Determine the destiny of the human race by building and co-coordinating a fully operational base, researching alien tech, formulating combat missions, and choreographing soldier movement in battle.
Forza Motorsport 2 features over 60 tracks carved out of 18 environments, including 13 real-world licensed circuits such as Road America, Silverstone, Tsukuba, and Laguna Seca. Four new real-world licensed circuits further expand the world of Forza Motorsport 2. Collect, upgrade, and tune hundreds of cars. Take your car to the garage and install alternative engines, suspension kits, bolt-on superchargers, brakes, rims, racing slicks, and more.
Dial in advanced suspension settings, tire pressure, and gear ratios. Forza Motorsport 2 allows you to own the cars that will own the competition. Create and share your masterpiece with the world. Express your inner artist in the paint and upgrade shops with near endless visual personalization. Customize the shape of your car by combining different licensed rims, performance parts, and aftermarket body kits. Create your own unique paint scheme using millions of paint and decal options.
Take in-game pictures of your creation in the Forza Motorsport 2 photo mode. Take your personalized car onto Xbox Live for some intense online wheel-to-wheel racing. Earn in-game credits and even complete single player career objectives while racing over Xbox Live. Watch the best racers from around the world complete on Forza Motorsport 2 TV. The way players control the ball has been transformed, eliminating near-perfect touch for every player on the pitch, and creating more opportunities for defenders to win back possession.
Poor passes are harder to control, enabling defenders to capitalize on errant balls and poor touches. Rayman Legends is the follow-up to last year's Rayman Origins and aims to bring multiplayer interactions for you to use. The Glade of Dreams is in trouble again.
During a year nap, the nightmares multiplied and spread, creating new monsters even scarier than before. These creatures are the stuff of legend… Dragons, giant toads, sea monsters, and even evil luchadores. With the help of Murfy, Rayman and Globox awake and must now help fight these nightmares and save the Teensies.
Play as one of 4 new vault hunters facing off against a new world of creatures, psychos and the evil mastermind, Handsome Jack. Make new friends, arm them with a gazillion weapons and fight alongside them in four-player co-op or split-screen on a relentless quest for revenge and redemption across the undiscovered and unpredictable living planet. Call of Duty 2 lets players experience four individual soldier stories as they overcome insurmountable odds in multiple campaigns.
Players have the freedom to follow each of the four storylines through for the ultimate character-driven experience, or they can engage in the historic battles chronologically for quick hitting action. Infinity Ward has also expanded the scope of combat to deliver a truly realistic battlefield experience. Squads now have the freedom to take on a variety of mission objectives, on expansive battlefields that allow for multiple paths and the ability to utilize actual combat tactics like outflanking and fire and maneuver capabilities.
Call of Duty 2's new engine and A. Concealment can be key as battlefield smoke or even deployed smoke grenades cloud visibility.
Weather effects such as the dusty sandstorms of North Africa and whiteout blizzard conditions of Russia, for example, will keep soldiers glued to their bunkers. The team has also employed a state-of-the-art Battle Chatter System that brings the action to life as squad-mates bark out context-sensitive updates in real-time to players through an advanced A.
Zombies are invading your home, and the only defense is your arsenal of plants! Armed with an alien nursery-worth of zombie-zapping plants like peashooters and cherry bombs, you'll need to think fast and plant faster to stop dozens of types of zombies dead in their tracks. Obstacles like a setting sun, creeping fog and a swimming pool add to the challenge, and with five game modes to dig into, the fun never dies!
Rez opens your senses The dynamic, total integration of visual presentation, sound and player input provides the ultimate audiovisual experience. Old-school vector style graphics, sensory response, and beat synchronization sets the title apart and is recreated in this port for Xbox LIVE Arcade in high-definition and 5.
Rez consists of five different levels, each with its own unique visual theme and style, musical track and a boss battle at the end. The game also features several different modes and lots of unlockable elements, giving it plenty of replay value.
