What are the best sports games on Xbox One?

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Apr 25, 2022

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Updated

Rocket League vs Trackmania Turbo vs Project CARS 2

vs FIFA 18 vs Need for Speed (2015) vs MotoGP 17 vs WRC 7 vs Forza Motorsport 7 vs DiRT 4 vs F1 2018 vs The Crew 2 vs NBA 2K18 vs EA Sports UFC 3 vs Pro Evolution Soccer 2018 vs Madden NFL 19 vs Madden NFL 18 vs NBA 2k20

Specs

Platforms

Windows, Mac, Linux, PS4, Nintendo Switch, Xbox One

Genre

Sports / Racing / Soccer

Co-Op

4 Player Online / 4 Player Couch

Controller Support

Full

Native Resolution

1080p60

Steam Rating

Available on Steam

Platforms

PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Windows

Genre

Racing

Co-Op

4 Player Local

Controller Support

Native Resolution

Steam Rating

Mixed

Available on Steam

Platforms

Windows, PlayStation 4, Xbox One

Genre

Racing Simulator

Co-Op

Controller Support

Native Resolution

Steam Rating

Mostly Positive

Available on Steam

Platforms

Genre

Co-Op

Controller Support

Native Resolution

Steam Rating

Available on Steam

Platforms

Genre

Co-Op

Controller Support

Native Resolution

Steam Rating

Available on Steam

Platforms

Windows, PlayStation 4, Xbox One

Genre

Racing

Co-Op

Controller Support

Native Resolution

Steam Rating

Mostly Positive

Available on Steam

Platforms

PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Windows

Genre

Racing

Co-Op

Controller Support

Native Resolution

Steam Rating

Available on Steam

Platforms

Windows, Xbox One

Genre

Racing

Co-Op

Controller Support

Native Resolution

Steam Rating

Available on Steam

Platforms

Genre

Co-Op

Controller Support

Native Resolution

Steam Rating

Very Positive

Available on Steam

Platforms

PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Windows

Genre

Racing

Co-Op

Controller Support

Native Resolution

Steam Rating

Very Positive

Available on Steam

Platforms

PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Windows

Genre

Racing, Multiplayer

Co-Op

Controller Support

Native Resolution

Steam Rating

Mostly Positive

Available on Steam

Platforms

PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Android, Windows

Genre

Sports

Co-Op

Controller Support

Native Resolution

Steam Rating

Available on Steam

Platforms

PlayStation 4, Xbox One

Genre

Fighting, Sports, Simulation

Co-Op

Controller Support

Native Resolution

Steam Rating

Available on Steam

Platforms

Genre

Co-Op

Controller Support

Native Resolution

Steam Rating

Available on Steam

Platforms

PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Windows

Genre

Sports

Co-Op

Controller Support

Native Resolution

Steam Rating

Available on Steam

Platforms

Genre

Co-Op

Controller Support

Native Resolution

Steam Rating

Available on Steam

Platforms

Genre

Co-Op

Controller Support

Native Resolution

Steam Rating

Available on Steam

Pros + Cons

Con
Toxic community

[add description]

Comment

Pro
Clear objectives keeps the focus on the gameplay

Get the ball in the net, soccer at it's simplest. This game is physics driven, using different cars as players, making it a fast-paced and exciting game with a basic underlying objective. Being easy to understand, just about anyone can get the hang of the game after a single play session.

Comment

Pro
Moon-like physics give a delightful sense of exaggerated abilities

The physics in this game are slightly warped, making it seem like you're on the moon. This means that cars fly around if they collide or go up ramps, giving it a feel of superpowers.

Comment

Pro
Simple controls

Whether you use a controller or keyboard and mouse, the controls are fairly simple. You are driving a car pushing a ball around, with forward, reverse, boost, power-slide and jump as your only real abilities to learn. The difficulty comes in learning to use them at the right times. Doing this will allow you to perform in-air and off the wall maneuvers, making for breath-taking and unexpected plays.

Comment

Pro
Customization of cars is creative and fun

There are quite a few cars to choose from, including DLC cars such as the Delorean from Back to the Future. After picking a car, you can customized it with countless possibilities. You can change the paint scheme, color, paint type (gloss/flat, etc.), wheels, boost color, hat, and antenna toppers. This allows you to create a car that truly matches your style.

Comment

Pro
Great for quick play sessions

Each game has a time limit of 5 minutes, paused only when a team scores to reset the ball to mid-field. By keeping each session short, the game works well for people wanting to play a quick game without getting drawn into a long play session.

