The 11 best games for Xbox 360 (Pg. 2/4)
- December 21, 2007 11:21 AM PST
- Email this!
8. The Orange Box
Though The Orange Box works a bit better as a PC game than a console game, we still have to recommend it as one of the best Xbox 360 games yet released. Though the quality of the bundle makes it easy to recommend, the real reason it made this list is for sheer value. For the price of one average game, you get the excellent Half-Life 2 and its two new expansions, Episodes One and Two. But the disc also includes two terrific new games: Portal, a trippy puzzle-solving game that's become an internet phenomenon, and Team Fortress 2, an elegant online shooter with a sharp sense of humor. The fact that we'd gladly pay $40 for Portal or Team Fortress 2 alone should prove how marvelous this all-in-one package truly is.
7. The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion
It's been bested in the visual department by games like Call of Duty 4, and trumped in the character and plot department by Mass Effect, but TESIV: Oblivion is still a phenomenal game that every Xbox 360 owner needs to experience. The beauty of Oblivion is in its nonlinearity - you're free to tackle the main quest, join a local wizard's guild, or slit throats as a member of the Dark Brotherhood. Though the combat is a bit clunky and the load times are excessive, Oblivion - like Mass Effect - excels in creating a huge, believable world that you actually care about. We also believe that the game's Dark Brotherhood quest line is particularly groundbreaking from an interactive storytelling perspective - you won't believe how it ends!
6. Rainbow Six: Vegas
This is the game that convinced one GamePro staffer to buy an Xbox 360 on the spot. Though it's a tactical shooter with a slower, more thoughtful pace, don't let that scare you away: Vegas is one of the smartest, most replayable games ever released on the Xbox 360. Its single-player campaign is enjoyable, but its multiplayer mode is a genre-buster legend. Long before Call of Duty 4's unlockable weapons and Perks, Vegas changed the way we play online team shooters forever. Players can earn new weapons and modifications by winning matches and gaining experience points, making matches more suspenseful and epic. In fact, it's likely that Infinity Ward looked closely at Vegas while designing Call of Duty 4's similar (if superior) unlockable Perks and ranks.
