This article is from the first edition of The Video Game Librarian website I published between 2008 and 2010. It was originally written on August 25, 2008.
Choosing what games to buy for your video game collection can sometimes be a tough task. Where do you start? Ideally, it would be great to be able to buy at least one copy of every game, but realistically, that’s just not possible. So here are ten highly recommended titles that belong in every Xbox 360 collection. They may be critically acclaimed, they may be sitting atop the sales charts or they may be cult classics that have been unjustly overlooked. But all of them are essentials.
The Xbox 360 is by far the console of choice when it comes to gamers in their twenties. And to satisfy this niche, developers have responded by putting the most realistic and action-packed titles on the Xbox 360 that they can. It also so happens that many of these titles happen to be rated M For Mature. So if you’re ready to take the plunge into the M-rating, here are ten essential M-rated titles for the Xbox 360.
Here are today’s additions to the Xbox 360 Core Collection:
BioShock
Publisher: 2K Games
ESRB Rating: Mature
The consequences and moral questions raised by BioShock have brought gamers together in a serious discussion of the themes raised by BioShock’s storyline. But at it’s core, it is also a solid first person shooter. When you combine solid FPS mechanics with a mature (as in sophisticated, not smutty) storyline, you come away with an essential.
Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare
Publisher: Activision
ESRB Rating: Mature
Call of Duty 4 was the game that dethroned Halo 3 from the top of the “Most Played” list on Xbox Live. And when you consider the fact that is made by Infinity Ward, the kings of the World War II shooter, it all makes sense. The company has updated their flagship series for the 21st century by placing it in the present day and putting the player in an all-too-real modern conflict.
Crackdown
Publisher: Microsoft
ESRB Rating: Mature
So many games nowadays get tagged with the label of “Grand Theft Auto-like”. Prior to its release, Crackdown was one of these games. But since it’s been released, Crackdown has been able to redefine itself, not as a GTA clone, but as a game that takes the open world sandbox play of GTA and throws in superpowered secret agents and the ability to leap a building in a single bound. Oh, and throw cars like a shot put. And use a wide variety of guns and explosives to cause complete havoc in Pacific City while at the same time trying to save Pacific City from being overrun by criminals.
Dead Rising
Publisher: Capcom
ESRB Rating: Mature
George Romero may have invented zombies in a mall with Dawn of the Dead in 1978, but it was Capcom who turned it into one of the greatest zombie games ever. Everything in the mall becomes a weapon in this bloody horror title. While not as creepy as Capcom’s other zombie series, Dead Rising ratchets up the action quotient with more zombies on screen than any game ever.
The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion
Publisher: 2K Games
ESRB Rating: Mature
With the release of this fourth entry, Bethesda’s Elder Scrolls series has finally taken the console world by storm. Constantly rated as the Xbox 360’s best role playing game, the title’s depth can keep gamers busy for a long, long time.
Gears of War
Publisher: Microsoft
ESRB Rating: Mature
Microsoft’s answer to a year without a new Halo game was to turn to Epic Games and Cliff Bleszinski to create this intense tale of a battle against creatures that emerged from the planet’s core.
Grand Theft Auto IV
Publisher: Rockstar Games
ESRB Rating: Mature
The near unanimous critical acclaim is proof that Grand Theft Auto IV is one of, if not the greatest, romp through the GTA universe ever.
Half-Life 2: The Orange Box
Publisher: EA Games
ESRB Rating: Mature
The Orange Box combines three of the coolest games of all time (Half-Life 2, Portal and Team Fortress 2) into a package that many reviewers called “the best value in gaming.” It also goes a step further and includes both episodic expansions to Half-Life 2 for a total of five games.
Playing all five games would expose gamers to one of the best storylines in a first person shooter ever, a unique “puzzle FPS” that still has fans talking and the sequel to one of the most popular multiplayer games ever.
Halo 3
Publisher: Microsoft
ESRB Rating: Mature
The Master Chief, the star of the Halo series, has become one of the gaming industry’s biggest icons in short order. The distinctive green armor and the large scale battles against two different alien forces are all gamers need to feel at home with Halo 3. A large online multiplayer community further makes Halo 3 the benchmark by which all other Xbox 360 first person shooters are measured.
Mass Effect
Publisher: Microsoft
ESRB Rating: Mature
Developer BioWare took everything they learned about RPGs from previous Xbox hits like Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic and Jade Empire and used it to create Mass Effect, a space opera of epic proportions.