most sports games they are virtually all nuisances to play, especially against the people who usually play them (read: a$$holes.) there are a few exceptions to this rule:
Most wii sports games (except golf, golf can never be fun)
Virtua Tennis, DC
NBA Jam (many incarnations)
Ice Hockey, NES
And other sports games that aren't really sports games (excitebike, etc)
most FPSes. i still play them from time to time, but they all piss the hell out of me, cuz i suck at them.
No FPS can be good using a controller. this is a fact.
When I find myself in the mood for masochistic punishment, these are the games I play:
Halo and its sequels (mostly to be social; i still hate them)
Quake and its sequels
Unreal tournament (dreamcast)
BZFlag
GTA, its spawn, and its clones
Sure, running over the elderly, beating up hookers, shooting cops in the head, and taking down helicopters with a missile launcher is fun for a few hours, maybe even a weekend, but after that it gets boring, and never quite regains its appeal. The in game missions are boring, picky and generally not worth doing. definitely a 'rent, don't buy' series.
Final Fantasy
1,3,4 and 5 are great. Ever since 6, however, the series has lost its appeal for me. they're all so mind numbingly linear anymore. X-2 was a breath of fresh air, and a move in the right direction, but they've been moving away from that, not towards it. bad square, no fiddy.