The original Xbox went out with a bang in 2005, delivering some of the console’s best games ever like Splinter Cell Chaos Theory, The Chronicles of Riddick: Escape From Butcher Bay, and Psychonauts. It seems history may repeat itself, as the Xbox 360 is also set to get a spectacular sendoff in 2013 in advance of the so-called Xbox 720/Durango next fall. Yes, of course, plenty of games will find their way to the 360 in 2014 – good ones, too! – but 2013 marks the final year that the current Xbox will be the flagship of the brand, with the entire world’s eyes (and dollars) fixed upon it.

Grand Theft Auto V

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Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons

The Cave

Splinter Cell: Blacklist

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Gears of War: Judgment

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If you don’t see a game on the list below, odds are we either A) Didn't think it was good enough to make the cut, or B) Have reason to believe it will be an Xbox 720 game (i.e. Rainbow Six Patriots, Doom 4, Watch Dogs, Star Wars 1313, etc.).Oh, and one final note that’s equal parts exciting and terrifying: every single one of the games below is due out in the first half of the year, due entirely, in our opinion, to publishers not wanting their games to get lost in the next-gen hype/news cycle. That’s a lot of gaming to be done between now and E3 2013. Wow.With all that out of the way, let the Xbox 360’s swan song begin!SpringYou know why. Besides the fact that Rockstar has a better handle on creating beautiful, open-world sandboxes rife with humor and personality than anyone else, they’ve kept everyone waiting a long time. By the time GTA V releases – and it’s almost certainly going to be April or May, as 2K’s own BioShock Infinite was moved to the end of March in order to still make the company’s fiscal quarter, opening the door for GTA to pad the shareholders’ pockets in the following fiscal quarter – it will have been five full years since GTA IV came out. And we kind of like that. It simply wouldn’t be as much fun – nor would the game design evolve as significantly – if a new GTA was stamped out every other year like clockwork. As for the game itself, it’s giving off very San Andreas-y vibes, and not just because it happens to be set in San Andreas. Between tennis, dirtbiking, and myriad other activities, we might not even want or need any other games until the Xbox 720 releases.Q1It’s no secret that we love Journey. It was our Game of the Year for 2012, after all. And we quite love Fable too, even though the haters on the Internetz are quick to mock the franchise. So to combine the two into one cinematic, story-driven experience – one written and directed by a decorated Swedish filmmaker – meant our interest was piqued. And after we saw the game, we knew: this is going to be good. Really, really good. Brothers is expected to clock in around 3-4 hours, so like Journey before it, it’s one you’re going to want to start and finish in one sitting.Q1Two words: Ron Gilbert. If those two words mean nothing to you, then go play Monkey Island and Monkey Island 2, the two timeless classics that put him on the map. The Cave is Gilbert’s new baby, and it’s got his trademark dry wit, headlined by The Cave itself – a sentient character who narrates your quest. Unlike most adventure games, The Cave features platforming in addition to puzzle-solving, and it’s going to be highly replayable thanks to a large cast of characters – only three of whom you can play with at any given time. Did we mention that it’s an adventure game by Ron Gilbert?SpringLet’s be realistic here: it’s unlikely that Splinter Cell is going to return to the hardcore stealth ways of 2005’s classic Chaos Theory anytime soon. Instead, the “action-stealth” mash-up introduced by 2010’s Conviction is the future of the franchise, for better or for worse. Fortunately, Blacklist seems to operate somewhere between those two games, retaining action-y options if you want them but offering a wealth of silent, nonlethal tactics as well. We’re still upset that Michael Ironside is no longer voicing Sam Fisher, but we’ll get over it if the gameplay is awesome.March 19We’ve already played lots of multiplayer – specifically the new OverRun mode, which is essentially a glorious mating of Horde and Team Deathmatch – but now we’ve rolled through some campaign as well, and we’ll tell you this: Judgment is going to be a very different Gears of War from the Marcus Fenix trilogy you’ve spent the last six years getting wrapped up in. Skill kills, brutal challenges – it’s going to remind you a bit of Bulletstorm in all the best ways. Not a surprise, given that Bulletstorm developer People Can Fly is behind the wheel for Judgment.