Comment

Con
Match making can be slow at times

It can take a while to find an opponent, especially if you're a higher tier player, causing the queues to be even longer.

Comment

Con
Minimal in features

While there may be more modes added with DLC in the future, currently there are only three unique game modes. This might be off-putting for players looking for more variety.

Comment

Pro
Simple in nature but focused in design

The looks, as well as the gameplay, may be seen as a bit simple, but this all plays into the core of the game. Trackmania is designed to do one thing, and one thing well, race time trials. So while it does not feature over-complex customizations or graphical effects, its track design and overly fun gameplay are what makes the whole thing stand out. This all means that the game is easy to grasp so that anyone can understand how to play. Of course this does not mean the game is easy, the difficulty is quite challenging, which just adds to the charm and overall appeal.

Comment

Pro
Over the top track design keeps the gameplay exciting

Cars dropped from a helicopter to begin a race, tracks with numerous loops, jumps, twist and turns, this all lends itself towards how over the top the gameplay is. It is not based in reality at all, but the game offers a bunch of arcade-crazy action that is just superbly fun.

Comment

Pro
Local and online multiplayer allows the game to be accessible no matter the preferred way to play

There is split screen local multiplayer as well as online multiplayer. Both of these allow players to play with their friends whether they are in the same room or online somewhere else. This makes for convenience, which is always nice to see.

Comment

Pro
Crisp and clean visuals make for a very arcade-like feel

The graphics have a very arcade-like feel to them that stands out as something that has been designed with this in mind. The colors are bright and the tracks each have their own look, thanks to the locales they are placed in. The whole of the game will run easily at 60fps no matter the platform, which helps to keep the arcade-like feel while also looking sharp, thanks to no dips in the framerate. Overall this is a slick looking racer that performs solidly.

Comment

Pro
Robust track creator extends the gameplay

The track creator in the game allows for creation of just about anything one can imagine. What is even better is that players can share these tracks online, which means unlimited replayability due to always having a plethora of new tracks to race on.

Comment

Pro
Cars can be easily customized to your liking

While not necessary for the game and a bit limited, there are some painting customization for the available cars, which allow for a more individualistic look, though this only goes so far as most cars do look the same no matter the color.

Comment

Con
Can be excruciatingly difficult

This is a time trial game and it shows, players will need to reset after reset each course in order to learn the track to get the best times. One mistake and that record is gone. Only pure perfection succeeds here. Some may enjoy this type of challenge, other though will most likely get frustrated.

Comment

Con
Music is a bit "samey", which can get old

The music in the game is basically techno with thumping beats. The majority sounds pretty similar and it may become grating for those that spend a ton of time in the game. While not overly bad, it definitely gets old after a while.

Comment

Con
Basic looking cars are boring

There is not much to differentiate between cars, while not really the focus of the game, having a few more unique looking cars could not hurt.

Comment

Pro
Great selection of cars and tracks

With over 130 tracks and 180 cars to choose from, there's a great deal of variety that gives the game a lot of replay value for both single-player and multiplayer races. Open wheels, dozens of vintage cars, popular road cars such as a handful of Porsche and Lamborghini models, and tons more are all on offer, along with a near-endless combination of customizable tracks for single-player races and rule sets for AI opponents.

Comment

Pro
Amazing sound design

Listening to every sound of the exhaust and engine from the driver's seat is exciting, making you feel like you're right behind the wheel. Other cars jetting by, the sharp noise of the wheels burning rubber on tight turns, and the clicking motion of the player character manually changing gears are all at their best, making Project CARS 2 a standout game of the genre in terms of realism.

Comment

Pro
Finely-tuned controls with a peripheral wheel

Playing with a peripheral wheel will be the superior choice for racing game vets, and Project CARS 2 is a great choice for anyone who wants an immersive driving experience. The wheel is smooth and responsive, with rumble feedback picking up each bump in the road, the grip loosens in chaos each time you lose control of the vehicle, and it quickly tightens up once you regain control. Controlling races with the gamepad naturally isn't as responsive as the wheel, but it's still a fine way to feel the thrill of the game's speed and fluidity.

Comment

Pro
Gorgeous visuals and dynamic weather

Project CARS 2 shows off every glare of sunlight over each car, the droplets of rain over the windshield in the middle of a downpour, and the flurry of snow rushing across the field as you navigate through a blizzard. Each car is recreated with painstaking detail, and the movement of the player character's hands as they rumble in-time with the wheel or shift around to change gears looks life-like.

