If you are like me, there is nothing more you hate than spending $60 on a game that turns out to be the complete opposite of what every review says. I am a gamer on a budget, and have never really been the type to buy a game right as it has come out because I am… and I dread to use this term…. CASUAL GAMER! Or just a cheap bastard, but I will stand by the first term! So if you are like me and spend more time playing Netflix on your Xbox than you do on games but want to change that, I thought I’d make a quick top ten list of the games I have had a chance to play, If you missed them when they were $60, they won’t break the bank now. A few quick rules: I tried to keep my list to be games that may not be as popular because the list would easily be dominated by games like the Assassin’s Creed or Call of Duty that I know were really popular when they came out as well as only one game per series on the list. DISCLAIMER: I took pricing from http://www.gamestop.com* as the price reference and I know that you can probably find other games on *insert any one of the many websites that sell things cheap* but I used them because it seems a common reference point.
*I am not sponsored by Gamestop nor am I employed by them, they just made a simple place to find information. I also do not own the rights to any of these games or images and all of that fancy law stuff that I usually see when someone writes anything nowadays so they won’t get sued.
Number 10: Ghostbusters
I don’t know many people who have played this game myself, but I thought it was a nice throwback to the Ghostbusters series. I loved the movies, both when I was a kid and even now. When I got my hands on this game, I had fairly low expectations, games based on or tied in with movies are not usually known to be very well done. This actually was not a very long game, but it was worth it to me for the laughs and the getting that feeling I had when I would pretend to be a Ghostbuster one more time… because I am starting to get this feeling that the Ghostbusters 3 will not ever happen.
Number 9: Viva Pinata
Ok, so I know that this game does not seem like a game that a 27 year old male should be playing, and I will admit that the first time I put this game in my Xbox to let my girlfriend at the time play, it surprised me. Maybe it’s just my obsessive compulsive nature to want to unlock everything that I can, or maybe it was the awestruck feeling I had when I of whacked one of the bad pinatas with a shovel… only to see my pinatas eat the candy that came from the other pinata like some kind of cannibal buffet. But they are bright and colorful so its not violent at all! Right?
Number 8: Dark Messiah of Might and Magic
This game was deceptively fun. At first glance, I thought that it was just some run of the mill hack and slash dungeon crawler. A generic looking game that once I started playing it, it completely changed my mind. It is a fun game that makes a link between the first person perspective and a game with more linear feel than the sandbox adventure games like Two Worlds or Skyrim, but has a unique feel that is enjoyable. The game also had a multiplayer mode with different classes that have different abilities. It made for a very interesting Deathmatch dynamic, but it suffers from the downside of a lot of these older games which is that they don’t have the player base to keep it running. Despite that, the single player is entertaining enough to keep me playing through, which can’t be said about some other games. *cough cough Halo Reach cough cough* (Fan boys are going to rage at me now!)
Number 7: Skate
Ok so this is where I know that my opinions differ from a lot of people. I could not find a copy of this game anywhere around me when it first came out. When I did finally get my grubby paws on this game, I had long grown out of my “skater phase” as a teenager and was really out of touch with any skateboarding games out at the time. The thing that caught my eye was the complete open world feel of the game and the unique controls. But frankly, if you are not a fan of skateboarding, pass on this. It was a fun perspective to take with the way you did the tricks. Rather than just button mashing like most of the previous skateboarding games would allow. You used the sticks to mimic your foot movement and the triggers were your grab buttons. This made for an awesome game that I spent many hours coming back to. There was also a snowboarding game with a similar control scheme that I have to give an honorable mention. If you played skate and want a snowier alternative, give Stoked a chance too.
Number 6: Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Vegas 2
First person shooters are HUGE, but what about tactical shooters? I don’t see many games get mentioned from that category when people talk to me about shooters. I hear a lot about the Halo, Call of Duty, and Gears of War. I tend to get bored of the big titles as it starts to feel like it is the same thing over and over. You memorize a map after playing it so many times, and you rely on muscle memory and reflexes much more than strategy. This is a game that feels like you are punished for run and gun tactics. When I picked up this game, I was looking for something I could play with a friend. We saw it was a shooter that we could both play co-op mode together and that is always more fun to me to have a friend in person to play with rather than a random person on the internet. The game shocked both of us with how fun it turned out to be. You can customize your character, swap to different weapons that you unlock from killing enemies in certain ways. Each way you kill someone gives you experience in one of the three types of specialties you can get into. For example if you kill more people with blind fire and shock and awe tactics, you unlock more weapons with that intent. Great game, but I also wanted to give an honorable mention to Army of Two, which fit this list, but I felt was not really fun playing single player as much as it was with a friend. Vegas 2 definitely can be played solo, but the difficulty goes up immensely. Nothing like a good challenge, right?
