A First Round Exit
HIGH A unique collection of classic sports games.
LOW A lack of bonus content and some dated mechanics.
WTF EA should find a way to drop remastered versions of their old arcade sports titles.
As a sports fan, I love playing realistic simulation titles that replicate the feeling of shooting a three-point shot in the Miami Heat’s Kaseya Center or hitting a home run in the New York Mets’ Citi Field. There’s nothing quite like living out that athletic fantasy, though it’s also enjoyable to go back in time and enjoy something a little more old-school. That’s where Accolade Sports Collection comes in, collecting five ’90s sports titles from Accolade — Summer Challenge, Winter Challenge, Hardball, Hardball II, and Hoops: Shut Up and Jam.
This collection features three main sports and events — baseball, basketball, and the Olympics, both summer and winter. The one I spent most of my time in was Hardball II, a 16-bit baseball game that combines snappy play with some simulation-based elements. Here, players select a baseball team and play through an exhibition using fictional teams based in real cities, like New York or Baltimore. It’s a great hybrid of arcade and simulation baseball gameplay.
Hardball II took some getting used to, as swinging the bat took a bit longer thanks to some weird animations, especially compared to much simpler baseball sims from the era. Before playing Hardball, I was getting acquainted with the likes of R.B.I. Baseball or even the Nintendo Entertainment System version of Baseball and enjoyed the more arcadey approach to the sport. Hardball II feels like a 16-bit simulator, and while I wasn’t immediately a pro, I grew to enjoy my time through nine innings. Having to strategize who starts while also deciding whether it was worth bunting or trying my hand at a home run was an enjoyable challenge, and one that made the baseball season even more enjoyable.
On the other side of things, Hoops: Shut Up and Jam is a straightforward arcade basketball title, in the style of NBA Jam. Players select a team of two players for 2-on-2 streetball. Originally released as Barkley Shut Up and Jam! (complete with full endorsements from NBA legend Charles Barkley) this isn’t the best arcade basketball experience, thanks to some slow movement and controls that don’t feel intuitive.
Players have access to all titles from the start, as well as modern features and accessibility elements, such as a rewind function. They can also select different filters and screen size options, allowing anyone to relive the days of playing these games on their old-school consoles.
The package is a decent blast from the past, and as someone who laments the fact that licensing prevents most old releases from ever being remastered or rereleased, the Accolade Sports Collection is such a cool concept. Unfortunately, being limited to five games is kind of a bummer, as it would have been great to see the original Test Drive or even the Jack Nicklaus golf series included. There also isn’t much in the way of collectibles or any cool historical aspects included. Seeing that Hardball II was designed by Don Mattrick, who famously (or infamously) became a major face for Xbox, was something I found out during my outside research. I would have loved to see videos or behind-the-scenes pictures of what it took to make these games.
Overall, Accolade Sports Collection is an exciting, if understuffed, curiosity. As a fan of both retro games and sports, I’m always excited to play something from yesteryear, but I’ve been spoiled by other compilations, and this feels barebones. Regardless, those who have fond memories of playing these games on the original hardware might rejoice in the chance to play them on newer consoles — just don’t expect much in the way of extra content.
Rating: 6 out of 10
Buy Accolade Sports Collection — PC — PS — XB — Switch
Disclosures: This game is published by QuByte Interactive and developed by Accolade. It is available on PC, PS4/5, XBO/X/S and Switch. This copy was obtained via the publisher and was reviewed on PS5. Approximately four hours were spent in single-player and the game was not completed. There are multiplayer modes.
Parents: According to the ESRB, this game is rated E for Mild Fantasy Violence. This is a collection of retro sports games with no objectionable content. At most, some players may roughly bump each other but other than that, it’s perfectly okay for younger children.
Colorblind Modes: Colorblind modes are not present in the options menu.
Deaf and Hard of Hearing Gamers: There are subtitles and visual cues such as different indicators for when a ball is thrown or small textboxes explaining certain aspects. Text cannot be resized or adjusted. This game is fully accessible.
Remappable Controls: The controls can be remapped.
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Ugh whatever happened to RBI Baseball? I miss that game.