The most cerebral, fascinating and unconventional first-person shooter of the decade had more than a year of console exclusivity on Xbox 360. Combining art deco architecture with Ayn Rand musings, mutagens and great big Victorian diving costumes, this series is so far beyond the emotionally gaunt pyrotechnics of the military shooter genre it almost comes from a different planet
Indie coder Jonathan Blow poured hundreds of thousands of his own dollars into the development of this fascinating platformer, in which time becomes an interactive plaything and the plot is about love and loss rather than shooting and killing. Released in 2008, the game helped to kickstart the modern era of indie development and digital distribution
Back when CoD was a fresh young thing with innovative cinematic flourishes, the appearance of this explosive sequel on the Xbox 360 launch line-up was a major boon. Alongside the likes of Perfect Dark Zero and Project Gotham Racing 3, it was a key opener in the 360 era
Lionhead’s idiosyncratic action RPG series certainly has its critics, and Peter Molyneux has consistently over-promised for each instalment (which isn’t like him). But from the Xbox original, Fable has combined an impressive open-world feel with distinctly British humour and an emphasis on romantic entanglements to engrossing effect. We’re promised at least two more instalments as well as the controversial Kinect offshoot, Fable: the Journey
Machismo, space marines, massive guns with chainsaws on the end, slavering aliens and tight four-v-four multiplayer shoot-fests – boy, did Epic Games understand the Xbox demographic. This cacophonous third-person blaster also brought its own ‘destroyed beauty’ aesthetic to the shoot-'em-up genre, and made an unlikely celebrity of designer Cliff Bleszinski in the process
Bungie’s space shooter series has always been the Xbox's ‘killer app’ – it is Microsoft’s Super Mario. The original Halo, an Xbox launch title, was a seminal console-based first-person shooter, proving that the genre could flourish without a keyboard and mouse. Halo is also a cultural icon, giving rise to everything from defining machinima series Red v Blue to groundbreaking ARG marketing ploy, I Love Bees. Halo, in short, IS Xbox
Canadian studio Bioware had already made an impact on Xbox with under-valued fantasy adventure Jade Empire, but then blasted off into the stratosphere with this cosmic action RPG. Rounded characters, a deep story and an inventory the size of an Argos catalogue have made this series an Xbox staple. And we love it even more because of this legendary Fox News report
This generous compilation included every episode in the brilliant Half-Life series as well as Team Fortress 2 and a little extra known as Portal – an astonishing first-person puzzler that would go on to become the star of the package. Although a PS3 version of Orange Box was released shortly after the Xbox 360 edition, it wasn’t developed by Valve and is generally considered inferior
The Forza series could easily have been included as Microsoft’s answer to Gran Turismo, but this earlier franchise from now defunct Liverpool studio Bizarre Creations set the agenda for sleek, feature-packed urban driving. The original PGR was the second biggest Xbox launch title (after Halo) and the developer continued to innovate in the genre until the very end
Ubisoft’s stealth-based action shooter first appeared on Xbox in 2002, bringing the sneaky gameplay of Metal Gear Solid to the console. Through subsequent instalments, the combination of cutting edge visuals and strong lead character (the dashing Sam Fisher) set an important blueprint for future Ubisoft Montreal smash hit, Assassin’s Creed. The next in the series is currently in development at Ubisoft’s Toronto studio
