The 30 Best Xbox 360 Games of All Time

For the purposes of this list, we're not including "smaller" downloadable titles, so you won't find the likes of Braid or LIMBO here. We're sticking to games that were originally released on a retail disc, for simplicity's sake. You'd probably just be mad when we ranked 'Splosion Man over Skyrim anyway.

Remember that to enjoy a great game you can buy it used ;)

30. Bulletstorm (Buy it here)

Bulletstorm is the kind of game that parents were afraid was going to exist in the '90s. Co-developed by the action-adventure royalty at People Can Fly and Epic Games with a script by cult comic book favorite Rick Remender, this game was like a power ballad dedicated to violent stupidity. While there is technically a plot, it's more about taking you through gleefully designed murderous playgrounds where you're challenged with racking up kills in the most creative ways possible. Why shoot a man when you can strap an explosive chain to his torso, dropkick him towards a group of his friends, and let the explosion fling their ragdolled bodies into a field of electrified cacti? These are the moments that make Bulletstorm worth playing, and those moments come often.

29. Dead Rising (buy it here)

As one of the early Xbox 360 games, zombie actioner Dead Rising has more than its share of rough edges. The framerate is inconsistent, the loading between zones is annoying and there's an excess of Canadian voice actors posing as Americans. But if you stick with it, DR's flaws become a part of its charm. Yeah, the save system is unforgiving and leading survivors around the undead masses is kind of a pain, but soon you learn that the game was meant to be played over and over again. It's not long before you learn the right tricks, guzzling special smoothies and grabbing all of the best weapons early on, maybe even driving your car in an infinite loop to get that infamously tough zombie kills achievement. Dead Rising 2 might have combo weapons and smarter AI companions, but it doesn't have that same Frank Westiness. 

28. Lost Odyssey ( buy it here)

A lot of people were disappointed that Final Fantasy XIII wasn't the JRPG they were looking for, but anyone looking for a traditional FF should look no further than Lost Odyssey. Several key members of the classic Final Fantasy teams were involved in LO, from FF creator Hironobu Sakaguchi to famed series composer Nobuo Uematsu. The Xbox exclusive chronicled an epic journey with a genuinely interesting setup, which involved a set of immortal heroes torn apart by time and memory. This game has everything you want from a sweeping JRPG, like a vast overworld and a ton of optional dungeons and bosses. It's even old-school enough to come on four discs.

27. Rock Band 3 ( buy it here)

This was the generation of music instrument games, and Rock Band 3 was probably the height of the "fad." Though the addition of keyboard play was helpful, but the clincher was the vast amount of available songs, which included almost everything from Rock Band 1 and 2, Rock Band Green Day and uh, LEGO Rock Band. You might be desperately trying to get rid of your plastic controllers now, but in the time before Goodwill forbid the donation of any more guitar peripherals, RB3 gave us a shared experience worth remembering. 

26. Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare (buy it here)

It's hard to believe that we're already up to what's essentially Call of Duty 12, but it really has been that long since Modern Warfare revolutionized first-person shooters. The fast-paced gameplay and now-standard level progression system came part-and-parcel with an action-packed campaign that has been emulated in dozens, if not hundreds of games ever since. Black Ops II might be considered the apex of the series in some circles, but we've gotta give due respect to the progenitor. 

25. Blur (buy it here)

One of the last games of the ill-fated but beloved studio Bizarre Creations, Blur is what you get if you combine Project Gotham Racing and Mario Kart. Real-world cars with tight handling met zany powerups in this underplayed gem that dared to count itself among the endangered species of arcade racers. It's tough to find an online match these days -- not to mention the fact that it's been delisted from Steam -- but if you can track down a copy, it's well worth it for the robust single-player and local multiplayer options.

24. Ultimate Marvel Vs. Capcom (buy it here)

At the time, it seemed like a dream. After so many years, Capcom finally bit the bullet and brought out Marvel vs. Capcom 3... and then six months later, they iterated with Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3. Though it was definitely a ripoff for consumers, UMVC3 is undoubtedly the better game, with online lobbies and tons of extra characters and stages. This game is a labor of love with tons of little details for fans; when Hulk tags Iron Man into battle, he yells "METAL MAN!" and when Doctor Doom squares off against Phoenix Wright, he says "THERE IS NO OTHER LAW BUT DOOM'S." How can you object to that? 

