My Top 10 Xbox 360 Games of All Time

 I've already done my Top 10 Original Xbox and Top 10 N64 games of all time, now I thought I'd do my Top 10 Xbox 360 games of all time.  Again, if a few games were part of a series, I'm counting them as one entry, so this one was a bit tougher due to having fewer options.

(Dis?) Honorable Mention: Lost: Via Domus 
It's received mostly negative reviews, but I had to mention it.  This game does give you the same mysterious island feel that the show does, at least to me.  I love exploring the hatch and other various places from the show.  But there are plenty of downsides to this game.  Some of the voice acting is terrible.  Generally, if the actor from the show wasn't used, it was glaringly obvious it was someone different.  Also, avoiding the smoke monster was annoying and difficult.  And there wasn't much payoff at the end. 

Honorable mention: Dead Rising
I was never able to beat this game due to its difficulty.  But I did enjoy the zombie aspect to it.  It just got so frustratingly difficult to keep track of people who were with me at the time and not have them die.  I don't remember how far I got on my furthest playthrough.  Maybe halfway?  I enjoyed watching others play this more than playing it myself.

10. L.A. Noire
I somehow have only played this game through once.  It's such a great game.  It is made by Rockstar, after all.  It's got a great story, and I love the 1940s elements they incorporated into it.  I definitely want to give this another playthough someday.

9. Crackdown (1+2)
The reason I got Crackdown was that I did a playtest of some games for Microsoft, and the way they paid you then was a free game of your choice from their library.  One of the games I chose was Crackdown, and I got into it.  I got the sequel, Crackdown 2, the same way.  I haven't played them much since my first playthroughs, which is why it's low on this list, but perhaps someday.  I loved the way your character upgraded and you could see them getting bigger and faster.  I also loved collecting orbs around the city.

8. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix and Half-Blood Prince
It's funny, these games had the best graphics, but they didn't have the charm of the first few HP games.  The explorable castle and its surroundings were absolutely awesome, but both games just lack what made the first few so special to us.  I have beaten each multiple times, while also completing most side-quests and collectibles.  Whenever I reread the series, I usually do a playthrough of the games, including these.  They'll always hold a special place with me.

7. Read Dead Redemption (+ Undead Nightmare)
God, Red Dead is such a great game.  Hard to beat a Western with a GTA engine.  The story is top-notch and one of my favorites of all time, and there is just so much to do in game, from hunting to playing poker to just exploring.  I also have played the Undead Nightmare, beating it, but that's about it.  I definitely want to come back to the original someday, and maybe once I do, I'll give RDR 2 another shot, since I still have yet to play that fully through.

6. Star Wars: The Force Unleashed (+ II)
Being a huge fan of Star Wars video games, of course, I own and played Star Wars: The Force Unleashed.  I love controlling the Force with Starkiller with such ease, tossing around Stormtroopers like rag dolls.  It's got a great story to go along with it, as well, although I don't think it's canon (anymore).  I personally prefer Star Wars: Jedi nowadays, but TFU will always hold fond memories for me.

5. Madden NFL series (07-10, 12, 25, 17)
This one is a bit odd since I skipped a few, but I did get into Madden after they were the only makers of NFL video games.  I had no choice (but I wish I did).  This generally is considered the tail end of Madden's peak.  I invested a lot of hours into these games, and for most (if not all) of these games I did a franchise that went at least a few years into the future (usually as the Seahawks).  I will always hold ESPN NFL 2K5 in higher regard than any of these, but some of the earlier ones had some great soundtracks.  I think Madden NFL 07 would be my top favorite, because not only did it have the best soundtrack, but it featured a Seahawk on the cover for the first time in Shaun Alexander.

4. College Hoops 2K6
Yep, a college basketball game this high.  I love this game.  First off, Verne Lundquist and Bill Raftery are superb as announcers.  They really give the game its college basketball feel.  I played through over a decade of Gonzaga basketball, until one day I, unfortunately, overrode the save with something else and I lost that team forever.  That was not a good day.  I have played it sparingly since then, and it's not hard to get back into.  

3. Gears of War (1-3)
To me, there's no grittier shooter game than Gears of War.  I love how brutal and gory this game is.  The story is very good as well; easy to get into.  I have to play through the three games I own every few years.  Some moments in this series are etched into my memory forever: The final boss in Gears 1, the first time seeing a berserker, doing Cole Train's backstory, using the Hammer of Dawn for the first time, and Dom's death in 3.  So many great moments.

2. Grand Theft Auto 4 and 5
What is not to like?  These are like GTA Vice City and San Andreas but with better graphics, story, and immersion.  I put a ton of hours into these games, mostly just goofing around, but also playing the story missions.  I definitely prefer 5, as you can pick one of three playable characters to play as.  I even got my girlfriend into it a bit, but she only ever goofs off when she plays.

1. Halo 3, ODST, Reach (And 4, kind of)
The first two Halo's were high on my OG Xbox list, so these had to be high as well.  If I had to rank these from favorite to least favorite, it would be 3, Reach, ODST, and 4.  Reach was surprisingly good and had a great story.  But the top dawg is 3.  I invested so many hours into it in its heyday, especially online playing and ranking up.  I played this with my friends as well, one of the few games we got into together.  It was a lot of fun, and I look back on those times fondly.  I wish I could go back to those times.