Fierce_LiNk

Every time the Russian anthem comes on, I stand and think of this:

Nice list, @Jonnas. It is difficult trying to narrow it down to 10 and there are tons of classics that I had to bypass to narrow it down to 10. Pokémon Red was my first Pokémon game and I was tempted to put that in there somewhere, but it just missed out. Absolutely played the shit out of that and had such a fun time. I still remember the day that I managed to complete my Pokedex with the help of a good friend. #neverforget Eternal Darkness missed out, too. As did Streets of Rage, Perfect Dark, Goldeneye, Alien Isolation, Mario Kart DS, Rogue Leader, WWF No Mercy and a bunch of others. It's also difficult for the more recent games due to the nostalgia factor. E.g. I loved Goldeneye back in the day, but I've put hundreds of hours into Overwatch and love everything about it. Yet, Goldeneye is considered a classic and makes many top 10 lists. So, there's that.

Spain and Croatia going out would shake things up even more. Would be fantastic for England!

Predictions for today, people? Spain 2 - 0 Russia I think Russia will start off strong and will have a couple of great chances that they don't take. Then, Spain's experience will show and they'll get a goal late in the first half and then another around the 70th minute mark. Russia will go for it and throw everything at Spain, but they'll stand strong to go through. Croatia 3 - 1 Denmark Croatia will put in a really top performance against Denmark and will get through this game comfortably. Denmark will score from a corner to make the scoreline respectable, but I can only see Croatia win this one. Now watch me get this horribly wrong.

Happy Birthday to that Super Cool Guy!

The right result, imo. Portugal didn't do enough in the final third and made so many bad decisions in the final third. Also, such a lack of pace in the team. Uruguay looked very comfortable defensively and the keeper didn't have that much to do. Hard to break down that defence.

Some of these Portuguese players are a bit blah, mainly the full backs. Also, not enough runners from midfield.

I pretty much did that after the goal. Amazing finish. Beautiful performance from Cavani, he's really done everything today. Hope he gets his hat-trick now.

I was worried that this would finish 1-0. Phew! Uruguay have looked the better team, but hopefully Portugal will be able to get more attacks going.

Mirin' Ronaldo's leg gains. Phwoooar.

He's still up there with the greatest of all time. But...not scoring in 8 knockout phase games, one of which is the final, will hurt his chances in that respect. But, I think his club career has been that good that he'll still be in those conversations, but there's no arguing that he's not been as successful on the world stage, for a number of reasons. International football is different beast, though. It's far harder to win the World Cup due to a player having fewer opportunities to do so, due to how often it comes around. So, it would be unfair to solely discount Messi simply on the basis of never winning the World Cup. What I do think will count against him, especially in comparison to Ronaldo, is his ability to "make it" at more than one team. Ronaldo being able to win the Champions League with Man Utd (as well as other trophies) before making the move to Real Madrid will go in his favor, which Messi can't compete with.

True, the manager of Argentina hasn't helped him on this occasion. But, Messi has built his whole club career at Barcelona and has been in the privileged position of being able to play with the best talent on the planet. Look at the calibre of the players that he has had to work with at Barcelona, many of which have allowed him to go out there and express himself and have helped him to earn numerous accolades. So, sure, he may not have had won the World Cup, but let's not forget that he's had extremely good fortune at Barcelona. Not only that, but he's been in the (again, privileged) position of playing for Argentina, who have a rich footballing history. Through playing with Argentina, he has played a World Cup final already in 2014. It's hard to feel sorry for somebody who has already been so successful and who has had a great career at club level and a decent one at international level. He is by no means a failure. I'm sure many of the England players would bite your hand off for the chance to have played in the World Cup 2014 final against Germany.

Yeah, I think this game will be remembered for a long time anyway, but even more so for some of the individual performances. Maybe even for Messi simply not turning up or proving to be ineffective for his team. I don't feel that sorry for Messi, tbh. Sure, it's an old team, but this is by no means a bad team. This isn't like Salah playing for Egypt where he is one of the only players of note. I do think that Argentina haven't used their talent effectively in this tournament and the performances simply haven't been great. They've disappointed. This is a great France side and they'll do well in this tournament. Possibly favourites, even?

Mbappe with the best individual performance by a player in this tournament, imo. He's looked the real deal.

They'll score ANOTHER one before Argentina do, if they even do. Can see France scoring 6 in this game.

France look the better team, imo. Think they'll score another before Argentina do.

Immense goal by Pavard. 10/10! Brilliant game, I'm really enjoying it. Again, I'm torn. Argentina for the sweepstake, but I would prefer France to win. Although, does it make it easier for Belgium if Argentina go through?

No point denying it, Belgium were the better team and deserved to win that game. Even though it was a completely different team, their second 11 are better than England's second team. Something's not quite right though that Belgium have it that much harder despite winning the group. Less travel time for England and an extra day to prepare, despite finishing second in their group. Dunno, just seems pretty wrong, to me.