23. Rainbow Six: Vegas ( buy it here)

Rainbow Six makes weapons feel deadly. Knowing that one or possibly two bullets will drop you just as quickly as it will drop your numerous enemies breeds a palpable tension. The cooperative Terrorist Hunt mode was a particular highlight, and one of the last split-screen couch coop modes that just would not be the same over Xbox Live. Creeping through a university with a buddy, picking off the baddies one by one, and shouting in alarm when a flashbang doesn't land right where you want it has a rhythm unlike any other. 

22. Forza Horizon ( buy it here)

Though Forza Motorsport 3 and 4 were great games, they were simply building off of the very solid foundation built on the first two games, a tradition that conintued with Forza 5 on Xbox One. But Forza Horizon was different. The spinoff had a tone and spirit all of its own, with an expansive open-world set in Colorado. Though the obliviously bro-y festival conceit could be a little much at times, the driving itself remained light and breezy, realistic enough without being too restrictive. The perfect mix of arcade and sim racing hasn't been matched, even by its sequel.

21. Gears of War (buy it here)

There were four whole Gears of War games during the Xbox 360 generation. Gears of War 2 popularized the now-omnipresent Horde Mode, Gears 3 brought in four-player co-op and Gears Judgment brought uh, Baird, again. But Gears 1 remains the best, partly because of the designs that were made out of necessity. The levels and arenas weren't that big in the single-player campaign, but that lent to some tense close-quarters combat tinged with horror, something that the subsequent games sorely lacked. Like Goldeneye before it, the Gears multiplayer was thrown together at the last moment, but now it's hard to imagine the game without it. Though the follow-ups honed the cover-based gameplay, there's still a something to be said for the scrappy original.

20. Crackdown (buy it here)

Another early Xbox game, this one gave us a glimps of the true potential of superheroes in open worlds that we'd later see Infamous, Prototype and Saints Row IV. Though a bit sparse in content, the feeling of careening through Pacific City through leaps and bounds was infinitely more satisfying than driving a car. It's the kind of intoxicating feeling that makes you re-examine real-world buildings in search of the best way for your Agent to climb them. And then there's the Agility Orbs, one of the best collectibles video game history. That hum and subsequent ping of an aqcuired orb somehow touched a pleasure center of the brain that will never be active again. Until Crackdown 3.

19. Saints Row: The Third ( buy it here)

Before SR3, Saints Row was known as a slightly off-center but mostly competent Grand Theft Auto clone. Thankfully, when the third edition rolled around, developer Volition branched off and made a name for themselves. Everything from the world of story to the mission objectives became more self aware, more tongue-in-cheek. Suddenly, the characters from the first two games became endearing, so much so that you wanted to join them in their car ride singalong of "What I Got." It's tough to make a decent GTA clone, but it's even harder to break that mold, and that's exactly what SR3 accomplished. 

18. Burnout Paradise (buy it here)

Oh Burnout. Where are you, these days? Besides an XBLA offshoot , the last time we saw the franchise was 2008's Burnout Paradise, a game that saw the wonderful crash systems from the previous Burnout transplanted into a gorgeous open world. Other players could join in for objective races, crash into each other and race to other races. To this day it's still criminally underplayed, which probably explains why we haven't seen another Burnout. Come on EA. All you have to say is "Burnout Revenge 2." 

17. Ultra Super Street Fighter IV (buy it here)

Amidst the endless supply of grimdark self-serious fighters, Street Fighter IV dares to be colorful and fun. These actual quotes, shouted mid-match by the game's overenthusiastic announcer, perfectly encapsulate the bombastic experience of Fighting in the Streets:
"Who will bask in the glory and adoration that comes with being declared the world's greatest fighter?"
"Beautiful!"
"What power!"
"Looks like we can expect fireworks!"
"They just keep punching each other!"
The game adores the feeling of bold, loud fun and wants to share that feeling with the player. And it works. 

16. Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance (buy it here)

Imagine if you will, a Hideo Kojima game that was wracked with delays and production issues. I know it sounds impossible, but it actually happened. What was originally intended to be Metal Gear V was retooled, rebooted, and handed off to PlatinumGames, a new studio headed by former employees of Capcom's legendary Clover Studios. Under Platinum, Raiden lost the stealth, added more action, yet kept the longwinded monolouges about the nature of war. MGR:R is an immensely satisfying cyborg ninja experience. Effortlessly running atop ballistic missiles and slicing cyborg gorillas into (literally) hundreds of pieces, it's a power fantasy par excellence with a solid soundtrack of butt rock anthems. RULES OF NATURE!

15. Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag (buy it here)

There were 7 (seven!) Assassin's Creed games released on the Xbox 360, but Black Flag was the pinnacle. The plucky antihero Edward Kenway was the best AC protagonist this side of Ezio, and those wretched tailing missions, the gameplay was honed to its finest point. Even better was the expanded boat mechanic from the disappointing ACIII, which made sailing the seas a joy. What gives ACIV the edge over the other great games in the series like Brotherhood? The pirate shanties. When collected, your boat crew gains new songs to sing. I repeat: By picking up a floating piece of paper, your pirates will sing new pirate songs. Let's see Crackdown's Agility Orbs do that.

14. Borderlands 2 (buy it here)

The original Borderlands did a lot of things right - but Borderlands 2 did those things even righter. Everything was upped - from the character options, the weaponry, the quality of the villains (Handsome Jack!), the world size, and - uh - the amount of DLC (but hey, it was at least substantial DLC that explored a lot of the fun corners of the game). In the end, Borderlands 2 was the quintessential co-op shooter - bursting with character and humor, always with plenty to do, and a visual style that highlighted color over the grey/browns of most of the other shooters of this gen.

13. Batman: Arkham City (buy it here).

It's hard to remember now, but there was a time when Batman games were known for being how terrible they were. Despite a few decent titles here and there (Adventures of Batman and Robin on Genesis, anyone?), the likes of Batman: Dark Tomorrow and the Batmanensured that the Dark Knight's video game rep was soiled in perpetuity. So it came as a huge surprise when unproven studio Rocksteady delivered a series of pointed punches and kicks to the notion that a stellar Batman game could never be done. Arkham Asylum was a great start, and certainly a tightly-packed Metroidy experience, but the story, presentation and gameplay combo reached its zenith with the seminal Arkham City. 

Now, if only Rocksteady could do the same for Superman...

12. Halo: Reach (buy it here)

Bungie's final iteration of the Halo franchise is also the best, mostly by breaking all the rules of the franchise. Instead of overpowered walking tank Master Chief, the protagonists are the doomed Noble Team; instead of the dull campaign of previous Halo games, this one was imbued with real story and emotion; and the multiplayer did something new and interesting for the first time in Halo history - not that Halo multiplayer really NEEDED much innovation, but abilities and the ability to run did a lot to make the MP feel fresh.

But mostly, NO FLOOD.

11. Dishonored (buy it here)

The first person stabbing simulator had a lot going for it - a solid stealth game with some nice steampunk aesthetics and pretty great level design - but it had one thing that put it heads and shoulders above the competition: Blink. The Blink ability was (basically) what Dishonored called Corvo's ability to teleport short (but progressively longer) distances instantly. And, with this one gameplay tweak, the way the entire game was played changed - there were few things quite as satisfying as teleporting around a level, stabbing guards more quickly than they could even react to what was happening. Who would have guessed Nightcrawler mashed up with Jack the Ripper would be so great? Oh, everyone would have guessed that? Nevermind.

10. Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts and Bolts (buy it here)

Nuts and Bolts is a very misunderstood game. Rare knew what they were doing when they shifted from Banjo's normal platforming gameplay to a sandbox vehicle-focused game, but fans were not happy with the drastic change. In truth, BKNB was far ahead of its time, allowing a level of customization and creative freedom that has since become very popular in games like Minecraft. If Nuts and Bolts was released on Steam without the Rare characters today, people would be going nuts over the impressive moddability and infinite number of ways to complete missions. Hopefully with the cheap Rare Replay compilation coming on Xbox One, more people will drop their hangups and give this fantastic game a shot.

