Your favourite Xbox 360 owner lets you know what he’s been playing on it.
By Alexander B. Huls
7. Resistance (PS3)
Though technically this game came out in 2006, I didn’t play it till 2007, which is why it makes the list now. That fact means the game had the poor fortune to be played by me after a similarly themed “aliens take over and/or threaten to take over the world” game was released (Gears of War), and it just doesn’t stack up in comparison. That should by no means suggest that this wasn’t a great game. Given that Resistance is essentially Call of Duty just with aliens substituted for Nazis (and boy, does that alleviate my only moral conundrum of being a German having to shoot Germans), this game was as welcome to me as a homemade apple pie a la mode. And just like said apple pie, I devoured it greedily and with pleasure, and found myself thoroughly content after.
6. Guitar Hero III (XBOX 360)
Despite the switch in developers, this Guitar Hero has emerged as the best one to date (except for that horrible Battle Mode) not because they changed the game play at all (which is a good thing), but because the leaps and bound the soundtrack has made. In fact, that soundtrack would usually help this game be higher on my list if it weren’t for …
5. Rock Band (XBOX 360)
Though really Guitar Hero III has by far the more extensive – and in many ways the better – soundtrack, than Rock Band, there’s just no trumping the sheer awesomeness of being able to play guitar, bass, drums, and also sing. The smaller and inferior soundtrack also doesn’t really matter in the long run given the promise of frequently added downloadable content. It really comes down a matter of mathematically produced emotions. Guitar Hero + 1 Person = feeling like a guitarist extraordinaire. Rock Band + 2-4 people + being able to play real sets together, like a real band = rock star orgasm.
4. Halo 3 (XBOX 360)
The reason this game is so high on the list is not the single-player – which frankly was blah, and just a repetition of the first two games – but the multi-player. That’s in part because the multi-player is just so damn addictive and fun, but because the game should deserve some recognition for the fact that it got me into online gaming in the first place. A few years back I’d sworn off playing online due to a mixture of reasons (annoying teenagers gay-bashing, and I sucked), but Halo 3 has drawn me back in and shown me the errors of my ways. For that, Master Chief has certainly earned his No. 4 position.
3. Call of Duty 4 (XBOX 360)
At this point I honestly cannot contribute anything to say positively about this game that hasn’t been already said a billion times by others. Effectively it boils down to this: Yes, the single player is insanely short, but it is also insanely awesome. The cinematically intense single-player experience – which ups the “Oh Shit!” moments Call of Duty is known for – was one of the most exciting, exhilarating gaming experiences I’ve had to date. Call of Duty, it seems, should have ditched the Nazis a long time ago.
2. Mass Effect (XBOX 360)
Given my occasional rumblings on this site about single-player experiences this year lacking substantial stories, it should come as no surprise perhaps that my top two titles both have great narratives. Admittedly, RPGs such as Mass Effect are a genre more conducive, and more well-known for stories, but that’s no excuse. Mass Effect is everything I have come to expect from one of my favorite developers, BioWare. The thing is, they gave me more than I expected. Taking their well-established strengths from Knights of the Old Republic and Jade Empire, they’ve blown their own benchmark out of the water. With a story full of high adventure (I dare you not to get excited by the end), a combat system that only gets more fun as the game goes on, and great characters, this game stands out. But what really distinguishes it, and what makes it such a unique, and fascinating game, is the moral dilemmas it presents you, and the subsequent diverging paths your story can take based solely on the decisions you make. When a game presents you with a problem, and you actually find yourself pausing and thinking for a minute what you not only want to do, but should do? That’s a classic in the making.
