Unintentional Comedy (and Sadness): The 10 Best Sports Video Game Glitches of 2013

Author:
Rich Shivener
Publish date:
Jun 6, 2013

YouTube

Modern video games are getting closer and closer to reality. The player designs, camera setups and stadium renderings amount to immersive experiences that put you right in the midst of the action. But for however realistic these sports games are becoming, there are always glitches. Glitches can be good for gamers—they keep us grounded and remind us that, no, we are indeed not professional athletes taking a pass from, say, Cristiano Ronaldo. Sometimes glitches cost us games and are incredibly frustrating; other times they're unintentionally hilarious.

So here's a look at our top 10 favorite glitches from 2013 Sports Games, from hockey checks into the stands to getting screwed out of a buzzer-beater win.

10. FIFA 13: Race the Referee

Remember FIFA International Soccer for Genesis, Super Nintendo, etc.? You can run away from the ref booking you for a bad tackle, avoiding a card until he catches you. Almost 20 years later, we have a similar glitch. As NoughtPointFourLIVE explains, during a free kick, you can make the ref chase you around the pitch. You need a player wall, and a player without a yellow card. While it seems the offending player and poor ref never tire, we can't say the same for the opposing team.

9. FIFA 13: Teleporting Goalkeepers

NoughtPointFourLIVE has a tutorial on taking advantage of a crazy glitch in FIFA 13’s online play. He takes his goalie near the opposing team's 18, then pauses the game to assign goalkeeping to a substitute player. (Read the tutorial here.) Obviously, you can't do this in a real game. If you do it here, though, expect loads of people to rage out and quit on you.

8. Pro Evolution Soccer 2013: Aliens

Soccer players are notorious for their fashion, whether we're talking faux hawks, underwear or Dolce & Gabbana. With this glitch, captured by Nabil Ouamer, the players look like aliens. Ugly aliens. They're all legs, with their heads and arms hiding in their torsos – but they still play well.

7. MLB 13: The Show: If You Can't Beat 'em, Join 'em

Three words: Sorry, Houston Astros. This glitch just kicks them while they're down. As noted by SportsGamingUniverse, it depicts an unnamed Astro defecting to the SGU Youtubers team after a game. It's timely. The Astros are last place in American League West. But they have some new promise, having recently swept the Los Angeles Angels.

6. FIFA 13: Fus Ro Dah

EA Sports' "Impact Engine" revved up the collision physics of FIFA 12, bringing the soccer game series closer to reality. Of course, fans have pointed out a glitch in the engine: When some players collide, they go flying across the field; it's like they feeling the wrath of "Fus Ro Dah," or the signature move of Skyrim's Dragonborn. The fantastic glitch carried over to FIFA 13, seen in this compilation from FIFA superstar KSIOlajidebt.

5. NHL 13: The Hercules Check

NHL 13 has plenty of hilarious hits, but this has the most muscle. According to the 2BCProductions2BC, hip check an opponent in the midst of a line change, and they go flying into the stands. This glitch makes the most brutal hits of the NHL – even those from Washington Capitals' Alex Ovechkin – look weak.

4) MLB 13: The Show: AJ Burnett Gets Even

An amazing catcher of glitches, SportsGamingUniverse shows perhaps the wildest throw in MLB 13: The Show. Pirates pitcher AJ Burnett tries to help out his first basemen, but instead goes for a Mortal Kombat fatality of sorts. This definitely tops those wild pitches we saw from Cincinnati Reds' Aroldis Chapman a few weeks ago.

3. MLB 2K13: Glitches Galore

While we could point out one amazing glitch in MLB 2K13, there are 15 that we can’t ignore, thanks to Game Informer’s “ … Day with MLB 2K13.” In this case, one Pirate can handle a line drive to the face. You might also find an incident like this in MLB 13: The Show,as seen here.

2. Madden NFL 13: An Impossible Underhand Throw

Madden NFL 13’s "Infinity Engine" has powered many videos about the game’s physics, similar to those of FIFA 13. In this video, FoamingSally shows Matthew Stafford getting sacked, but somehow managing an underhand throw for 50 yards and then some. It gives new meaning to Mega-Arm.

[Via Kotaku]