Trying to dream up 68 different topics for discussion isn't very easy. So, at times you have to pick one which, well, isn't terribly good. Case in point: this week's Roundtable. Sorry about that.

Sports games. Are they any good?

er-no: Sports games for me are in general terrible. There are, however, a few which escape from my own stereotype of the genre and manage to combine an excellent gaming experience with a sport- 1080, Fifa96, ISS64, Excitebike (to name a few).

I used to work in a GAME retail shop, and nothing would make me more angry then selling Fifa 2003 after people had bought Fifa 2002. Why? Because there wasn't any change in the game bar the name. (Don't give me all the minor details, if you do, think why didn't they include them in 2002 in the first place)

I just cannot understand why idiotic and simple minded games don't wake up. If they didn't buy the sodding re-release of the same game they wouldn't be made and maybe more thought would go into the design and implementing process of each game. It's all a bit stupid really. I could go on for much longer... but it would get repetitive and I'm sure you get my point - sports games are mostly crap.

Dan Sports games. Are they any good? Well, thats a pretty straight forward question, isn't it? I find that it all depends on the person, and what sports they enjoy. I very much enjoy playing sports games, and will probably continue to do so in the future. They are in no way my favorite genre of games but they are fun, mostly because you can just pick them up and play whenever you want. But you can also play through the season modes, and usually make your own players, and teams. They offer loads of multiplayer fun, and if you can get some friends over you can play for a few hours, and still not get sick of them.

They sell like crazy too, don't they? People seem to enjoy them quite a bit, especially in the US it seems. Football games (US style football) sell like crazy, just look at the sales figures for games like the Madden series, and the NFL 2K series.

There are other kinds of sports games as well. Such as Tony Hawk, and WWE games. These games also fly off the shelves, especially Tony Hawk.

These games offer quite a bit of replay value, and I think that that is what most people like. People like buying games that will last them after they beat it through once.

Fifa 2003? Fifa 2004? We really don't know

Falco: I, personally, despise most sports games. The only exception for my are hockey games. I've tried all kinds and hockey in my mind is the only good sports game. European football games aren't terribly bad either. On the other hand, American football games are horrendous. I can merely play a quarter before I get bored with it.

I find hockey the best sports game because its fast paced, violent, and has an easy concept. There's no strategy you use in the games, unlike American football or baseball which get too complicated.

If you consider racing a sport, then those are great sports games.

Like er-no said, sports games are mostly crap.

Matt: Sure they are.

However, the sports games that veer away from realism are the ones I enjoy the most. NFL Blitz on the dreamcast remains one of my favourite sports games ever, if you include snowboarding in the sports category then SSX also comes in as one of my faves.

Addressing er-no's point, essentially alot of games are just remakes of the previous ones with a changed title.. I mean essentially for the last 6 years I've been forking out increasing amounts of money to have the same elf kid wander around dark castles and cut grass.

Of course I'm kidding, but the fact that sports gamers buy slightly improved versions of a game they already know (notably the Fifa games) doesn't surprise me in the slightest. I worked in that same shop and I'm sure you'd agree with me that the kind of gamer buying Fifa games consistantly is completely different to the gamer that comes in and buys Viewtiful Joe.

If you're a sports gamer, you'll like sports games. Personally I find the majority of them vastly uninspiring and irritating. But saying that, I own Viewtiful Joe.

NBA 2k2/2k3/Ballers/Courtside...

Conor: I'm not going to come outright and say 'sports games are crap' or something like that, because obviously there are people who like them. It's just a matter of opinion, and my opinion is...that they're not very good. Well, generally.

The only sports games I really like are Nintendo ones (typical, isn't it?). Multiplayer Mario Tennis was a right old laugh, and Excitebike 64's mix of arcade playability and simulation-like depth was very addictive. Perhaps it's because I'm a Nintendo fanboy, or maybe it's because they try to offer something a little different. A mixture of both, probably.

The typical examples of the genre, them being the countless generic football, basketball, hockey and the rest, don't appeal to me in the slightest. I can understand why they do to some, but to me they all seem the same. The annual rehashes don't help in this respect. Don't get me wrong, I recognise that ISS is a brilliant game, and if a mate suggested a game of Fifa I wouldn't refuse, but I would never actually go out and spend money on them.

To me, they're the antithesis of creativity, of originality and innovation. And being someone who greatly admires these qualities, it's not suprising I rate the genre as a low priority for my purchase list.

Mark: Tough one, this. Really, it depends on the player's interests but there are other factors at work. Sports games tend to get a bad rap (particularly EA Sports titles) because so often they seem to be rehashes of the same game all over again.

To go off on a bit of a tangent, last year my brother bought Fifa 2003 for the Cube. The last time I'd played a Fifa game had been Fifa 98 for the N64. Fifa 98 had training pitches, indoor pitch, day-night options, create-a-player mode, proper transfer system, and basically a ton of options. Fifa 2003 was an improvement in some areas, but it was such a pared down version of '98 (with admittedly much better gameplay). This 'One step forward, Two steps back' philosophy peeves me off.

Hopefully EA have stopped the rot- they seem to have got their act together this year. Which is good. But generally sports games don't exhibit much imagination or true genius- the boundaries and rules of the sport prohibit this. What sports game developers have to do for the next generation is not bump up the polygon count another few thousand or keep the crowd chants up to date but to radically alter the fundamentals of the game. How? I haven't even started to think.

Things being as they are, realism and authenticity are the be-all and end-all as far as sports games are concerned. Take a look at Nintendo's Mario Golf and Tennis for some alternatives to this formula, though: Both these titles combine fairly realistic physics engines with fun. And fun is the key word here- videogames aren't about realism, but about fun. Its entertainment, or supposed to be at any rate. Look at the ring-shot modes, speed golf (time trial) or other game modes and perhaps we are seeing the direction sports games should go. Realism has its place, but I believe it should be used just in moderation. It's a pity that high-polygon models seem to convince more people to buy sports games than the uniqueness and imagination of the game itself.

Ash: Not being a sports fan myself how I see it is that if a sports game is good to me it must be fairly good in general. I hate Fifa 2000/2001/2002/2003/2004... and all other games like that. Ones that stand out to me are Mario Tennis, SSX Tricky, 1080 and others that you dont have to be a sports fan to like.

Tim: I like the arcade hockey, football, basketball, snowboard games a lot. Especially multiplayer mode keeps me off the street. I will not say no if you ask me for a game of hockey or football. However, I must admit that I have two or three sports games that intrigue me and I will not quickly buy new sports games. Fifa 2002, Fifa 2003, and soon Fifa 2004. Why get more of the same? I am happy with just one Fifa game. It does not have to be realistic for me though. Mario Golf, Mario Tennis, SSX etc. all work for me.

So if you ask me if Sports games are good. I would say they are cool but I can't of course judge for somebody else. Some like them, some don't. So do you like Sports games? Let us know by using the comments section below!