Sports Video Games

Konami's celebrated soccer series returns to Wii with an emphasis on improved control and strategy on the pitch. Revamped animations and physics are designed to offer more lifelike results, from acceleration and tackling to jostling and blocking. The presentation features over 1000 new animations in total, taken from more than 100 hours of motion-captured recordings of athletes. Other changes include improvements to defender artificial intelligence, so that they better hold their positions, and an enhanced passing system. A new shot and stamina meter lets you see each athlete's current level of fitness at a glance, which is important since sprinting now has a detrimental effect on player performance and abilities over time. Use the Nunchuk to move your athletes on the pitch, while pointing the Wii Remote to pass, send players on runs, and more. The Classic Controller is supported as well for a more traditional scheme. ~ Scott Alan Marriott, All Game Guide

This unofficial sequel to 2008's Deadliest Catch: Alaskan Storm features six different fishing campaigns that vary in length and complexity. While the goal in each is to catch more Alaskan king (or opilio) crab than your rivals, the campaigns will span one or more seasons and feature one or more opponents. Inclement weather will also factor in your success rate, and you have the option to pit your skills against others online. Gameplay involves choosing a destination and time of day to fish, with the bulk of the action involving several different mini-games.

You'll need to retrieve and set pots, sort crabs, complete repairs, and more through activities designed to support motion controllers. Each mini-game also offers the possibility to string combos with successful timing, which can lead to improved stats for the fishermen that participate in them. The money earned from your hauls can then be used for repairs or ship upgrades. Your competition in Deadliest Catch are the real-life captains from the Discovery Channel show, including Sig Hansen, Johnathan Hillstrand, Andy Hillstrand, Keith Colburn, and Phil Harris. ~ Scott Alan Marriott, All Game Guide

The third entry in Hudson's budget-friendly Deca Sports series features ten new sporting events and, for the first time, support for the Wii MotionPlus accessory for added precision. Featured activities include springboard diving, giant slalom, racquetball, volleyball, kayak slalom, air racing, lacrosse, log cutting, fencing, and the half-pipe. Up to four players can compete simultaneously, with online support available in the following four events: volleyball, racquetball, fencing, and lacrosse. The team editor from previous versions is back, allowing players to choose the name, emblem, colors, and attributes of their sports teams. ~ Scott Alan Marriott, All Game Guide

Dual-sport athlete Shaun White moves from the snow to the streets in this skateboarding title from Ubisoft. Your goal is to transform a dreary city into a "skating utopia" by performing a variety of tricks in unusual places. Shaun White himself will offer tips and advice as you skate in abandoned plazas, empty fountains, and lonely alleys. As you create skate lines across the city, you'll transform the environment, opening up new areas and literally changing the nearby structures. The more creative your runs, the more points you'll receive to unlock gear and other skating challenges. Characters from Shaun White Snowboarding will assist in your quest, introducing events like collection runs, races, and story-driven missions. Both online and split-screen multiplayer support are included, allowing you and friends to work together in cooperative tasks or compete against one another in adversarial matches. ~ Scott Alan Marriott, All Game Guide

Tony Hawk: Shred is a 3D extreme sports game that uses a special motion-sensing floor controller, which players ride like a skateboard or snowboard. Players race through steep, downhill courses, full of big ramps, huge gaps, and giant drops. The game's over-the-top attitude sets up exaggerated-action boarding, with players using whole-body control to pull off superhuman tricks. Unlike the more hardcore-influenced Tony Hawk games that dominated the genre through the beginning of the previous decade, 2010's Shred is an all-ages outing, with content that caters to younger gamers. Players steer by leaning left or right, as on an actual skateboard or snowboard, and perform special moves with well-timed balance shifts. Modes of play include "Trick," "Point Rush," and "Challenge," and multiple difficulty settings are available. Players can create their own custom characters, or ride as pro skateboarders such as Tony Hawk, Lyn-z Adams Hawkins, and Corey Duffel, and snowboarders including Travis Rice, Louie Vito, and Olympic Gold Medalist Torah Bright. Wii gamers can also import their Mii characters into the game, and have access to Mii versions of all the pro boarder characters. The game can be played using the Tony Hawk: Ride skateboard controller or the Tony Hawk Shred Board Controller, each sold separately. ~ T.J. Deci, All Game Guide

