Sports video games at the forefront

author: brady lang | sports writer

When video games are life./Inspiredimages via Pixabay\

Let the brain melting fun begin

September isn’t just another month for sports video games; it’s the month for sports video games!

Now, Madden was released in the last week of August, yet we’ll give them a pass. In September, the releases of NHL 17, NBA 2K17 and of course FIFA 17 at the end of the month.

Personally, I’ve always been a fan of the NHL series, otherwise known as chel. Since NHL 2003, chel has been a staple in my life, growing up with the game makes the September release date all that more special, just due to the fact that the game gets better (almost) every year.

There’s nothing like sitting down with your buddies and playing a game of Chel. The competition level just keeps growing and with the inclusion of Hockey Ultimate Team (HUT), the game just keeps getting more amazing every single year.

Although I’m talking up all of the newer games, the best chel games are the classics. Top to bottom, from gameplay to the soundtracks, the EA Series in the mid-2000s will always trump games over the newer Next-Gen series. If I had to pick the greatest hockey video game of all time, however, Midway’s NHL Hitz 20-02 gets the nod as the best.

This game literally kicked ass. My favourite part of the gameplay was the fact that if you lost the fight, your player was out of the game and the other kept playing. The arcade style element of the game made it fun to play at any time and was a staple in my house in university for quite some time. Other awesome features included creating your own team, players starting on blue and red fire depending on how many goals they scored, and being able to hit players through the glass – so modern, eh?

As great as the NHL series of hockey games were, Madden and MLB the Show are also go tos when it comes to playing personally. When it comes down to it though, there’s nothing that competes with the classics. As amazing as video games are nowadays, there’s something different about playing the games that shaped your childhood. Growing up in Canada, there wasn’t much to do on those long winter nights other than popping in your favourite game and melting your brain for hours at a time.

All in all, I cannot wait for the Sept. 13 release date of Chel 17. Don’t expect much more out of me for the two weeks following that!