The 32 Best Xbox 360 Games
- September 18, 2008 16:09 PM PST
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Just in time to close out the summer, GamePro offers up a definitive list of the 32 very best Xbox 360 games. If you own an Xbox 360, start with this list!
If you call yourself a gamer, it's a surefire bet you own an Xbox 360, and with good reason: Microsoft's next-gen console has a truckload of games, a winning online formula with Xbox Live, and a controller that rests easy in your palms for hours on end. From the casual platformer to the hardcore shooter, there's something for everyone on this system, and we've listed the very best right here. These are the 32 finest Xbox 360 games money can buy.
#32: Rez HD
Why It's Great: If you've never played Rez before, don't worry. You'll have no idea what you'll be getting into, but that's okay -- the Tron-like graphics, crisp background beats, and pulse-building tempo will have you toe-tapping before you know it. The next time you check your watch, you'll be an hour into the game with drool running down your face and an uncontrollable urge to buy more controllers. Because let's face it: there's no reason not to make sweet, sweet use of that rumble feature.
#31: Puzzle Quest: Challenge of the Warlords
Why It's Great: It's a casual puzzle game that actually gives you a tangible reason to keep playing, and in that, Puzzle Quest is unique. Bejeweled-like games are addictive from the start, but add on RPG elements, a continuing story line, competitive play, and mana-driven special abilities, and the game becomes something else altogether. Few puzzlers can twist your brain in as many different directions as Warlords. This is one you'll play, and play, and play.
#30: Crackdown
Why It's Great: Rarely has a game made you feel so uber as Crackdown. It flew off the shelves because of the Halo 3 Beta key packaged with it, but it didn't take long for gamers to realize that there was more than one gem inside the box. Every time you level up, you can't help but marvel at your own magnificence, and that's before you can run faster than speeding traffic, leap tall buildings, and drive morphing cars through a living, breathing city. The story might stink, but the sheer joy of Crackdown's sandbox world more than makes up for it. Some would say Crackdown was a better open-world game than even Grand Theft Auto IV, and that's saying a lot.
#29: Fight Night Round 3
Why It's Great: Fight Night Round 3 showed us why the Xbox 360 was a force to be reckoned with, and it did it right out of the gate. Its control scheme had already been perfected over two previous games, and it was backed by a rock-solid brand. But the proverbial knockout punch was its graphics engine. Sweat beads up on the contenders' faces, blood dribbles from cut lips, and skin deforms under the slow-motion pounding of every gloved strike. With the HUD out of the way, there's nothing between you and the photo-realistic ring, and that's just the way we like it. For the ultimate two-player rush, re-create the infamous "Thrilla in Manila" match between Joe Frazier and Muhammad Ali.
#28: Dead Rising
Why It's Great: One word: lawnmower. Dead Rising gives you dozens of ways to hack, slash, burn, and smash an endless legion of zombies into bloody oblivion. Then it lets you go outside and grab a lawnmower. As sure as dead corpses will rise and gorge themselves on human flesh, grinding undead bone beneath a happy red snapper just never gets old. And, on the off-chance that it does, the game's hilarious and inventive achievements (i.e. "Raining Zombies: Knock at least 30 zombies aside with a parasol") will keep you grinning all night long.
#27: Viva Pinata: Trouble in Paradise
Why It's Great: It doesn't make much sense when you first look at it, but that's okay. You might end up teary-eyed after playing it, but that's okay, too. Viva Pinata: Trouble in Paradise is a game that will never stop telling you "It's okay," and it's an amazing experience for it. Plant the seeds of life, watch them grow, see families emerge and friendships develop, and then grab a tissue and shed a tear as the circle of life finds one of your nurtured creations eaten by another. But it's okay, because it's all a part of a unique gem of game that will smooth things over and make you feel better just for playing. Viva pinata, indeed!
#26: Need for Speed: Carbon
Why It's Great: Newer doesn't always mean better, and that's certainly the case with Need for Speed. NFS's most recent outing, ProStreet, was decent but vaguely disappointing, and even EA knows it. Fortunately, there's still Carbon: the Need for Speed game that took the best parts of Most Wanted and Underground II and combined them into a breathtaking midnight racer. With customization options keeping that engine under the hood nice and fresh, and the police keeping your nitrous system burning, Carbon's more than just a great hold-out as we wait for NFS: Undercover. It's a pulse-pounding must-play all by itself.
#25: Pac-Man Championship Edition
Why It's Great: Well, it's Pac-Man. That alone ranks it among the longest-lasting and most famous games in the world. But spend a little time in the game, and you'll see this is not your father's pizza pie. Toru Iwatani's final iteration of his own classic eat-em-up game introduces dynamically changing levels, improved AI, a streamlined scoring system, and the ability to swerve around corners, all without sacrificing the nail-biting victories and pick-it-up, put-it-down gameplay of the original. It's Pac-Man, but it's a Pac-Man made just for you.Comments [103]
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While I agree with the games on the list, I strongly disagree with the order. Especially the top ten.
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Toneman wrote:
Not enough reason to put up with the crappy hardware... sorry... Nintendo and Sony offer enough games to keep me PLENTY busy.
to each his own.
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I would have like to have seen Castle Crashers on that list but to each his own.
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VivaLeResistance wrote:
damn, all the tittles I own are on this list.
Yeah, I own alot of them on that list. I still play Crackdown and Saints Row, more than GTA4.
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My top 10:
1) Bioshock
2) Call of Duty 4
3) Gears of War
4) Oblivion
5) Grand Theft Auto 4
6) Mass Effect
7) Braid
8) Orange Box
9) Rainbow 6: Vegas
10) Halo 3
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NFS:Carbon picked instead of Forza 2? N+, Blue Dragon and C&C3? There are far better 360 exclusive choices than these games.
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