I think I’m due for one of these so I’ll go ahead and post something, (I’ve been meaning to post this particular one for a while) In honor of Sean’s SNES post I decided I’d list my favorite Sega Genesis games. Now Naturally I can only rank the ones I’ve played, which means I will unfortunately miss a couple that a lot of people like (Such as “Gunstar Heroes” and “Shinobi III”) but I’ve still played most of the classics and I’ll certainly do my best. I’ve tried to keep the list for the most part “Genesis Exclusive” because some of these games I just so strongly associate with the Sega, but anyhow let’s dive right into it.

10. General Chaos (1994)
I was originally going to give this spot to “Ecco the Dolphin” but then I had to face the facts that Ecco is kind of overrated, so I went ahead with this lesser known but still very entertaining strategy game. “General Chaos” is probably one of the silliest strategy games I’ve ever played. By either commanding the forces of “General Chaos” or “General Havoc” you put together your squad to wage war on some rough terrain in order to smite your opponent. With a choice of men including; Brutes, Grenadiers, guys with dynamite, and some guy who looks like Bono (with a flame-thrower) G.C. is a game of wits with loads of violence and satire. I still go back to this one every once in a while for the nostalgia and it’s always good for laugh.

9. Vectorman (1995)
Yes the intergalactic garbage man takes the next spot, I mean how could you have a Sega list without the V-Man? An action packed, lazer shooting side scroller, involving distant planets, robots and even giant insects… What’s not to like? Vectorman has more than just a handful of “blast your way” across the screen levels. Why you can transform into vehciles or tools, and there’s even a handful of levels (from a birds-eye view) where you can even play as 3D tank, not bad.

8. Phantasy Star IV (1994)
Now I’m not the biggest RPG’s fan, but this is definitely one that always stood out in my mind. PHIV (My favorite of the series) combines crisp and colorful graphics with some great action packed gameplay. With many characters joining your side and all sorts of quirky sci-fi elements, PHIV is a must play for fans of the Genesis. A game that still feels fresh after a good amount of game-play. This RPG is top of the line.

7. Columns (1990)
A puzzle game where you can just relax and play for hours, “Columns” is a close competitor for my favorite puzzle game. (Of course nothing can beat “Tetris”) This Similar yet slightly easier game certainly has a lot to like. With a memorable soundtrack and classic video game sound effects, “Columns” has replay value up the wazoo.

6. Toe Jam & Earl (1991)
A rare game to find these days, “Toe Jam & Earl” was one of the best multiplayer games I’d ever played back in the 16 bit era. Traveling from world to world as the funky yet bizarre coupling of Toe Jam and Earl, this comedic alien platform game was one of the best of it’s kind. I still look around as often as I can for it, but it’s certainly one that you can’t get for cheap anymore.

5. Super Street Fighter II (1994)
Though this was released on a handful of systems I decided to tag it on here anyways. Now I haven’t had as many years under my belt playing this game, but I can definitely tell you that it’s one of the best fighting games of it’s time, perhaps even of all time?. SSFII has a colorful cast of international characters, facing off with bone crunching combos on some pretty detailed stages. It’s not quite as good as that Jean Claude Van Damme movie but it’s definitely earned it’s place in video game history.

4. Streets of Rage (1991)
The Definition of “Side Scrolling Beat Em’ Up” games “Streets of Rage” is perfect for two players. Combining Hip Urban tunes with detailed City landscapes, SOR just screams 90s right at you. With a choice between three rough customers and plenty of melee weapons along the way, you’ll be ready to take down some of those nasty bosses (who all seem to be 8’ft tall)

3. Shining Force (1993)
Now II think “Shining Force” has to be the best strategy game to ever cross my path! I mean this is one of my favorite games of all time so it had to be here. There’s just a lot of depth put into this game; tons of different stages, really great music, over 30 characters to choose from and some unique gameplay. I’ve played through “Shining Force” countless times and always love every minute of it. Might be a sweet name of an Hair Metal band too…

2. Golden Axe (1989)
Long Haired Warrior Dudes, Dragons, Dwarves… This is incredibly metal and loads of axe battling fun. It’s pretty short but it leaves quite an impact. Some day Colin and I will beat “The Death Adder” (which is also a good name for a Metal band) but until than we shall rest in the shade.

1. Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (1992)
Yeah you know it, you gotta have Sonic on top and this one has always been my favorite. The bonus stages are trip and there is actually some nice multiplayer goin on here. The music, graphics and sound are all great… Awesome?

John’s way more knowledgeable about this crap, but I’ll give it a shot. These are both families that became famous as a group, and families that became famous individually.

10. The Osmonds
I mean yeah, why not? They were pretty popular and seem to have lingering celebrity. There are a lot of them, actually, but the only ones that really matter are Donny and Marie. And Marie just barely hanging on.

9. The Garlands
Judy and Liza. They’ve both won Academy Awards and have left a lasting mark on American pop culture. So, there you go.

8. The Voights
Kind of creepy picture, isn’t it? Well it’s a kind of creepy family. I was like “what?” Jon Voight, legendary film icon, is the father of Angelina Jolie and her crazy brother. That’s crazy. And Angelina is married to Brad Pitt, right? So Jon Voight is the patriarch of one of the most powerful Hollywood families. And they’re slowly building up an army of African children.

7. The Sutherlands
One is famous for a prophetic film career, the other for one of the most successful TV shows in recent memory. Apparently when Kiefer spoiled some of the plot of a season of 24 to Donald, he became very upset. Now that’s what I call fathering.

6. The Douglases
Big Mike and Papa Kirk both have a number of immortal films under their belts. But the real question is: could Spartacus take Gordon Gekko? Speaking of Wall Street…

5. The Sheens
Martin and his sons Charlie and Emilio. I don’t know why Emilio wouldn’t want the power of the Sheen name, but maybe that’s why we don’t see much of him anymore. Martin and Charlie starred in two of the best Vietnam War movies ever made. Joe Estevez, Martin’s brother, even got in on Apocalypse Now, he did the narration.

4. The Bridges
Another father with two famous sons. Lloyd, Jeff and Beau are all great, and should work with each other whenever possible. Well, Lloyd Bridges passed away, but come on you sons! Jeff, get your ass on My Name is Earl like John suggested, that would be sweet.

3. The Jacksons
The Jackson 5 were pretty famous, then Michael stole the spotlight. Then he made some great music. Then he turned into a white woman and started creeping everyone out. Why bother, you all know the story. This is a different Randy Jackson, by the way.

2. The Osbournes
What could be healthier that surrounding an aged bat-eater’s family with cameras? A lot of stuff. But if we learned anything from this dysfunctional pack, it’s that at the end of the day, you’ve always got the love and support of the ones you love.

1. The Baldwins
The most powerful family in the world. Bush who? Kennedy what? The Baldwin brothers reign supreme in the world of celebrity. Alec, their representative and leader, reigns supreme over the world of acting. Daniel, William and Stephen surely have things to be proud of as well. If you do not respect the Baldwins, you must fear their wrath.

Well all good things must come to an end, and this week was the series finale of MTV reality
show Rob and Big. I feel like I learned a lot about being best friends and stuff.

10. Time Travel
One day Rob decided to take out a time machine he had purchased before Big Black had moved in. They can’t get it to work, so they call the man that made it. This man refuses to meet in person because he thinks Rob and Big are aliens.

9. Turd in the Pool
The duo come home from skate boarding only to find that there has been some human doo-doo in the pool. They turn to Drama, Rob’s cousin, and invite a polygraph examiner to evaluate the situation. It turns out he didn’t do it, so they just pump out the pool, skate, get a cool mural drawn, and return to their every day lives.

8. “Netting Spider Man”
After purchasing a net gun in an earlier episode, Rob and Big are driving through the streets of Hollywood when they notice some douchebag dressed as Spider Man harassing people. They return home, grab the net gun, and drive-by net him while screaming “Rob and Big bitch!”
Classic.

7. Turtle Racing
The boys stop by a local bar and notice that underground turtle racing is an up and coming sport. After a dismal performance from their rent-a-tortoise, they decide to go and capture one in the wild. Speedy Ka-ka-ka-klakston did not fare as well either, so they ended up releasing him into the wild.