This fourth entry in THQ's best-selling pro wrestling series on Wii emphasizes enhanced customization options, allowing players greater freedom in designing their characters, storylines, finishing moves, and match types. More than 70 pro wrestlers, male and female, are included, along with over 100 match variants. Highlights include "Hell in a Cell," "Money in the Bank," and "Tables, Ladders & Chairs." A new physics system is included to heighten the game's realism, and the "Road to WrestleMania" mode has been retooled to incorporate new storylines, free-roaming locker rooms, and impromptu matches. The most notable addition is the "WWE Universe" mode, which has you making an assortment of decisions to help shape future scenarios, from new rivalries and alliances to championship matches and surprise events outside the ring. ~ Scott Alan Marriott, All Game Guide

Comical kids compete on playgrounds and parks once more in this continuation of the Backyard Sports series. Rookie Rush features a selection of 12 teams, from the "Bunsen Blazers" to the "Meadowbrook Monsters." Each team has a distinctive home field and is captained by a youngster individually rated in speed, tackling, throwing, and power. The seven-on-seven action follows the basics of football, albeit with a much simpler play calling system and an emphasis on lighthearted, arcade-style action. Players can activate power-ups such as banana peels, ice cream trucks, and the dreaded "stinky pants" to help themselves or hinder their rivals. Up to four players can participate in an exhibition match, choose one of five mini-games, or enter a tournament. Solo players can either build the best team on the block in the story mode or lead their favorite team to victory over the course of a season. ~ Scott Alan Marriott, All Game Guide

Retired NBA superstar Michael Jordan headlines this installment of Take Two's top-selling basketball series, which features an exclusive "Jordan Challenge" mode. Players will slide into the pricey sneakers of His Airness as they attempt to duplicate Jordan's efforts in ten legendary games. Featured events include 1990's 69-point outburst against the Cavaliers, Game 6 of the 1997 finals, and Jordan's final game with the Chicago Bulls. Once all ten scenarios are completed, Jordan will then become a playable athlete in the main game -- as a rookie -- in a new mode called "Creating a Legend."

You'll "be like Mike" as he begins a new career in the current NBA, gradually aging over the course of multiple seasons until his eventual retirement. In addition to prominently featuring Michael Jordan, NBA 2K11 also features a number of presentation and gameplay tweaks. The animation is designed to be more dynamic in this installment, allowing you to interrupt motions at will for more fluid control. New dribbling and passing schemes are present, and team management options can be changed on the fly. Returning to the game are the same modes found in NBA 2K10 on the console. ~ Scott Alan Marriott, All Game Guide

The seminal arcade basketball title of the early-'90s returns to gamers with more off-the-wall athleticism, explosive theatrics, and "on-fire" hot streaks as EA Sports takes the helm of NBA Jam. The "Classic Campaign" returns, once again letting players form a two-man team, complete with digitized faces of 2010 NBA stars, legends from the past, and even mascots, and then head around the country to conquer other two-man squads representing every NBA franchise. The "Remix Tour" mode also uses the concept of traveling around the country to conquer territory, only it tasks gamers with playing mini-games like Twenty One, Elimination, Domination, and Smash. Twenty One is the classic schoolyard game where multiple players compete to be the first to score 21 points, Elimination is a timed mode that periodically removes the lowest-scoring player, Domination finds gamers competing to hit shots from different sections of the court, and Smash resembles the Classic Campaign, except players compete to destroy their opponent's backboard, so dunks and alley oops become much more valuable than regular shots. There are more than 90 different challenges in the "Remix Tour" mode, including boss battles against NBA legends like Magic Johnson and Julius Erving. Turbo remains a key element to NBA Jam gameplay, but the developers at EA Canada have added a few new twists, such as spin moves, ankle-breaking crossovers, power-ups, and multiple facial expressions for each character. Multiplayer fans can join up to three friends for all the "Classic Campaign" and "Remix Tour" action they can handle. ~ Christopher Brown, All Game Guide

The "2011" edition of EA Sports' FIFA Soccer presents a multifaceted virtual experience of playing the world's most popular sport. Although built upon the same basic game-engine foundation and featuring play systems developed over many years of top-selling soccer releases, the game's interface has been updated and key elements have been refined for more balanced action on the pitch. In particular, goalie artificial intelligence is enhanced, for more responsive, perceptive, computer-controlled keepers. In the Wii edition, gamers have the option of playing street-style five-on-five games, with a team of players who each have a distinctive special skill. The game also introduces a new trick system, designed to allow practiced gamers to take intuitive, flick-of-the-wrist control of their onscreen soccer stars. In any position, new aspects of player and team customization are prominent in all versions of the game. As in earlier editions, FIFA 11 includes representations of hundreds of real-life pro players, teams, and stadiums from various minor and major leagues around the world. ~ T.J. Deci, All Game Guide