Best games
Best Sports games of 2011
The 9 best Sports games released in 2011, ranked from 751 critic and player ratings.
The best Sports game of 2011 is FIFA 12, with a critic score of 85/100 — updated September 2026.
How this ranking is built
- Games are ranked on the aggregated critic score out of 100 imported from IGDB and Metacritic, never on Tier's own grades.
- A game only enters the ranking with at least 30 external ratings, so a single enthusiastic review never outranks a proven classic.
- Each game is ranked in one genre only, the one that defines it best, so the same title never tops two different genre charts.
- Community grades from F to S are shown next to every game, and only stated as a fact above 5 Tier ratings.
- Release window covered: 2011.
- 9 games are listed on this page, carrying 751 ratings between them.
- Rankings are recomputed hourly; this one was last rebuilt on 29 September 2026.
Top 9
01
FIFA 12
FIFA 12 brings to the pitch the game-changing new Player Impact Engine, a physics engine built to deliver real-world physicality in every interaction on the pitch. Revolutionary gameplay innovations inspired by the real-world of soccer make FIFA Soccer 12 deeper and more engaging. All-new Precision Dribbling delivers a higher fidelity of touch on the ball for attacking players, while Tactical Defending fundamentally changes the approach to defending by placing equal importance on positioning, intercepting passes and tackling. Plus, CPU players have been infused with Pro Player Intelligence, the next generation of player intelligence and performance. Stay tuned for more features to be announced in the coming months.
85
/100
02
NBA 2K12
With over 5 million copies sold worldwide and over 20 Sports Game of Year awards, last year NBA 2K11 allowed you to BECOME THE GREATEST with MJ & the Jordan Challenge mode. This year the NBA 2K franchise is back and bigger than ever, providing fans with the opportunity they've always dreamed of - to finally END THE DEBATE as to who are the best teams and players of all time. Featuring such NBA legends as Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson and Larry Bird as well as all of your favorite NBA players of today, NBA 2K12 will be packed with new and exciting features that will be revealed in the weeks and months ahead that, come October 4th, will put fans center court of an unprecedented basketball experience.
84
/100
03
NHL 12
NHL 12 is an ice hockey video game developed by EA Canada and published by EA Sports. The game was released between September 8–13, 2011, in Australia, New Zealand, Europe, and North America. The game was featured in the 2011 Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3). Steven Stamkos was announced as the game's cover athlete on June 22, 2011, at the NHL Awards Show in Las Vegas, Nevada. The game notably includes more interactive goalies (i.e. players can have real contact with the goalies and vice versa, and the goalies and skaters may fight each other), better physics engine, improved Be a Pro mode, and the ability to play the 2011 NHL Winter Classic. Like NHL 11, Gary Thorne (play-by-play) and Bill Clement (color) provide commentary for NHL 12.
86
/100
FIFA 12
FIFA 12 brings to the pitch the game-changing new Player Impact Engine, a physics engine built to deliver real-world physicality in every interaction on the pitch. Revolutionary gameplay innovations inspired by the real-world of soccer make FIFA Soccer 12 deeper and more engaging. All-new Precision Dribbling delivers a higher fidelity of touch on the ball for attacking players, while Tactical Defending fundamentally changes the approach to defending by placing equal importance on positioning, intercepting passes and tackling. Plus, CPU players have been infused with Pro Player Intelligence, the next generation of player intelligence and performance. Stay tuned for more features to be announced in the coming months.
85
/100
02
NBA 2K12
With over 5 million copies sold worldwide and over 20 Sports Game of Year awards, last year NBA 2K11 allowed you to BECOME THE GREATEST with MJ & the Jordan Challenge mode. This year the NBA 2K franchise is back and bigger than ever, providing fans with the opportunity they've always dreamed of - to finally END THE DEBATE as to who are the best teams and players of all time. Featuring such NBA legends as Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson and Larry Bird as well as all of your favorite NBA players of today, NBA 2K12 will be packed with new and exciting features that will be revealed in the weeks and months ahead that, come October 4th, will put fans center court of an unprecedented basketball experience.
84
/100
03
NHL 12
NHL 12 is an ice hockey video game developed by EA Canada and published by EA Sports. The game was released between September 8–13, 2011, in Australia, New Zealand, Europe, and North America. The game was featured in the 2011 Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3). Steven Stamkos was announced as the game's cover athlete on June 22, 2011, at the NHL Awards Show in Las Vegas, Nevada. The game notably includes more interactive goalies (i.e. players can have real contact with the goalies and vice versa, and the goalies and skaters may fight each other), better physics engine, improved Be a Pro mode, and the ability to play the 2011 NHL Winter Classic. Like NHL 11, Gary Thorne (play-by-play) and Bill Clement (color) provide commentary for NHL 12.
86
/100
04
Football Manager 2012
Football Manager 2012 allows you to take control of any club in over 50 nations across the world, including all of the biggest leagues across Europe. You're in the hot-seat, which means you decide who plays and who sits on the bench, you're in total control of tactics, team-talks, substitutions and pitch-side instructions as you follow the match live with the acclaimed 3D match engine allowing YOU to make the difference!
84
/100
05
Madden NFL 12
Play and manage football matches between real NFL teams, featuring the latest player lineups of 2012!
76
/100
06
Pro Evolution Soccer 2012
Pro Evolution Soccer 2012 (abbreviated to PES 2012 and known officially as World Soccer: Winning Eleven 2012 in Asia) is a video game which is the eleventh edition in the Pro Evolution Soccer series developed and published by Konami (and MicroByte in Argentina) with production assistance from the Blue Sky Team. Lionel Messi, who has been the cover star for the series since PES 2009, was replaced by PES 2008 cover star Cristiano Ronaldo, while Shinji Kagawa replaces Messi as the cover star for the Japanese version. The US and Latin American cover features Santos player Neymar and Cristiano Ronaldo.
