Game Reviews
Detailed analysis from our experts of sport manager games
OOTP 22 Review – Simulating a sport that has so many intricate details
The annual release of the newest addition to the Out of the Park Baseball series is always cause for sim baseball fans, but it’s fair to say there’s never been a year quite like the one leading up to OOTP 22. Not only was Out of the Park Developments purchased last October — by Korean company Com2uS, known primarily for its mobile games — but baseball itself hasn’t qu...[Read More]
Draft Day Sports Pro Basketball 2021 Review – Wolverine Continues to Dominate the Court
When it comes to management games, basketball has long been the sport which has suffered the most surprising neglect. There has never been a consistent franchise with the following or the funding of a Football Manager or an Out of the Park Baseball. Basketball fans instead have endured through sporadic releases from an array of small American and European developers. ...[Read More]
Pro Cycling Manager 2020 Review – It’s fun and hell! Sadly, it’s both…
Today I bring you no deep thoughts, no major revelations that, by the end of the review, will attempt to teach some moral lesson or give you food for thought. Today the issue is serious, so let’s just get straight to it and talk about what feels like the longest con in gaming history! If you’ve been playing yearly release games for a few years now, you know how this g...[Read More]
Total Extreme Wrestling 2020 Review – TEW 2020 is simply a wonderful game
Change takes time before it takes place. This an unwritten rule of life, so if you are not willing to accept it, you might get left behind. And getting left behind is also what usually happens to those that refuse to accept change. For some reason, we are all geared to continue to change and evolve as a species, while rejecting it at the same time, always looking to g...[Read More]
FOF8 Review – A Game By Stats Heads for Stats Heads
On paper, the Jaguars were capable of having a good season. I expected to go 8-8 with a shot at making the playoffs as a Wild Card team. We ended up winning two games more than expected, going 10-6 and missing a divisional title by a half a game. The Texans managed to go 10-5-1 on their way to winning the division. The playoff matchup was a tough one, but we ended up ...[Read More]
Draft Day Sports Pro Football 2020 Review – Customization is King
The game of American football is complicated. Anyone who has dipped their toes into a management game that revolves around football knows just how complex it can be. Designing a game that touches all aspects of football in a way that works is even harder. Still, Wolverine Studios has managed to do enough right to pull together a complete simulation that captures the m...[Read More]
WMMA5 Review – Closest we will ever be to the actual world of MMA
We humans, are very strange creatures. Most of us seem to be wired to better deal with the allegedly warmth welcome of an actual stranger, instead of the goodbye from someone we’ve known all along. Oh, and by the way, hello to everyone. My name is Andrew Ray and it is my pleasure to be writing to all of you today. But as I do my welcoming bid – no need to applaud, you...[Read More]
Baseball Mogul 2020 Review – The ‘Other’ Baseball Simulation
With all the attention that other game gets (hint: it’s an acronym), it’s easy to forget there are other sports sims out there; specifically, in the realm of baseball. Let’s be honest, with the Coronavirus pandemic keeping most of us home more than usual, we need as many entertainment options as possible to keep busy until life gets back to normal (whatever “normal” i...[Read More]
Campus Dynasty Review – A powerful simulation in the palm of your hand
In my first season coaching the Daytona Beach Wildcats, my season expectations were low. I was expected to win only 6 games and bow out ingloriously at the end of the season. I managed to win 7 games and blew out the #3 seed in my conference tournament before taking the inglorious bow that I was expected to all along. Seeing a glimmer of hope I rushed into recruiting ...[Read More]
OOTP 21 Review – More ways than ever to create the baseball world you want
Normally, the release of the latest Out of the Park Baseball (just OOTP for most enthusiasts, thanks very much) would be a cause for rejoicing on two fronts: First and foremost because the leading baseball sim on the market always seems to up its game every year, but also due to the knowledge that a new real life baseball season was imminent. Unfortunately, the corona...[Read More]
Review of Draft Day Sports College Basketball 2020: A deep dive into a college basketball universe all your own
I went into reviewing Wolverine Studios’ latest release, Draft Day Sports College Basketball 2020, with at least some idea what I would find there. I had played previous WS releases more than a decade ago before real life intervened and my time for such pastimes waned. Full disclosure: I’ve been playing the sports management simulation genre for a very lon...[Read More]
Review of Game Plan Hockey Manager – Where simplicity is the key
Before I start the review of Game Plan Hockey Manager I have to note a few things. First, the game has only two people working on it and they work on it in the spare time that they have in their busy lives. Second, this game has a $1.99 monthly subscription fee. It has a one month free trial though for anyone that wants a taste before they jump in. Finally, I have bee...[Read More]