The Xbox 360 era was certainly a great time for gamers. There were so many great games to play, and many fond memories were made during those times. As we progress through our gaming lives day by day, there have been a couple of games that came from the Xbox 360 that have gotten updated.
To be more specific, some of these games have gotten remastered or completely remade to make the game itself look new. Most notably, the Halo series has gotten this treatment, the original Gears of War also was polished with a new coat of paint, and there are definitely some more games from that era that’s been re-released with better enhancements.
For this list, I want to share eight Xbox 360 titles that are still worth playing to this day and time. These games have never gotten any sort of remastered or remake editions. They are certainly old games by today’s standards, but are worth playing even in the year of 2023.
Some of these games will be Xbox 360 exclusives and some of them are multiplatform, so there’s going to be a good amount of types of games that’ll be featured on this list. This list is not a ranking of its quality, but these eight games certainly deserve your attention if you haven’t played them back in the 360 days.
Shadowrun 2007
The Xbox 360 definitely had a lot of first-person shooters in its library. 2007 was the year for Halo 3 and Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare. Both of these titles would define the first-person shooter experience for the Xbox 360. I’m sure there were many gamers during those times could tell you some of their fond memories of those two games they had.
Shadowrun 2007 happened to be released in the times of those two first-person shooter juggernauts. It might not be as remembered as those games, but it did win the hearts of gamers for being a unique multiplayer-driven shooter. It had a blend of solid multiplayer first-person shooter gameplay with magical abilities that’ll you expect from a fantasy-themed RPG game. The game required steep teamwork and strategy too. It was certainly a game for those that want to take the time to learn to realize the game’s fullest potential.
But once gamers have gotten a grasp on how to play it efficiently; there was no other game like it at the time. Shadowrun 2007 did have its master servers shut down, so you can only play with bots which they are surprisingly decent. Still though, it is a game that hasn’t shown its age throughout the years, and it will forever be the best Xbox 360 exclusive you probably didn’t play.
Sacred 2: Fallen Angel
This game was basically designed for those who love Diablo-styled RPG experiences. Sacred 2: Fallen Angel was the first time the series created a console port, and it allowed console owners to play a game that can scratch their action role playing itch back in 2009. It’s an open world game with many things to do and explore its hidden secrets. If you love hunting for loot and optimizing your character to be powerful, Sacred 2 will certainly give you that type of experience. It is a game for those that are action role playing fanatics, and can easily addict you because of its robust character development system. If you want a deeper dive of what Sacred 2: Fallen Angel is like mechanically, you can check out this article.
Gears of War 2
Gears of War 2 improved upon the original game by double downing what made the original game great. The sequel improved the enemy variety, and it had a campaign that’ll keep you on your toes from start to finish. It also included Horde mode which is basically a cooperative survival experience that’ll inspire many other video game titles to create their own Horde mode. This is how you make a sequel based on a game that definitely deserved its praise since its inception. We currently have no idea when the next Gears of War will be made, but it is certainly a good time for you to catch up on the series. The Gears of War titles are also known for being a satisfying cooperative experience if you enjoy playing with close friends or relatives.
Binary Domain
This Gears of War inspired game certainly deserve some attention if you prefer to shoot robots rather than demon looking humans. Its story does have its charm, and it has developed a cult following since its inception. Binary Domain was mentioned from Yakuza producer Daisuke Sato that he’d like to see the series get remastered some day back in 2021. Unfortunately, there hasn’t been an enhanced version of the game, so you’re going to have to settle with the original version. With that mention, it is a game that’s worth playing for those that want an engaging 10 hour third person cover based shooter. Surprisingly enough, it actually runs 60 frames per second on the Series consoles. That is certainly a nice quality of life feature to have especially for a rather obscure title like this one.
Crackdown
Here’s an Xbox only IP that seems to be forgotten nowadays, but for those who were diehard fans of the Xbox 360 will certainly remember the Crackdown series. It was basically Xbox’s attempt at making their own Grand Theft Auto type of experience, but much more bombastic and over the top. If you always want a game that has similar scope to Grand Theft Auto’s open world, but feel more like a straight up shooter, Crackdown is simply that. It’s also a game that’s certainly fun to explore and collect various items that can help your character. The series has spawned two sequels which both Crackdown 2 and Crackdown 3 can be played on the Series consoles.
Video credit: NeoGamer – The Video Game Archive.
TimeShift
This forgotten first-person shooter came out during the same year of Halo 3 and Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare. Similar to Shadowrun 2007’s situation, the popularity of those two titles simply overshadowed TimeShift. With that mentioned, the game is certainly worth playing. It combines the dystopian environments and atmosphere of Half Life 2 and the slow motion mechanic from the F.E.A.R. series. However, TimeShift lives up to its name: it allows the player to have more control over their ability to shift time. You can slow, pause, or reverse time during your gunfights. Despite not being the most interesting first-person shooter of all time, it still nails down for being a fun game if you love your bullet time mechanic in your shooters.
Alice: Madness Returns
With so many shooters being mentioned, it’s time to please the crowd who prefer the classic action adventure platforming experience. For those who aren’t familiar with the Alice series, it’s basically a darker and mature version of Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland when it comes to the plot and the game’s setting.
In Alice: Madness Returns, you’ll be exploring through many different kinds of environments that’ll have you immersed in its own beauty, fight all sorts of enemies, and solve platforming puzzles. Its combat is mostly revolved around hacking and slashing your foes to death, but you do have some sort of range weapons you can use also. The interesting thing about the console version of Alice: Madness Returns is you get the original game for free. So you are basically paying the price for one game, but you actually get two games. This game will be targeted to those that want a rich single player experience, and witness some wicked and mesmerizing art design that’ll wow you.
Condemned: Criminal Origins
For the final game on this list, the original Condemned will be the game to deserve this last spot. It was a launch day Xbox 360 title, so it is without a doubt the oldest game on this list. With that mentioned, it still stands the test of time, and is often regarded to be a high quality survival horror experience from fans of the genre. If you enjoy being on the edge of your seat, and constantly being put in dark places, you should give this game a shot if you haven’t so. Condemned did spawn a sequel in 2008, but there hasn’t been any more titles that have been made after 2008. Someday, there might be a potential chance Monolith will update the game with further enhancements. At least it is still playable on the Series console if you get your hands on the Xbox 360 version somewhere.
That is all the 8 games I recommend if you didn’t experience them back in their heydays. However, that is the beauty of having a console that allows you to play these games without needing the original hardware. All these games still hold up in today’s times, and they are certainly still worth experiencing if you happened to miss out on them. Long live the Xbox 360.