6. Special Buddies
After seeing the cover of a cereal called “Good Friends” with a white woman and a black woman on the cover smiling. Rob knew it was destiny. So they dressed up in old women drag and took their own picture and sent it in to the cereal company. After getting turned down, Rob surprised Big with a fake cereal box entitled “Special Buddies.”

5. Dirty Girl
Big Black’s Uncle Jerry comes to town and they decide to film a music video for Rob’s alter Ego “Bobby Light”. The song is entitled “Dirty Girl” and was later released on iTunes.

4. Guinness World Records
Rob picks up a copy of the record book at the grocery store and notices how easy most of the skate boarding records are. So he decides to give Guinness a call and they come out from england to witness history. Not only did Rob break 21 records including most 360 flips in a minute and longest boardslide, but Big Black broke two records of his own. Most bananas peeled and eaten in one minute (3) and most powdered doughnuts eaten in three minutes (5).

3. Black Lavender
For some reason Big Black decides to start stripping under his alias “Black Lavender”. I guess you had to be there.

2. Big Bob
When Rob realizes he can’t relate to Big’s struggles of being obese, they call a make up artist and Rob gets a make over. With a fat suit, 3 hours of prosthetics, and stilts, Rob is transmorphed into 7 ft, 400 pound Big Bob. He finds out what it’s like when your fat and even tries to skateboard.

1. Finale
When Big Black knocks up some bitch, he has to finally move out. An emotional day full of flashbacks and mediocrity. This probably isn’t the best episode, but definitely the most powerful.

As my personal favorite console of all time (save for maybe my PS2 or the Nintendo DS-GameBoy Pen and all) the Super Nintendo Entertainment System, or SuperNES (or SNES, but Nintendo doesn’t use that abbreviation) has enjoyed significant playtime years since games stopped coming out for it. The SuperNES represents, for me, the very pinnacle of video gaming: constant innovation, the peak of the Nintendo/Sega rivalry, and an unstoppable barrage of classic games. But nostalgia can get in the way and many of the games we loved in our youth seem dated and simplistic now (Uniracers). Nevertheless, these 10 games have proven to be timeless classics, as fun today as they were when they came out.

My only rules are that each franchise only gets one entry (sorry Yoshi’s Island).

Honorable Mentions: Uniracers (seriously, that game is ballin’), Battletoads & Double Dragon: The Ultimate Team, Super Mario RPG, Zombies Ate My Neighbors, Gradius III, Mortal Kombat II, Earthbound and Super Metroid (I never got to buy them).

10. Killer Instinct
This game is all about being awesome. You play as awesome monsters, you fight really fast, and you can do ridiculously long combos. KI epitomizes the ideal SuperNES fighting game, and is just as enjoyable today as it was in 1995.

9. Aladdin/Super Star Wars: The Return of the Jedi
The best movie adaptation games. Aladdin is an incredibly solid platformer that lets you relive a bunch of scenes from the movie. Gameplay-wise, this is a pretty good game, but what puts it over the top is how much of the film made the transition over. Return of the Jedi is the third in the Super Star Wars series, and arguably the best, with more playable characters and a lessened difficulty. Both these games were great because they let you relieve movies with better visuals and music than previously possible. On top of that they are just quality games.

8. F-Zero
One of the SuperNES’ selling points was its (for the time) awe-inspiring 3D graphics. F-Zero was one of the titles to show just how incredibly important 3D could be to gaming. This game is responsible for many aspects of the modern console racer, and its damn fun too.

7. Star Fox
Another showcase for the SuperNES’s 3D capabilities, Star Fox brought us into a world where humanoid animals piloted space ships and waged galactic warfare. Sure it doesn’t look as good by today’s standards, but back then it was sweet. It is still a blast to play, and your comrades are the least annoying they’ve been in the series thus far.

6. Super Mario Kart
The very first in the Mario Kart series, Super Mario Kart was an instant hit do to its incredible multiplayer fun. Not only could you race, but you could battle your friends using items from the Mario universe. Most fans agree that the subsequent titles in the series have yet to improve upon this release.

