Sports games truly blossomed on 16-bit consoles, but there were plenty of gems on the Nintendo Entertainment System. Here’s a handful to keep you busy this holiday season.
RBI Baseball 2: Gone forever were those adorable sprites and that’s probably the thing that took away some of its luster with fans. Nevertheless, this is a great baseball game.
Play Action Football: This is not a pretty game, but it is still a great 8-bit pro football sim.
Pro Sport Hockey: This game has no business working on the NES. It’s too fast and has virtually every player you’d want in the NHL at the time.
Side Pocket: All these years later and this is still a wonderful pool game.
Golf: It’s pure beauty by simplicity. Not flashy, but it gets the job done.
Patrick Hickey, Jr., is the founder and editor-in-chief of ReviewFix.com and a lecturer of English and journalism at Kingsborough Community College, in Brooklyn, New York. Over the past decade, his video game coverage has been featured in national ad campaigns by top publishers the likes of Nintendo, Deep Silver, Disney and EA Sports. His book series, "The Minds Behind the Games: Interviews With Cult and Classic Game Developers," from McFarland and Company, has earned praise from Forbes, Huffington Post, The New York Daily News and MSG Networks. He is also a former editor at NBC and National Video Games Writer at the late-Examiner.com
