I've always been a big fan of Top 10 lists as they are an excellent conversation/argument starter! Here is the a couple of Top 10's for your amusement.
Top 10 Games released on the Xbox 360 thus far (as of January 2008)
10. Crackdown
How much fun did this turn out to be!?! I'm sure many people thought it was going to be terrible and was just attached to the Halo 3 beta to make a quick buck, but it turned out to be a great game in its own right. Leaping from building to building hunting orbs and power ups was a load of fun, and a targeting system that was light years ahead of the GTA series made the combat enjoyable without that undercurrent of frustration. I have the utmost respect for those crazy souls who found all 500 orbs without a guide. Here's hoping for a sequel!!!
9. Gears of War
A little short certainly, but still so awesome in so many ways. The music, the art, the gore and the combat gave it a dark, intense feel that many games have tried but failed to achieve. I'm quite average at the multiplayer but still found it very enjoyable. Nothing like a head stomp on a good mate to start the barrage of trash talk.
8. Fight Night Round 3
The first great sport game on the Xbox 360, and the first game demo available on Xbox Live. An excellent career mode was just the start of my enjoyment of this title for me as the battles with mates either over Live or with a few drinks at home maks this a game that still gets played in my house. Only bad part is my usual opponents are much better than I am!!
7. Call of Duty 2
THE launch title for the Xbox 360 and what a glorious game it was and still is. I didn't really get into the multiplayer but the campaign on Veteran was immensely enjoyable, even with the numerous points that were so difficult you felt like throwing your console through the screen. A great HD graphical showcase for the launch of the Xbox 360.
6. Bioshock
The beauty of Rapture is unparalled in console gaming. Irrational took a massive gamble to bring out a game that was purely a single player campaign but it was well worth it. An atmospheric masterpiece of unique and haunting story, amazing visuals and imaginative gameplay.
5. FIFA 08
As Pro Evo seems to go backwards, FIFA has gone forward in leaps and bounds and I feel FIFA 08 is the best football game out there for this generation. It still hasn't reached the the same heights of glory that was Pro Evo 4 but the licenses, physics, presentation and much improved gameplay really set it apart from the current Pro Evo.
4. Oblivion
500 hours of gameplay with two characters is a testament to how much I really enjoyed this game. Only a handful of games have that epic feel to them as you complete the campaign, but this certainly was one. So many side quests, so many regions to explore and so much enjoyment had.
3. Halo 3
Speaking of epic feel, the end of the current Halo story arc was amazing in my opinion. As this series has been such a big part of my professional life I probably look at it through rose coloured glasses, but watching the ending really brought a sense of joy and closure for me. Some incredibly innovative features mixed with the familiar yet refined game play still makes this a great online experience.
2. Call of Duty 4
Halo 3 multiplayer is great, Call of Duty 4 multiplayer is exceptional. What can I say? Infinity Ward just got it so right. The campaign was excellent too, especially on Veteran.... except for that damn epilogue!!!
1. Mass Effect
The is a new king. For many reasons I did not sink myself into Mass Effect immediately as I was scared of suffering from the Genophage, but now that I have I can't say I've enjoyed another game more on the Xbox 360. Some frame rate issues aside, this is a RPG masterpiece. Forget KOTOR or even Baldur's Gate, this is BioWare's magnum opus
Top 10 Wrestlers of All Time
10. Tully Blanchard
As none other than Shawn Michaels said, Tully was the first cool heel. Guys wanted to be him, girls loved him and he could seriously go in the ring and talk up a storm on the mic! A great career shortened due to drug use but he's turned his life around completely. As he said so well on "Ric Flair and The Four Horseman" DVD, Tully was the blasting cap that made the Horseman go. As good as Flair, the Andersons, Sting, Windham and Dillon were they weren't the Horseman without the former West Texas State quarterback known as Tully Blanchard.
9. Triple H
You might dislike his supposed politics or the fact his wife is a McMahon and runs WWE Creative but the man can definitely go in the ring. His matches with The Rock, HBK, Austin, Foley and 'Taker stand up against anything ever done in the squared circle. I do hope he doesn't beat Naitch's world title record though!! His record in big time matches is up there with the very best.... and what an entrance!!
8. Mick Foley
I once read a great quote about Mick Foley - "Mick is the most likely man to be able to fall off the top of the Empire State Building onto a wet sponge.... and survive!" Many will remember Mick for that Hell in a Cell match with The Undertaker but he was an excellent interview through his career, could brawl with the very best and had some epic matches with many of the greats including Austin, Rock, HHH, HBK, Sting and The Undertaker.