Comment

Con
Difficult for new racing players

While there are some tools to help ease new racing players into the game, like an engineer that will help suggest how to tune your cars based on your preferences, Project Cars 2 can otherwise be a daunting experience. There are an overwhelming amount of cars, tracks, and customization options. The optional lines along the tracks for beginners to follow will sometimes lead players off track or into frustrating, hard-to-pull-off turns, souring the learning experience.

Comment

Pro
Good gameplay variety

There is a good mix of races on the map that players can choose to compete in. Traditional races, drifting events as well as Gymkhana events ensure that the layer will never get too board with doing the same thing over and over again. Which is a good feature for a racing game as many tend to do only one or two things.

Comment

Pro
Fantastic graphics

The game looks quite good. All races take place at night or dusk/dawn, making for great lighting on the tracks with good reflective lighting as well as wet roads that look quite sharp. There are also little jaggies to be found when using anti-aliasing, which makes for a very smooth looking game as well. Everything about the graphics speaks to the polish that the game is trying to display, and it exceeds any expectations on the graphics front overall.

Comment

Pro
Multiplayer is expansive

Being that the game is always online, there will be many players on the map that can be interacted with by joining their crew or just flat out racing anyone at anytime. This aspect of the game is quite fun and players can spend hours not even bothering with the story section of the game by just hanging out with friends and racing. Once a crew is joined players can race as teams as well, so this give a nice group competitive aspect to the game, where everything is not so competitive but requires cooperation.

Comment

Pro
Open world gameplay

Much like Burnout or Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit, Need for Speed features open world gameplay where in the player can pick or choose which races they would like to compete in by driving around the map to certain markers. This makes for a more realistic environment due to the fact that you can just drive around to anywhere you want. The open world is loosely based on Los Angeles, an d is a good sized map for plenty of exploring.

Comment

Pro
Tuning cars returns to the franchise

Users can tune and customize their cars to their liking. This makes for a great way to change how a car drives to make it control more to your liking. There are two different drive modes available for each car, Drift and Grip. Drift allows for a more loose driving that makes for an easy way to drift around corners and curves. Grip is a more controlled experience where the car is more stable on the road. Besides these two options users can customize many other aspects such as tire pressure or breaking power.

Comment

Con
Online only

The game forces a constant internet connection for the game, meaning those that would like to play offline due to not having good or constant internet can not play the game. This also means there is no pause menu, so even when racing solo, there will be no way to stop the action for say when the doorbell rings or a phone call comes in.

Comment

Con
Poor in game navigation

The game will highlight ones route for a race with blue arrows on the road, being that the race are mostly nighttime this means that certain obstacle can be difficult to see. The way the races work, the route is unknown until the race begins and is exacerbated by the hard to see road due to it being night. Basically the more difficult races will need to be raced numerous times until the racer is familiar with the course. While this has always been an issue with open world racers, Need for Speed definitely has not made any improvements and may even be considered worse at navigation than others.

Comment

Con
Story mode is short

The story mode can easily be beaten in a casual two days of playing the game, making for a really short experience for a full priced title.

Comment

Con
Poor execution of story

The story sequences of the game are played out through live action in a very unappealing way. the characters are often way over the top and unbelievable and are just flat out poorly written. While it can be appreciated that these are caricatures, the demographic that they are trying to target with them is pretty unpalatable.

Comment

Con
Low amount of cars

While the roster of vehicles is diverse, the amount is quite less than games like Forza which is limiting to those that would like to see many more cars to play around with.

Comment

Con
Poor day and night transitions

While racing the course will shift from day to night and back again, numerous time, though these transitions are done poorly and are a bit jarring. This ruins the immersion of the game as it is quite noticeable and happens frequently.

Comment

Con
Graphical problems

Cars fall into the map.

Comment

Con
Too much rubberbanding

When racing against AI opponents the cars will often use a technique called "rubberbanding" where in it is impossible to lap cars no matter how fast you are going as once you start getting too far ahead, the cars behind you will speed up unnaturally in order to keep the race more difficult. This can be frustrating an immersion breaking as it is very unrealistic as well annoying that the game does not up the difficulty through the AI with a more natural and believable way of driving.

Comment

Pro
Racing is fun and the controls are responsive

In MotoGP 17, you'll race at full speed to push ahead of the pack of other motorcycles, using the game's tight controls to your advantage to make narrow turns before accelerating again. Keeping that balance between speed and strategic slowdowns is exhilarating when you manage to pull it off and win race after race. You'll get to feel the weight of the motorcycle in your hands through the controller. The vibrations mimic the engine and your wheels grinding against the asphalt of the tracks, making you feel like your hands are right on the handles of your motorcycle. The smooth, responsive controls help to make sure that every race is all about your skills as the player, so you won't have to worry about laggy button inputs when going for difficult turns. No music plays during races, but listening to the buzzing of your motorcycle's engine is addicting and doesn't get old.

