With our first community top ten, we decided to take a trip down memory lane and ask the people of AusNS who was the greatest NS player ever. Naturally the responses were varied, and as many people observed, there is no true quantifiable way to gauge who was the greatest NSPlayer. The variance in both time and from version to version leaves too many variables. However, the community came out in spades and nominated over 50 candidates for the top spot.

Here are some great comments from you, the community:

“to be the ‘greatest’ player, doesn’t that mean you have to be the greatest at everything the game has to offer? not just marines or aliens, but both sides and how you carry yourself as a player and your team/teamwork?” – Kal.

Kal hits it right on the head, aim is never the single skill that will create a great player – teamwork, synergy and a good attitude are all just as important as a 0.005 reaction time.

“also singleEnzyme was pretty good” – Superbeast.

Having a great sound system is very important for any top tier player, thanks for the suggestion Superbeast.

“I must of been pretty good if I was accused of hacking by Sinister then HUH!?” – Raven_11.

Not quite Raven_11, see you in NS2 though.

Honourable mentions:

MARINE DUDE – Everyone’s favourite Pub hound, MARINE DUDE could be seen in the NS servers without fail, and every game he brought his all. He was never the most skilled player but between his micspam and steadfast attitude, MARINE DUDE was without a doubt one of the greatest NSPlayers around.

Elb – Who can forget the double fake relocation strategy against everlast? One of the best commanders around and in a clan (XP) which supported the largest player base ever seen in Natural Selection, Elb could not be forgotten.

Kal – If Australian Natural Selection was Rock, Paper, Scissors, Kal would be a megaphone. Love him or hate him, the never-to-be-outspoken Kal spearheaded the competitive scene throughout every major version of NS, both as a community head and a (super)clan leader.

Now we have gotten that out of the way, lets move onto the main course. Your community elected top ten are:

10. Diesel 3 votes

In a 3 way tie to make it into the list, Diesel still stands head and shoulders above many players. Vic said it best, “[Diesel] had the best fade movement out of everyone.” Easily regarded as one of the greatest Fades in the business, there were few who could stand up against Diesel’s Fade with confidence.

10. Yimmy 3 votes

Yimmy was a player which was so unknown, so lethal, and so devastatingly asian that no one could contest. His marine aim was awesome, he could read skulks movements and was a pleasure to command, always willing to build nodes and recap and always playing as a team, even if he could only speak a few words. Famous quotes of Yimmy are “MENPACK!” and “I shot I shot!!” – Haymo

10. BEE 3 votes

“Although underrated and not so well recognised, BEE had superb marine aim that would see him up with the ranks of dude et al. Furthermore, his skulking was superb and his teamplay was pretty good” – Rep

7. darkz 4 votes

“His teamwork and abilities as a marine and any alien form was amazing from each patch to patch, even after not playing for along time … he was on pretty much as his best each time, his fade was to die for … could also trust him to take out an ambush by himself as marine” – Kal

7. Haymo 4 votes

A relatively newer addition to NS compared to many on this list, none can deny Haymo’s position however. Being a great player and community head, Haymo managed to keep the NS scene afloat in Australia long after many thought it would flounder. All meanwhile being a part of one of the greatest NS clans to grace the scene? Justification aplenty.

7. J 4 votes

Developers developers developers! J was another outstanding marine player, notorious lerk and competitive cross hair creator. With this triumvirate of terror, J was a tour de force in Australian Natural Selection.

4. Sinistar 6 votes

The epitome of aiming skill, sin remained as one of the greatest shooters to ever grace the claustrophobic battlefields of NS. Sinister was a solid grunt through various superclans. This alone is enough to put him high on anyone list of great players.

3. Eiko 8 votes

What can be said about the guybrush, eiko was a staple of AusNS and idealised by many in the clan scene. Unable to be poached, his loyalties remained with the tp crew throughout his carrier.

2. Dude 12 votes

“Dude is a great choice – I cant think of anyone who was noticeably better then him, especially as a rine … and he was always nice to deal with as well” – Elb. One of the golden oldies, from the time way back when NS was still in its baby stages, that stage was dominated by one person. Dude, who was almost unanimously praised for his ability with the LMG, Dude’s placement at number 2 shows that we all haven’t quite forgotten the heroes of the past.

1. Solus 15 votes

Just nudging out Dude, Solus takes the number 1 spot. Everyone knows and loves Solus, he was the one player that could be exceptionally good at the game, and still be a nice guy. Routinely seen as one of the best Fades (with the exception of the Adren Fade incident in the NSWC) in the business, Solus could back up any strong Aliens game with even better Marine pwnage. Congratulations Solus.

Thanks to everyone for their input it wasen’t a bad turnout for our first top ten. Tomorrow we will post a new community top ten for you decide on, feel free to discuss the results of this top ten on our forums.