GameRevolution's Top 25 Xbox 360 Games

Posted on Thursday, December 27 @ 11:16:21 Eastern by Alex_Osborn

15. Assassin's Creed III

After a whopping three games with Ezio, the Assassin's Creed franchise was starting to lose some of its allure. Fortunately, Ubisoft managed to turn things around with the third proper installment by taking players to the time of the American Revolution. Not only was the setting a nice breath of fresh air, but getting the chance to play as a brand-new hatchet wielding protagonist was downright awesome. From the inclusion of naval battles to hunting and tree traversal, Assassin's Creed III took the franchise in bold new directions while managing to wrap up the story of Desmond. Ubisoft spent boatloads of time, money and effort into making this the most incredible Assassin's Creed experience yet, and they undoubtedly succeeded. If you told me last year that come 2013 I'd be ready for yet another AC, I wouldn't have believed you, but as we approach the new year, my mouth is already watering.

14. Halo 3

Master Chief's triumphant debut on the Xbox 360 was nothing short of epic. The jump to HD made Bungie's sci-fi world easier on the eyes, and the advancements in Xbox Live made it the ultimate community-driven online shooter at the time. Halo 3 also brought with it two new modes: Forge and Theater, which have gone on to become staples within the series. There was a lot of expectation and hype behind this title and when it launched, it solidified its place as Microsoft's flagship franchise.

13. Grand Theft Auto IV

Rockstar's first post-PS2 era Grand Theft Auto title has proven to be one of the most polarizing entires in the franchise. With a much more serious and realistic approach to storytelling and game design, GTA IV mixed things up for the franchise in a plethora of ways. Even if you prefer the craziness of San Andreas or Vice City, you have to commend Rockstar for what they achieved with this game. Exploring Liberty City's open world for the first time was downright breathtaking and causing mayhem continues to be a fun time waster. And let's not forget about the stellar cast of characters thanks to some incredible writing and voice acting. Honestly, will you ever be able to forget characters like Roman and Brucie?

12. The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim

If you have even the slightest affinity toward fantasy role-playing games, you'd be a fool for passing on Bethesda's fifth proper entry in The Elder Scrolls franchise. With a vast open world that will take you over a hundred hours to explore, there's so much content crammed into every inch of Skyrim. Sure, it may destroy your social life, but it's a small price to pay when considering all the wonderful role-playing goodness that this game offers. Seriously, it has dragons. DRAGONS!

11. Halo: Reach

Bungie's final Halo game didn't make it this high on this list because of its multiplayer alone—the campaign of Halo: Reach was not just a beautifully told prequel, it was a serious and dire take on the events that lead up to the epic beginning of the series that started with Combat Evolved. In the game you play as Nobel Six, a strong, silent hero who's accompanied by a group of fellow Spartans tasked with the impossible mission of saving the planet Reach from a Covenant invasion. Despite the fact that we all know the crew is doomed from the start, there are plenty of surprises along the way, many of which are downright heart-wrenching. And then there's that ending. Don't even get me started on that ending.

Tags: Xbox 360, Halo, Microsoft, Bethesda, Rockstar, Irrational Games, Bioware, best of GR, Top 25 Games

Comments

Chunibrow
Joined: Mar 2010

Posted: Dec 27th, 2012 at 11:58 am
Good list. As an Xbox player I've played so many of those it's hard to put them in a specific order. But oh the memories... Skyrim, Red Dead, Mass Effect, Bioshock, Arkham City, Gears of War... God I love video games.

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Alex_Osborn
Joined: Jan 2012

Posted: Dec 27th, 2012 at 12:06 pm
I know! Just going through this list reminds me how great this generation has been.

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LawnGnome
Joined: Apr 2007

Posted: Dec 27th, 2012 at 12:13 pm
I'd have Arkham City in the top 5, and Arkham Asylum actually on the list, but otherwise really great selections.

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MandaloreHunter
Joined: Aug 2012

Posted: Dec 27th, 2012 at 1:06 pm
Definitely! The Arkham series as a whole is in my top 10 video games of all time, absolutely amazing!

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kingg5
Joined: Aug 2006

Posted: Dec 27th, 2012 at 12:27 pm
what about Alan Wake?

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Alex_Osborn
Joined: Jan 2012

Posted: Dec 27th, 2012 at 12:39 pm
I LOVED Alan Wake. Unfortunately, it looks like that one slipped through the cracks.

