The next-generation is now the current generation as we welcome the Xbox One and PS4 into our lives with (mostly) open arms. The Xbox 360 and PS3 both had long lifespans which saw the release of a plethora of great games, but which of these games really defined the last generation of consoles?
The following list doesn’t necessarily include the best games that the Xbox 360 had to offer, but rather the games that had the biggest impact upon the console’s legacy, from its launch right through to the release of the Xbox One. It’s also in chronological order to give you an idea of timeline of the Xbox 360 software successes and failures.
Here are the 10 defining games of the Xbox 360 era.
The 10 Defining Games of the Xbox 360
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Perfect Dark Zero
The Xbox 360's launch was underwhelming to say the least, and its lack of killer titles on day one was made all the more apparent by the amount of hype put behind the mediocre Perfect Dark Zero. While the Xbox 360 would later go on to have some of the best first-person shooters ever, this poor effort from the once legendary developer Rare left a sour taste in the mouths of early adopters of the console.
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Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion
Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion had the expansiveness of a PC game crammed into a home console, and it's still impressive to think that this was achieved a mere few months following the Xbox 360's launch. A true showcase of its system's power, Oblivion made fans out of those who wouldn't have considered themelves RPG fans prior to its release, and became the Xbox 360's first must-own game.
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Gears of War
Gears of War was touted as the Xbox 360's first online behemoth, and it certainly lived up to that hype. Developer Epic Games' gory third-person shooter sold Xbox Live Gold accounts to thousands of players worldwide, and swiftly became the console's most-played online game. The series is now regarded as one of Microsoft's most successful exclusive IPs.
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BioShock
First released on the Xbox 360 and Windows in 2007 before being ported to the PS3 in late 2008, BioShock raised the bar for video game narratives. launching arguably the most interesting video game series of its generation. BioShock was more than a game; it was a talking point, and one which is still the subject of debate today, especially after the release of this year's BioShock Infinite.
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Halo 3
Halo 3's release broke sales records in late 2007, becoming the highest-grossing entertainment product ever within 24 hours of its release, The massive numbers Halo 3 drew in also led to a huge impact upon Xbox Live, with 1 million fans playing the game online on its release day.
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Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare
Perhaps the greatest online console multiplayer game ever, Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare propelled the series into the public consciousness, and played a huge part in helping the video game industry become the most financially successful entertainment medium today. The overwhelming success of Call of Duty 4 ensured that the release of every iteration in the series since then has been treated as a huge event in the annual gaming calendar, topping sales charts and breaking world records in the process.
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Castle Crashers
Starting in 2008, Xbox Live's 'Summer of Arcade' promotion has helped usher in a digital era of console gaming, and the huge success of Castle Crashers is partially to thank for this. The accessibility of developer The Behemoth's 2D side-scrolling beat 'em up proved to be a huge hit with gamers, and led to a great deal of people, who were perhaps otherwise adverse to MS Points and digital downloads, making their first purchase on the Xbox Live Arcade.
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Braid
Independent developer Jonathan Blow's Braid launched alongside Castle Crashers in 2008's Summer of Arcade, and while The Behemoth's game raked in a pile of cash, Blow's game raked in a pile of praise, inspiring a wave of fledgling indie developers to strive to get their game featured on the Xbox Live Arcade. With no Braid, there would arguably be no Super Meat Boy, Fez, or the majority of the great indie titles that have made their way to Xbox Live over the years.
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Kinect Star Wars
Microsoft's complete lack of understanding when it came to successfully utilising the Xbox 360's Kinect is undoubtedly Kinect Star Wars, a car crash of a game that did nothing but add fuel to the fire of those who bemoaned Microsoft's continued push of motion-controlled gaming. Kinect Star War`, with its gyrating Han Solo and unresponsive gameplay, was part of the Xbox 360 software's steady descent into mediocrity, as Microsoft began putting all of its efforts into courting that elusive "casual audience".
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Minecraft: Xbox 360 Edition
Minecraft's overwhelming popularity when it first released on PC surprised practically everyone, not least the creators of the game, Mojang Studios. The Xbox 360 version of the game, developed by 4J Studios and released in 2012, brought equal success, achieving profits within the first 24 hours of its release and becoming the most downloaded Xbox Live Arcade game ever.