Play through the five areas in regular or Score Attack mode. Uncover the riddle behind why the castle has returned and what became of the world's last hero, Richer Belmont. Upgrade your weapons, armor, and stats by defeating the castle's defenders. Encounter allies and enemies throughout the castle who help you uncover the real story of both Castlevania and Alucard's personal demons.
With non-linear gameplay and multiple endings, its up to you to guide Alucard through the castle as you see fit. Achievements, to challenge players to completely conquer Dracula's castle. Leaderboards, so you can vie for position with other players to become the undisputed worldwide master of Symphony of the Night. Enhanced background visuals that take advantage of the HD graphics capabilities of the Xbox All of the original PlayStation music, sprites, and gameplay content. Ported controls let you experience every battle and boss fight as originally envisioned.
Gamer themes and picture packs coming soon to let you customize your Xbox in the Castlevania style. Set years after the original, Fable II provides gamers with an epic story and innovative real-time gameplay, including a massive amount of freedom and choice to explore a vast collection of dungeons, catacombs and caves in the world of Albion. Fable II expands upon the scope and depth of the Xbox classic by adding incredible new features and creating a wider, more complex kingdom of limitless choices and consequences.
Players have the option to play as a man or woman, get married, have children, and live a life of their own design. Revisit the sprawling world of Albion more than years after the events of the original Fable, where you are free to explore the landscape and openly roam the countryside. For the right price every house, hut, dungeon and castle is for sale. Players can witness how the world grows and changes in response to their decisions in incredible and unique ways as they rediscover Albion as if for the first time.
Fable II pioneers a new combat system designed to allow players to truly master hand weapons such as swords and maces, ranged combat weapons such as cross-bows and guns, and an entirely new magic system. These three disciplines, while very accessible, are also amazingly deep, and allow players to mix combat styles and become everything from master swordsman to skilled ranger to evil magic welder, utilizing a single button on the Xbox controller.
The critically acclaimed single-player experience of Assassin's Creed is back and better than ever as Ezio returns in an epic struggle against the powerful Templar Order. Now a legendary Master Assassin, he must journey into Italy's greatest city, Rome, center of power, greed and corruption to strike at the heart of the enemy.
Defeating the corrupt tyrants entrenched there will require not only strength, but leadership, as Ezio commands an entire Brotherhood that will rally to his side. Only by working together can the Assassins defeat their mortal enemies. This co-operative action horror FPS takes you and your friends through the cities, swamps and cemeteries of the Deep South, from Savannah to New Orleans across five expansive campaigns.
Play as one of four new survivors armed with a wide and devastating array of classic and upgraded weapons. In addition to firearms, you'll also get a chance to take out some aggression on infected with a variety of carnage-creating melee weapons, from chainsaws to axes and even the deadly frying pan. You'll be putting these weapons to the test against or playing as in Versus three horrific and formidable new Special Infected.
L4D2 promises a satisfying and uniquely challenging experience every time the game is played, custom-fitted to your style of play. Fight together A new and highly virulent strain of the rabies virus emerges and spreads through the human population with frightening speed. The pandemic's victims become grotesquely disfigured, wildly violent psychopaths, attacking the uninfected on sight.
One of the "lucky" few apparently immune to the sickness, you, unfortunately, are also trapped in a city crawling with thousands of the bloodthirsty Infacted. Together with a handful of fellow Survivors, you must fight your way to safety or die alone. A co-operative multiplayer action game from the makers of "Counter-Strike," Left 4 Dead is built atop the most advanced version of the Source Engine and introduces version 2 of Turtle Rock's artificial intelligence A.
Project Dark Working Title is a brand new dark fantasy RPG designed to completely embrace the concepts of tension in dungeon exploration, fear in encountering enemies, the joy of new discoveries, and a high sense of achievement in progressing.
