First of all, let me say I am either extremely impressed with your commitment or concerned for your boredom. The fact that you have found your way to this post and decided that based on this title you think it would be worth a few minutes of your life is either humbling or alarming. And you are still reading, even though I have now spent 65 words rambling on about nothing and haven’t even got to the meat of the article. In this case, the meat of the article is probably similar to the bits of “beef” that come in the cans of tomato sauce. The only reason it can be called meat is by comparing it to the things around it. With that, here comes the (relative) meat.
If you listened to the mailbag episode Chandler and Hayston spent longer than most people care to listen talking about video games from their childhood. So the obvious thing to do is for me to continue this conversation in a different format. Obviously, like the previous conversion, I am going to rank these games based largely off nostalgia which is even more subjective than the label of “meat” mentioned above.
Here are a few things the reader should know before I get too far:
I have not played a sports video game outside of Wii Sports duels with my beautiful wife in years. (She usually beats me in baseball, I usually get her in tennis, we split bowling and boxing.)
I have never understood the idea of watching someone else play video games. Whether that was a friend of mine playing, the ESPN madden series, or more recently watching pro gamers on Twitch (is that still a thing?) or Youtube (pretty sure that is still a thing). I may not even enjoy reading this article if I am being honest. Video games were always a thing I was very much self-centered with my interest level. This is similar to listening to other people talk about fantasy football probably.
So the obvious thing for a very lukewarm videogame fan like me to do is assume other people care about my opinion on the matter and put it out there on the interwebs. Here we go (again?)
I am going to list a handful of games, the console on which I played, and the reason why it was so great in my mind:
MLB 2K5
My all-time favorite game is MLB 2K5 on the original Xbox. I played this game so much I broke the console, and I’m sure the disc was not far behind it. I played as the Cardinals because the Royals of 2005 were an eyesore even (especially) for a 10-year-old die-hard Royals fan like myself. Obviously, the Cardinals were very good. The building blocks being Albert Pujols, Scott Rolen, Jim Edmonds, and Larry Walker were too good to pass up. I didn’t want to bore the readers of this fine post with the lineup I used after many trades, but I couldn't help it. Also, why do I still know this lineup by heart when I haven’t played this game in a decade? Anyway:
Ichiro 2B
Johnny Damon LF
Albert Pujols 1B
Jim Edmonds CF
Scott Rolen 3B
Javy Lopez C
Larry Walker RF
Jose Reyes SS
Pitcher
Okay seriously, I haven’t even bothered to proofread what I am saying at this point. Why are you still reading?
I had so much fun with this game. I once won a game 32-0 with Andy Pettite throwing a perfect game. The golden days.
Next is my other favorite baseball game of all time for a completely different reason:
All-Star Baseball 2004
Also on the original Xbox, this game was clunky, but it had an absolutely incredible intro video. Here it is for your viewing pleasure. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2vtJKQq5tx8
Really, if you have made it this far, you deserve to treat yourself. This game also had a great pick-up game option, but really the reason I love the game is that intro video.
NBA Live 2000
On the Nintendo 64, this game had Tim Duncan on the cartridge. I’m not sure if this is the reason my Dad liked Tim Duncan and the Spurs, but my earliest basketball memories include my dad, Tim Duncan, and this game. So obviously this is how I became a Spurs fan. This game had a 1 on 1 mode where you could play Michael Jordan. At this point, he had retired twice, and not yet returned to the Wizards. This game assumed he was never going to lose another basketball championship again after his most recent 3 peat. So the chance to play against him on a blacktop court wearing street clothes was about as close as any sports game can come to a boss level where you have to rescue Peach from the castle. Only instead of a plumber, you are Gary Payton, or Penny Hardaway, or Vince Carter (but probably not Tim Duncan, that would be a rough matchup for the Big Fundamental). The other best part of this game for a 6 to 10-year-old boy that was playing this, was turning fouls off. In this mode, you could two-hand shove the dribbler, take the ball (and get credit for a steal), and take it to coast to coast. I remember many games when I would hold my opponent under 5 points for the game.
Alright. This has taken too much time for you and me both. I hope you can recover and be productive with the rest of your day. Thanks for reading.
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