@Eenuh spotted that when it happened. I missed it, but the replay is hilarious! I guess Januzaj wasn't at the team meeting or something. Great finish, though.

I was working and didn't get a chance to check the scores until it was around the 80th minute mark. I was so confident that Germany would get a goal and didn't really pay attention to the group table standings that I went off to go and do a few odd-jobs. When I came back, I couldn't believe it! 2-0 to South Korea! What the absolute fuck? That second goal is crazy. How did Germany allow this to happen? They're usually so ridiculously reliable. Blows the whole thing wide open, though! Unlucky, @drahkon

I'm torn. I really don't like Argentina and fucking despise Maradona...but they're one of my sweepstake picks. As Peru and Iran have both gone out, I need Argentina to do well to save face, at least until the Summer holidays start! What the hell was Rojo doing up there in that position?! Gutted for Nigeria as I thought that they could have had the win tonight. Thought Iceland played really well, too. Croatia are deserved group winners and this has been a very entertaining group. Also, booooo to France and Denmark for the first 0-0. Let's kick both of them out for that!

So, I've put together my list. There are lots of games which are near the 10 that would maybe make it in on a different day. I've chosen games that I consider to have made an impact on me in some sort of way or that have left a long-lasting impression. Apologies for the typos or parts that make no sense. I am very tired. 1. The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt and all expansions This is the best game that I have ever played. I love the base game and the two expansions just make the game even better. I just love every aspect of this, but the world building, characters, dialogue and sidequests are the real stand-out features for me. I would often spend hours just wandering around a field or going from village to village. It was so easy to come across new quests or find little hidden stories here and there. What's great is that each of these little quests could have been their own little stories in their own right and they all combine to make this a living and breathing world. Blood and Wine is such an excellent finale to round off this game and it was so satisfying to play through. I plan to go through this again in the summer and seriously cannot wait. 2. Ocarina of Time I had a hard time judging where to place this and Majora's Mask on my list. I would love to combine the two as a double-bill, but that would just be outright cheating. This was, for most of my life, the finest videogame that I had experienced. I still remember that feeling where I made it out of Kokiri Forest and ventured into Hyrule Field for the first time. It just seemed like a whole new world had opened up before me! I loved the dungeon designs, the weapons and the great boss fights, not to mention the classic Zelda story-line that other games in the series have tried to emulate but not quite top. It was regarded as one of the best games ever for a very long time for a reason. To me, I had tears in my eyes when I completed it the first time and the game finishes on that freeze frame of Link meeting Princess Zelda again. Brilliant game. A classic and one that I am privileged to have experienced on the original hardware. 3. Majora's Mask Ocarina of Time was magical and Majora's Mask came in and just put its own spin on...pretty much everything. I change my mind daily about which game I prefer more, and on many days I choose Majora's Mask. I love the vibe of impending doom that the members of Clock Town seem to experience and the panic of the inhabitants of Termina (or non-panic in lots of ways) as the days progress. The game also had a very interesting take on sidequests, particularly that now-famous Kafei and Anju quest. It's awesome being able to fight and do all sorts of crazy stuff as a Zora, Goron and Deku...plus that amazing moment where you can obtain the Fierce Deity Mask, which is where my name came from. This game means a lot to me and I love the themes of desolation, loneliness and of the walls closing in. Perfect game. One of my favourites ever. 4. The Last of Us: Remastered I played this without ever being caught up in the hype around it, due to me playing it much later. The first time I played it, I knew it was a fantastic game and I appreciated the themes found within it, the storyline, the characters and the music. But, the second time I played it...I discovered that it truly was a genre-defining masterpiece. The character development of the main characters of Joel and Ellie are expertly crafted, as well as the little touches found within the dialogue and mannerisms of its leads. There are moments within the game where I find it breath-takingly beautiful, yet there is also an ugliness of a world that has been devoured and tossed aside. One moment that will live with me forever is when I decided to "fuck stealth" and made a run for it to make it out of a dangerous area. It wasn't until later that somebody pointed out how close I was in proximity to a Bloater...and how close I came to dying. I think highly of this game and, for me, it is one of those games that does live up to the hype. Really looking forward to Part II. On a side note, this soundtrack is so good that I still listen to it very often. It's a movie-quality soundtrack. World class. 5. Overwatch This one just really has to go in due to the amount of time spend on it and the replayability of it. Over 300 hours on this game and counting, probably even another 300 more to go. What I love about the game are its little intricacies. If you pair certain characters up, you can create some pretty unforgettable moments. Even just changing your character can feel like you are playing an entirely new game. I also love the unlockables and all of the events that have been held for this, free of charge. It always feels like you can come back for more and there is always a reason to boot this up again. This game also now features some of my favourite videogaming characters, such as Zarya, Mercy and Zenyatta. It can be very fast and disorientating at times, and there are occasions where I can't tell what the hell is going on...but I just love it. It overtakes Perfect Dark as my favourite FPS now. 6. Bloodborne How close I came to snapping this disc in half or returning this to the store. Those first few hours were some of the worst that I have endured as a gamer. I tried playing the game "how I thought it had to be played" and just died. Over and over again. Easily the most I've ever died in a non-multiplayer game. I died and got sent back to the same bit constantly. I could feel my blood boil. I swore profusely and loudly. I threatened to send the game back to the store (I've NEVER done this with ANY game...so this tells you how angry I was). Yet, I listened to the good people on here and I stuck with it. I ran where I could. I ran for my life! I somehow grew into the game and it all started to click. The further I got into the game, the more powerful I felt. I could take on more enemies at once, or deal more damage, or go for longer without dying. My favourite section was The Forbidden Woods. I have great memories of playing this game with The Smashing Pumpkins' Machina album playing through Spotify. I spent hours upon hours in that area, listening to that album and by the time I got to the end of the game, I was rather sad due to the incredible journey that I had been on. This game made me a better gamer and changed how I viewed games. I will now pretty much try anything and without fear. 7. Command and Conquer: Tiberian Sun This is a personal favourite of mine. I really dig the look of this game and the maps that you can find within it during the Skirmish mode. I have spent so many hours just pissing about on this, obtaining as many harvesters as I could and just seeing my cash go up and up and up. This one isn't just in for nostalgia, it's in there because for me, it represents a beautiful time in gaming, most notably the RTS genre. We don't get enough of these types of games anymore, especially not on consoles. The combat was fun, as was building up an incredibly designed and impossible to penetrate base. It will always be one of my favourite games and I long for a worthy successor to this sublime title. 8. Super Smash Bros. Melee I had no idea what I was getting into when I bought this, having never played the N64 original. Instantly, I was blown away by the amount of content within it and the pure wealth of characters and stages. Each character felt unique and had their own distinctive playstyle. What's more, the list didn't feel bloated. You had to be a very special character to make it in here. I love the speed of this game, the movement and the physics. All 3 parts combine to make a fighter with endless possibilities. The characters had weight to them, but they were still agile enough to do all sorts of crazy things. I used to play Ganondorf A LOT on this game. I enjoyed Brawl, but it seemed to lack that special something that Melee had, plus I didn't find the movement as fluid or as fun as Melee. 9. BioShock Collection Ok, I'm kinda cheating here. But, I played all 3 as a collection on the PS4, so...I'm counting it. I really LOVE the style of the first two games and the underwater dystopia that you find yourself in. It's eerie, unsettling and I just wanted to get the hell out of there. But, the third game's setting is now one of my most favourite ever. Plus, this game's opening version of "Will The Circle Be Unbroken" is a complete and utter masterpiece. This game's usage of modern day or classic pop music is absolutely stellar. Not going to spoil things, but hearing classics such as "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun" and "Everybody Wants To Rule The World" in this game...superb choices. Again, I love the interplay between the two main characters of Booker and Elizabeth. The ending in this game had my jaw dropping to the ground and the entire last 30 minutes or so were perfection. I will play all three games again in the future, but most notably Infinite. 10. F Zero GX I couldn't decide whether to put this or F Zero X in there instead. I played the absolute shit out of both and regard them as my favourite racers. Absolutely criminal how we have never had a follow up to this as GX really was a great template to pick up from. It's graphically beautiful, has an amazing sense of speed and the amount of things to do within this game was really great. It's fast, frantic and you know that one wrong turn can end up in failure. It's pure edge of your seat stuff and I really did think that I had the reflexes on a Jedi after a couple of hours on this. Superb racer and one of my favourite ever.

