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Top "Insert Number Here" lists are great ways to foster reader communication. When one of those readers has access to a blog, he can voice his own opinion loudly. Welcome to "Here's Where You're Wrong."

Gamers love lists. It's in their argumentative, binary nature. No matter how well-researched a list is--and by their very nature, they're often under-researched, lazy alternatives to more fleshed-out pieces--your average gamer with a penchant for commenting will let his contrary opinion be known.

Even though I've been writing about games for years, I still get great joy out of disassembling lists. When I caught a particularly interesting one on GamesRadar, I felt the need to toss in my own two cents. Unfortunately, GamesRadar doesn't have a comment tool--and if I were going to make an account on every site that published a list I wanted to comment on, my email account would asplode. Therefore, I'll use my own comment tool. This blog. Games Radar, Here's Where You're Wrong!

The GamesRadar list is of the Top 7 Rockin' Intros of all time. For me, the Golden Age of gaming intros was the late 90's, when CG intros hit a decent level of realism. Christian Nutt, the article's author, seems to have a bit of an affinity for RPGs, which is where my opinion differs. Here are his picks:

7. Ys: The Ark of Napishtim
6. Ghost in the Shell
5. Guilty Gear X2
4. Silent Hill 3
3. Tales of the Abyss
2. Suikoden III
1. Ys Book I & II

By and large, it's a pretty solid list--maybe a bit skewed towards the Y's series, but each of those picks does a great job of getting the gamer hooked before he touches a button. I've got a few picks myself, however, that seem to mesh a bit more with the "getting gamers pumped" MO that these intros should shoot for:

While I liked Suikoden III's intro--and the game itself for that matter, which the original author didn't-- my first choice is for Suikoden II. Looking back, it's not nearly as well-animated as Suikoden III's--there's lots of still images at work here--but the amazing music and the great transition from evil to good make it one you'll watch almost every time you turn the game on:

My next choice is Tekken 2. This is the exact point where Tekken became renowned for its excellent CG intros and endings. While some of the CG character models haven't aged well (I think Nina just gave me a hard-off), the intro does an excellent job of introducing the main characters and each one's plight. And damn if I still can't get that tune out of my head a decade later:

My final pick is one that I'm utterly shocked got passed over--Soul Blade (aka Soul Edge, aka the precursor to the Soul Calibur) I've always considered it the standard bearer for game intros. It's got all the ingredients of a great intro--backstory for the main characters, an infectious tune, and constant action. The character models still hold up, and it's got an amazing tempo change to boot. You be the judge:

So what do you folks think? Are there any other memorable intros that have been looked over?

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