The game is set in a dark fantasy world filled with decadent atmosphere, with a heavy emphasis on player freedom in discovering various tactics and strategies to use in weapon based combat. As Luis Lopez, part-time hoodlum and full-time assistant to legendary nightclub impresario Tony Prince aka "Gay Tony" , players will struggle with the competing loyalties of family and friends, and with the uncertainty about who is real and who is fake in a world in which everyone has a price.
This quirky platformer stars a little white creature with a bright red fez. Gomez is a 2D being living in a 2D world. Or is he? When the existence of a mysterious 3rd dimension is unveiled, Gomez embarks on a journey that will usher him to the very end of time and space.
Utilize your ability to navigate 3D structures from 4 distinct 2D perspectives. Explore an open-ended world full of secrets, puzzles and hidden treasures. Re-open the mysteries of the past and discover the truth about reality and perception. Alter your perspective and see the world in a different way. Burnout Revenge lets gamers rip through rush hour traffic and lay waste to scores of rubbernecking roadhogs in an over-the-top scene of vehicular mayhem.
In addition to tricked out new race, crash and road rage modes, Burnout Revenge takes the series' blistering speed and spectacular destruction to dizzying new heights with an all-new Revenge mode, challenging gamers to battle the clock and unleash their frustrations on rush hour traffic.
In the bold and often-bloody Dead Space gamers step into a third-person sci-fi survival horror experience that delivers psychological thrills and gruesome action. Set in the cold blackness of deep space, the atmosphere is soaked with a feeling of tension, dread and sheer terror. In Dead Space, players step into the role of engineer Isaac Clarke — an ordinary man on a seemingly routine mission to fix the communications systems aboard a deep space mining ship. It is not long before Isaac awakes to a living nightmare when he learns that the ship's crew has been ravaged by a vicious alien infestation.
He must fight through the dead silence and darkness of deep space to stay alive. The Dark Souls DLC, Artorias of the Abyss grants you access to new maps and environments, boss characters, enemies and non-playable characters, weapons and armour, and additional challenging content for stalwart heroes to face and an online match-making feature for co-op or player vs.
In Deus Ex: Human Revolution you play Adam Jensen, a security specialist, handpicked to oversee the defense of one of America's most experimental biotechnology firms. But when a black ops team breaks in and kills the scientists you were hired to protect, everything you thought you knew about your job changes.
At a time when scientific advancements are routinely turning athletes, soldiers and spies into super-enhanced beings, someone is working very hard to ensure mankind's evolution follows a particular path. You need to discover why - because the decisions you take and the choices you make will be the only things that can determine mankind's future.
The culmination of your choices leads to the dramatic conclusion of this first season of The Walking Dead. Adding to the experience is the introduction of three-part vocal harmonies to game play, allowing gamers to revel in the unparalleled vocal stylings of the Fab Four.
Beatles fans will also be thrilled to hear previously unreleased authentic voice recordings from John, Paul, George and Ringo chatting between takes during studio sessions recorded at Abbey Road more than four decades ago. The game follows The Beatles to where story mode culminates with their final performance on the rooftop of the Apple Corps Headquarters.
Featured in the set are the Rickenbacker and Gretsch Duo Jet guitars - hailed as two of the celebrated, signature instruments played by John Lennon and George Harrison throughout their careers. Rounding out the set is a Ringo Starr inspired, Ludwig-branded Rock Band 2 drum set with a classic pearl finish and vintage remake of a Beatles kick drum head.
Do you have what it takes to become a Peggle master? Conquer dozens of levels with 10 different characters, each with a unique special power. Take your best shot. Game modes: Enjoy multiple game modes like Adventure and Quick Play. Multiple challenges: Play through more than 55 levels and 75 challenges, using 10 Peggle Masters with unique abilities. Multiplayer: Join with friends for way multiplayer over Xbox LIVE plus local multiplayer, co-op, and party game modes.
Virtua Fighter 5 features an all-star cast of 17 fighters, including characters from the previous iterations along with two new characters named El Blaze and Eileen.