Comment

Pro
Fun experimentation with the team manager simulator

MotoGP 17's managerial mode gives you control over a team's resources to lead your riders to the World Championship. It has some interesting features that have potential for more additions in future games in the series. Working behind-the-scenes, you'll invest resources into improving your riders' skills, like with nutrition programs and athletic training. As your team wins more races, you'll gain more visibility and have a better selections of paid sponsors to choose from, earning you more money. As you earn more money, you'll be able to afford faster motorcycles, making your team even better. All of these systems have the promise for more improvements and depth, but what's available is plenty of fun to experiment with.

Comment

Pro
Plenty of tools to help new players excel

For new players, you're able to adjust settings in the menu to give you an easier time controlling your motorcycle. You can set colored path lines along the track that you can follow if you need some help with getting ready for turns ahead of time. There are also options to manually lower the AI difficulty to get you used to the game's learning curve. As you become more skilled at the game, you can gradually wean yourself off of these tools. They're great for anyone who wants to reach those expert levels of play, but might be discouraged by all the new mechanics that come with the racing game genre.

Comment

Pro
Racing veterans will find a challenge to conquer

For anyone looking for customizable difficulties in a racing game, MotoGP has plenty of settings that you can fine-tune to match your skill level. Longtime racing fans can jump right into races at higher difficulties, or you can tweak the AI settings to be more challenging across the board. For tournaments, there's a ramp-up in difficulty from the qualifying rounds to the ranked races, so veterans will find a good challenge in adjusting to each race on the fly.

Comment

Con
Overall presentation is barren and soulless

The game has overused, repetitive animations,and lifeless movement from crowd NPCs during matches. Overall there's a general emptiness in the environments. There's a lack of emotion and soul in MotoGP 17, making the game feel unfinished and unpolished. It's not a pleasing game to look at, and it might break immersion for you if you're looking for something that's more realistic and lively.

Comment

Con
Inconsistent AI difficulty

During qualifier rounds where there should be a reasonable amount of difficulty, the AI is deceptively easy. You'll end up winning races with a false sense of security, only to find much harder ones later on. It makes things confusing when trying to figure out your skill level and where you might need to improve.

Comment

Pro
Responsive controls on a wheel or game pad

Since this is a racing game that requires precision, it's great that the controls are reliable. You'll feel the feedback best from a peripheral wheel as you slow down to make a tough turn, as well as your wheels crackling against the gravel on the road. The rumble options with controllers are also great at simulating the same effects, and you can switch between the analog or directional buttons depending on whatever's most efficient for you.

Comment

Pro
Different tracks give opportunities to change up your car

Tracks with different weather and lengths are more like active features in WRC 7, letting you adapt to the changes while you prepare for the race. You can switch to your snow tires for winter races for better traction and control. When it's raining, you'll want to go for soft tires instead to keep your car from sliding around on turns. You can experiment with hard and soft tires depending on how long a track is, if there are asphalt roads or dirt roads, and all kinds of other variations. It's up to you to figure out what works best and prepare your car for any situation.

Comment

Pro
Difficult but rewarding long-form race mode

WRC 7 has Epic Stages, which are much longer forms of existing tracks. In these races, you'll be challenged to drive your best for up to fifteen minutes or more while shooting for the lowest time possible. You'll have to learn these tracks perfectly if you want to clear them. Any time you veer off the road or make a wrong calculation on a turn, it'll cost you time that you won't want to waste. It'll be tough, but plenty of practice, you'll be able to win these epic races, giving you an incredible sense of accomplishment.

Comment

Pro
Challenging off-road races

Driving in WRC 7 is more careful and methodical than most racing games, testing how well you can adapt to sudden turns and slowdowns on off-road tracks. Some stages have you driving up winding mountain roads with no rails, leaving you open to flying off the edge of a cliff if you're not careful. At other times, you'll be tempted to go as fast as you can through a scenic village, only to run over an unexpected dip in the road and spinning your car into a barrel roll. You want to be careful when driving, because if you try to floor the gas pedal, it'll probably send your car tumbling into a ditch off the side of the road or crashing into a tree. If you want a racing game that challenges you to be alert, then this is the one for you.