5. Mega Man X
The Mega Man X spin-off series was born with this title. X is a prototype robot given the extraordinary ability to think. After years in stasis, X finally awakens to a war-torn world and goes after the evil Reploids responsible for global chaos, with only the help of his friend Zero. Much more story heavy than the original Mega Man games, and somewhat easier, Mega Man X’s gave the player plenty of upgrades to search for and locales to battle in. The remake on the PSP is worth buying if you’ve never experienced this sci-fi epic, or even if you have.

4. The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past
Some still argue to this day whether A Link to the Past is the best Zelda game ever made. While I believe that honor belongs to Ocarina of Time, playing second fiddle to that game is nothing to be ashamed of. A Link to the Past had our silent hero tread through not one, but two separate worlds, one Light and the other Dark. Responsible for many series staples and numerous rip-offs, A Link to the Past is one of the true icons in gaming history.

3. Super Mario World
One of the SuperNES launch titles, Super Mario World beats out Mario All Stars (which was a collection of all the NES Mario games with better graphics) and Yoshi’s Island as the best Mario game on the console. Refining the Mario 3 formula, Mario World is most notable for introducing the world to Yoshi. And for kicking ass.

2. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles IV: Turtles in Time
My favorite game during the Nineties, Turtles in Time is, without a doubt, the best beat-’em-up game ever made. This game is awesome, especially with buddy. The multiplayer fun is hard to match, and we can only hope that some day it gets released on Xbox Live Arcade or something. Oh man, to play it four player…

1. Donkey Kong Country
With graphics that will blow your head up, a soundtrack that can make you rock out one moment and weep another, and gameplay that remains completely addictive, Donkey Kong Country is probably the best game ever made. Well no, it’s not. But it is really fantastic and the game to play when you go back to the SuperNES. Which is why it gets the number one spot. The sequels are great too.

Next Week: Top 10 SuperNES games that sucked? Hell yes, unless someone else wants to T3.

Now over the last decade or so, there have literally been hundreds of internet fads or phenomenon’s (or whatever you want to call them) floating around in cyberspace. So I thought I’d make a list (not really in any particular order) of some of the most memorable to hit the web. Now there are tons of new internet celebrities or videos every year, so this list will be pretty obsolete soon enough… Maybe only a in a few months, that’s just how fast these fads can hit. (Thanks a lot Youtube) So until than, please reminisce with me and we’ll look back at some of the most popular videos of the past decade or so. Also instead of pictures I’m going to post links to the videos themselves.

So sweet, so beautiful.
10. The Aicha Guy
When?: Sometime in the early 2000s
Who?: Belgian teenager Jelle Buelens A.K.A. “GellieMan”
What?: A guy singing a Backstreet boys esq. pop song in his room. Complimented by some dancing and some less than stellar production quality.
Why?: I think something that puzzles most is “Is this guy serious?” Because though this video easily borders around the lines of “pathetic” there doesn’t seem to be any indication that he made this as a joke.

Yeah, that’s cool
9. Leeroy Jenkins
When?: 2005
Who?: A guy named Ben Schultz playing as a paladin named “Leeroy Jenkins” in the popular online game “World of Warcraft”
What?: He’s some guy who was playing WOWC who ruined his teams plan by charging out carelessly into battle while yelling “Leeroy Jenkins!” Automatically making him a legend in the digital world.
Why?: I guess people really dug that guy yelling out a funny name and ruining the game for everyone else because I certainly don’t get the appeal. Perhaps it is more memorable to online gamers in general, like when you end up playing with one of those guys who just doesn’t give a shit.

Di Da Di Da Di Duh Doh Doh
8. Hamster Dance
When?: August 1998
Who?: Canadian Art Student Deidre LaCarte who made a website full of dancing and singing hamsters.
What?: They sing and dance… That’s it.
Why?: Combining cute with catchy music is always a deadly combination. I just wish I hadn’t missed my chance to get in on this back in the day.