74
/100
07
Worms Crazy Golf
Worms Crazy Golf is a hilarious mixture of the explosive action of Worms and the puzzle-based challenges of crazy golf! All of the trademark Worms humour, comic violence, and cartoon visuals are present, combined with addictive yet accessible golf gameplay. With extensive and re-playable single-player options, and hot-seat multi-player for up to 4 players, this is not just a load of balls.
73
/100
08
AaaaaAAaaaAAAaaAAAAaAAAAA!!! for the Awesome
The jumps you make off buildings floating above Boston, Massachusetts are all about style and timing. You perform stunts, weaving around the bustling City for points, making split-second decisions: do you snake around those girders to earn a dozen “kisses,” or glide along the side of that steel super-skyscraper for massive “hugs”? Aaaaa! then throws in the spectators — as you fall, give fans the thumbs-up and protesters the finger. And if you’re hungry for a bit of civil disobedience, you can even ready the spraypaint and tag government buildings for points. The game will also teach you how to debristle a pig. 80 levels. Plus the bonus level. Flip off protesters. Fly down mountains. Spraypaint graffiti. Be a pinball.Execute stunt kisses. And stunt hugs. Learn to bake cookies. Thread the needle. Debristle a pig?
70
/100
09
Virtua Tennis 4
Virtua Tennis 4 is an action-oriented tennis game which focuses on fast matches instead of being a realistic simulation. The heart of the game is the career mode in which the player creates their own avatar. The goal is simple: reaching the top within four seasons. Here the player has various possibilities to improve their tennis player, e.g. by playing training sessions (arcade minigames like picking up eggs) to improve the statistics, buying new clothes with prize money or playing matches. The menu for this mode is made up like a board game. Other playing modes are single matches, party mode (playing the mentioned mini games) or arcade (winning as many matches in a row as possible). Here players can choose between 19 licensed athletes (plus at release already retired athletes in the PlayStation 3 version). The standard controls for returning the ball consist of choosing the desired move, e.g. spin and basic direction. When a special bar is filled up, players can unleash an especially powerful shot.
68
/100
Football Manager 2012
Football Manager 2012 allows you to take control of any club in over 50 nations across the world, including all of the biggest leagues across Europe. You're in the hot-seat, which means you decide who plays and who sits on the bench, you're in total control of tactics, team-talks, substitutions and pitch-side instructions as you follow the match live with the acclaimed 3D match engine allowing YOU to make the difference!
84
/100
05
Madden NFL 12
Play and manage football matches between real NFL teams, featuring the latest player lineups of 2012!
76
/100
06
Pro Evolution Soccer 2012
Pro Evolution Soccer 2012 (abbreviated to PES 2012 and known officially as World Soccer: Winning Eleven 2012 in Asia) is a video game which is the eleventh edition in the Pro Evolution Soccer series developed and published by Konami (and MicroByte in Argentina) with production assistance from the Blue Sky Team. Lionel Messi, who has been the cover star for the series since PES 2009, was replaced by PES 2008 cover star Cristiano Ronaldo, while Shinji Kagawa replaces Messi as the cover star for the Japanese version. The US and Latin American cover features Santos player Neymar and Cristiano Ronaldo.
74
/100
07
Worms Crazy Golf
Worms Crazy Golf is a hilarious mixture of the explosive action of Worms and the puzzle-based challenges of crazy golf! All of the trademark Worms humour, comic violence, and cartoon visuals are present, combined with addictive yet accessible golf gameplay. With extensive and re-playable single-player options, and hot-seat multi-player for up to 4 players, this is not just a load of balls.
73
/100
08
AaaaaAAaaaAAAaaAAAAaAAAAA!!! for the Awesome
The jumps you make off buildings floating above Boston, Massachusetts are all about style and timing. You perform stunts, weaving around the bustling City for points, making split-second decisions: do you snake around those girders to earn a dozen “kisses,” or glide along the side of that steel super-skyscraper for massive “hugs”? Aaaaa! then throws in the spectators — as you fall, give fans the thumbs-up and protesters the finger. And if you’re hungry for a bit of civil disobedience, you can even ready the spraypaint and tag government buildings for points. The game will also teach you how to debristle a pig. 80 levels. Plus the bonus level. Flip off protesters. Fly down mountains. Spraypaint graffiti. Be a pinball.Execute stunt kisses. And stunt hugs. Learn to bake cookies. Thread the needle. Debristle a pig?
70
/100
09
Virtua Tennis 4
Virtua Tennis 4 is an action-oriented tennis game which focuses on fast matches instead of being a realistic simulation. The heart of the game is the career mode in which the player creates their own avatar. The goal is simple: reaching the top within four seasons. Here the player has various possibilities to improve their tennis player, e.g. by playing training sessions (arcade minigames like picking up eggs) to improve the statistics, buying new clothes with prize money or playing matches. The menu for this mode is made up like a board game. Other playing modes are single matches, party mode (playing the mentioned mini games) or arcade (winning as many matches in a row as possible). Here players can choose between 19 licensed athletes (plus at release already retired athletes in the PlayStation 3 version). The standard controls for returning the ball consist of choosing the desired move, e.g. spin and basic direction. When a special bar is filled up, players can unleash an especially powerful shot.
68
/100
Frequently asked questions
What is the best Sports game of 2011?
FIFA 12 currently tops the ranking with a score of 85/100 across 279 ratings. Ranking updated September 2026.
How is this ranking built?
Games are ranked on their aggregated critic score out of 100, with a minimum vote threshold so a single glowing review never outranks a proven classic; the Tier community's own F-to-S grades are shown alongside each game.