(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); As some of you may be aware, I wrote an article called 'You must login or register to view this content.' a couple of weeks ago. Well I also did a top 10 for the Xbox 360 and it's only fair to give that console it's limelight now. I hope you enjoy this list, if you agree, disagree, have your own top reasons... go ahead and post, this is a discussion forum after all.

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Anyone who knows me and my preferred genres of gaming would be forgiven to think that the Xbox 360 is my least favourite console. After all, it's not portable, it has a grand total of zero platformers on it, it has very little in the way of retro gaming available for it, and it's online community is as welcoming as a cage full of howler monkeys when you've got a splitting headache. Naturally however, as I'm the unparalleled genius that went for the Sega Saturn rather than the PSOne, I will obviously have chosen the perfect console for me. Therefore, the first current gen console I got my fingers on was the Xbox 360, and what a beauty it is. Entirely pointless for a retro platformer fan, almost no JRPGs, second-rate hack-n-slash action, and an online service I'll never use... but a great console I'm sure *sigh*

Now, in all honesty, I didn't pick the Xbox 360, I was given it, but at the time I considered it the best console of the time and it would have been the one I'd have bought if I ever had money. Me being the poor little rag-tag guy I am who cannot afford a pot to piss in half the time, naturally I make do with what I have and the Xbox 360 was something I was extremely happy to have. After all, back in the day, the Wii was for casual gaming morons who can't figure out an RPG or FPS to save their lives and the PS3 had all of 4 games, and they where either Gran Turismo or a damn football game (that's soccer to you Americans out there, who unlike the rest of the world never seem to grasp that the name football fit's our sport, the one in which you kick a ball with your foot, better than your sport, where you carry a leather lemon in your arms while wearing padded armour, but I'll be nice). So I took pleasure in what I had, but it soon became sour for me seeing Mario on the Wii and Ratchet & Clank on the PS3... still there are many reasons to own an Xbox 360, and despite it's major lack in platformers, jrpgs and hack-n-slash, it's a console I'd never turn away from. Here's my top 10 reasons for owning an Xbox 360.




10. Perfect Dark Zero.

There are people out there who remember Rare's fantastic shooter for the N64, Perfect Dark. Well, it's sequel is here on the 360 and while it may not be the best FPS in the world it has a really good style to it and it's a fun game that you can approach in a way you simply don't get from games like the Call of Duty or Medal of Honor series. It's different, and that's why it's up here. You can play CoD or MoH on any console, or even your PC. Naturally, Perfect Dark Zero is an Xbox 360 exclusive as well as any other games I mention in this article.



9. Fable 2

Yep. It's a bit camp and a bit daft at times, but the game is really fun. The storyline is a bit predictable, the game itself is rather easy, and the whole experience is quite short, but I guarantee while it lasts you'll have fun and that's something that I think people forget about games nowadays. They're supposed to be fun, and with Stephen Fry doing one of the voices you get a real sense of fun about this game, after all, what can be wrong with that voice in it?



8. GTA IV

Wait... GTA IV isn't an Xbox 360 exclusive, and you're dead right, it's not. But the GTA series plays HORRIBLY on the PC. I knew only one friend who played it on the PC and while he swore by it everyone else I knew, myself included hated the controls. So yeah, GTA IV just should be played on a console. But why the Xbox 360. Well that's simple. There are two things the Xbox 360 will give you on this game no other console will. First is a decent online community for playing the multiplayer, for a given value of decent I suppose, but that's not a big issue, the second however is the downloadable content, which is exclusive to the Xbox 360. A very well made 6-8 hours of additional gameplay, and very satisfying too. I would even go as far as to claim it's some of the best paced stuff done in the GTA world. Certainly a reason to pick the 360 over the PS3 if you're a GTA fan.



7. Ninja Gaiden

Sure you can get Ninja Gaiden Sigma for the PS3 if you want, but both the original for Xbox and the sequel for the Xbox 360 are amazing games and the Sigma versions are in my opinion butchered ports. Lowering the difficulty and removing the gore from Ninja Gaiden is like taking the rings and the speed out of Sonic, it would be a travesty, and this is why the only way to play either Ninja Gaiden or Ninja Gaiden 2 is with the Xbox 360 (or original Xbox for the first game). Especially as the PS3 versions have slowdown issues in my experience. That said these games are not for the faint hearted, they're HARD! Like old school snapping-your-NES-controller hard.