9. Portal 2 (buy it here)

The original Portal was sorta a miracle - basically a glorified tech demo that got more care and character than most AAA games. But mostly, it had GLaDOS, possibly the greatest videogame antagonist in recent memory (thanks to some stellar voice-acting and a wonderful script). But what was left to do for Portal 2? Well, turn it into a full-fledged game - which it did in a pretty amazing way. The early section of the game repeats the struggle against GLaDOS again (although this time with Stephen Merchant tagging along as Wheatley, a dim-witted core attempting to help you) - allowing the game to subvert all of your expectations by turning Wheatley into the megalomaniacal (but still incredibly dumb) villain and pairing you up with GLaDOS (now stuck to a potato), exploring the roots and lost history of Aperture Science.

And while there are a few new gameplay elements (namely the various environment-affecting gels that spout up later on in the game), what makes Portal 2 so special is what made Portal 1 so great - the insanely great voice cast and ridiculously-perfect script. Cave Johnson and Wheatley are perfect additions to the world of Portal (there's a reason so many of Cave Johnson quotes became instant memes), the game itself is solid and no longer than it needs to be, and then - the ending.

The ending is just goddamn perfect. It's sweet and funny and...well, there's no other word for this, a triumph. (*everyone in the office starts booing me*) I'M MAKING A NOTE HERE: HUGE SUCCESS. (*everyone on the internet slaps me through their computers*) IT'S HARD TO OVERSTATE MY SATISFACT-(*everyone in the world murders me simultaneously*)

8. Mass Effect 2 (buy it here)

Mass Effect represented something pretty huge for videogames - a nicely-fleshed out, original sci-fi universe that felt complete. But while Mass Effect 1 offered a nice introduction to this world, Mass Effect 2 was where the promise of the first game was finally realized. Shedding the unnecessary aspects of the first game (the completely insane, impossible to navigate inventory menu; the frequent and frustrating Mako sequences; the fairly linear gameplay progression), Mass Effect 2 became more open-ended and more overstuffed with the kind of detail that made Mass Effect 1 so great. No longer limited to only gathering a few teammates, Commander Shepard could gain up to 13 additional squadmates - and romance wayyy more than your few potential sex partners from ME1 (really, the alien-boning feature was half the appeal of the game), as were the potential death counts (while only Ashley/Kaidan and Wrex could perish in ME1, literally every squadmate could die in ME2 if you played the game wrong).

And that's what made ME2 so much more than ME1 - the characters and details of the larger universe they hinted towards were featured a great deal more. Ask anyone who their favorite ME2 squadmates were, you're liable to get a thousand different answers. From Thane Krios, the dying stoic assassin, to Legion, the singular Geth AI (that combined the AIs of over a thousand Geth).

This game was so good, we can forgive its incredibly dumb final boss. If this game can overcome fighting a giant Terminator exoskeleton as the finale, it must be pretty special. As the saying goes - I'm Commander Shepard, and this is a very rad game that I like a whole bunch.

7. Viva Pinata (buy it here)

Viva Pinata might look like it's a baby game for baby people, but it's secretly one of the most insidious and twisted games out there. A first the sweet mix of Pokemon and The Sims is delightful, as you build out your garden and cultivate a crew of multicolored critters, backed by high-quality and one of the best video game soundtracks ever. But you will soon realize that you have to sacrifice your beloved animals in order to gain new creatures. Not only that, but sometimes this means turning your garden into a pinata breeding mill, mating siblings with siblings, parents with children, grandparents with grandchildren. You want that sweet Fudgehog to call your garden home? You'd better let him murder your inbred worms and dine on the candy flesh inside their paper mache bodies. This is not some dark fan fiction made up for the purposes of this entry -- this is actually what you do in the game. And it's awesome.

