More than seven years, well over 80 issues... We've racked up a fair tapestry of gaming goodness in Xbox World 360, with the hardest gamers and the best writers weighing up the delights on offer, from the quaint classics on the old black titan known as Xbox, to over 400 Xbox 360 games since the machine's launch.
It's always a bugger compiling a list like this because not only are a lot of games superseded by annual updates or sequels, they can also begin to fall apart after months of play or - in rare cases - actually get better the more hours you put in! But, here it is. Do let us know what you think of our choices at xbw@futurenet.com...
100. Brothers in Arms: Hell's Highway Gearbox / Shooter Band of Brothers: The Game. It'll test your grey matter more than your trigger finger.
99. Call of Juarez 2 Techland / Shooter Crammed full of ideas, even if some are underused. It's still the best Western on 360; until Red Dead Redemption at least. XBW Verdict: 79% Read the Call of Juarez 2 review
98. Eternal Sonata Namco Bandai / RPG An unusually imaginative plot (it takes place in Chopin's dying brain) makes this otherwise basic J-RPG stand out. XBW Verdict: 79% Read the Eternal Sonata review
97. UFC 2009: Undisputed Yuke's / Fighting A genuinely brilliant fighting engine, backed up by a game which is sadly quite sparse.
Lost Planet Capcom / Action Shallow and hard, but with surprisingly solid multiplayer. Curiously, has a huge gay following. Don't mind him. XBW Verdict: 79% Read the Lost Planet review
Race Pro SimBin / Racing Po-faced racer with plenty of horsepower tucked behind its deadly serious exterior. Solid but sterile racing action.
Moto GP 07 Climax / Racing The best version of the greatest motorbike series on 360. Recent entries have been less arcadey, and therefore less fun.
XBW Verdict: 80%
Saints Row Volition, Inc. / Action There's no scat-spraying in this first Saints Row but you will find plenty of features which worked their way into GTA IV...
Tomb Raider Legend Crystal Dynamics / Action TR's last makeover was much-needed, but poor sales of recent games mean Eidos are needlessly revamping it again.
MX Vs ATV Untamed Rainbow Studios / Racing This does everything you want it to, except look good. The sequel features innovative leaning mechanics, though.
XBW Verdict: 80%
Project Gotham Racing 3 Bizarre Creations / Racing Lacking features and roundly licked by PGR4, this still outclasses most racing games.
Midnight Club: LA Rockstar / Racing Quick, accessible and intelligent but not particularly attractive. Still, there are far worse racing games out there.
Naruto: The Broken Bond Ubisoft / Action More than just a kids' game. This is great fun, even if you've never heard of the cartoon.
XBW Verdict: 80%
Colin McRae: Dirt Codemasters / Racing Still one of the best driving games on 360, if you ignore the rubbish multiplayer modes. The sequel's better, however.
Ace Combat 6 Namco Bandai / Simulation Miles behind IL-2 Sturmovik, but Combat's more arcade antics are still ace. Buy this instead of Tom Clancy's HAWX.
Given the mediocrity listed here, wouldn't it have been better to shorten it to a top 50? What's the point of listing games that have much superior sequels in a best games list?
Given the mediocrity listed here, wouldn't it have been better to shorten it to a top 50? What's the point of listing games that have much superior sequels in a best games list?
Completely agree. Even a titan like the PS2 or SNES is going to struggle finding 100 top class games, (or games worthy of putting in a 'Top xx' as it were). I think anything more than 20-25 is unecessary for this gen. That's if we must 'list' at all...
As the article states at the top, this list is from the current issue of Xbox World 360 - so the whole 100 are available for spoiling in magazine retailers right now.
are you including download stuff as well, geometry wars etc
Good point, there's a whole heap of downloadable games I can think of: Trials HD, Braid, Shadow Complex, Castle Crashers, Weapon of choice, Banjo Kazooie, I MAED A GAM3 W1TH Z0MB1ES, Rez HD, Geometry Wars etc...
Good point, there's a whole heap of downloadable games I can think of: Trials HD, Braid, Shadow Complex, Castle Crashers, Weapon of choice, Banjo Kazooie, I MAED A GAM3 W1TH Z0MB1ES, Rez HD, Geometry Wars etc...
Is Braid as good as everyone says? I got the demo but wasn't hooked...
Good point, there's a whole heap of downloadable games I can think of: Trials HD, Braid, Shadow Complex, Castle Crashers, Weapon of choice, Banjo Kazooie, I MAED A GAM3 W1TH Z0MB1ES, Rez HD, Geometry Wars etc...
Is Braid as good as everyone says? I got the demo but wasn't hooked...
It's an incredibly clever puzzle game and features quite an emotional story for a videogame. Give the Demo another try, if puzzle solving is your thing it's one of the best in my opinion.
Good point, there's a whole heap of downloadable games I can think of: Trials HD, Braid, Shadow Complex, Castle Crashers, Weapon of choice, Banjo Kazooie, I MAED A GAM3 W1TH Z0MB1ES, Rez HD, Geometry Wars etc...
Is Braid as good as everyone says? I got the demo but wasn't hooked...
I wasn't impressed at first but had one of those great gaming "ah!" moments collecting one of the puzzle pieces. I now think it's one of the greatest platform/puzzlers ever made!
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