6. The Xbox Live Arcade

Not all the reasons are games here... just most of them. Well, what do you expect, it is a games console. But anyway, the Xbox Live Arcade is a fantastic addition to the console and while some of the titles on there are enjoyable it's games like Limbo, N+ and the thoroughly addictive Geometry Wars that make it shine. Sure you can get some of those games on other platforms such as the PC or Nintendo DS, but they never feel quite as good, especially Geometry Wars which just works with duel analogue sticks. The Xbox Live Arcade therefore is an incredible add on to a console and a very good reason to own it.



5. Sonic Adventure/Crazy Taxi

Yes, that's right, for the Dreamcast. So far Sonic Adventure and Crazy Taxi are already available on the Xbox 360 as downloadable games (which by the way, means no loading times), and it's only a matter of time before more of the Dreamcasts fantastic library make it to the Xbox 360. Now sure, it's true the PS3 has the same offer, however playing Dreamcast games with the 360 controller feels so natural, but on the PS3 it feels rather stiff, perhaps this is just me though. This makes me want to hug the 360. The Dreamcast is my lost love, the only console I feel I truly miss... it died so young and had so much potential, but now, maybe games from it's past like Shenmue, Jet Grind Radio, and its long list of wonderful 2D fighting games and shmups can be reborn and enjoyed again on my new console. Long live SEGA. Remember, Xbox already has Shenmue 2 so it could happen.



4. Halo Reach

This is something I hate to admit, because I consider the Halo games by and large mediocre at best but Halo Reach is actually really good. In all honesty, this one doesn't need explaining, Halo is the game that single-handedly made the Xbox competitive with the PS2 and the Halo franchise is already more popular than God, so you already know if you like it. Halo Reach however is rare in that, if like me you're not a fan of the series or if you've never tried the series before, you can play this game without needing all the back story and enjoy it for what it is which is a competent and very well made shooter. Sure it's not the greatest game ever made, but I can say that much to my surprise, I would probably rate it in the top 10 FPS games of all tine... but that list is for another time I think (self-plug of future articles, check). The thing that clinched this for me though is the space combat section, which is fantastic, really. It broke up the standard gameplay at just the right time and make the entire series feel fresh and different again. It's just a pity that Halo Reach is so damn short really, if it was twice the length it actually is, it'd be almost worth getting a 360 for on it's own.



3. Lost Odyssey

Well, what can I say really. It's a Final Fantasy game in all but name, however where Final Fantasy 11 was a rather poor MMO (who the hell thought that was a good idea), and Final Fantasy 12 was crippled by an inverted camera that you can't change, despite it having real time combat, and Final Fantasy 13 was so linear it makes a line look circular.... what was I saying. Oh yeah, recent Final Fantasy games suck donkey shit, Lost Odyssey however is what happens when you get the people who wrote some of the earlier Final Fantasy games together and let them get on with it. I consider it my Final Fantasy 11, and it deserves praise. Sure the combat is still turn based and it's not overly innovative, but it's quite nicely balanced and honestly, I like turn based combat in my JRPGs. Why change what it's broken? The games major selling point for me though is the characters and stories. If you're the type to skip cut-scenes and ignore written additional content do not do that in this game. If you can't stop yourself, your attention span is too poor for this game, but then, it's probably too poor for this article so it doesn't matter. In Lost Odyssey the text based short stories give the characters such life and on numerous occasions the stories actually brought me to tears they're that well written. This is a game you play when you want to immerse yourself, if you can't do that, don't play it, play something with more action. To play this game without reading the short stories and character backgrounds is an insult to such great writing.



2. Gears Of War

This is that "something with more action" you play when you can't be arsed reading along with Lost Odyssey's storyline. Both the original and it's sequel are amazing shooters and spawned the cover based combat so many games use nowadays. This is my preferred game when it comes to shooters, rather than the traditional FPS game. The games use of cover would have felt obstructive in a true first person view and as such I consider this a really well designed and heart-pounding experience and a step forward from the FPS. Honestly though, If you want action, you need an Xbox 360, Perfect Dark Zero, Ninja Gaiden 2, Halo Reach and now Gears Of War 1 & 2. It's an action fans console, and don't forget, I'm discounting great games like Half-Life 2, Dante's Inferno, Modern Warfare 2, Resident Evil 4, Prototype etc. because they're multi-platform and this is a “reasons to own an Xbox 360” not “reasons to own a console” list, but the multi-platform games add a lot more action as well... so for the definitive action/FPS console, you want an Xbox 360.


