5 Xbox 360 Launch Titles That Still Hold Up Today (& 5 That Just Dont)

5 Xbox 360 Launch Titles That Still Hold Up Today (& 5 That Just Don’t)

Microsoft’s Xbox 360 was a revolutionary video game console which boasted tons of fantastic games, though some didn’t deserve to go down in history.

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Launching in 2005 a full year ahead of Sony’s seventh-gen offering, Microsoft’s Xbox 360 rocketed out of the game with a suite of compelling titles and a revolutionary online gaming network that helped to make it the must-have system of the late 2000s. Though it sold the least of the three major consoles of the era, the Xbox 360 was—and, in some ways, still is—a gaming powerhouse.

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Launching in North America with a total of eighteen titles, there was no shortage of quality content to experience on day one. Yet, that said, some of the system’s earliest games just aren’t worth dusting off today.

10 Just Doesn’t: Amped 3

Snowboarding titles are few-and-far-between these days, dipping in popularity after arguably having hit their peak during the fitness game craze of the late 2000s. That said, not all winter sports titles were focused on fitness, with Amped 3 courting SSX fans rather than courting mothers fascinated by motion controls.

Though it’s not a bad game by any means, Amped 3’s weird, irreverent humor and ridiculous, over-the-top nature leaves it feeling particularly dated fifteen years after release. Playing and controlling like a wannabe Tony Hawk’s title and battering players over the head with its weirdness, Amped 3 should probably be left in the bargain bin.

9 Still Holds Up: Call of Duty 2

Though the series wouldn’t become a household name until the fourth entry, 2005’s Call of Duty 2 offers up the sort of mid-2000s World War II shooting-gallery fun to which gamers of the era flocked. Spanning three campaigns and tackling some of the most impactful battles of the conflict, it’s as thrilling as it is historically accurate—actually, maybe not that second one so much.

While online multiplayer was more of an afterthought in 2005, Call of Duty 2 took full advantage of the Xbox 360’s advanced online capabilities, captivating players with its robust—particularly for the time—multiplayer options.

8 Just Doesn’t: FIFA 06: Road To FIFA World Cup

Another series that would arguably see its popularity peak during the latter half of the Xbox 360’s lifecycle, FIFA 06′ is a gruff, relatively barebones sports title that may even be inferior to the widely-derided, microtransaction-plagued FIFA titles of the modern era.

Boasting graphics that wouldn’t look out of place on the PlayStation 2 and sporting controls so unresponsive that players may feel as if they’re wearing boxing gloves, FIFA’s first foray on the Xbox 360 is a tough one to recommend, even if it can likely be bought at most used game stores for less than a dollar.

7 Still Holds Up: Condemned: Criminal Origins

One of the most unique titles to release alongside Microsoft’s second console, Monolith Productions’ Condemned: Criminal Origins was a sleeper success that scared the hell out of horror fans back in 05.

Developed by the same studio that brought us F.E.A.R. and its sequel, Condemned: Criminal Origins puts a huge emphasis on first-person melee combat, which lends an unpleasantly personal feeling to beating a combatant’s teeth out. Gritty, psychologically disturbing, and featuring a particularly scarring mission involving moving mannequins, Condemned is something of a cult hit that definitely still deserves to be played.

6 Just Doesn’t: Kameo: Elements Of Power

Microsoft’s acquisition of longtime Nintendo partner Rare should have lead to a second slew of success stories for the studio. Unfortunately, Microsoft seemingly didn’t know what to do with them, forcing out a few questionable platformers before relegating them to full-time Kinect cash-grab duty.

Rare’s first effort on the console, Kameo: Elements of Power feels like a desperate attempt at making the Banjo Kazooie lightning strike twice. It’s an action platformer with a distinct Nintendo appeal that sees players questing to unlock new elements that allow for new, unique character transformations. Yet, it lacks much of the fluidity, finesse, and overall feel which made Rare’s other titles so memorable.

5 Still Holds Up: Need For Speed: Most Wanted

Ask ten Need For Speed fans what their favorite game in the franchise is, and there’s a good chance that nine of them will reply with Need For Speed: Most Wanted. One of the best racing games available on the Xbox 360, NFS: MW leaned heavily into the series’ arcade racing characteristics, foregoing the simulation style and offering up unparalleled speed and a graffiti-tagged nu-metal aesthetic that was very much in at the time.

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Nowadays, the game’s world looks rough, and the blur and bloom on the green-screened-in actors look even worse, but there’s an undeniable charm to this release that makes it endlessly replayable.

4 Just Doesn’t: Perfect Dark Zero

Perhaps the most infamous game to spawn from the deal struck between Microsoft and Rare, Perfect Dark Zero was marketed as the killer app for Microsoft’s burgeoning new console. Before system-sellers like Gears of War or Halo 3 hit the scene, Microsoft hoped to cash in on the popularity of a well-respected Nintendo title, but to little avail.

Despite reviewing well and acting as a relatively competent console shooter for the time, Perfect Dark Zero lacked that distinct Rare charm that made the original so enthralling. That, coupled with a very underwhelming online multiplayer mode, forever sullied the title in the eyes of consumers.

3 Still Holds Up: Peter Jackson’s King Kong: The Official Game Of The Movie

Despite having one of the most ridiculous titles of all time, Peter Jackson’s King Kong: The Official Game Of The Movie has gone down as perhaps one of the best video adaptations of all time. A well-realized, strikingly immersive first-person shooter that’s heavy on setpieces and actually sees some of the cast from the film reprise their roles, it’s obvious that a ton of work went into making this experience as good as it could have possibly been.

Though it’s absolutely caked in bloom and boasts some of the muddiest textures ever committed to a hard drive, Peter Jackson’s King Kong is still a worthwhile playthrough all these years later.

2 Just Doesn’t: Quake 4

What should have been the triumphant send-off to the once-revolutionary Quake series, 2005’s Quake 4 will eternally suffer as an inferior comparison to Doom 3, which was a graphical marvel when it released a year prior on the original Xbox.

Debuting at a time in which gray-and-brown military shooters were beginning to peak in popularity, Quake 4 felt like white noise against a backdrop of very similar games. What’s more, given that it had been more or less outdone by the time it released, the title felt—and still very much feels—unnecessary.

1 Still Holds Up: Tony Hawk’s American Wasteland

Though the Tony Hawk’s series was arguably at its best during the height of the PlayStation 2 era, Tony Hawk’s American Wasteland was, in the eyes of many, the last hurrah for the golden age of the series. Keeping punk and hard rock music relevant alongside Guitar Hero, the game was every bit as unforgettable as its amazing soundtrack.

The game carries over the same gameplay systems from previous titles, though this time the premise is centered around building a skate park of your very own, and, with the recent Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater remasters reigniting interest in the series, American Wasteland is likely as relevant now as it ever was.

Link Source : https://screenrant.com/best-worst-xbox-360-launch-titles/

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