1. BioShock (XBOX 360)
The race between Mass Effect and BioShock was a close one. Really close. I mean, BioWare and Irrational Games made two of my favorite games ever, Knights of the Old Republic, and System Shock 2 respectively. Not only that, both Mass Effect and BioShock are effectively spiritual sequels to those games. The reason the latter ultimately wins out though is deceptively simple: atmosphere. Whether it be the level design, the graphics, or more importantly the mysterious narrative Irrational weaves into the environment around you, you’re left constantly on the edge of your nerves, wondering what is going on, and what might pop out at you next. That’s nothing more to say about the fact that this game is genuinely scary and disturbed, a bizarre meld of Clive Barker and Ayn Rand, leaving me perhaps more unsettled than any game outside of Condemned. Where Mass Effect immerses you in the pleasures of its high adventure, it remains a distancing immersion. BioShock pulls you right into its world in every sense, never letting you go until it spits you back out when you beat it.
Following three plotlines, “Comfort and Joy” focuses on what Christmas means to our beloved heroes. After saving an alien race from certain doom, Flash, Superman, Green Lantern, and Hawkgirl all go their separate ways for the holidays. Realizing that Martian Manhunter (also known as J’onn J’onnz) has no home to go to (being Martian after all), Superman invites J’onn to spend Christmas with his family. This plotline offers up two great ongoing bits: watching J’onn struggle to understand the excitement Superman feels is hilarious, as is watching Superman revert to a childlike state when he goes back to Smallville for Christmas:
Martha Kent: We used to wrap Clark’s presents in lead foil just so he couldn’t peek.
Flash visits an orphanage to spread some Christmas cheer to the kids. Asking them about the one present they want this season, he is amused to see it’s a toy called “DJ Rubba Ducky.” Watching a commercial for this flatulent toy, Flash can’t help but crack a smile. The moment of Flash laughing at the duck making farting noises, when any other hero of the League would roll their eyes, is so wonderfully in character for him and demonstrates what sets him aside from the rest of the heroes. This is exactly why Flash is my favourite. Unfortunately the toy is this season’s hot item and is tough for Flash to find. He gets the last one straight from the manufacturer in Japan. On his way home, however, he runs into the villain Ultra-Humanite (reason #14562 why I love comics: we get characters with names like Ultra-Humanite) who is trying to destroy some modern art that offends his aesthetic. In the ensuing battle the toy is destroyed, crushing the Flash’s spirits. 
Back in Smallville, the Kents are doing everything they can to make J’onn feel welcome. J’onn is touched when they offer him a sweater as a Christmas present, but feels guilty when he realizes that he has no gift to offer in exchange. 
Feeling like an outcast, J’onn disguises himself and walks about the small town to witness how much the season means to everyone. After losing the snowball fight, Hawkgirl challenges Green Lantern to come and witness how she likes to celebrate. He follows her to an alien planet where she starts a brawl between the rough crowd. After a long fight the duo fall asleep, snuggling up together in the arms of a giant monstrous creature who had attacked them earlier. Realizing that the whole bar was all tuckered out and had gotten all cozy together made me laugh. This plotline also sets up GL and Hawkgirl’s budding relationship in the next episode, I might add.
After waking up from an Ultra-Humanite punch (“you hit me first”), Flash realizes that the villain has taken pity on him and is fixing the toy. When asked why, Ultra-Humanite reveals that Flash’s words have touched him and he wanted to help. And not only has he fixed it, but he’s also “improved” it — now instead of making farting noises the duck tells the children the story of 
Finally, the episode shifts back to the Kent Farm, as Superman wakes up excitedly for Christmas. Literally leaping out of bed (hee) he hears a singing, only to realize that J’onn has taken on his Martian form and is celebrating the holidays by embracing who 
he is. Happily listening to the song Clark remarks to his parents, who have joined Clark to listen, “And he said he didn’t bring anything.” Seeing heroes in their downtime has always been a soft spot for me. I like to see what makes these people tick in between their moments of kicking butt. While there are certainly a lot of Christmas stories that don’t work, this is one that definitely does, at least for me. Hilarious and touching, this is one Christmas special that is a must-watch for me each holiday season.