Comment

Con
Career mode only has a few cars to choose from

Car selection in the career mode is really limited, only letting you choose from about five different cars. It's okay as an introduction to the game, but the lack of variety might be off-putting for some.

Comment

Con
Not many chances to drive at full-speed

WRC 7 has tracks that challenge you to drive with more caution and avoid flying off the road. You can drive fast from time to time, but you won't be going at full speed all that often, or else you risk losing too much time. If you're looking for more of an arcade racer, this may not be the game for you.

Comment

Pro
Solid racing gameplay

It's really enjoyable to just drive a car in Forza 7, which is achieved by two main factors. First, the steering/controls are very good, so whether you're taking a sharp turn, passing a slight bend, or just picking up speed on a straight, it just feels nice. Second, there's an excellent sense of speed whether you're going fast or slow. From the slight nuances in your car's sound as you change gear, to the way the environments start to blur as you drive at high speeds, it really feels like you're driving a car, giving you excellent immersion. Forza 7 won't disappoint most racing fans and even players new to the genre.

Comment

Pro
Astonishing variety of cars

Forza 7 has massive roster of 700 cars, from various popular car brands around the world, including Aston Martin, BMW, Mitsubishi, and many more. Among the list are regular cars, sports cars, muscle cars, NASCARS, F1 cars, and even semi trucks. The selection is so great, you'll almost definitely find a car that matches your style.

Comment

Pro
Outstanding visuals

Forza 7 looks simply amazing. From the very detailed car models that closely resemble their real world counterparts, to the excellent lighting, reflections, and weather effects that bring life to its game world. To even the beautiful environments that make you feel like you're on a leisure trip. There's simply so much to look at and it's a joy for the eyes.

Comment

Con
Most popular Toyota cars have been excluded

Even though Forza 7 has 700 cars, popular Toyota models like AE86, Celica, and even Supra, have been excluded due to licensing issues. This can be a deal breaker for Toyota enthusiasts.

Comment

Con
Overly aggressive AI can be annoying

Unlike most racing games where the AI drives carefully and avoids contact with other cars, the AI in Forza 7 will constantly ram into your car, even on the lowest aggression settings. This can cause you to lose control and spin out quite often, giving the races a feel more similar to riding bumper cars, rather than a race in a professional setting. It's especially ridiculous in races with a high number of racers (10+), where the first turn in a race is "kill or be killed."

Comment

Pro
You can share custom tracks

If you create a custom track that you enjoy, or rather, if the game generates a custom track that you particularly enjoy, you can save it and even share it with friends who own the game.

Comment

Pro
Great visuals

Even though they could stand to be a little sharper, the visuals are very detailed. You can easily see and make out in detail the leaves as they rise above the ground once you pass on them, or the mud caked on the car you are driving. The water visual effects are phenomenal as well. Especially the splash effects.

Comment

Pro
Brilliant sound effects

The sound effects are brilliant as well. From the buzzing sounds coming from the cars to the nature sounds coming from the track you are currently racing.

Comment

Pro
Great variety of terrains available

Races take part in five different countries around the world: USA, Australia, Spain, Sweden and Wales. Each of them with unique features and demands. Australia for example is gravel-based with tight zones and twists. Spain is mountainous with little margin for error.

Comment

Pro
Lets you micromanage your career and facilities

In career mode you can spend earned credits on improving your facilities and as a result the effectiveness of your engineers. You also get to micromanage your career, especially when it comes to sponsorship deals where you will constantly try to find better and better deals to increase your earnings.

Comment

Pro
Virtually endless replayability

Stages are procedurally generated as you go. This means that Dirt 4 has virtually endless replayability. The custom stage creator called 'Your Stage' is fairly simple to use. You choose only the length and the complexity of the stage and on which country your race will take place. There are five countries to choose from: Australia, USA, Spain, Sweden and Wales.

Comment

Con
Visuals lack a little sharpness

Some of the visuals lack a bit of sharpness found in other racing games. Especially shadows which appear a bit blocky.

Comment

Con
Some car categories are not that well-covered

While certain car categories and eras are well-covered with lots of different models, some eras are left behind. The 2000s for example are represented by only a handful of car models.

Comment

Pro
Realistic cars, tracks and weather

Each car in F1 2018 is a faithful rendition of real-life motorsport racing, giving you control of awesome cars like the Mercedes, McLaren, Ferrari, and other brands. You'll drive in first-person view from the cockpit, getting to see the car up-close and personal, like how the huge front wheels at either side of you run at full speed and curve with your movements. The true-to-life tracks are straight out of locations from across the world. The game's weather is also spectacular to look at, like the sunny skies reflecting off of your car's coat of paint. When it's raining, you're get to see every detail from the open cockpit, with every drop of rainwater dripping down your helmet.

