9. NCAA Football 2004
As a college football fan I realize that other people may not agree with me on this title being so high, or this year for that matter, but its on the list because it was the first college football game to really take you into the college football experience and let you feel like you were in control of a D1 program. My favorite feature was the create-a-school option, which allowed you to create your own program, mascot, stadium, jersey designs and all, and turn it into a football powerhouse. This game let you recruit as well, and even had players from tiny no-name towns such as Medina, TN. Sure its unrealistic to have a guy throw for 600 yards a game, but thats what video games are for, right? Instant classic.
8. Aero Elite: Combat Academy
This was a bit of an obscure, stand-alone title that didnt get as much recognition as the Ace Combat series, but it definitely deserves some praise. Basically imagine youre a cadet in a random island in the Pacific and your only goal in life is to become a fighter pilot, but random no-name hostiles like to occasionally terrorize your island with bold airspace trespassing attempts, interrupting your training cycle and forcing you to fly up and shoo them off. Its a game that gives flight enthusiasts the more realistic flying experience youd normally only get on PC, but throws enough variety and fun in to make it really well balanced. You start off learning basic flying techniques in a prop plane and must pass tests of maneuver, speed, altitude etc. with each craft before being promoted to a more advanced plane. The scramble alerts are easily the best part of the game, as youll just be casually scrolling through a menu and out of nowhere your screen will go crazy and youll jump to a hangar with a plane hot and ready to go. I figured out that its a lot faster if you just roll over the grass straight to the runway. Top Gun in a video game is how Id describe it, 80s guitar music and all. The opening sequence is especially cool.