Ahhh, crazy games. As @Eenuh said earlier, we had both games being shown on the two tvs and it was interesting how some crucial events seemed to be happening at the exact same time in both games. Crazy finish to both games too, with Iran almost snatching it. There doesn't seem to be one clear cut amazing team in this tournament. Both Spain and Portugal can be exposed. I thought Pique had a terrible game for Spain and was very lucky not to be sent off for what was, in my opinion, a clear two-footed tackle. Definitely a red. Really enjoyed watching both matches and loved the drama, which both games had. Great World Cup, so far.

I'm the same as @bob on this one. I've got my top 15 or so and just need to work out which ones deserve to be in the top 10...and in which order. Skyward Sword most definitely won't be there, though.

Great result for England! Glad to see that the referees aren't standing for any nonsense during corner kicks. It always irritates me how so many defenders try and mug the other team and never seem to get punished for it. If VAR leads to 3 or 4 penalties a game, then so be it. The end result will be that either defenders stop trying to assault the other team, or they'll be punished for it! Not a fan of Panama's playacting or their shitty, sly little tactics, such as the antics at corners. It lost them a few sympathy points from me. Belgium looked great yesterday, too. @Eenuh seemed to be quite happy with it. They played as one cohesive team and they should have scored more than 5. Batshuayi should easily have had 4 goals. Some horrendous misses from him. He's their Sterling!