El Blaze is a Mexican fighting champion who defeats opponents with his quick Lucha Libre fighting style. Eileen, originally from China, uses a Monkey Kung-Fu fighting style that she learned from her grandfather, a former Kung-Fu master. Virtua Fighter 5 delivers fast-paced, adrenaline-pumping action as players head into battle, taking on a host of popular characters.
Players not only achieve victory by defeating highly-skilled opponents, but also by competing for prizes which earn them in-game money allowing them to buy many items at in-game shop. These items allow players to customize their ultimate warrior and become the top Virtua Fighter. In addition, the game introduces "Offensive Move", a new maneuver that allows players to easily approach opponents from the side, adding a more strategic element to the battle.
It's the 1 selling and rated NBA series that everyone is playing - from the most elite NBA athletes and superstars to the local court gym rats. Burnout Paradise proves that crashing is awesome! Now the development team can realize their original vision for the Burnout franchise: an open world environment where you can do anything, anywhere, anytime.
Feel the adrenaline course through your veins as you take to the road for the first time in Paradise City, where the action is all around you. Explore the city, discover events, and look for the best opportunities to crash, jump and pull signature takedowns.
In Burnout Paradise you're given the keys to the city, but it's up to you to earn the keys to the meanest and most dangerous cars on the street, and earn your Burnout license. Powered by the industry-leading Unreal Engine 3, Shadow Complex is the height of old-school side-scrolling design combined with modern, cutting-edge gameplay.
In Shadow Complex, gameplay is centered on exploration and fast-paced combat as you gather game-altering power-ups and an arsenal of futuristic weapons to overcome obstacles, thwart legions of enemies, and delve into a mysterious open game world.
The original single-player adventure is set in a compelling universe based upon the best-selling novel, Empire, by Orson Scott Card. This completely original game features full 3-D side-scrolling action. The incredible next-gen graphics and robust physics combine with an open, evolving world design mixed with an awesome, compelling action-thriller story. Seek out 17 unique game altering power-ups, with more than additional items and modifiers to discover and use.
Fight against a large variety of enemies and experience massive, jaw-dropping boss battles. Pick up and play: The super-tight controls are simple and intuitive but also allow advanced players additional depth and precision. Noted scriptwriter: Shadow Complex features a script written by Peter David, one of the most popular comic book writers of all time. It's the first game to be set in Chair's Empire universe and based upon the best-selling novel by Orson Scott Card.
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 is a direct sequel to the previous game in the series, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, with a campaign storyline continuing the struggle of U. Together with classic Call of Duty multi-character control, Modern Warfare 3 contains deep multiplayer support, including two-player Co-op Survival mode. The game also contains all-new Kill Streak categories and customizable strike packages that offer more options for player combat styles and strategies. User Score: 3.
Dishonored is a tactile first-person action game that thrusts you into the role of a supernatural assassin driven by a thirst for revenge. Hunt down your enemies under the cover of darkness or viciously attack them head on with weapons drawn. The results of each mission are a result of the choices you make.
Win or lose, you must choose. The NHL franchise that has won 19 sports game of the year awards over the past two years begins a new era with gameplay innovations that promise to deliver a new standard of toughness, the emotion of playoff hockey on the ice and in the arena, and over gameplay refinements that replicate the skill and finesse that every fan sees throughout the NHL playoffs. A new first-person fighting engine enables players to trade punches with an NHL tough guy.
Feel what its like to be on the ice in the skates of an NHL player to throw and dodge punches. Grab and tug an opponent's jersey to land a punch that ignites the fans and sparks your team to victory.
Challenge a skill player and an opposing team tough guy will step in to settle the score. On ice toughness and intimidation is taken to a new level in NHL 10 where winning one-on-one battles for possession of the puck along the boards becomes a test of will and skill. Utilizing an all-new board physics engine, players can use their body to shield the puck on the boards and then kick-pass it to teammates.
Bigger, stronger players pin opponents to the boards while fanatical fans bang on the glass, just like real life. Fore-check defenders, pressure the puck and finish checks to intimidate your opponent into mistakes.
