The Greatest Xbox 360 Launch Games

The Xbox 360 is one of the most influential and successful video game systems ever. Its inclusion of HD graphics and additional focus on online multiplayer helped it stand out among other consoles at the time. After all, the PS3 wasn’t released until a year after the 360, so Microsoft did several things first.

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Xbox 360 fans were treated to excellent games every year.

Yet, ultimately, the most important thing about any console is the collection of games you can play on it. The console began with 18 launch titles in North America, from shooters to sports games to racing titles. The following ones are the best, though.

8

Gun

Gun

Released

November 8, 2005

ESRB

M For Mature 17+ Due To Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Sexual Themes, Strong Language, Use of Alcohol

Before Red Dead Redemption came around, Gun was a contender for the best Western video game ever. It’s a third-person action-adventure title where you control a man named Cole who attempts to avenge his adoptive father.

Along the way, you can use many of the weapons you expect to see in a Western video game. You have revolvers, rifles, shotguns, bows, and explosives to use on your adversaries. It’s during the big battles that the game is at its best, as the gunplay was excellent for its time.

7

Project Gotham Racing 3

While it may not rank as the most fantastic arcade-style racing game ever, Project Gotham Racing 3 is still a very solid racer and one of the best Xbox 360 launch titles.

The game excels when it comes to presentation. The visuals are great – or were great at the time – and the sound design is amazing. Of course, it isn’t all about looks and sound. The game also boasts solid and satisfying driving mechanics. Plus, upon release, it offered some good multiplayer.

6

Peter Jackson’s King Kong

Peter Jackson’s King Kong

Released

November 17, 2005

ESRB

t

Typically, movie tie-in games aren’t great. Yet, the 2005 King Kong is easily among the greatest movie tie-in titles ever. In fact, it’s just a great game in general. It allows you to play as both the human protagonist, Jack Driscoll, and Kong. The gameplay for each of them is very different. As Jack, you’re in first-person using firearms against your enemies. Kong sequences, however, are in third-person, and you use fists and objects to fight.

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Whoever you’re playing as, you’re doing so without much of a HUD. The lack of a heads-up display was unique at the time, and it allowed for greater immersion. More titles have done this since then, but King Kong was one of the pioneers of the concept.

5

NBA 2K6

The NBA 2K and NBA Live rivalry was in full swing in 2006, and both series had launch titles for the Xbox 360. NBA 2K6 was the superior title of the two, though. It provides an excellent basketball experience, mainly due to the very smooth core gameplay.

The visuals and animations were great for the time, too. In fact, back then, people considered the game to look very realistic. It also has a great soundtrack and a brilliant presentation.

4

Condemned: Criminal Origins

Condemned: Criminal Origins

Systems

Released

November 22, 2005

Developer(s)

Monolith Productions

ESRB

M For Mature 17+ // Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Strong Language

At launch, the Xbox 360 didn’t have a lot of options for horror fans. However, the console did provide Condemned: Criminal Origins. This is an excellent first-person horror title about an FBI agent investigating a serial killer. The story is fine, but the real enjoyment of the game comes from the atmosphere and general gameplay.

The game does an excellent job of terrifying you as you walk around dark and creepy places while occasionally fighting a horrific enemy. You can get firearms, but you don’t get much ammo, meaning you mainly have to rely on melee weapons you find around the place. This increases the horror as it means you have to get up close and personal with these scary foes.

3

Perfect Dark Zero

Perfect Dark Zero

Systems

Released

November 17, 2005

Publisher(s)

Microsoft Game Studios

ESRB

M For Mature 17+ Due To Blood, Language, Violence

The original Perfect Dark is often considered one of the all-time great shooters. While Perfect Dark Zero doesn’t quite live up to the original, it’s still a wonderful FPS. In it, you control bounty hunter Joanna Dark, who intends to stop her enemies from getting their hands on an important artifact.

4:49

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The story isn’t great, but the core gunplay is. The game includes plenty of different guns, and shooting them feels like a lot of fun. What makes it even more enjoyable is shooting them with or at your friends, as the game has some good multiplayer modes, both cooperative and competitive.

2

Need For Speed: Most Wanted

Need for Speed: Most Wanted

Released

November 15, 2005

ESRB

e

The Need for Speed series has been going on for a long time and has had many great instalments. Most Wanted, however, still remains among the best. Unlike many other racing games, it contains a story. The tale revolves around a street racer attempting to become the most wanted racer in the city by beating the other racers who have a shot at the moniker.

Not only do you participate in some high-speed races in this game, but you also have to deal with the police. The inclusion of cops is a staple of the series, and the concept is excellent in this one. Their existence makes everything more intense and exciting.

1

Call Of Duty 2

Call Of Duty 2

Released

October 25, 2005

ESRB

m

By the time Call of Duty 2 came around, the series wasn’t yet incredibly influential, and it certainly wasn’t as successful as it would go on to be. That said, COD2 helped establish the series and provided some of the foundations on which later entries were built.

It did this through smooth and responsive gunplay, which is still a joy to this day. On top of that, the game’s environments are eye-catching, the sound is excellent, and the story has a gritty realism to it. So, even though it may have been overshadowed by later Call of Duty games, it is still a fantastic shooter in its own right.

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