The Xbox 360 is officially a retro console, even though it seems like only yesterday that the Red Ring of Death was a thing. While the 2005 launch, because of this controversy, was troubling for Microsoft, they still managed to have a great console life cycle thanks to their console-exclusive deals.
Compared to the Wii and PS3, the Xbox 360 had more variety when it came to first-party and third-party exclusives that still rip to this day, including Lost Odyssey and Halo: Reach. Let’s rank the best console exclusives the Xbox 360 celebrated in its heyday, taking into consideration action, narratives, and set pieces.
Viva Piñata
Animal Crossing With Piñatas
Amongst the brutal action RPGs and shooters of the Xbox 360 generation, there was the chill life sim from Rare called Viva Piñata. Players will be given a bleak plot of land to tend, which can attract animals that resemble piñatas. A squirrel, donkey, bird, and so on have exaggerated designs and personalities.
Creating a bog by digging around water or fencing in a grass structure will attract more animals to the garden, but this can also bring more trouble since not all animals get along, plus there are invaders. At times, it can feel more like an RTS than a life sim as there is a lot to manage, but the gameplay loop is addictive once players get into the flow of things.
Forza Horizon
Driving Has Found A New Calling
The Forza Horizon franchise has come a long way since the Xbox 360 days, where it began, but this initial entry is still a magical trip to Colorado. Forza Horizon was an attempt to bring more of a story and structure to racing games, giving players access to a music festival that tied into status, which allowed them to enter new events, races, and so on.
There were traditional races on tracks, but the cooler exhibitions allowed players to navigate streets openly or to race helicopters in big matches. While the visuals have certainly aged a bit, Forza Horizon is still one of the best racing games on the Xbox 360.
Dance Central 3
Keeping Up With The Beat
Dance Central 3 is the final core game in the franchise on the Xbox 360, and Harmonix pulled out all the stops. There are more songs jammed into the game than the previous two entries, there are more moves to learn, and there is more side content to peruse.
Learning a dance routine is always harder in a Dance Central game than in a game like Just Dance, as the body movement matters more. That said, there’s nothing like a good practice session to get warmed up, followed by sweating to the oldies all in the name of fitness, and it’s still fun alone or in a party setting.
The Witcher 2: Assassins Of Kings
Geralt The Deal Maker
The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings was the first game in the series to come to consoles, and to this day, it is still console-exclusive to the Xbox 360. The game picks up shortly after the first game, with Geralt recounting his time with a king defending his realm from would-be conquerors.
The rest of the game is action-focused, but dialogue options can alter how the story goes disk. It’s a more linear game than The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, but the action-based gameplay, storytelling, and world design of The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings is still great.
Super Meat Boy
A Sloppy Masterpiece
Super Meat Boy was one of the first indie games to make it big on the Xbox 360, which would later receive ports on consoles. As the titular Meat Boy, players had to go into every level expecting to rescue Bandage Girl from Dr. Fetus. At the end, players were rejected by Dr. Fetus and had to move on, sometimes with elaborate boss battles at the end of worlds.
It was a play on rescuing Princess Peach in multiple castles throughout Super Mario Bros., but the pixel-perfect design of Super Meat Boy’s levels made it more challenging and thrilling to complete, between the actual platforming and avoiding traps like spinning saw blades.
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This article originally appeared on GameRant and is republished here with permission.
