My Top 10 Xbox 360 Games of All Time

 I've already done my Top 10 Original Xbox and Top 10 N64 games of all time, now I thought I'd do my Top 10 Xbox 360 games of all time.  Again, if a few games were part of a series, I'm counting them as one entry, so this one was a bit tougher due to having fewer options.

(Dis?) Honorable Mention: Lost: Via Domus 
It's received mostly negative reviews, but I had to mention it.  This game does give you the same mysterious island feel that the show does, at least to me.  I love exploring the hatch and other various places from the show.  But there are plenty of downsides to this game.  Some of the voice acting is terrible.  Generally, if the actor from the show wasn't used, it was glaringly obvious it was someone different.  Also, avoiding the smoke monster was annoying and difficult.  And there wasn't much payoff at the end. 

Honorable mention: Dead Rising
I was never able to beat this game due to its difficulty.  But I did enjoy the zombie aspect to it.  It just got so frustratingly difficult to keep track of people who were with me at the time and not have them die.  I don't remember how far I got on my furthest playthrough.  Maybe halfway?  I enjoyed watching others play this more than playing it myself.

10. L.A. Noire
I somehow have only played this game through once.  It's such a great game.  It is made by Rockstar, after all.  It's got a great story, and I love the 1940s elements they incorporated into it.  I definitely want to give this another playthough someday.

9. Crackdown (1+2)
The reason I got Crackdown was that I did a playtest of some games for Microsoft, and the way they paid you then was a free game of your choice from their library.  One of the games I chose was Crackdown, and I got into it.  I got the sequel, Crackdown 2, the same way.  I haven't played them much since my first playthroughs, which is why it's low on this list, but perhaps someday.  I loved the way your character upgraded and you could see them getting bigger and faster.  I also loved collecting orbs around the city.

8. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix and Half-Blood Prince
It's funny, these games had the best graphics, but they didn't have the charm of the first few HP games.  The explorable castle and its surroundings were absolutely awesome, but both games just lack what made the first few so special to us.  I have beaten each multiple times, while also completing most side-quests and collectibles.  Whenever I reread the series, I usually do a playthrough of the games, including these.  They'll always hold a special place with me.

7. Read Dead Redemption (+ Undead Nightmare)
God, Red Dead is such a great game.  Hard to beat a Western with a GTA engine.  The story is top-notch and one of my favorites of all time, and there is just so much to do in game, from hunting to playing poker to just exploring.  I also have played the Undead Nightmare, beating it, but that's about it.  I definitely want to come back to the original someday, and maybe once I do, I'll give RDR 2 another shot, since I still have yet to play that fully through.

6. Star Wars: The Force Unleashed (+ II)
Being a huge fan of Star Wars video games, of course, I own and played Star Wars: The Force Unleashed.  I love controlling the Force with Starkiller with such ease, tossing around Stormtroopers like rag dolls.  It's got a great story to go along with it, as well, although I don't think it's canon (anymore).  I personally prefer Star Wars: Jedi nowadays, but TFU will always hold fond memories for me.

5. Madden NFL series (07-10, 12, 25, 17)
This one is a bit odd since I skipped a few, but I did get into Madden after they were the only makers of NFL video games.  I had no choice (but I wish I did).  This generally is considered the tail end of Madden's peak.  I invested a lot of hours into these games, and for most (if not all) of these games I did a franchise that went at least a few years into the future (usually as the Seahawks).  I will always hold ESPN NFL 2K5 in higher regard than any of these, but some of the earlier ones had some great soundtracks.  I think Madden NFL 07 would be my top favorite, because not only did it have the best soundtrack, but it featured a Seahawk on the cover for the first time in Shaun Alexander.

4. College Hoops 2K6
Yep, a college basketball game this high.  I love this game.  First off, Verne Lundquist and Bill Raftery are superb as announcers.  They really give the game its college basketball feel.  I played through over a decade of Gonzaga basketball, until one day I, unfortunately, overrode the save with something else and I lost that team forever.  That was not a good day.  I have played it sparingly since then, and it's not hard to get back into.  

3. Gears of War (1-3)
To me, there's no grittier shooter game than Gears of War.  I love how brutal and gory this game is.  The story is very good as well; easy to get into.  I have to play through the three games I own every few years.  Some moments in this series are etched into my memory forever: The final boss in Gears 1, the first time seeing a berserker, doing Cole Train's backstory, using the Hammer of Dawn for the first time, and Dom's death in 3.  So many great moments.

