When Microsoft’s Xbox 360 launched in 2005 ($399 for the full system package,$299 for the “Core” unit), it carved out a place among gamers who didn’t want to wait for the Nintendo Wii or Sony Playstation 3 to hit store shelves. The follow up to the original Xbox (which you can purchase for as low a price as $199 for the 4GB model) expands on the original console’s promise by offering greater online play, a deep online marketplace, and several multimedia features previously only seen in set top boxes (ESPN, Hulu Plus, Netflix).
Many of the best Xbox 360 games are cross-platform titles that are also available on the PC and PS3—Assassin’s Creed: Revelations, The King of Fighters XIII, Metal Gear Solid HD Collection—but the Xbox 360 has a number of exclusives that make the system stand out from competing platforms. These range from games that use standard video game controls (Gears of Wars 3) to titles that use Microsoft’s revolutionary, controller-less Kinect add-on (Yoostar on MTV).
Although the games in this feature are distributed on physical discs, the Xbox 360—like the PC and PS3—has a deep digital download library. Xbox Live Arcade is where you can purchase new games and add-on through your console for typically $15 or less.
10)
Assassin’s Creed: Revelations
Master assassin Ezio Auditore continues his battle against the Templars in Ubisoft’s Assassin’s Creed Revelations. Developed by Ubisoft Montreal, Assassin’s Creed Revelations sees the expert killer following the footsteps of the legendary assassin Altaïr as he goes on a journey of revelation that takes him to Constantinople, where Templar troops threaten to destabilize the region. The game continues the series’ open-world gameplay. The latest iteration includes the “hookblade,” a tool which can be used to zipline across rooftops or grab enemies to yank them in for a combo attack. New to the series are trippy “Dali-esque” first-person platforming missions.
9)
Batman: Arkham City
Bruce Wayne’s true face returns to action in Batman: Arkham City, the smart, action-packed follow up to Batman: Arkham Asylum. This Game of The Year candidate builds on Arkham Asylum’s solid foundation by adding new hard-hitting melee attacks, more Bat-gadgets, stealth, detective work, and an expansive playground—an open-air penitentiary in Gotham’s slums—where the city’s worst minds run wild. These criminal minds include the familiar (Catwoman, The Joker, Two-Face), and the more obscure (Calendar Man, Hugo Strange, Solomon Grundy). Developer Rocksteady Studios has proven that comic book licenses need not be trapped in the usual murk of suspect gameplay and mediocre movie tie-ins.
8)
Battlefield 3
Battlefield 3, the latest wartime first-person shooter title from DICE, launched the opening salvo in this fall’s FPS conflict. Battlefield 3 puts gamers in the role of U.S. Marines who battle opposing forces (The People’s Liberation and Resistance) in New York, Paris, and Tehran—the perfect settings for making things go boom. The military combat title is powered by DICE’s proprietary Frostbite 2 engine, which enabled the developer to build massive, destructible environments, dynamic audio, and incredible animation (utilizing ANT technology) that its rival, Activision’s mega-popular Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3, simply can’t match. The FPS features a variety of controllable vehicles (sonic boom producing fighter jets, helicopters, tanks, APCs, and transport vehicles), co-op split screen play, and a competitive multiplayer mode that supports up to 64 combatants
7)
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
The fifth installment in Bethesda Softworks’ long-running fantasy action-RPG series is easily one of the most anticipated games of 2011. Set two centuries after the events in The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, Skyrimsees gamers trekking through the open-ended Skyrim world during the midst of a civil war—all under the looming shadow of a prophesized apocalypse at the hands of a dragon god. Players can “roll” a character based on human, elf, and other races, each of which come with their own specific attributes that you can tweak over the course of the adventure by adding new abilities, magic, gear, and weapons.
