# 9: Rivals Make the Best Losers
What do the Red Sox/Yankees, Ali/Frazier, Coke/Pepsi, hell, even the tortoise/hare all have in common? That´s right... each was a great rivalry. In any type of competition a rival will elevate the level of each of the combatants. Defeating the rival also yields the most gratifying victory. In 2004 when the Red Sox won the World Series, Sox fans everywhere were ecstatic. You know though, it had to be that much sweeter to demoralize the Yankees that year by coming back from being down 3 games to 0 to make it to the Fall Classic. It´s always a great feeling to claim victory over an opponent as capable as you. And if it is rude to gloat, then gamers are some of the rudest people in the world. Like most other gamers, I´ll also never forget my personal favorite victory. My younger brother had always been slightly better at games than me . In our younger years we battled it out in WWE War Zone, Mortal Kombat, and Mario Kart, and today we still engage in intense competitions in Halo 3, Madden, and Gears of War. He used to always be one step ahead. It is not that I never won, but I never could win consistently.

Tecmo Super Bowl for the PlayStation was our game. It provided a wonderful football experience and my brother and I each worked our way through the season and wound up in the NFC Championship game. The winner goes to the Super Bowl and the loser played the previous few weeks of games for nothing. His mighty Eagles were definitely a favorite against my hapless Washington Redskins. Both of us knew that he was going on to football glory and even worse bragging rights. The game was close throughout with surprisingly little scoring. It came down to the end of the game and he had just scored another field goal to take a 9 to 3 lead. There was very little time left in the game, only enough for a kickoff and one or two plays. Fortunately only one was necessary. The great part about the Tecmo foot ball games was that each quarterback could chuck the ball 80 yards without effort. The ball was snapped, and the quarterback dropped back from the 20 yard line to the 5 before heaving the ball down field. Both of us held our breath as the ball sailed through the air for what seemed like forever. As the ball descended from its flight, an in game animation took place and Henry Ellard dove in for an automatic catch in the endzone for a Redskin victory. It may be sad, but I still bring up that game to this day. I won.

Examples: Sports Titles, Mortal Kombat, Halo, Gears of War, virtually anything with a multiplayer mode

# 8: Games are Timeless
No matter how many times certain games are played they have a unique feel that keeps you coming back again and again. It is different for different people, but at times all gamers dust off that game that has not been played for years to give it another go. Of course it has been beaten more times than Glass Joe, Bowser, and the Los Angeles Clippers combined, but it is still fun. I can still say with all honesty that I occasionally set up an original NES and play Super Mario Brothers and have a blast. Mario Kart is another excellent example of a game that will never grow old. The game is simple enough. Drive around in circles on little carts that all travel at roughly the same speed. Somehow though, this simple concept transforms into a complicated race full of strategy and positioning. Should I let him pass and use the red turtle shell? Maybe staying in the front and dropping banana peels is the better approach. Today, a good online experience will fortify a game in this category. I regularly see people on my friends list still playing older games such as Halo and Street Fighter II on Xbox Live.

Examples: Super Mario Brothers, Pac Man, Mario Kart, Halo