2. Grand Theft Auto 4 and 5
What is not to like?  These are like GTA Vice City and San Andreas but with better graphics, story, and immersion.  I put a ton of hours into these games, mostly just goofing around, but also playing the story missions.  I definitely prefer 5, as you can pick one of three playable characters to play as.  I even got my girlfriend into it a bit, but she only ever goofs off when she plays.

1. Halo 3, ODST, Reach (And 4, kind of)
The first two Halo's were high on my OG Xbox list, so these had to be high as well.  If I had to rank these from favorite to least favorite, it would be 3, Reach, ODST, and 4.  Reach was surprisingly good and had a great story.  But the top dawg is 3.  I invested so many hours into it in its heyday, especially online playing and ranking up.  I played this with my friends as well, one of the few games we got into together.  It was a lot of fun, and I look back on those times fondly.  I wish I could go back to those times.

Who's to Fault for the Mariners

 I decided against doing an MLB predictions post.  It's kind of my way of protesting the crap uniforms this season.  But mostly, I forgot.  I went into the 2024 season with less excitement than ever for the Mariners and baseball in general.  It's the first MLB season of my life that I won't be able to watch the Mariners on cable, after ditching it late last year.  So far, I've resorted to other methods (Ahoy, mateys!) to watch Mariner games, but I've also enjoyed simply listening on the Seattle sports app on occasion.  

Anyway, the Mariners have gotten off to another slow start, starting as bad as 6-10 but they won their last couple and now sit at 8-10.  But still, not the ideal start.  Just like the last couple of years, this team has gotten off to a slow start, and we may be looking back at this slow start just like we did last year as to why this team maybe barely misses the playoffs again.  

Fortunately, the entire AL West has gotten off to a slow start.  The Astros started even slower than the Mariners, and the defending WS champ Rangers lead the division with a .500 record.  The Mariners only sit one game back.   But we all know someone is bound to go on a run in the middle of the season.  We can only hope it'll be the Mariners, but it'll more likely be the Rangers or Astros.

So who is to blame for all of this?  I got bad news.  It's everyone.  Ownership.  Front office.  Coaching.  Players.  Every single department is to blame.  But as most sports fans know, it starts with ownership.  

The Mariners made a few cost-cutting moves this off-season, such as trading Eugenio Suarez and Robbie Ray.  This to me screams that ownership told the Front Office (Jerry Dipoto and Justin Hollander) that they could only spend up to a certain amount.  That's not the way to successfully run a team.  The ownership group, headed by John Stanton, handcuffed the Front Office and made their jobs tougher.  

However, the Front Office could have made better decisions, despite being handcuffed.  Was it wise to trade all we did for Jorge Polanco?  The Mariners have an influx of pitching but didn't use any as trade chips, either.  But honestly, I can't fault them too much.  They did what they thought was the best move they could do at the time.  Again, given free rein and virtually unlimited spending, this Mariners team would look better this season.  Think about if the Mariners could spend like the Dodgers.  Ah, if only.

I do also think coaching factors in as well.  I think preaching the same message over and over has gotten old with some players.  I wish I could read the minds of JP Crawford, Cal Raleigh, and Julio Rodriguez, and see if they'd rather have a different manager.  I think they would.  Now, Scott Servais isn't a terrible manager, but he does very little to elevate the team.  No one will ever call him one of the game's best.  Pete Carroll was considered one of football's best.  And he was just let go.  So why should the Mariners hold on to Servais if the team struggles more?  I know, different sport and different circumstances, but Servais has been given an incredibly long leash.  And I personally feel (along with many Mariners fans) that the Mariners success that they've had has been in spite of Servais, not because of him.

But all of this does trickle down to the players.  This still is a team that, if they all play to their capabilities, can win a lot of games.  That's the problem, though.  They don't, at least not early in the season.  So, what gives?  

It does all start at the top with ownership, and what gets them panicking and willing to change things is a loss of sales and money.  So that's why I urge Mariners fans to sail the fine seas with me in order to watch games.  Cut ties with cable.  Do not upgrade to be able to watch Mariners games.  Do not subscribe to Fubo TV.  And for the love of God, do not purchase those awful Fanatics jerseys.  And don't go to a game unless it's a special occasion.  

We really should only reward the team when they succeed.  For now, I'm withholding my money from any Mariners-related purchase until they start really winning.  I urge others to do the same.  If enough of us do it, ownership will get the message.  They are the main ones to blame.