6)
Gears of War 3
Gears of War 3, the final installment in the Gears of War trilogy, hit store shelves this fall, bringing the war between The Coalition of Ordered Governments (COG) and the Locust Hoard to its conclusion. Epic Games’ third-person shooter sees you obliterating alien armies in beautifully detailed war-torn environments. Gamers rack up experience points by reviving teammates, aiding teammates, performing special types of kills, and making progress in various game modes. Earning levels unlocks the use of special character skins and weapons within the game’s multiplayer mode. Science-fiction writer Karen Traviss penned Gears of War 3’s story (which added emotional gravitas to the carnage), and rapper-turned-actor Ice T voiced the character Griffen.
5)
King of Fighters XIII
SNK Playmore’s long-running King of Fighters franchise sees its latest entry withKing of Fighters XIII. The follow up to the maligned King of Fighters XII features over 30 playable characters (including the return of fan favorites Mai Shiranui and Yuri Sakazaki) and beautiful high-definition, 2D sprites. The King of Fighters is SNK’s flagship fighting series that began in 1994, which served as a platform to bring together many of its properties (Art of Fighting, Fatal Fury, Ikari Warriors) in one title in three-on-three fisticuffs. The King of Fighters XIII features optimized netcode to prevent lag when playing online, new Neo Max super special moves, faster gameplay, and a new in-game camera perspective. The game also includes multiple endings (depending on specific characters or forming specific teams), and unlockable customization options to make your fighter unique.
4)
Metal Gear Solid HD Collection
Created by the critically acclaimed video game director Hideo Kojima, Metal Gear Solid HD Collection showcases, for the first time, some of the most popular Metal Gear Solid titles in beautiful high-definition. The Metal Gear Solid HD Collection is comprised of five games: Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty, Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater, and Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker. It also contains the two classic retro games that kicked the complicated Metal Gear storyline in motion: Metal Gear and Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake, which were originally released in Japan for the MSX home computer more than 20 years ago (the original Metal Gear was ported to the Nintendo Entertainment System in 1988). The stealth-based action series, which is one part G.I. Joe-styled military sci-fi and one part hardcore politicaldrama, sees a cast of heroes executing solo sneaking missions through enemy installations in order to maintain world peace in the midst of international conflicts. Clones, super soldiers, cybernetic ninjas, and hulking, nuclear missile-firing robots are some of more colorful series aspects
3)
Sonic Generations
Sonic the Hedgehog began life as SEGA’s “extreme” rival mascot to Nintendo’s Mario, but the speedster has become so much more than a product of the knock-down-drag-out 16-bit console war; the Blue Blur stands as one of the most recognizable figures in video-game history. Sonic Generations celebrates the hedgehog’s two decades of stardom by bringing together everything that made the Sonic franchise a success (bright, colorful graphics, insane speed, and simple controls) and eliminates everything that’s tarnished it in recent years (oddball playable characters, lycanthropy, and guns). Sporting 2D and 3D gameplay that stars classic “pudgy” Sonic and sleek, modern Sonic trying to solve a time anomaly, Sonic Generations is a wonderfully and lovingly crafted “thank-you” gift for those who have followed the Hedgehog’s adventures over the past two decades.
1)
Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3
Capcom and Marvel Entertainment double dip on the red-hot Marvel vs. Capcom 3with a follow up: Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3. The manic 2D fighting game, available for the PS3, Xbox 360, and upcoming PS Vita handheld, adds new gameplay modes and 12 new fighters. New to the Marvel side are Doctor Strange, Ghost Rider, Hawkeye, Iron Fist, Nova, and the obscure Rocket Raccoon. Team Capcom sees Firebrand, Frank West, Nemesis Type-T, Phoenix Wright, Strider, and Vergil. In addition to new characters, Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3 features a host of enhancements and new features to improve the game’s balance and online functionality. Two of the biggest additions to Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3 are the fan-requested Spectator Mode (which allows fighters to watch live online matches together) and Heroes and Heralds mode (a single- and multiplayer, team-based contest in which gamers earn new abilities with upgrade cards by battling Galactus’ heralds).