Players fatigue, bobble passes, and avoid collisions under threat of constant physical pressure. Inspire teammates, ignite the fans and change the momentum of a game by instigating scrums, drawing penalties, and mixing it up - all after the referee blows the whistle!
Set approximately 10 years after the events of the original BioShock, the halls of Rapture once again echo with sins of the past. Along the Atlantic coastline, a monster has been snatching little girls and bringing them back to the undersea city of Rapture.
You are the very first Big Daddy as you travel through the decrepit and beautiful fallen city, chasing an unseen foe in search of answers and your own survival. Multiplayer in BioShock 2 provides a rich prequel experience that expands the BioShock gameplay. Set during the fall of Rapture, players assume the role of Plasmid test subject in the underwater city that was first explored in the original BioShock.
Players will need to use all the elements of the game's toolset to survive as the full depth of the BioShock experience is refined and transformed into a unique multiplayer experience that can only be found in Rapture. NHL 09 builds on the momentum of last year, with innovative controls, added depth and new features designed to help newcomers jump into the series.
The Skill Stick System evolves to bring an unparalleled level of control to the defensive side of the puck. The all new Defensive Skill Stick gives you the ability to sweep your stick to block passing lanes and lift an opponent's stick to prevent one-timers. Take your game online with 6 vs. Players new to the series can now shoot, pass and check with ease.
NHL 09 features Be A Pro, a game mode that puts you on the ice with a dynamic new 3rd person camera that allows you to play the role of one player. With a performance tracker grading your progress in more than 50 categories, you know exactly where you need to improve to become the next NHL superstar. The stakes are high when the world's most elite counter-terrorism unit enters Las Vegas, where over What happens when one of the world's most famous cities is held hostage by terrorists?
Play at home versus a friend or test your skills online. A new Remixed mode incorporates new techniques for your favorite characters, and the original Super Street Fighter II Turbo mode is built-in for those who want to revisit the game's old school gameplay. Relive the hilarious swashbuckling misadventures of the wannabe pirate Guybrush Threepwood as he attempts to become the most infamous pirate in the Caribbean!
Back by popular demand, The Secret of Monkey Island: Special Edition faithfully re-imagines the internationally-acclaimed classic pirate adventure game from LucasArts in gorgeous HD detail.
Featuring an all new re-imagined contemporary art style, hand-drawn and presented in p, complete voice over by members of the original Monkey Island - franchise cast, a re-mastered musical score using live instruments, plus scene-for scene-hot swap to seamlessly transition between Special Edition and Classic modes at anytime. Embark on a bumbling misadventure in an attempt to become the most infamous pirate in the Caribbean, win the heart of the beautiful governor, Elaine Marley, and confront the evil ghost pirate, LeChuck!
The game is all-new and re-imagined with a contemporary art style, hand-drawn and presented in p. Complete voice over using original Monkey Island franchise cast members brings the story and characters to life like never before. Enjoy the re-mastered and re-recorded musical score using live instruments.
Scene-for-scene hot swap lets you seamlessly transition between Special Edition and Classic modes at anytime during gameplay. The all-new intuitive game interface and controls provide a more interactive gameplay experience. Hint system: Not sure what to do next? The in-game puzzle hint system keeps the puzzles fresh and fun. The original Kudos challenge: Powersliding, pulling off a , getting airtime, staying on the race line, drafting, and getting up on two wheels will earn gamers Kudos points for their style and skill.
Take the wheel of more than 80 authentically modeled and licensed supercars from manufacturers such as Ferrari, Dodge, and Lamborghini with fully modeled interiors, functioning dashboards and individually recorded engine roars. Drive in New York, Tokyo, and many other cities, all brought to life with motion-captured crowds of people.
Show off in front of a global audience. With GothamTV, gamers can watch any player in the world on live news feeds, get live ticker-tape information when friends break records, and compete with anyone, anywhere, anytime. These categories might be able to help shape your decision. Oftentimes, presentation is the first aspect that gamers notice, making it an extremely important component. It is essential to nail that first impression.