The man behind the moves
7. Evolution of Dance
When?: 2002
Who?: Motivational Speaker/Comedian Justin Laipply
What?: A guy that imitates a plethora of famous dances from the 1950s to present day.
Why?: People love memorable dances, and when they are all combined? Well then you’ve got them eating right out of your hands. I mean last time I checked this was the most viewed video on Youtube, so obviously this guy knows how to give the people what they want.

It’s Peanut Butter Jelly Time!!!
6. Peanut Butter Jelly Time
When?: The late 90s
Who?: A Flash animated banana dancing to a song I guess about Peanut Butter and Jelly. The most popular version being done by Ryan Gancenia Etrata and Kevin Finn
What?: I pretty much just summed it up already, it’s a cartoon dancing to a song on loop.
Why?: People like that catchy song but I don’t think anyone could care less about the banana… Though they did parody it on Family Guy.

Some stay dry and others feel the pain
5. Chocolate Rain
When?: April 22, 2007
Who?: 20 something singer/songwriter Tay Zonday
What?: A young looking guy with an incredibly low singing voice, singing a song about who knows what.
Why?: I’m gonna go out an a limb here and assume most people just like this guy because he sounds funny. Maybe some people like the song, but I’ll bet that ain’t the reason this guy was on The Jimmy Kimmel Show.

I don’t know which part of his rant this is, but I really don’t want to watch it.
4. Britney Spears Guy
When?: September 9th 2007
Who?: Britney Spears fanatic Chris Crocker
What?: A very effeminate and emotional guy pleading with the media to stop slamming Britney Spears.
Why?: Now you know you’ve hit it big when you’re parodied in “Meet the Spartans” what an honor that is. I think people initially found it bizarre that this guy is practically sobbing over the portrayal of a pop star in the media. I mean I actually first heard about this guy on CNN! It’s amazing that it even reached that kind of national attention, I guess people just wanna know “What’s the deal with this?”

Miya-hee!.
3. Numa Numa Guy
When?: December 2004
Who?: New Jersey native Gary Brolsma
What?: Some fat guy (Gary Brolsma) sitting in a chair while dancing and lip synching to an Eastern European techno song.
Why?: Now people love catchy pop songs and stupid dancing… And a fat nerdy guy is just icing on the cake.

The Saga Begins
2. Star Wars Kid
When?: November 4, 2002
Who?: Quebec teenager Ghyslian Raza
What?: A kid swinging around a large pole (imitating Darth Maul from Star Wars) and looking like a damn fool.
Why?: This poor kid looks pretty funny trying to look cool. Only heightened by the fact that he isn’t the most hip looking kid. I hear he had to transfer schools and sue people to keep a normal personal life.

I Can’t Stop this Feeling
1. The Dancing Baby
When?: Fall 1996
Who?: A 3D-rendered dancing baby created by a Character Studio development team.
What?: A digital baby doing a wacky dance with The addition of Blue Swede’s cover of “Hooked on a Feeling” (added later for commercials and television appearances)
Why?: The internet still felt like a new fresh thing to everyone, so seeing a digital baby dancing on the web was like a milestone in technology. Plus being on Ally McBeal? That was a big deal.

P.S. If I missed any of your favorites, than feel free to tell me. tHopefully none of these videos will be taken down

John’s review of The White Album got me to thinking about what double albums are actually worth listening to all the way through and what albums really use their lengths to their advantage. I do realize that this list is kind of bias towards artists from the 60’s and 70’s, but it seems that there’s only been a handful of decent double albums that have been released since the birth of cd’s.

Coming after the albums “1999” and the hugely successful “Purple Rain”, this album further proved that Prince was one of the most important musical artists of the 1980’s. The album has some of Prince’s funkiest numbers to date, such as “Housequake” and “It’s Gonna Be A Beautiful Night”. It also has some delicately soulful ballads like “Slow Love” or the Indian influenced “The Cross”.

9. Elton John – Goodbye Yellow Brick Road (1973)

This album really shows Elton John at the height of his powers in the early seventies, it’s too bad he hasn’t been able to do anything as great as this since then. The album starts off with the 11-minute triumph, “Funeral For A Friend/Love Lies Bleeding” and the songs remain consistently solid throughout. With hits like “Saturday Night’s All Right For Fighting”, “Candle In The Wind”, and the title track, this album really shows what a great songwriting team Elton and Bernie Taupin were.