6. Dark Souls (buy it here)

Dark Souls has a reputation for being a challenging game, but it's not its difficulty that makes it unique; what sets it apart is how challenges the notion of theme in a game world.  Dark Souls revels in the iconography of the platonic fantasy setting, but filters everything through a perfect, uncompromising lens of death and rebirth. Hideteka Miyazaki is said to have guided his artists toward this vision by telling them, "Don't rely on the gross factor to portray an undead dragon. Can't you instead try to convey the deep sorrow of a magnificent beast doomed to a slow and possibly endless descent into ruin?" And somehow, against all odds, this game about despair and ruination ends up becoming empowering.

5. Red Faction: Guerilla (buy it here)

Open world games got bigger and more detailed in going from the Xbox to the Xbox 360, but none made the same leaps that Red Faction: Guerilla managed when it came to destructability. It's incredibly satisfying to shoot one leg out of a tower and watch it crash down, causing a chain reaction that destroys an entire factory. In RFG, Mars is like a beach with an infinite number of sandcastles for you to eviscerate in any way you deem fit. 

The multiplayer was similarly brilliant, taking the chaos of the campaign and throwing in a bunch of yahoos with rocket launchers, jetpacks and giant sledgehammers. There were even some clever objective-based modes; one tasked the offensive team with assaulting a base in an effort to destroy it, while the defending team was equipped with repair tools that help them rebuild between enemy waves. To this day, no other game has quite captured personified anarchy quite like Red Faction: Guerilla.

4. The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim (buy it here)

You can hear it building up now. The theme that announces your return to Skyrim, the one sung by the divine chorus, the song that sometimes makes you stay at the start screen for a few minutes before pressing start. You can hear the warble of the loading screen, a spring awakening that accompanies your close study of this random trinket. Soon the only sounds are of clashing steel, the shouts of dragon language, a thousand gulps as you devour thirty cheesewheels in the middle of a tense battle.

Like it or not, these sounds will always be somewhere in the back of your brain, reminding you of your adventures as the Dragonborn. Likewise, Skyrim will remain one of the best Xbox 360 games ever made.

3. Red Dead Redemption (buy it here)

Rockstar's Grand Theft Auto series is frequently hampered by its ambitions of shotgun-style "satire, " so when Red Dead Redemption was released, we were surprised and delighted to find a nuanced world that was treated with gravity and respect. Moments like the Jose-Gonzalez-scored trip to Mexico showed the game was at its best between the shootouts, when the player had an opportunity to reflect on the lonesome digital west. The romanticized notion of the cowboy isn't about the shooting, it's about what becomes of you when the shooting is over.

2. Fallout: New Vegas (buy it here)

Bethesda undertook a significant challenge when they acquired the license to make a sequel to the Fallout franchise. While Fallout 3 was an excellent game in its own right, the game reaffirmed Bethesda's history of crafting fantasy environments that don't demand the same internal logic and consistency of a fully realized sci-fi world. Obsidian's half-entry, New Vegas, was able to fill out these cracks and create a rich world filled with interesting characters. The wasteland of New Vegas felt vibrant and alive, thanks to terrific writing and beautiful art direction, and it afforded the player the agency to interact with it in any way they see fit. Fallout 3 gave players a game, but New Vegas game them a world. 

1. Bayonetta (buy it here)

Bayonetta is not for everyone, but it corners its own strange niche and blows the hell out of it. The terrific battle system is unmatched, and the epic story setpieces are consistently insane. The plot itself might be nonsensical, but you don't come to this game for surprising twists or heartfelt character moments. You play this game for the batshit enemy designs, for the silly Sega arcade riffs, and most of all, for things like Bayonetta shoving her middle finger in a motorcycle ignition in mid-air.

The heroine's hypersexuality is a turnoff to some, but it's so in your face that it's supposed to make you uncomfortable. Yes, Bayonetta's suit is entirely made of her hair (and then comes to life to form giant horrible constructs to torture angelic demons), but it's more threatening than sexy. Her special brand of insanity couldn't work in a movie or even a comic book; Bayonetta thrives in interactivity, and in that way, she's represents everything that video games can be.

What are your favorite Xbox 360 games? If you think we missed some, feel free to leave your polite and well-reasoned comments below!