Number 5: Dead Rising
This was one that I had a little bit of a debate on if I should include it. I feel like everyone knows about this game, that it was one of the most memorable games in the early Xbox 360 library. But after thinking about how much fun I had with this game and that I’ve noticed more and more blank stares when I mention this title, I had to include it. If you have played this game, pick it up again and give it a shot. I have done it a few times myself and its still fun. This game was fun because it let you feel like you were in Dawn of the Dead. I actually really like the idea of finding random objects to pummel down zombies and the mall always felt like the best place to do that. If you share those interests, this one is worth the definitely cash.
Number 4: Lost Odyssey
I really got into this game. Plain and simple. I feel like it very rare to come across a good turned based RPG on the Xbox. That was the crown held by Sony ever since the first Playstation, and when I had heard that this game was on par with one of the lesser talked about Final Fantasy games, I decided to give it a shot. Again, very happy with the money I spent for the game. The story does take a little bit to pick up, but stick with it and I’m sure you will really like it. I don’t have a lot more to say because I don’t really want to give anything away, but the combat system is simple, yet satisfying, and it does have some fun mechanics. It’s no Final Fantasy 6 but it does the job!
Number 3: Dragon Age: Origins
Dragon Age has a solid story, active combat that still has a touch of turn based feel, and a good class system that requires you to complete certain parts of the story to access the next level of customization in your character, which is heaven for a guy like me. I am a sucker for the fantasy RPGs for the most part, but I have yet to introduce someone to this game who doesn’t love it. I have played through it with every character type and unlocked every class specialization in the game because it is that good. I have so much time put in this game that it had to make the list. The only downside is that I can’t play with friends. Is it just me or do more games need to add a small one other person co-op option? Either way, its definitely worth the grab and has a lot of DLC available should you want to explore more stories within the universe.
Number 2: Borderlands Game of the Year
With the popularity of Borderlands 2, I would have hoped that more people went back and played the first game and experienced the glory that started it all. That does not seem to be the case. I included the price of the game of the year edition because it includes all of the expansion content, but trust me, its worth it. I do have to say that it does lose a little replay value if you are playing solo, as it can get tiring to run through the same quests 4 different times, but I won’t bore you with that co-op praise any more. I can only describe the game as the offspring of Halo and Diablo. Taking the mechanics of an RPG by giving you talent trees, levels, and upgrading equipment all while using the feel of a shooter. There is a lot of comedy and hidden little Easter eggs that may be a little dated, but overall a great game and one of my favorites for the 360. I have to give an honorable mention to Dead Island because it kind of has the feel of Borderlands but in a far more “likely” scenario. Being about zombies and I know how much everyone loves the idea of killing zombies. It’s a good game but a lot of bugs made me choose Borderlands instead.
And now lastly….
Number 1: Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Game of the Year
I’m going to get the Skyrim mention out of the way right off the bat. If you have played Skyrim and enjoyed it, try Oblivion. There are a few game mechanics that have changed, but it was what prepared me for my mind to be blown by Skyrim. I have been playing Elder Scrolls games since the Daggerfall and I love the open world environment games. Bethesda just seems to know how to do it best, and if you have played anything in the series, Oblivion does not disappoint… at all. The idea of an open world where you decide what you want to do and the order you do it is amazing to me.This said, another honorable mention has to go to Fallout 3, which I did not want to add because I felt these two games were kind of in the same boat but just had different themes. I mentioned the game of the year edition but it’s not the one I purchased. I have to admit I have not played the expansions Nights of the Nine or the Shivering Isles as my Xbox has always had one of the smallest hard drives out there so I cant have a lot of the DLCs, but they are additions to an already amazing game so I would be fine backing them blindly.
There you have it, my top 10 Xbox 360 games for under $20. Agree or disagree, I’d like to hear from either side. If you have a suggestion that you did not see on here, let me know. I would love to find more gems among the pile of dung that we have to sift through when we see the bargain bin at the local game store.
Potato Dragon 