8. The Jimi Hendrix Experience – Electric Ladyland (1968)

Even though Jimi Hendrix’s debut “Are You Experienced?” seems to be the most celebrated LP in Jimi’s catalog, I think Electric Ladyland is definitely in the same league as that classic. You can really see that Jimi is branching out from the 3-minute song formula seen on his first two albums with much longer songs like the 15-minute “Voodoo Chile” or the experimental “1983…”. The album is probably the most psychedelic of Jimi’s albums despite featuring his biggest hit, his version of Bob Dylan’s “All Along The Watchtower”.

7. Led Zeppelin – Physical Graffiti (1975)

Probably Led Zeppelin’s most underrated album, and just further proof that Zeppelin’s greatness cannot be denied. Physical Graffiti shows the band experimenting with different styles such as rockabilly (“Boogie With Stu”), country (“Black Country Woman”), and the heavy blues of their first album (“In My Time of Dying”). They also have plenty of hard-rockin’ tracks like “Kashmir”, “The Wanton Song”, and “Custard Pie”, which are all further proof that Jimmy Page could come up with a great riff like nobody’s business.

6. The Who – Tommy (1969)

The first self-proclaimed “rock opera”, The Who’s Tommy transformed The Who from being known simply for being Britain’s loudest, most destructive band to being one of the world’s best rock bands. Even though the story’s a bit hard to follow, the songs are notheless fantastic, and it’s one of those albums that achieves being a cohesive piece of art instead of just a collection of songs.

5. The Beatles (The White Album) – The Beatles (1968)

After the monumentally influentual Sgt. Pepper, I liked seeing that the Beatles took it in a more simpler direction. They each seem to be much more content on doing their own thing on this album than doing the kind of experimenting that was seen on Sgt. Pepper. It’s also quite amazing to me that this album features 30 songs, nearly all of them are exellent, and yet not one of them was released as a single.

4. Stevie Wonder – Songs in the Key of Life (1976)

It really is staggering how completely brimming with creativity Stevie Wonder was when he made this album. The fact that this is 2 LP’s plus an EP, and that every song is great just adds to this. Stevie builds on his funk/R&B sound with such memorable hits as “Isn’t She Lovely” and “Sir Duke” while also continuing to be very socially conscuious with songs like “Pastime Paradise” and “Village Ghetto Land.”

3. The Rolling Stones – Exile On Main St. (1972)

I wasn’t that crazy about this album when I first heard it, but it has definitely grown on me over the years. Exile On Main St. is The Stones in their most raunchy, unpolished state, which is how the Stones have always sounded at their best. Besides their signature rock numbers, the album shows them returning to the country style present on Beggar’s Banquet with songs like “Sweet Virginia”, “Sweet Black Angel”, and the gospel-like “Shine A Light”.

2. Bob Dylan – Blonde On Blonde (1966)

The first double album to be released commercially by a pop artist, Blonde On Blonde showed that an artist at the peak of their creativity could create 2 discs full of compelling music. This album shows Dylan building on the folk/rock sound of his Highway 61 and Bringing It All Back Home, and has some of his best songs from this period. Dylan’s lyrical brilliance reaches new heights on songs like “Visions of Johanna” and “Stuck Inside of Memphis With the Memphis Blues Again”. The album is basically the peak of Dylan’s creative streak in the ‘60s, seeing as though he became withdrawn and secluded after his motorcycle accident in 1967.

1. The Clash – London Calling (1979)

The Clash reached new heights by expanding on their punk sound to create one of the great rock albums, and one of my favorite albums of all time with London Calling. The album shows them combining their sound with reggae (“Rudy Can’t Fail”, “Revolution Rock”), rockabilly (“Brand New Cadillac”), and even disco (“Lost in the Supermarket”). And yet they do all of this without losing sight of their core punk sound. I don’t think there’s really anything on this album that even remotely resembles filler, and that’s why I’m putting it at the number one spot.