Listmania!
Xbox 360 'Defining'Games
Halo 3 (Xbox 360)Halo 3 (Xbox 360)
Buy new: £29.95 / Used from: £4.99
OK, Halo 2 was first, and is possibly a better single-player campaign. But the inclusion of Forge, loads of DLC, and campaign scoring make this the best Halo experience on the 360.
Gears of War (Xbox 360)Gears of War (Xbox 360)
Buy new: £31.00 / Used from: £4.90
The runour is that this game influenced the design of the 360. The story is wak, but the visceral thrills are unmatched in a FPS and years after launch it is still one of the top titles on Xbox Live.
Mass Effect (Xbox 360)Mass Effect (Xbox 360)
Buy new: £32.36 / Used from: £4.95
Mass Effect is a genre-defining RPG with masses of beautiful, involving content, customisation, and storylines. A DLC pack was released but this games could easily become big franchise.
Bioshock (Xbox 360)Bioshock (Xbox 360)
Buy new: £17.99 / Used from: £7.50
A game that was lucky to get made - underwater collectivist utopia, child abuse, moral choices, and so on. But there are few more involving games out there.
Viva Pinata (Xbox 360)Viva Pinata (Xbox 360)
Buy used from: £3.00
The Xbox version of Pokemon? Maybe. But its the kid's game adults can play. It looks great, plays great, and is a nice change from the grind of noisy games that typify modern gaming.
Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Double Agent (Xbox 360)Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Double Agent (Xbox 360)
Buy new: £42.94 / Used from: £3.81
Yeah, I know SC is on a lot of platforms, but for me, the series is most at home on the Xbox. One of the first games to deviate from the standard online gameplay modes too.
Dead Rising (Xbox 360)Dead Rising (Xbox 360)
Buy new: £17.95 / Used from: £8.45
Really bad save system made this game frustrating and over-difficult, but it was the first game to show off the 360's capacity to generate dozens of onscreen NPC's.
Project Gotham Racing 4 (Xbox 360)Project Gotham Racing 4 (Xbox 360)
Buy used from: £4.73
There are lots of racing games out there, but this one has the most style. Still huge online, its the franchise other games try to beat
Topspin 3 (Xbox 360)Topspin 3 (Xbox 360)
Buy new: £7.55 / Used from: £5.09
Sure, tennis games aren't massive business. But Top Spin has been a central plank in Xbox lineups since launch. The best one out there - not that there's much competition...
Xbox LIVE Gold 12-Month Membership Card (Xbox 360)Xbox LIVE Gold 12-Month Membership Card (Xbox 360)
Buy new: £34.99
Not a game, but access to many. Live is the service that makes 360 games playable online plus you get access to movies and the arcade.