My Top 10 Original Xbox Games

 I want to do a series where I rank the Top 10 games on each console I own or have played, mainly the original Xbox, Xbox 360, Nintendo 64, and maybe a PC or Xbox One.  I have played video games since I was a little lad, and I have developed some favorites over the years.  

First up, is the original Xbox.  I have put so many hours into my Xbox.  I still have the same one my family got in 2001, although I did replace the disc drive a few years ago since it got to a point where it wouldn't open on its own anymore.  Anyway, I'm going to rank my Top 10 Original Xbox games.  These are my opinion, and are mostly based on how much I enjoyed playing each game and how many hours I put into each.  Also, if there are multiple games from the same franchise, I will consider that as a single entry.  Here are my Top 10!

Honorable Mention: The Lord of the Rings (The Two Towers and Return of the King)
I had to technically include an 11th with The Lord of the Rings here.  I've never been the biggest fan of button mashers, which made this a bit difficult for me as a kid.  But eventually, I did get the hang of it enough to put in plenty of hours.  I loved playing battles from the films, most notably Helm's Deep.  They even had a few battles not seen in the films.  And I enjoyed the special features from the films they added for completing certain levels.  I would definitely consider going back to this someday.

10. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
The Harry Potter franchise had a total of four games from the films (plus Quidditch World Cup) come out on the original Xbox, but the only one I really played on the Xbox was Chamber of Secrets.  It's still to this day one of my favorite Harry Potter video games.  I've beaten it several times.  The high amount of loading screens sucks, and dueling in the game is somewhat broken, but it's still enjoyable.  I especially love the open-world aspect and flying around Hogwarts and exchanging beans for items at Fred and George's shop.

9. Grand Theft Auto Series (III, Vice City, and San Andreas)
I have still not played GTA III much, but I put in plenty of hours into Vice City and San Andreas soon after I got them.  I remember when the games first came out on Playstation and hearing about how violent and bad for kids they were.  It just made me want to play it that much more.  When III and Vice City finally came to Xbox, I had to get my hands on them.  I have not played them much in the years since, because the newer GTA's have made these look old and obsolete, but perhaps someday. 

8. Star Wars: Obi-Wan
As a huge Star Wars fan, I've played my fair share of Star Wars video games, including Star Wars: Obi-Wan.  This was one of the first games my family got for the Xbox.  I remember struggling in the game at first, but once I got the hang of it, it was smooth sailing.  I've only beaten the game two times (or so), but I thoroughly enjoyed it each time.  I thought the combat elements and gameplay were better than what critics said.  

7. Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon (And Ghost Recon Island Thunder)
Ghost Recon became my favorite military-style FPS growing up.  I would play this over Call of Duty or anything else.  I loved having two teams and telling the other what to do.  I loved being the sniper and picking guys off from a distance.  The "expansion" Island Thunder was just as good, albeit a bit shorter.  I distinctly remember saving myself into a corner a few times.  That's when you save your game a split second before you die.  There was nothing I could do about it.  And that resulted in me having to restart the level.  Anyway, I definitely want to give Ghost Recon another playthrough someday.  Also, I never played the sequel Ghost Recon 2.  I saw my dad play it and realized it was too different from the original.

6. MLB 2K5
This might be my favorite baseball video game of all time.  I love the ESPN presentation and having Jon Miller and Joe Morgan as announcers.  The gameplay is solid and just about difficult enough.  I especially love constructing teams (trading players, signing and releasing players).  Sometimes I would construct a team and sim them for years to see if I could ever win a championship.  

5. Star Wars: Battlefront (and Battlefront II)
The original Battlefront games are maybe one of my favorite third-person shooters ever.  I love playing in basically every battle from the films and as either side AND as any unit on that side.  It still holds up well to this day.  I did play the remake, but it doesn't compare well to the simplicity of the original.  I loved playing as a Jedi or Sith in the second one, especially the "All Jedi/Sith" mode set on Mos Eisley.  

4. NBA Inside Drive 2003
This is, without a doubt, my favorite basketball video game of all time.  I have played through dozens of entire seasons where I created a team of players from scratch.  The player progression system in this game is one of my favorites of all time, where players earn points for doing well in games, and you can spend those points on certain attributes to make them better.  The created players all kind of look robotic, but there are plenty of customization options.  Plus, the gameplay is superb and I can't knock it.  

3. Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic (and KOTOR II: The Sith Lords)
I have beaten the first game close to a dozen times, each of which takes me 20-24 hours to do.  So, do the math.  I've beaten the sequel close to half as many times.  It's just one of those games with immense replay value, because of all the different choices you can make.  Of course, the customization options make you want to play as someone completely different each time.  And the story... don't even get me started!  How has no one adapted this into a film or series yet?  The sequel's gameplay might even be a step up, although I think the story lacks.  I just put so many hours into these games, and they might still to this day be my favorite Star Wars video games of all time.

2. Halo: Combat Evolved (And Halo 2)
I'd wager this would be on and likely near the top of most people's favorite original Xbox games.  How could it not be?  When you think of OG Xbox, you think of Halo.  I don't know if I've put the absolute most hours into the first two games (I put in a ton to the third, though), but I have to say my enjoyment each time I play through the campaign hardly ever wavers.  There was simply nothing like playing through the campaign of either of these games in the early 2000s.  

1. ESPN NFL 2K5
My favorite sports video game ever.  It's just perfect.  The ESPN presentation, the gameplay, the roster-building, and the customization options, are all that make ESPN NFL 2K5 my favorite Xbox game ever.  The announcers they used could maybe be better, but they are still super solid.  There's a reason people keep modding this game and adding the current day's rosters to it.  Because it's that good!  And it was $20 at release!  Imagine what 2K sports could have accomplished if they were allowed to compete with EA/Madden to make NFL video games.  Imagine what we could have now, instead of the garbage EA churns out every year.  Such a shame.  Anyway, I still replay this game almost every year during football season because it's simply that much fun.  I love it.

Well, those were my top 10 original Xbox games of all time.  I may soon do a Top 10 for 360 and/or Nintendo 64.