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kingg5
Joined: Aug 2006

Posted: Dec 27th, 2012 at 5:03 pm
That sucks Alan Wake was so well rounded and the story god was like playing the mind of Steven King

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Heath_Hindman
Joined: May 2011

Posted: Dec 27th, 2012 at 4:21 pm
I haven't played it and don't know much about it :(

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MootCoffee
Joined: Jan 2007

Posted: Dec 27th, 2012 at 1:11 pm
That's a whole lot of Halo. Deus Ex's low placement on the list makes me sad. And no Dragon Age: Origins but EVERY Mass Effect? C'mon meow.

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Alex_Osborn
Joined: Jan 2012

Posted: Dec 27th, 2012 at 1:49 pm
Dragon Age: Origins on the PC is vastly better than its console counterparts. As such, it wasn't a favorite among the GR staff.

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Jonathan_Leack
Joined: Jan 2012

Posted: Dec 27th, 2012 at 7:57 pm
Whoever downvoted you is a kitten.

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MootCoffee
Joined: Jan 2007

Posted: Dec 27th, 2012 at 1:12 pm
That's a whole lot of Halo. Deus Ex's low placement on the list makes me sad. And no Dragon Age: Origins but EVERY Mass Effect? C'mon meow.

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damo_rox619
Joined: Jan 2007

Posted: Dec 27th, 2012 at 2:33 pm
This is a good list, it's great to see you didn't omit the Call Of Duty's because of what others might say. Can't say I agree with putting Gears Of War so high up on the list, I kind of have a personal quarrel with that game, though that may be because every time I play it on co-op one particular friend of mine turns into a complete jerk, so much so that it almost ended the friendship once, but what it did do was put me off ever playing Gears again. No.2 was a good pick btw!

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Alex_Osborn
Joined: Jan 2012

Posted: Dec 27th, 2012 at 4:06 pm
Thanks! Red Dead Redemption is loved by nearly all of us here at GR.

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Comment hidden due to low quality. Show Comment.

GodofUncharted
Joined: Dec 2012

Posted: Dec 27th, 2012 at 4:19 pm
"The Xbox 360 is often referred to as the PlayStation 2 of this generation"

LOLOLOL HAHAHAH OMFG HAHAHAHHA ROOOOOOOOOOOFL LOOOOOOOOL

METH.
NOT EVEN ONCE.

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WILLS_COOL_MODE
Joined: Oct 2010

Posted: Dec 27th, 2012 at 9:53 pm
v/ pls go

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WILLS_COOL_MODE
Joined: Oct 2010

Posted: Dec 27th, 2012 at 9:54 pm
good thing the comment bar deleted the first slash, not like it was important.

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Heath_Hindman
Joined: May 2011

Posted: Dec 27th, 2012 at 4:24 pm
"While Xbox-exclusive gamers missed out on FromSoftware's brutally punishing Demon's Souls, its spiritual successor brought the painfully difficult experience to the Xbox 360. "

^ Also, fun fact, in Japan, they didn't. XD Dark Souls was PS3-only in Japan. Even I find that kind of nuts.

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Alex_Osborn
Joined: Jan 2012

Posted: Dec 27th, 2012 at 5:43 pm
They still support the Xbox 360 with software in Japan? :P

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moretokes
Joined: Apr 2011

Posted: Dec 27th, 2012 at 5:47 pm
Every halo from this generation

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Longo_2_guns
Joined: Jun 2003

Posted: Dec 27th, 2012 at 6:41 pm
I'm surprised that Mass Effect 1 ranks higher than 2. Happy, since that's a good choice to make, but surprised nonetheless.

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Alex_Osborn
Joined: Jan 2012

Posted: Dec 27th, 2012 at 7:47 pm
Story trumps gameplay for many of us. I'm also very pleased to see it ahead of ME2 :D

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Heath_Hindman
Joined: May 2011

Posted: Dec 27th, 2012 at 9:23 pm
In addition to what Alex said, points are scored for originality.
On "Best games of all time" lists, you'll often see the first Super Mario Brothers near the top, even above Super Mario World, Galaxy, and Super Mario Brothers 3. Is it really "better" than those other games in its series? Like as in, you'd rather play that right now and for the next 4 hours instead of others in its franchise? Well, for most people, no, it probably isn't.