7. The Undertaker
15-0 at WrestleMania and just gets better and better. 'Nuff said
6. Chris Jericho
His work in WCW as a heel was awesome - remember the "Man of 1004 Holds!" hahaha. His debut in the WWE in 1999 was great and put him on the cusp of the main event immediately. He might of had a pretyy average run with the title but no-one can take away the fact he beat Austin and The Rock in the same night to become Undisputed Champion. I hope his second WWE run goes even better
5. Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat
Flair-Steamboat '89 is the greatest trifecta of matches in history. No-one other than Flair himself was as smooth in the ring and there wasn't a better pure wrestling 'face in the business. I only wish those match Ric Flair talks about on his DVD that he thought were better than the famous ones were somehow found on tape as I believe they'd be the first six-star matches on TV.
4. Shawn Michaels
Through a seemingly career ending back injury and many personal demons HBK has built a highlight reel like no other. As JR said so well, nobody ever outperforms HBK in a big match setting. It's been years since he made his comeback and I still can't fathom how he did that match with HHH at Summerslam 2002. Just imagine HBK against Steamboat in his prime....
3. The Rock
He headlines movies now but he headlined three WrestleManias (arguably four if you count WMX8), had a rivalry for the ages with Stone Cold and put together more priceless interviews in a month than most wrestlers do in their careers. I wish there were some way to get him back in teh squared circle but if he never wrestles again he will still be know as "The Great One"
2. "Stone Cold" Steve Austin
When your skills on the mic and in the ring take a company that was almost bankrupt to a billion dollar stock float only four years later you can say without doubt that you were the biggest draw in wrestling history. "Austin 3:16" was basically a billion dollar T-shirt! That is just insane to think about. There is a reason that in the 15 years of RAW, Disc Two on the anniversary set is basically Stone Cold 18 months at the very apex of his career because he was that good. The crowds lifted the roof off every time the glass shattered like no other wrestler could generate. I actually think Austin was underrated in the ring as people remember the brawls but his technical wrestling abilities even after the 1997 piledrive that destroyed his neck were as good as anyone in the ring at the time.
1. "The Nature Boy" Ric Flair
Let's put it this way people. Ric Flair is now 58 and still wrestles with the best of them. Since most of the visitors to pidgeo.com are Aussie or Kiwi they'll get this.... Ric Flair's wrestling right now is like a batsman averaging 30 in Test Matches at almost 60 years of age!! That's right, it's unheard of in any sport for someone at 58 to still be at the elite level. Ric Flair however is still doing that. In his prime, his matches with Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat, Ricky Morton, Magnum TA, Dusty Rhodes, Harley Race, Sting and the '92 Royal Rumble are the wrestling equivalent of a 300 run innings... and he did it seven days a week for about 10 years. That's not hyperbole, that is fact. I have followed many sports in my 27 years of existance but after years of research, study and viewing, in my humble opinion Ric Flair is the greatest athlete in history. I know the mainstream will anoint people like Michael Jordan, Wilt Chamberlain, Mark Spitz, Carl Lewis, Don Bradman, Tiger Woods, George Best, Pele, Joe Montana, Martina Navratilova, Margaret Court and the like as the best but to me, Ric Flair is still and always will be "the MAN"
In 2006 I went to the Sydney WWE tour event with my girlfriend at the time and her best friend. Thanks to THQ we had awesome seats and were only a handful of rows back from ringside. Now in a vastly male dominated event like wrestling I was certainly going to stand out in the crowd with these two beautiful ladies on each arm!!
(Katie my ex is on the left, fellow Winmalee High alum Jen is on the right)
It was awesome! The security guard even called me to ringside to ask what in the blue hell (thank you The Rock) was the story with the computer nerd with the two stunners on each arm! It got better though as any wrestling fan can tell you that Ric Flair is the ladies man from waaaaaaaaay back. He said it best in his autobiography.... "I had more fun than most people would in five lifetimes!!".
When Ric Flair came to the ring to partner Shawn Michaels as an honorary member of DX, he was strutting and WOOOO'ing his way down to the ring as only he can. Once he got to the ring he turned towards my section of seating so I got Katie and Jen to stand on the seats with me, pointed at each of them then revealed the Ric Flair shirt under the suit jacket and WOOOOOOOO'ed as loud as I could! He looked at both ladies with utter approval and pointed back..... "no, you're the man!" I WOOO'ed back saying "I'm living the Ric Flair life baby and you're still the man!!" Best. Moment. Ever.