The Top 24 Xbox 360 Games (#15 – 8)

Welcome all to another edition of The 8 Ball. Yes, this list continues with part two, where I count down some of the middle list stuff. Not much more needs to be said except that I’m only picking one game out of a franchise so no Mass Effect 1 and 2, or anything. Let’s begin:

#15: Alan Wake

I really appreciate what Alan Wake tried to do. It set up a pretty interesting story, had memorable characters, had a great look and was just fun to play. While it didn’t reach the heights of its original open-world plan, it was still a fairly ambitious game that had a really great atmosphere. The weird thing is, for as lauded as Alan Wake 2 is, much more so than the first game, I really enjoyed the first one more. I just think it tells a better story and honestly has better gameplay.

#14: Grand Theft Auto 5

I’m sure the GTA Online-obsessed folks are raising their pitchforks as they read this. Sue me, I like GTA 5 but I don’t think it’s the be all and end all when it comes to gaming. Since I don’t care at all about the online stuff, I judged GTA 5 as mainly a single player/story game and it generally holds up. I think the problem of GTA 5 is that it really only knows what to do with one of its three protagonists, that being Trevor. It does keep a fairly solid plotline with Michael but by the start of the whole movie studio plotline, it really falls apart. Franklin gets the worst of it though, since when Trevor is introduced fully, his story basically ends up until the very end. I enjoyed GTA 5 a fair amount but still think Rockstar has made better games, even better GTA games.

#13: Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit

What does it say when a game from 15 years ago is the last truly great Need for Speed game? Seriously, since 2010, EA has pumped out eight more mainline Need for Speed games and they’ve varied from passable to dire. Hot Pursuit was even remastered in 2020 and it still blows everything else they’ve done out of the water. Hot Pursuit has two different career paths, one for the cops and one for the racers, as you try to go up the rankings and unlock new cars and gear. This was the first of their games to have the Autolog which let you compare your times against your friends to try and beat them. The NFS franchise is in a bit of a shambles at this point but they need to get back to this era of racing.

#12: Crackdown

There are other, better superhero/power fantasy games out there, but Crackdown was the first big one on the Xbox 360 and it was great. The format was a bit weird because it literally was just like “Here is the list of 27 (or whatever number it actually was) major criminals for each of the gangs, go find them.” That’s it. Most of them you even find just kind of by exploring around, there’s not a ton of scripted missions in the game, it’s just a big world for you to find the criminals and kill them. Oh, and also a lot of orb collecting, of course.

#11: Lost Odyssey

Lost Odyssey is a somewhat flawed but deeply enjoyable game. I say “somewhat flawed” because there are some aspects with the combat and length that make it a bit less enjoyable than it should be. But the game itself is just something special. This, along with Blue Dragon, was Microsoft’s big stab at publishing a Japanese RPG, partially headed up by Sakaguchi and the story is something memorable. Combat works well, having a slight timing mini-game that does take some getting used to but gets easier as you do it more. I look at Expedition 33 as a good spiritual successor to this game, not only for the combat but in how you get new passive abilities.

#10: Halo: Reach

I’ll be honest, I’ve never been the biggest Halo fan. I’ve played 1, 2, and 4 and I’ve either mildly enjoyed them to being bored by them. I did try ODST but I truly disliked the open-world setup for the mission list. Reach is the one Halo game that grabbed me, for some reason. I think what I liked about this one was the whole was the whole team dynamic. In most Halo games, you are just a solitary dude, with a woman in your head, and that is it. In Reach, you got five other Spartans around you and that actually made the story more impactful. Also, I kind of dug the armor abilities system. I pretty much stuck with the jetpack as much as I could and I had a lot of fun shooting down at Covenant from on high.

#9: Splinter Cell: Blacklist

The Xbox 360 era of Splinter Cell is generally the better of the two eras. Conviction was a generally solid game but Blacklist is where I grew to actually like the series. I think the big reason why is because you could approach the missions from a variety of ways. It was no longer the “you got spotted 3 times, mission over” like the past games had. If you wanted to be completely stealthy, you could, but if you wanted to go in like John Rambo with an assault rifle. The game was rife with customization options, so you had a lot of freedom in encounters. Add to that, the co-op missions which are still stuck in my head, having played them with a good friend. It’s amazing that Ubisoft hasn’t given us a new Splinter Cell in 12 years but in that time has deemed fit to inflict three “The Crew” games upon us.

#8: Forza Horizon

To me, Forza Horizon is still the best racing game on the Xbox 360. I say that as someone who distinctly doesn’t like Burnout Paradise for three reasons: 1. Hate the layout of the city, 2. Hate you have to restart all the races once you get a new license rank and 3. Hate the goddamn Guns N’ Roses “Paradise City” song that plays every time you start the game. Thankfully, Horizon has none of this nonsense. It gives you a very well designed version of a fictional Colorado-like state and tells you to go do what you want. If you want to progress through the campaign you can, if you want to just explore and bust up signs you can, or getting higher numbers on speed tests, etc. It’s still a realistic driving game, but it’s more of a fusion of simulation and arcade than anything and that’s what makes it special. The later Horizon games have been generally great but the first one still holds a place in my heart.

*******

For comments, list your own favorite 15 to 8 favorite Xbox 360 games.

Next Issue
Top 7 to 1 Xbox 360 Games