1. Mass Effect

Yes. Mass Effect alone is in my opinion a reason to own an Xbox 360. Sure, you could play it on a PC, and many people do I'm sure, but after trying both the game simply doesn't feel right on PC and it doesn't even have controller support on the PC version. Now with Mass Effect 2 this is even more of a must have. The big joke however is that while Mass Effect 2 is also coming to PS3, the original is still a 360 exclusive and considering your actions in the first game directly effect what you can do in the second, PS3 owners are shit out of luck. As you can imagine, to play the sequel without porting over your save from the first and knowing the original games storyline is like playing half a game.

The Mass Effect universe is so rich and vibrant, it's the only sci-fi setting I feel is honestly more engrossed in than the Star Wars universe, and that's saying something. In fact, in some geek circles, what I've just said its not only blasphemy but it carries the death sentence so... yeah. The Mass Effect series is quite possibly one of, if not the, greatest game series of all time... so when it comes down to it, although action games is the way of the Xbox 360, it's RPG line-up whilst incredibly small includes such amazing titles as Lost Odyssey, Mass Effect and the backwards compatible Star Wars: Knights Of The Old Republic 1 and 2 games which are exclusives for the original Xbox. That's without taking into account multi-platform games... RPG's may be a smaller genre for the Xbox 360, but it's a genre of solid gold, and any RPG fan should own this console for quite frankly three of the greatest RPG series ever made.



So there we have it. If you like action, particularly First Person Shooters and want to play the very cream of the crop when it comes to RPG's the Xbox 360 is the console for you.

So, I've done a list for the Wii and the Xbox 360... which console should I do a list for next. The Sega Saturn perhaps, maybe the Colecovision... Nah, I should keep it modern and relevent, the Vectrex next I think.

....and Red ring of death :dumb: , I'm a ps3 owner but the thing I really like about xbox is that you can change you username without loosing you're stuff

those arent really reasons. I thought you meant reasons Like (ex. Games can be downloaded straight into your harddrive)

Misleading title and it's just games.
I could come up with a better list.... To own or not to own....

This guys from Liverpool and has only a 360 therefore this thread is lame and invalid.

you mean top 10 xbox games? :confused:

It's a games consoles... what reasons where you expecting? It makes a good paperweight? Other than the games, what does an Xbox 360 do. Sure you can download games straight to your harddrive, but you can do that on a PS3 too. Sure, you can play DVD's on it, but you can do that on a PS3, PS2 and original Xbox. I was thinking about reasons to own an Xbox 360 and other than the Dreamcast downloadables and the Xbox Live Arcade the only thing an Xbox 360 does that no other console does is that it has certain exclusive games.

---------- Post added at 12:59 PM ---------- Previous post was at 12:57 PM ----------


Well if you can come up with a better list.... go on then.

I'm sorry but I don't see how this is misleading. It's my top 10 reasons to own a games consoles, and most of them are games... but then it's a games console. If you buy an Xbox 360 with the intention of using it to iron your clothes, re-heat your dinner or feed your can you're going to be very dissapointed. It plays games, that's sort of it's purpose.

---------- Post added at 01:01 PM ---------- Previous post was at 12:59 PM ----------



Well.... yes. It's a games console. That's what it does. In fact, there's very little you can do with an Xbox 360 that isn't "Play video games". I mean, sure, I could put "It's a decent heavy object that could be used as a bludgeoning weapon in zombie apocolypse" but it's neither likely to come up or specific to the Xbox 360 is it. What exactly where you expecting in this top 10?

I'm not sure if I should stay on ps3 or xbox? any tips for choosing let me know

I can give you some...you can mod it, jtag, flash, FIX THE RROD FOR GOOD so stop hating on xbox cause of rrod cause it can be fixed, you can buy a bigger hard drive, I can keep going

These are not reasons man...

a good thread but these are all opinions and benefits of having the consoles.

Some of these games people would consider shit, and you can run GTA on ps3 too...

Also I have an xbox and ps3 and personally prefer PC.

This will be closed soon as its pointless, Not coming from me.