What do you recommend for the Xbox 360?

Mallus · Feb 5, 2012

So I just inherited a 360 from a friend who's divesting himself of his possessions ahead of a move out of state. Lucky me!

Thanks to my wife's new interest in fitness games, I've ordered Kinect & Your Shape (& Kinect Sports).

What else is good? BTW, I've already got a PS3 (and now have far too many game systems/game-capable devices for a married 42 year old man!).

GreenLantern · Feb 5, 2012

Just a few suggestions...

Forza for driving
Batman Arkham for action
Nba 2k12 for sports
Gears of War for shooting

Agamon · Feb 5, 2012

If you're getting a Kinect, Dance Central 2. DC and DC2 are the best Kinect games. Child of Eden and The Gunstringer are pretty good, too.

Skyrim, of course, if you don't already have it for PS3 or PC. Trine 2 and Quarrel are good XBL games. I agree with Forza, awesome racing game.

Deset Gled · Feb 5, 2012

If you've already got a PS3 and decent library, I highly recommend searching for older Xbox releases, maybe even used games. It will save you a ton of money, and let you grow you collection more. Here's some of the Xbox exclusives you might enjoy, and can find pretty cheap:

The Halo series is the default FPS. These are the games by which all of FPSs are judged. You need to own at least one of them.

Gears of War series is a solid alternative to the standard FPS; it has many of the same elements but changes the perspective to 3rd person. They are another solid addition to any collection.

You might want to pick up Lost Planet. It only came to PS3 two years after its Xbox release, so a lot of PS3ers missed it. I'm in the middle of LP2 right now, which is solid but not as good as the first.

Beautiful Katamari is an Xbox exclusive title in the Katamari series (originally PS3 exclusive). If you like puzzle and non-violent games, this is as good as it gets.

Left for Dead is a great zombie shooter, but it's really geared towards multiplayer. Don't expect too much out of the single player mode.

frankthedm · Feb 6, 2012

Deset Gled said:
The Halo series is the default FPS. These are the games by which all of FPSs are judged. You need to own at least one of them.

Gears of War series is a solid alternative to the standard FPS; it has many of the same elements but changes the perspective to 3rd person. They are another solid addition to any collection.

For a shooter where where most enemies don't soak up Bullets like a sponge soaks up water, I'd recommend Tom Clancy's Rainbow 6: Vegas 1 or 2 or Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 1 or 2 {harsh language].

Mark Hope · Feb 6, 2012

What kind of games do you like? That would help with finding some recommendations...

Just off the top of my head, though...

For shooters, I can't really agree with the praise given to Halo. I found the Halo games to have moments of genius interspersed with long stretches of suck. I prefer Half-Life 2 (get the Orange Box) for great action and a cool story. I'm playing insane amounts of Borderlands (shooter with rpg elements) and played both Left 4 Dead games to bits. Gears of War is good too - some great NPCs in those games. For adventure games, I'd recommend the Assassin's Creed series. Mirror's Edge is also a beautiful game (parkour action in a slick dystopian future). For horror games, The Darkness is fantastic, with a really gut-wrenching story. Oblivion is good, if a little large. Haven't played Dragon Age or Skyrim yet, but hear good things about them.

Also second the recommendation to get 2nd-hand games. You'll get some fantastic bargains that way.

Dragonwriter · Feb 6, 2012

Mark Hope said:
What kind of games do you like? That would help with finding some recommendations...

Yeah, this would help a lot.

I can't believe no one has mentioned Mass Effect 1 and 2 (and soon to be 3), so I'm doing it now. RPG, 3rd-person shooter, good story and characters and a great sci-fi universe.

The Fable series is a generally fun, if somewhat flawed, batch of RPGs.

There are also lots of games on the Live Arcade marketplace, really too many to count.

If you've never played it (or just want an HD version), Castlevania: Symphony of the Night is a great game (it established the 2D Metroid-vania style for the series). Cthulhu Saves The World (indie game) is a crazy and hilarious RPG in the vein of 8-bit JRPGs like Final Fantasy.

Definitely delve into the older Xbox games and especially look for exclusives for Xbox and 360. Stubbs the Zombie is a fun and twisted zombie game (you are the zombie), though it also deals with some issues in the later stages. Voodoo Vince was a very solid platformer with a dark sense of humor and great setting. Armed and Dangerous was an early Xbox exclusive 3rd-person shooter with a script practically written by the Monty Python guys.

Mark Hope · Feb 6, 2012

Dragonwriter said:
I can't believe no one has mentioned Mass Effect 1 and 2 (and soon to be 3), so I'm doing it now. RPG, 3rd-person shooter, good story and characters and a great sci-fi universe.

Oh hell yeah, Mass Effect! Great stuff. have yet to play the second one, but Mass Effect 1 was brilliant. A bit slow to get going, and with a few too many side-quests, I think. But the last few hours of gameplay are sheer genius. The end sequences leading up to the finale are better than many sf movies I have seen. Excellent game.

jonesy · Feb 6, 2012

I think Call of Cthulhu: Dark Corners of the Earth works on the 360. If you haven't tried it it's worth it just for the atmosphere. The game mechanics are a bit clunky, but other than that it's awesome.