This includes several aspects such as graphic style, menu layout, and aesthetic. Presentation has a lot to do with how a game makes you feel. For example Fallout 3 is a game that flourishes due to its presentation's quality. Its vast open world may not have all the detail of a more modern title, but it nevertheless presents an apocalyptic version of Washington D.
Graphical style is an important piece of the world-building puzzle. The game is given a personality through the presentation of its visual style.
Repetitive gameplay can turn a hour campaign into a snooze fest. Many developers choose to implement variety to freshen things up, and Call of Duty: Black Ops II is the perfect example. Three core game modes help deliver an experience that will keep most gamers satisfied for a full year. Not only must they make conceptual sense but the modes should be fully fleshed-out experiences.
As video game standards increase, more and more gamers expect a cinematic experience from their beloved series. The right score can imbue scenes with a sense of larger-than-life grandeur. Take the Halo franchise, for instance. This iconic franchise is renowned for wonderfully composed music that appears throughout the campaign. That is definitely the case with Halo Reach. The cutscenes play like an actual Hollywood movie in large part due to the high-quality soundtrack.
Need for Speed: Most Wanted is one of the games on this list that features intricate sounds effects. All in all, there are many facets that go into a classic Xbox game, and the ones here are easily the best of the best.
Unfortunately, the console was subject to various technical issues. For example, an AV cable error would light up all four quadrants of the circle in red lights. However the most infamous without a doubt was the occurrence of three out of four flashing red lights.
This indicated a general hardware failure. Unfortunately for gamers, this meant that the console would need to be replaced. Just like that, it became unusable. This would occur seemingly at random. Thankfully, a warranty would protect users from losing out on an entire console. The user would need to send the console to Microsoft who would either provide a replacement or fix the issue. The list of best-selling Xbox games will surely surprise many gamers.
For starters, there are very few Xbox exclusives on the list. The notable exclusives can be found at number one with Kinect Adventures selling 24 million copies. Next, the Halo franchise takes up the 9, 12, and 13 spots with Halo 3, Reach, and 4 respectively.
This is surprisingly low for a franchise that is synonymous with the best Xbox games around. The final notable exclusive would be the Gears of War franchise which occupies the 14 and 15 spots with 5 million units sold.
The majority of the top ten is made up of non-exclusive franchises such as Call of Duty and Grand Theft Auto. Interestingly enough, the Xbox finds itself in the top ten gaming console sales of all time. It sits comfortably in ninth place with over 84 million units sold. In comparison, the predecessor to the Xbox sold only 24 million units. In addition, the Xbox One failed to reach the heights of the Xbox As a successor to the Xbox , it sold around 51 million units.
The seventh generation of consoles is the one time that Microsoft succeeded in challenging Sony for the top spot. The Xbox kept up with the PS3 that sold a reported In addition to the original version available at launch, the Xbox earned two redesigns. The Xbox S. The S is meant to signify slim.
As you may have guessed the model sports a thin redesign. This slim model was not only physically lighter but it also reduced the chances of internal overheating which plagued the past version of the console. Next, we have the Xbox E. The E model was the last model to release and therefore the most technologically advanced.
It featured Kinect compatibility. Not only was this model faster but it also featured a brand new black color model. Regardless of which model players own, they can always enjoy the best Xbox games. The first was a result of the fierce console war going on between Sony and Microsoft.
The Xbox is the successor to the original Xbox. Thus many have suggested it could have been called Xbox 2. However, the would be competing with the PlayStation 3 upon release.
Naming the console Xbox 2 would suggest that Microsoft is one step behind their rivals at Sony. We hope you like the items we recommend! CBR has affiliate partnerships, so we receive a share of the revenue from your purchase. I can't seem to get enough of reading and writing.