Comment

Pro
Fast, fun races with on-the-fly strategies

To win races in F1 2018, it comes down to learning when to make those hard turns, when to be aggressive, and when to take the risk of making pit stops. Driving fast is exhilarating as you feel the car's wheel in your hand through your controller or peripheral wheel. You play the long game in F1 2018, making quick judgment calls on when the best time is to make a pit stop, even if it means losing your lead in the race. When you know you won't be able to make it to the finish line, that's when you'll want to stop. If you want to push your car past its limits, then you can decide to keep going and do your absolute best to drive better and shave off even more time. As you keep playing, this cerebral risk/reward aspect will come more naturally to you, helping you improve your races down the line.

Comment

Pro
You get to enjoy time in the media spotlight throughout the story

During the story, you get to experience what it's like having the media's attention on you as a pro racer. The reporters come up to you with a camera and prepared questions, asking you about the results of the race -- whether you win or lose -- as a way to probe how you feel. If you give good PR responses about team morale and doing better next time, then your sponsors may see this as a good thing, if and only if that's the kind of reputation they want you to have. But they may want someone who's more of a lone wolf and boasts about their own performance, so that same sponsor won't respond well to your sportsmanship. It's a cool way to feel involved in the sport, giving the sense that you're representing not only yourself, but also your team and your sponsors.

Comment

Pro
Lots of customization options for the UI, AI difficulty, weather, and car upgrades

The game gives you a bunch of options to make everything custom-fit for you. There are settings like hiding elements on the screen during races, setting the time of day and the weather you'd like for each track, and tweaking the AI difficulty to your liking. In the career more, there's also an in-depth Research and Development skill tree, improved from F1 2017, with dozens of upgrade options for your car. If the R&D skill trees looks too complicated, you can always go with the recommended options instead.

Comment

Con
Reused driver animations from F1 2015, F1 2016, and F1 2017

Yet again, this latest iteration of the F1 series has too many recycled assets. During the victory segments, the drivers have reused animations to express excitement over their awards. Popping bottles of champagne and spilling the contents out in glee is great in moderation, but it gets old after a while. Certain drivers may not have the personality to do that, so for fans who follow the racers in real life, it can be a strange thing to see.

Comment

Con
Poor graphics for human models

Compared to the smooth graphics for cars, tracks and weather, the human models look terrible in comparison. Their skin textures look unfinished and they lack detail. It can be distracting and jarring to go from great-looking races to scenes with the drivers. They do look better than the ones in F1 2017, but not by much. Models for key characters in the career mode are thankfully a bit more polished.

Comment

Pro
Easy to join races just about anywhere

Jumping into a race is simple and fast. All you have to do is pick which city you want to race in, and you can find a match within a short time. The Crew 2 is great for dropping in for a quick run and then dropping out whenever you want.

Comment

Pro
Huge map of the United States to race around

The Crew 2 features a giant open world set in major cities across the US. Chicago, New York City, Los Angeles, and more are here for you to drive around in during races and free exploration. The cities are all true-to-life recreations of the actual locations, with recognizable landmarks and buildings. You can go anywhere you want within the available locales, driving around, joining races, and making your own fun along the way.

Comment

Pro
Slick and clean visuals

Everything looks nice and polished. Paint on your vehicles gleam in the sunlight, the weather is realistic, and the locations you race around in all look amazing. While character models in story cutscenes aren't as well-done, they're still fine. The devs did a great job at making the game pleasing to the eye.

Comment

Pro
You can switch freely between driving a car, a speed boat, and a plane

The best part about The Crew 2 is getting to change your vehicle type on-the-fly. While racing around on the road with a normal race car, for example, if you go flying off of a ramp at high speed over a lake, you can switch to your speed boat with a few simple button presses. Then, while zipping through the water, when you're about to reach land, you can change to your plane and fly for as long as you want. When you find a street to land on, you can go back to your car. It's a fun and innovative concept that lets you cross stretches of land in different ways.

Comment

Con
The world is barren and empty

Even though the open world is massive, most of it is wasted space. The cities you drive around don't feel lived-in, as if they only exist for cars, boats, and planes instead of actual people. It's just a nice copy of the US without any recreation of the history and culture of the locations, serving as empty sandboxes for gameplay. Having more detail and fine touches throughout the maps would have gone a long way to make these places feel more meaningful and worthwhile.

