What is the best action sports video game of all time?
There’s an obvious answer to that question. The thing is, that answer tends to differ depending on who you ask, when they were born, what their sport of choice is and how many game consoles they’ve owned in the past 20 years.
So, when the question arose at Mpora HQ this morning, we decided to do what any sensible adults would in our situation; frantically shout our own opinions over one-another, disagreeing with anything contradictory to our own selections, and then make a poll to let the public decide.
Below you’ll find a poll in which you can vote for what you believe to be the best action sports game ever. But first, some words from the staff at Mpora, Factory Media and Square Up on exactly why we have narrowed it down to the following 10 video games. Your best bet is probably to find the opinion you agree with, and then angrily dismiss everything else…
Or did we miss out your favourite entirely? Let us know in the comments if so!
SkiFree (1991)
Quite literally the OG of all the pre-installed computer games that shaped our early gaming days. Everyone remembers the simple but addictive concept of guiding the pixelated skier down the hill, avoiding trees and rocks along the way… And everyone remembers the sheer horror of when the mountain yeti made a guest appearance. It shaped my childhood and also provided me with an irrational fear of yetis.
Tilly Tasker, Editor, Ski Union
1080° Snowboarding (1998)
The mighty 64 was arguably the last truly great console Nintendo produced. I was still losing large chunks of my life to Goldeneye at university, a full seven years after it first came out. While no-one would put 1080 Snowboarding in the same space as that stone cold classic, it is still hands down my favourite ever action sports game.
Objectively speaking, 1080 Snowboarding was not a great game. It wasn’t even a good game if we’re honest. The gameplay had little in common with actual snowboarding – it was all about racing for starters, and although you could do tricks to gain extra points, you couldn’t get inverted. Weirder still, it wouldn’t let you spin and grab at the same time. Meanwhile doing the titular trick – at the time the biggest rotation possible on a board – required a ridiculously contorted button combo that I never mastered.
And yet for all its fundamental flaws, this game will always have a special place in my heart. It came out in the year I first stepped on a board, and as a snow-obsessed 12-year-old who couldn’t ride often enough, this helped scratch the itch.
Tristan Kennedy, Editor-in-Chief, Mpora
Dave Mirra Freestyle BMX 2 (2001)
Oh man! Where to start… I’ve played this game more than any 30 year old should admit. Although I’m sure I’m not alone in that regard. It’s hard to believe that this was released in 2001 – that’s 16 years ago, half my lifetime! In the opinion of many riders who came up in the early 2000’s, Mirra 2 is the gold standard of BMX in gaming. Rightly so, as it’s still got a lot going for it. That moment you drop in at Woodward to the sound of Gangstar’s ‘Moment of Truth’ is one that’s ingrained deeply into the mind of any rider from that era.
Scott Connor, Senior Contributor, Ride UK BMX
Read Scott’s full article on the greatest BMX games of all time here