Top 37 Original Xbox Games of All Time

Launch-window shooters, early online hits and cult Japanese oddities prove the chunky black-and-green box held more than its reputation suggests.

1. 1
   Halo: Combat Evolved

   Bungie's 2001 launch shooter that defined console FPS and made the Xbox.
   1000pts
2. 2
   Silent Hill 2: Restless Dreams

   Konami's 2001 psychological horror classic, expanded for its Xbox release.
   675pts
3. 3
   Amped: Freestyle Snowboarding

   Microsoft's 2001 launch snowboarding game with a huge indie soundtrack.
   675pts
4. 4
   Halo 2

   The 2004 sequel whose matchmaking turned Xbox Live into a phenomenon.
   619pts
5. 5
   Steel Battalion

   Capcom's 2002 mech simulator sold with a giant 40-button controller.
   619pts
6. 6
   Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell

   Ubisoft's 2002 stealth game introducing Sam Fisher, a timed Xbox exclusive.
   582pts
7. 7
   Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas

   Rockstar's 1990s-California crime epic, released on Xbox in 2005.
   541pts
8. 8
   ESPN NFL 2K5

   Visual Concepts' 2004 football game launched at a $19.99 price.
   541pts
9. 9
   Project Gotham Racing

   Bizarre Creations' 2001 launch racer built around Kudos style points.
   494pts
10. 10
    Jade Empire

    BioWare's 2005 martial-arts RPG inspired by Chinese mythology.
    494pts
11. 11
    Jet Set Radio Future

    Smilebit's 2002 cel-shaded graffiti skating game set in Tokyo-to.
    494pts
12. 12
    Phantom Dust

    Yukio Futatsugi's 2004 cult card-based arena battler.
    442pts
13. 13
    RalliSport Challenge 2

    Digital Illusions' 2004 rally racer acclaimed for its visuals and handling.
    442pts
14. 14
    Beyond Good & Evil

    Michel Ancel's 2003 adventure following photojournalist Jade.
    442pts
15. 15
    Ninja Gaiden Black

    Team Ninja's 2005 definitive edition of its brutally hard Xbox action game.
    442pts
16. 16
    Project Gotham Racing 2

    The 2003 sequel and an early Xbox Live racing showcase.
    442pts
17. 17
    Forza Motorsport

    Turn 10's 2005 simulation racer that launched the Forza series.
    442pts
18. 18
    Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory

    The 2005 entry often called the peak of the stealth series.
    383pts
19. 19
    Conker: Live & Reloaded

    Rare's 2005 remake of Conker's Bad Fur Day with online team multiplayer.
    383pts
20. 20
    KOTOR II: The Sith Lords

    Obsidian's darker 2004 sequel, first released on Xbox.
    383pts
21. 21
    Oddworld: Stranger's Wrath

    Oddworld Inhabitants' 2005 Western shooter firing live critters as ammo.
    383pts
22. 22
    Dead or Alive 3

    Team Ninja's 2001 launch fighter and a showcase of the console's power.
    383pts
23. 23
    Top Spin

    PAM Development's 2003 tennis game and an Xbox Live sports hit.
    383pts
24. 24
    Burnout 3: Takedown

    Criterion's 2004 arcade racer built around spectacular crashes.
    383pts
25. 25
    MechAssault

    Day 1 Studios' 2002 mech shooter and one of the first big Xbox Live games.
    383pts
26. 26
    TimeSplitters 2

    Free Radical's 2002 time-hopping shooter loved for its split-screen modes.
    316pts
27. 27
    Escape from Butcher Bay

    Starbreeze's 2004 Chronicles of Riddick prison shooter, a rare great licensed game.
    316pts
28. 28
    Shenmue II

    Sega's 2001 open-world martial-arts saga, released in the West only on Xbox.
    316pts
29. 29
    Fable

    Lionhead's 2004 action RPG of moral choices in the land of Albion.
    316pts
30. 30
    Psychonauts

    Double Fine's 2005 platformer about a psychic summer camp.
    316pts
31. 31
    Burnout Revenge

    The 2005 follow-up that added traffic checking to the takedown formula.
    238pts
32. 32
    OutRun 2

    Sega's 2004 arcade racer that came home exclusively on Xbox.
    238pts
33. 33
    Crimson Skies: High Road to Revenge

    The 2003 alternate-history air-combat game with sky pirates and zeppelins.
    147pts
34. 34
    Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic

    BioWare's 2003 RPG set 4,000 years before the films, debuting on Xbox.
    147pts
35. 35
    Panzer Dragoon Orta

    Smilebit's 2002 rail shooter, a lavish Xbox-exclusive revival of the Sega series.
    147pts
36. 36
    The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind

    Bethesda's open-world RPG whose 2002 Xbox port brought the series to consoles.
    147pts
37. 37
    Rainbow Six 3

    The 2003 Xbox tactical shooter that was a Live multiplayer staple.
    0pts

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