But it was GREAT -- even moreso for its time -- and it was the kickoff to something that became amazing. That's why, on a lot of these types of lists from us (and others), you'll see originals ahead of their sequels. It's not a constant, but it's something that happens fairly often, and that's one reason why. (Not the ONLY reason, but it can be a factor.)

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kingg5
Joined: Aug 2006

Posted: Dec 27th, 2012 at 8:36 pm
Glad lost odyssy is pretty high on there. Was worried about my purchase online

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Alex_Osborn
Joined: Jan 2012

Posted: Dec 28th, 2012 at 7:00 am
Easily one of the best JRPGs of this generation.

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Zajix
Joined: Nov 2012

Posted: Dec 27th, 2012 at 8:51 pm
BioShock at #1? It was an okay game that I played through and got a "meh" feeling from. Although the environment and Big Daddy's were awesome...there were so many games that were so much better! Rest of the list was on target and lost odyssey was an awesome game that I had forgot about when thinking of my favorite 360 games.

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Lok-Nar
Joined: Feb 2012

Posted: Dec 27th, 2012 at 10:38 pm
I would have put Earth Defense Force 2017 somewhere on the list but otherwise I agree with those picks.

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Klandathu
Joined: Apr 2008

Posted: Dec 27th, 2012 at 11:50 pm
I have a couple of friends who claim that Portal is a terrible, atrocious game with no redeeming qualities whatsoever (they levy similar claims against Half-Life 2). The kicker? Neither of them have ever actually played it (or HL2). They completely refuse to. One of them says he watched me play it for about five minutes once before he had to leave the room from being too bored (I don't recall this, and I suspect he he may be fabricating it).

The entire thing just blows my mind. How can you degrade one of the best, most innovative gaming experiences this generation has to offer WITHOUT EVER HAVING EVEN PLAYED THE GODDAMN GAME?!?!?!?!?

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Alex_Osborn
Joined: Jan 2012

Posted: Dec 28th, 2012 at 7:50 am
Portal is awesomesauce.

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drathbone
Joined: May 2011

Posted: Dec 28th, 2012 at 1:28 am
Lost Odyssey was really a gem of an RPG. If you miss JRPG's on par with the greats in the final fantasy series it's a helluva buy. Cheap as dirt now too.

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Alex_Osborn
Joined: Jan 2012

Posted: Dec 28th, 2012 at 8:41 am
Agreed. I have some great memories playing through that game at college with my bro.

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UghRochester
Joined: Jun 2006

Posted: Dec 28th, 2012 at 4:48 am
Halo 4 should be switched with Halo 3: ODST.

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spartan317
Joined: Dec 2005

Posted: Dec 28th, 2012 at 7:29 am
No ugh... Bad Ugh

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Alex_Osborn
Joined: Jan 2012

Posted: Dec 28th, 2012 at 7:48 am
ODST may be my favorite among the Halo campaigns.

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MattAY
Joined: Mar 2006

Posted: Dec 28th, 2012 at 6:02 am
All 3 Mass Effects in the top 10? I really should get round to playing those!

I agree with your Number 1, Bioshock is incredible. Around every corner you look there's always something that puts you on edge or catches your eye - a really innovative and beautiful game.

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PeeDeeJay
Joined: Oct 2011

Posted: Dec 28th, 2012 at 6:08 am
Dark Souls wouldve been in my top 5. You guys got it wrong :-P

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spartan317
Joined: Dec 2005

Posted: Dec 28th, 2012 at 7:31 am
I wanted Dead Space on this list sooo bad... but there were no Final Fantasy's so I can let it go

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Alex_Osborn
Joined: Jan 2012

Posted: Dec 28th, 2012 at 7:49 am
Too many great games!

Which Dead Space did you prefer? 1 or 2?

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usaglory
Joined: Mar 2009

Posted: Dec 28th, 2012 at 2:06 pm
No love for Fable 2 and 3? I'm a sad panda.

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backfire99s
Joined: Oct 2010

Posted: Dec 28th, 2012 at 3:19 pm
Nobody over there a Forza fan either?

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AcidTk03
Joined: Mar 2011

Posted: Dec 28th, 2012 at 6:38 pm
where is left 4 dead 2 does nobody like it or was it u guys got crushed by me and my team lol

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hanuka
Joined: Jan 2013

Posted: Jan 3rd, 2013 at 2:33 am
I like this top, but I really don't understand how you can play shooter games on xbox, I am a complete douche when it comes to shooters and controllers.

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