Let's add coffee to the list. Premium pick. Batman: Arkham City. Editors choice. Red Dead Redemption. Best value. The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim. Summary List 9. Editors choice: Red Dead Redemption 9. Premium pick: Halo: Reach 9. Sonic Generations 8. Need for Speed: Most Wanted 7. Skate 3 8. Left 4 Dead 2 8. Fable III 8.
Batman: Arkham City 9. Fallout 3 View All. See on amazon. Read More. Key Features Third-person view Open world setting Cinematic narrative. Cons Poor multiplayer mode. Buy This Product. Key Features Futuristic shooter Original score Extensive multiplayer. Pros Captivating narrative Addictive multiplayer Allows for several styles of play Cinematic music and cutscenes. Cons Fails to draw in new fans. Pros Most expansive game you'll ever play Gorgeous open world Unique scenarios mean different experience for everyone Fantasy elements Leveling system is phenomenal.
Cons Playing this game is a serious commitment. Key Features Returning characters Multiplayer progression Non-linear campaign. Pros Innovates the franchise Gameplay versatility Great playing with friends Weapon class customization. Cons Campaign conclusion. Sonic Generations. Pros Plot concept Iconic music Speedy gameplay 2D levels are a blast. Cons Controls lag on 3D levels No new gameplay aspects. Need for Speed: Most Wanted. Pros Excellent story Difficulty level Gritty setting enhanced by gorgeous graphics Soundtrack.
Cons Connectivity issues hindered online races Short single-player mode. Skate 3. Key Features Difficult gameplay mechanics Open world setting Third person camera. Pros Setting variety Vibrant colors and aesthetic Repetitive gameplay never feels boring. Cons Multiplayer purchased separately. Left 4 Dead 2. Key Features Cooperative play Gore Zombie apocalypse. Pros Genuinely scary Excellent replay value due to cooperative campaign Weapon strategy. Cons Lackluster secondary game modes Not as fun playing alone.
Key Features 73 song catalog 4 difficult levels Online battles. Pros Excellent replay value Addictive gameplay Perfectly spaced out difficulty levels Classic songs. Cons Difficult for beginners Requires guitar controller.
Fable III. Key Features Morality system Three attack options Fantasy setting. Pros Voice acting cast Extensive narrative tale Decisions impact the story Emphasis on relationship building,.
In place of a story warning of the dangers of Randian Objectivism was a tale of nationalism gone wrong, with a floating city on the brink of destruction at the hands of a crazed prophet.
Read our full BioShock Infinite review. Prepare to make sacrifices and uncover the past in the final chapter for Marcus Fenix and his crew. The harrowing campaign is both brutal and emotional, spanning a variety of beautiful environments and providing tons of epic set-piece moments.
The game also features a robust multiplayer suite, with fantastically designed maps to support the unique, cover-based gameplay. Its longevity lies in its vast number of achievements and the expanded difficulty settings — not to mention the waves of enemies to slaughter in the updated Horde mode. Read our full Gears of War 3 review. With no killstreaks or customized gear to worry about, all that stood between you and your opponent was your skill on the controller.
In addition to guns, baseball bats, and explosives, Frank can go after zombies with a chainsaw, cutting them into a fine bloody mist, and he has a good time doing it. That changed with Rayman Origins , an inventive 2D platformer that built on the simplicity of the earlier games, but with a gorgeous cartoony visual style and some of the best level design the genre has ever seen. A sequel, Rayman Legends , is also available for Xbox One, adding special musical stages on top of the established Origins formula.
Read our full Rayman Origins review. The Saints Row series leaned into its sillier elements with its second game, but it was Saints Row: The Third that sent the series off the deep end in a truly glorious way. With the Third Street Saints now living their lives as celebrities, their endorsements have caught the eye of a nefarious organization known as the Syndicate, setting the stage for a war that will determine the fate of Steelport. Saints Row: The Third is goofier than its predecessors, with ridiculous open-world mayhem to rival the Grand Theft Auto series and cooperative play to make things even more hectic.
