
Most likely your average sports gamer will have one of these two games, which is why I wanted to lump them together. Both titles are amazing and perfect for all ages. Even if they aren’t the biggest fan of soccer or hockey, these titles have a way of breaking through that barrier. In both titles you can create your pro and your team to compete online or offline. The controls for NHL 10 might be a bit tough to learn for newcomers to the game but once you played a couple of games, you can’t see any other way to play a hockey game. Both of these titles offer great multiplayer as well so you can have fun with the whole family.
MLB 09 The Show
I know, I know, the baseball season is over but that is what makes this gift perfect for any sports gamer. At this point you can get the game for a very low price and there’s no better way to get ready for the upcoming season than with a baseball video game. MLB 09 The Show is one of the best baseball games I have ever played. The amount of detail and realism in the game is sure to get any baseball fan excited. It’s only available for the PSP and PS3 but owning any other baseball game would be a travesty. This is a great game for all ages and who wouldn’t want to create their own player and turn them into an MLB superstar?
Tiger Woods PGA Tour 10 (Featuring Wii Motion Plus)
Tiger Woods PGA Tour 10 on the Wii is incredibly accurate for a Wii title. Using the Wii Motion Plus technology, the game is able to recognize even the slightest movements in your wrist and that’s what golf is all about. This is the perfect gift for the golfer in the family or any sports gamer who doesn’t want to play a sport that requires a lot of running. I can see people using this game as a way to practice their swing even when they aren’t out on the course. Even though it can be incredibly accurate, different difficulty levels will allow you to play the game as true to life as you want.
Grid
Again another older title but one that can be found at a great price. Grid is a racing game that successfully blends arcade and simulation controls to create a racing title perfect for any skill level. The customization will satisfy any car enthusiast and will make even the average Joe feel like they know something about cars.
Ratchet & Clank Future: A Crack in Time
Unlike most sports gamers out there I tend to play games outside of the sports genre. Sometimes that can be very intimidating which is why I wanted to choose the perfect game to get them to start branching out. The Ratchet & Clank franchise has always been able to appeal to all ages and with the latest title, Ratchet & Clank Future: A Crank in Time, its no different. To quote our own writer K-Tuck, “Insomniac’s flagship exclusive series brings enough shooter-style action, entertaining puzzles, and pop-culture referencing humor to satisfy even the hungriest of gamers.” I have yet to meet someone who hasn’t loved the series after playing it for the first time.
If you can’t get your sports gamer any of the games that I’ve listed because he/she has them all, here are some other things you can give that aren’t games but are equally essential to the sports gamer.
Baseline San Francisco 49ers Collapsible Video Chair
This one of a kind video game rocking chair features a microfiber and mesh construction and the best part, your favorite NFL team logo and colors. No sports gamer should be without one of these. I have one myself and it’s great for long gaming sessions. It’s also collapsible which is nice for when you need to hide how nerdy you are.
Speakeasy: Prohibition Beer
Now on to one of the most important parts to a sports fan’s life, beer. While others might like to stick to the standard sports beers like Coors, Budweiser, and MGD, we here in San Francisco like to have our beer taste like something other than water. Why not be like us and order one of the best micro-brewed beers for your sports gamer? Speakeasy Prohibition is one of the finest Amber Ales you can find, plus it’s 6.1% by volume so it’s strong too. Nothing says I love you more than a six-pack of specialty beer shipped from San Francisco.
MLB Gym Bag
Some sports gamers out there still like to pretend they are still athletic. I am one of them. Why not get something your beloved sports fan can use for not only storing their cleats but also hauling around their console? The MLB Gym bag is perfect for any baseball fan that features a heavy duty nylon construction, high-endurance zippers, padded shoulder strap, bungie zipper pullers and multiple storage compartments. Who knows? Maybe they’ll get around to using it once they are done playing the virtual version of their favorite sport?
Hope you found this guide useful! Stay tuned for next week’s Spawn Kill Holiday Gift Guide for Casual Gamers!
Tags: FIFA 10, gift guide, Jocks, MLB 09 The Show, NHL 10, Ratchet and Clank, Sports, Sports Gamers
The biggest criticism of this collection would be the selection of titles. Whilst there are a lot of excellent games here there are fewer of them overall, and some genuinely good games have been left off in favour of absolute turkeys. Spy Hunter 2 is the totally forgettable sequel to Spy Hunter, and something it's unlikely many gamers will have laid eyes on - it's more noteworthy for the fact it wasn't canned before being released than anything else, thanks to poor graphics and worse gameplay. Hard Drivin' earns a page in the history books for being the first polygon-based driving game and offing the option of a clutch-operated manual transmission, but it was more of a tech demo than a game when first released and certainly isn't worth playing today. The same is true of Pit Fighter, another ground-breaking Atari Games title which used digitised actors before Midway's Mortal Kombat, but is vastly inferior in both graphics and gameplay outside of the novelty of supporting three players. And then there's Championship Sprint which seems a bit redundant given it's nearly identical to Super Sprint which we already had on Arcade Treasures 1 - there's even a video extra explaining the differences between the two as if it were recognised that its inclusion needed to be justified!
By contrast the list of games that didn't make the cut is a bit surprising. If you're going to include oddball titles like Wacko and Timber, why leave out Domino Man which was a great, quirky game produced by the same team? Since the inclusion of violent pioneers like Williams' NARC and Midway's Mortal Kombat 2 & 3 has garnered this collection a "Mature" rating, why not the original Budweiser-themed Tapper? In fact, why isn't the original Mortal Kombat included? Given Buena Vista interactive licensed Tron and Tron Deadly Discs for emulation on their GBA title Tron 2.0: Killer App (kudos to Digital Eclipse for the excellent job on those two), why didn't Midway negotiate a quid pro quo to include them in this collection as well? There's a whole slew of other Atari and Midway titles that also deserved consideration: I, Robot (first polygon-based arcade game), Peter Pack Rat, Escape from the Planet of the Robot Monsters, Strike Force, Food Fight, Omega Race, Sarge, Skull & Crossbones and Trog to name a few.
