The Best Xbox 360 Games - 'A Golden Generation'

We’re nearly there; a new console generation is now less than a month away (at least the Xbox One is). After 8 long years the current console lifecycles are coming to an end. The Xbox 360 was released way back in 2005 and the hardware has definitely had a fascinating journey.

There’s been drama galore – the implementation of non-controller gameplay, online multiplayer through Xbox Live, application offerings and the meltdown of the console during the plague ‘red ring of death’. Microsoft are now focused on hitting the ground running with their new system, and with a handful of weeks to go, now is the time to rundown the top five games of this generation.

[To be honest – I started this as a top five with a specific order but they are all as good as each other – and I also ended up including franchises that really need to be played together in order to get the full experience]

Mass Effect

The entire Mass Effect trilogy is a must for everyone to play – however the second instalment is the crown jewel of the series. It streamlined the inventory issues of the original, improved the combat mechanics and has set the bar for all third person shooters that have been released since. Of course, what makes Mass Effect so great is the story, the characters and the personal investment that you get out of choosing how Shepard will react and interact with others. Not only can ME2 work as a standalone title if it must, but it also serves to connect you to the new and returning squadmates at a much deeper level than the first Mass Effect. It is the ‘Empire Strikes Back’ of any trilogy released within the last few years. In fact the only real disappointment within the whole franchise is the not-quite-what-you-expected ending.

Skyrim

The Elder Scrolls series has always been a favourite of mine and the fifth incarnation – released on the 11^th November 2011 went a long way to creating the ultimate sandbox. Bethesda created a living, breathing ecosystem for you to explore. Within the barren ice caps, the fern tree mountain and the soggy marshland where many fascinating caves, villages and ruins to explore – each with their own sense of individuality. It was a grand feat in itself and the dynamic quest system allows the game to continue for hundreds, if not thousands, of hours after the main questline is completed. Plus who doesn’t get a kick from bringing down a dragon?

Bioshock

It’s hard to argue that Rapture isn’t the most thought provoking and interesting location from any Video Game ever created. The underwater city was dedicated to scientific research that pushed the boundaries of what civilizations and governments would allow – and eventually broke into one of the creepiest, confined and disturbing locations many players have ever stepped foot in. BioShock may not be the best shooter in existence, may not be realistic at all but drew the player in through a variety of interest set pieces, clever storytelling ideas and detailed imagery. Ken Levine has an eye for aesthetic pleasure and gave us a similar taste when he created the floating city of Columbia (for BioShock Infinite) earlier this year. You owe it to yourself to play all of these games – even BioShock II housed an interesting and thoroughly enjoyable tale; despite clearly being the weakest instalment.

Fallout

This is one of those franchises that had a hardcore set of followers that had all but lost their fight for a return to the series when Black Isle died. Bethesda picked up the ownership of the series and their first outing Fallout 3 marked a return to the post-apocalyptic settings. Ok, maybe not in the way the long term fans would have hoped for as the coined the phrase ‘Oblivion with Guns’ but the commercial success of the title did lead to Fallout: New Vegas that brought back a lot of the original enemies and humour that the third instalment missed. There really is a true sense of discovery in this franchise; reaching the crest of a hill can unveil a small settlement devoted to some bloke called ‘Dave’, a wander through demolish underground train tunnels can reveal complicated physics based tire wire traps and adventures onto the Vegas ‘strip’ can leave you walking out a millionaire (be it in bottle caps). We would all own a PitBoy if we could and these very human takes on the nuclear apocalypse are even more interesting when you put it into ‘Hard Mode’. Sleeping, eating and rehydrating has never been so rewarding.

Battlefield 3

This particular choice may leave a few people annoyed – I’m talking to you Call of Duty fanboys (and girls) – as this is neither the most popular wartime FPS nor the most perfected but it is definitely the franchise to watch. DICE have done an outstanding job of building their own empire from a very saturated COD market. A little over 3 years ago everyone played Call of Duty and no-one thought twice about the alternatives – now people wonder whether Activision, who publish the series, will ever do something new to reinvent their title. Turns out these ‘reinventions’ are ideas already perfected and heavily in use within the Battlefield series. Ghosts is a little over two weeks from release on the current generations, will sell a tone of copies, but has only been selling itself on the destructible environments (and added Dog partner)  - otherwise it’s pretty much a repackage of what we all saw last year. DICE however are constantly improving their online offerings, adding in a solid single player campaign, and slowly breaching (excuse the pun) the market more and more. In five years you’ll look back and know the Battlefield 3 shaped the online modern warfare titles more than anything that came before it. The only downside is the server creations that pretty much allow admins to play the worst competition possible to make themselves feel good at a title they otherwise suck at.

I know a few of you won’t agree with the above assessments, or would have chosen a different franchise, and that is exactly the reason of the comments section below.