There is no other game on the market that allows you to pummel your enemies into submission using an adult toy — perhaps that is for the best.
Read our full Saints Row: The Third review. Developer Klei has long been known for its gorgeous Saturday-morning-cartoon art style and eclectic mix of genres, and it was at the absolute top of its game with the 2D stealth platformer Mark of the Ninja.
Blending the platforming of classics like Ninja Gaiden with the hardcore stealth of Splinter Cell , the game requires extreme precision if you want to complete it, with only a tiny window of time available before enemies spot you and blow you to smithereens.
A surreal puzzle game with a twist, the object of Braid may be to save a damsel in distress while navigating six story-book worlds, but the clever puzzle design and mature story render it more enjoyable than your average Mario knockoff. The music and watercolor-like world you inhabit are bewitching, and the increasingly sophisticated use of time manipulation is brilliant, to say the least. Skate ditched many of the arcade elements found in its competitors, instead focusing on a realistic and relentlessly challenging version of the sport, complete with great skating personalities like Rob Dyrdek.
As with any skateboarding game worth its salt, Skate included a killer soundtrack of hardcore punk and hip-hop tracks, with artists like Bad Brains, Agent Orange, Black Flag, Dead Prez, and Rick Ross blaring in your ears as you attempted a sick kickflip that ultimately ended in a faceplant on the pavement. Read our full Battlefield 3 review. Then there was Geometry Wars: Retro Evolved. It helped usher in a new wave of small-scale games on the Xbox Live Arcade platform when there was still a distinction between these titles and larger AAA games, and its popularity eventually led to two excellent sequels.
Noire has developer Rockstar on the box, but the third-person shooting and thievery made famous in the Grand Theft Auto series play a very small part in this period piece. Largely an investigation and dialogue-driven adventure game, L. Where L. Noire shines is in its complicated rock-paper-scissors interviewing system, which makes use of performance-capture faces that allow the player to pick up on visual cues to determine if a suspect is lying or telling the truth.
Correctly determining when someone is trying to mislead you and pointing to the evidence in your notebook is incredibly fulfilling, and calling them out on a lie only to walk back your accusation and apologize two seconds later allows for some brilliant, unintended comedy. Read our full L. Noire review here. The Splinter Cell series has undergone its share of makeovers since it began in , gradually changing from no-frills espionage into the character-driven revenge tale we saw in Splinter Cell Conviction.
Blacklist also saw the return of cooperative missions, as well as the unique Spies versus Mercs competitive multiplayer mode, which is as addictive and chaotic as ever. No piece of the game feels like an afterthought — instead, they work harmoniously to create one of the most complete games we ever played, and one that is desperately in need of a sequel.
Read our full Splinter Cell Blacklist review. Enter the Animus to fly across rooftops and take down villainous Templars as Ezio Auditore, another ancestor of Desmond one of the main characters from the first game. Though later entries would certainly improve on some of its systems, ACII remains the tightest entry in the series with the best balance between crazy sci-fi and secret history.
After all, Ubisoft did decide to build an entire trilogy around Ezio. Visceral Games was there to fill that void, however, with Dead Space. The science-fiction horror game had all the tension of Resident Evil, and its Necromorphs were far removed from the zombies we had seen populating so many other games in the genre. What made Dead Space stand out from the pack, however, was its violence.
Gruesome and unrelenting, failure to complete a section of the game — sometimes just by making a small mistake — would result in an animation showing protagonist Isaac killed in a gloriously over-the-top fashion.
Telltale Games earned a reputation over the last generation for its excellent story-based adventure games, covering franchises like Borderlands and Batman with great success, but it was The Walking Dead that helped elevate the studio to superstardom. The grim, emotional tale of Lee Everett and the young girl Clementine helped to separate the game from the other action-packed zombie games on the market, and Telltale had the guts to kill one of its leads in the finale, even as the second season continued the storyline.
Read our full The Walking Dead review.
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