Feature

PSU: Best Sports Game of 2012

With the 2012 gaming calendar all but wrapped, there’s only one thing left to do – celebrate the year’s best titles spanning a variety of genres. However, PSU.com has this year decided to inject a little twist into the proceedings. Instead of deciding on things ourselves, we’ve given you, the PSU community, the keys to the castle so to speak, with the list of nominees and ultimate winners decided entirely by our loyal readers. Whether it’s Sports, RPG or Action/Adventure, you guys have been voting manically for the past seven days or so, deciding the cream of the crop among 2012’s gaming greats. Simply put, this is YOUR Game of the Year Awards.

So, without further ado, let’s crack on with our look at the Sports Game of 2012, as decided by you lovely chaps and chapettes.

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Every year developers try to offer something new in their annual sports titles. We bundled up and hit the slopes once more in SSX, while games like NHL 13 saw new connected careers to deepen the player’s experience. Wiggle stick fans had a new PlayStation Move game to occupy their time with Sports Champions 2. Meanwhile, baseball fans got a chance to take their game on the road with cross platform play between the PlayStation 3 and PS Vita in MLB 12 The Show. With FIFA 13, EA Sports once again refined its classic football/soccer franchise by offering an improved game engine and a deeper career. With so many great sports game in 2012, our community had their pick of the litter. After all the votes were counted, there was one game that stood quite far above its competition…

And the winner is…

FIFA 13

Leading the charge in the sports category by a fair share–with NBA 2K13 coming in second–the PSU community has picked FIFA 13 as the best sports game in 2012. This is a franchise that typically tops the best sports game list here at PSU, so this one probably isn’t a huge shocker. FIFA 13 brought out the physical side of football/soccer with players fighting for the ball like never before. There was more polish around the player impact engine, and we finally got a new warm-up section with fun skill games. What can we expect in next year’s FIFA? Only time can tell. At this rate, EA Sports is going to have to make a major misstep to slow its series down.

Read a snippet of our review below:

"Unpredictability is always welcome in a sports game, but for a game as subtly nuanced as football, little touches mean everything. Borrowing from FIFA Street, complete dribbling gives you more ball-handling control than ever. It may not be as simple as in years past, but getting past two defenders using slow, controlled moves is far more realistic. This all opens the door for your teammates to offer intelligent support. They’ll make runs along the sidelines or short, curved dashes to open space. If you are holding the ball near your box, your defenders will run back to offer options. Offsides are less common, too, as your teammates seem to try to keep possession and make smart plays."