In today's world of ultra-realistic sports releases, there is nothing that can ruin a gaming experience quicker than a bad control scheme. With newer games featuring increasingly complex button layouts, it is pretty easy to become overwhelmed, even downright frustrated, when attempting to control your favorite virtual athletes.

Who has not experienced the dreaded throw-the-controller-at-the-wall syndrome brought on by a clunky controlling sports endeavor? It is times like these when I find myself dreaming about my favorite control schemes in a specific sports genre. I yearn for those special control schemes that are able to achieve a zen-like flow in my hands, making me feel like Jimmy in the blockbuster hit The Wizard.

In the history of sports gaming, I have gone hands-on with several wonderful control layouts. Of the schemes that have left favorable impressions, there are five that stand out from the rest. These fives games feature controls that set the bar for their respective genres, influenced their competition, and to this day, stand the test of time. Here are my picks for the five greatest sports video game control schemes of all time.

5. NBA Live 03

Sure, NBA Live 03 may have been rough around the edges when compared to NBA 2K3, but no one can deny it had one sweet control scheme.

Live 03 was the first year of EA's coveted "Freestyle" control system. Not only was chaining together crossovers via the right-analog stick revolutionary for the time, it was also incredibly fun. Live 03 changed the way basketball games were played, putting more of an emphasis on user-controlled crossovers and spins, compared to the days when these moves were mapped to the face buttons.

The beauty of Freestyle control was that it worked in a one-to-one controller motion. If you wanted to crossover left, you moved your stick left; if you wanted to spin, you spun the stick in a 360 motion. Gone forever were the days of furious button mashing and cued up canned animations that helped you get to the rim.

Perhaps the most important aspect of the Live 03 control scheme was that it made EA's basketball game relevant again after a three-year hiatus. Freestyle control also influenced other sports games. In turn, they began using the right-analog stick for various in-game actions -- a monumental feat when you consider a great majority of games today utilize the right stick.

The Live series may be lagging behind 2K in recent years, but I will still take Freestyle control over Isomotion any day.

4. Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2

Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2 is still considered to be one of the very best sports titles ever released. Besides having rock-solid graphics for the time, THPS2 featured one of the best control schemes ever implemented in a sports game. The control setup is the main reason why the game still gets playtime in many gamers' PSone and Dreamcast consoles.

What made THPS2's controls so wonderful was their simplicity. The button layout was mapped to the face buttons and triggers, which allowed gamers to completely control their skater's tricks. The control scheme was also amazingly organic, allowing you to combine multiple-button combos to pull of various Ollies, spins and board grabs without missing a beat. Surprisingly, THPS2's lack of analog-stick control did not handicap how the game handled because the game had a very responsive digital-pad scheme.

In a day and age where alternative-sports titles rely on complex, analog-based control schemes, Tony Hawk 2 still shines. The pure simplicity of the game's control scheme, coupled with the fluidity of its button-based trick combinations, makes THPS2 a force to be reckoned with to this very day.

3. NHL 07-09

When NHL 07 debuted on the Xbox 360 back in 2007, so did a fresh right-analog stick control scheme that completely changed the way gamers played virtual hockey. Implementing a smooth one-to-one motion with the right-analog stick, gamers were now able to fully control their shot type and power while aiming and skating independently with the left-analog stick.

NHL 08 upped the ante by allowing gamers to separate puck from stick with the simple press of a button -- adding a whole new sense of freedom on offense.

Finally, with the addition of right-stick poke checking and analog-stick dumping, NHL 09 took the already solid offensive-based control foundation laid down by NHL 07 and NHL 08 and created a defensive control experience unlike any other.

The NHL series marked the first time that a control scheme had completely changed the way a genre was played. Sure, other developers had tried (and are still trying) to implement dual-analog control into their sports games, but none have been able to completely master the scheme like EA did with the NHL series.

Because the control schemes in NHL 07-09 are so flawless, button-based hockey games are now obsolete in my mind. That fact alone is reason why NHL 07-09 deserves the third spot on this list.

2. Mike Tyson's Punch-Out!!

There is a lot to be said about a game that uses just the D-pad and a single button to create create one of the best gameplay experiences in the history of sports gaming.

Punch-Out easily makes my list of top five sports games of all-time, and one of the biggest reasons why is because of the super simple, yet effective control scheme. There was no better feeling in gaming history than dodging punches with my D-pad and then feverishly pressing up and slamming the "A" button to knock Don Flamenco to the canvas. Let us also not forget about the strategically earned super punch,mapped brilliantly to the select button, allowing for easy access to an instant knockdown (take that Bald Bull).

Just as in Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2, there is something to be said about an older game with a simple control scheme that still stands the test of time. Punch Out's control scheme was a stroke of sheer genius by Nintendo and one of the biggest reasons why I am still playing the Wii Virtual Console version of the game nightly.

1. MVP Baseball 05

The MVP Baseball series has been extremely influential in terms of how baseball games are made and played. Whether it was the introduction of meter-based pitching and throwing, analog-based sliding, picture-in-picture baserunning or analog dives and wall climbs, MVP was on the cutting edge of baseball control schemes.The reason MVP 05 takes the number one spot on this list is because of just how well the controls were implemented into every aspect of the game. No other game has ever afforded me the same level of control over my athletes as MVP 05 did.

The small control details were simply amazing, especially when you compare them to games released in 2008 and 2009. Whether it was using your left stick to manipulate your player's bat to pound a 1-2 curveball out of the park, using the right-analog stick to break up a double play, slamming up on the right-analog stick to climb the wall and rob a potential moon shot, finding the face-button sweet spot on the meter to strike out the side, compensating for a player's momentum on the throwing meter while fielding a bunt, or flawlessly switching between runners on the fly using a face button interface to pull off double steals, MVP 05 allowed users the freedom to do what they wanted, when they wanted to on the field.

You know a game has nailed a control scheme for a genre when you start seeing other developers taking note. Many of The Show's and MLB 2K's controls have been directly influenced by the MVP series. Imitation is the most sincere form of flattery, and MVP 05's controls have been imitated (or directly copied) ever since it was released in 2005. Never has a game completely immersed me in the on-field play more than MVP 05, and a large part of that immersion was based on the controls.


Each and every one of the games mentioned in this list holds a special place in my heart because of the control schemes. Developers should take note because controls in a sports game are critical to the enjoyment of that specific game. As great as games like NBA 2K9, Fight Night, Skate, and MLB 09: The Show are, they could definitely take some cues from some of the games on this list. As great as it is to experiment with new and exciting control schemes, for every NHL 09, you get stuck with an MLB 2K9.

My advice to developers is to learn from the past and do not be afraid to borrow a scheme that already works. There is no shame in giving gamers control schemes that feel great, even if a competitor beats you to the punch. Stick with what works.

What are your favorite control schemes of all time? Feel free to rank your top five in the comments section below.