Comment

Con
Online-only means you need to have a good connection to play

The Crew 2 is always-online, which means you need a solid internet connection in order to play. If you don't have stable internet, then you're probably better off not purchasing the game, since your performance during races depends on how well your connection holds up. If you're constantly lagging and/or rubberbanding, then you're going to have a bad time.

Comment

Con
Thin story

There's not much of a narrative here. Basically, it's up to you to win races and gain social media followers for fame. The story doesn't even try to pull you in, and it knows that it's less important than the gameplay. So if you're looking for even a halfway decent plot in a game, you won't find one here.

Comment

Con
Plane and boat racing aren't that enjoyable

Compared to the arcadey fun of driving cars and bikes on roads, steering speed boats in the water and planes in the air isn't as engaging. Races by boats are pretty boring, where you just go from point A to B with only a few turns to make. The flying controls are imprecise, like how the game sometimes doesn't register when you correctly pull off a loop or barrel roll, and you end up not getting points for them. It's a cool concept to switch between three methods of racing, but it's obvious that the devs didn't spend as much time refining these two.

Comment

Pro
Great controls make for really solid gameplay

NBA 2K18's controls are very sharp and responsive, allowing you to use just about any basketball maneuver and trick with ease. From fast passes, 2-handed dunks, alley-oops to fake-outs, cross-overs, and even changing the rhythm of your dribbling. It simply feels good to play whether you're on offense or defense.

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Pro
Stunning graphics

When two teams are having a match on an NBA court, that's when NBA 2K18 looks its best. The lighting and reflections are excellent, the player models are very detailed, and the animations when players move around are extremely fluid. It's very easy to forget you're playing a video game and not watching a live television broadcast.

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Con
Very grindy career mode is an attempt to make you purchase microtransactions

Practically everything in NBA 2K18's career mode needs to be unlocked with VC (virtual currency). From customization elements like haircuts, to gameplay oriented aspects such as stat upgrades for your custom basketball player. It takes really long to gather enough VC to buy anything, and after a few purchases it starts feeling incredibly tedious. You might even be tempted to buy VC with real money, which could be the main reason why the developers went with this game design choice.

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Con
Lacks polish in most areas

While the gameplay on the court looks and plays amazing, NBA 2K18 is very inconsistent in across the board. This includes poor facial expressions and lifeless eyes on some character models, meaningless and illogical story elements in the MyGM mode, very basic and empty outdoor locations in MyNeighborhood, and even an AI that sometimes forgets what its doing during a game. All of the issues add up and take away from the realism NBA 2K18 is striving for.

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Pro
Career mode goes way deeper than just fighting

Career mode offers a new way to play that resembles a simulation game. In this mode, your goal is to become the best fighter possible, starting from the World Fighting Alliance and working your way up to be recruited and fighting in the ranks of the UFC. During this mode, you will have to manage not only your fighter in the ring as you punch and kick your way to the top, but everything that goes into the spectacle itself such as promoting your fights, building hype, and making fans. You are free to join and represent different gyms, with each one focusing on a particular fighting style. Every week you get points to spend on upgrading your character, learning new moves, promoting fights, and conducting research about your opponent's strengths and weaknesses. It's not possible to do everything at once, so it's up to you how you choose to spend your points. This mode will really appeal to players who want some more depth to their beat-em-up and gives a nice glimpse into what goes on behind the scenes in the UFC.

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Pro
Stamina meter promotes intelligent play over wild swinging

Whenever you take an action during a fight, your stamina meter will slowly deplete. Jumping into the ring and wildly throwing punches and kicks will get you nowhere and exhaust your fighter. The game requires you to play smart to win. You will have to manage your stamina so that you can punch, kick, and execute combos when the time is right, conserving your energy for the best takedown moments. This stamina system adds a nice layer of strategic play, as well as a manageable resource, to a genre that is mostly filled with button mashing.

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Pro
You can step into the ring as your favorite fighter

All major UFC fighters are playable in game, with the in-game models doing a great job of representing their real life counterparts. It's a great chance to step into the shoes of your favorite fighter as you punch, kick, and grapple your way to victory. In the event you want to create your own fighter, you can even do that as well.

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Pro
Fights look and feel polished

When your fists or feet connect with an opponent, you can see the pain in their face as they stagger backwards. Hits and kicks feel heavy and powerful, with a real impact, and the animations are incredibly smooth. Fighters are molded after their real life counterparts in extreme detail down to tattoos and facial expressions. Everything about the fights just looks and feels fluid and polished from the lighting in the ring to the punching, kicking, and grappling itself.

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Pro
Reworked striking system leads to more strategic fighting

The striking system for UFC 3 has been reworked from the system appearing in 1 and 2. Using the control stick on the right, you can now bob and sway to dodge and avoid incoming punches and kicks. This new striking system allows you to set up counterattacks by dodging and striking back-to-back allowing for more strategic counterplay. It encourages a delicate balance between offense and defense, as one smart move can lead to knocking out your opponent, whereas one wrong move can send you crumbling to the floor.

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Con
Fight commentary gets repetitive

While there's nothing wrong with it at first, the same bland pre-recorded lines are used over and over, resulting in commentary that feels very repetitive over time.

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Con
Ultimate Team mode has microtransactions

The only way to add fighters or moves to your team in Ultimate Mode is through an item shop.

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Con
Poor submission and grappling system

Unlike the strategic fighting, the submission and grappling system is handled through a timed minigame in which you press buttons in a certain order or move the control stick in a certain direction. This can feel disjointed from the rest of the fight.

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Con
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Pro
True-to-life gameplay that accurately simulates the NFL

The gameplay in the Madden series excellently plays out just like the professional American football league in real life. You get to play as teams from the current year's league, with rosters that are up-to-date with the latest players, including the biggest celebrity names. The actual NFL rules are in play as well, where you control your quarterback while on offense, passing to other players in order to score, or managing your defensive players when the other team has the ball, working to tackle them and earn turnovers. If you're a diehard fan of American football, then Madden NFL 19 is a great way to live out the experience of being in the NFL through a video game.

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Pro
Responsive and organic controls for maneuvering your players

The latest update to the long-running Madden series gives you more freedom in how you control your player when he has the ball. You can change your speed while running to throw off opponents, such as hesitating to force the other team to stop while you find an opening and make a run for the touchdown. You can also side step the defense, spin around other players, and pretty much pull off the same types of moves that you see in real life from players out in the field. This makes the game feel like much more of a simulation of the sport with the way you have much more natural control over your team members.

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Pro
Photorealistic visuals

Madden NFL 19 is a great looking game. Players look true-to-life, with their exact proportions, hairstyles, and girth of their muscles matching how they are in actual pictures. You can see the sheen of sweat on their arms and see the ruffles in their uniform as they get tackled. And the weather is nice too, especially with how snow shows up on the field in patches and uneven patterns just like in real life. Just like with every other new Madden game, the devs did an incredible job with improving the graphics, keeping the technology advancing forward.

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Pro
Continues the story mode from Madden NFL 18

Madden NFL 18 had a pretty decent story mode that followed the careers of two best friends, with Madden NFL 19 continuing from where the last game left off. It's a nice change of pace to play through a dedicated story mode in a sports game, helping to show the more human side of the league and the types of things that many players go through, in trying to balance their private and family lives with their time out on the field. While it's not exactly a sweeping and intricate narrative, it's an interesting little bonus.

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Con
More or less still the same old Madden

Honestly, if you've played any one Madden game, you've played them all. Aside from a few tweaks and experiments here and there, this is an annual franchise that banks on selling the same experience year after year. The graphics get better, and they keep the roster up to date for the current year the NFL season, but there isn't much else that they can do with a sports game that's meant to simulate professional American football. If you don't want to fork over the money to pay for this game when you've already played and enjoyed other Madden titles, you won't miss out on much.

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Con
Weird clipping issues

There are some strange instances where players' bodies, or sometimes just their limbs, clip through each other in ways that clearly look bad. It happens a lot during tackles and sacks, with players tumbling around over each other on the field. Their physics just look off, clashing terribly with the polished graphics and weather effects on the field, and pulling you out of the experience.

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Con
Occasional game crashes

There are some major problems where the game will crash, forcing you to boot everything back up to try and get back your lost progress. The devs should be able to put out a patch that takes care of this issue, so you may want to hold off on getting the game until then.

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Con
Bland story mode

Even though it's great that Madden NFL 19 continues the well-received story mode from the last game, it doesn't really live up to expectations this time around. Getting to see the two best friends deal with their real-life struggles is still intriguing, but other than that, things feel really forced and generic, and it's way too short, taking about four hours to finish. They continued the story for the sake of continuing it without innovating or keeping things interesting. It's too bad, because they could have done a better job building on the sadly novel idea of having a dedicated story mode in Madden to change things up.

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