The Xbox brand is 15 years old today, so here are 15 of the most important titles from the original machine to the Xbox One era

It was 15 years ago this week that Microsoft launched its first foray into the console business. Arriving in the US on 15 November 2001, the original Xbox was designed to compete directly against Sony’s all-consuming PlayStation 2. Offering a powerful graphics processor as well as a built-in hard drive and a dedicated online gaming service, it was basically a gaming PC wrestled into the chassis of games machine – thereby setting the architectural trend that would dominate the industry going forward.

Next came the Xbox 360, the dominant online multiplayer console of its era, introducing the idea of achievements and a gamer score mechanic that encouraged players to get the absolute most out of every title they purchased. And now we’re in the Xbox One era, the industrial and architectural design decisions of that original machine still guiding Microsoft’s approach to console development – albeit in a much more powerful form.

For this list we’ve concentrated on Xbox exclusives, or games that were better, earlier or more acclaimed on Xbox. Naturally, there are scandalous omissions and oversights – but that’s where you come in, right? Tell us your own personal Xbox favourites in the comments section.

15. Braid

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Braid Photograph: Jonathan Blow

Jonathan Blow’s strange allegorical platformer helped kickstart the modern independent gaming scene, showcasing Xbox Live as a venue for experimental projects as well as deathmatches.

14. Trials HD

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Trials HD Photograph: Redlynx

With its super-exaggerated physics and fiendishly designed obstacle courses, Trials provided a tense test of motoring skill, made all the more compelling by its global scoreboard that let you easily compare your best times with those of your friends.

13. Ninja Gaiden Black

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Ninja Gaiden Black Photograph: Tecmo

Featuring merciless difficulty levels and screen-spraying gore, Team Ninja’s hack-n-slash adventure thrilled Xbox owners looking for a truly challenging, truly modern brawler. The Black edition added new enemies, modes and skill levels, making it – for many – the definitive edition.

12. Forza Horizon 3

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Forza Horizon 3 Photograph: Microsoft

Although the Forza Motorsport series has been a mainstay of the Xbox experience for several years, the latest Horizon spin-off, with its astonishing visuals, accessible handling and vast array of racing styles, is arguably the ultimate contemporary driving game.

11. Geometry Wars: Retro Evolved 2

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Geometry Wars Retro Evolved Photograph: Microsoft

Originally included as an extra feature in Project Gotham Racing 2, the popularity of this intense, super-stylish twin-stick shooter encouraged its creator Stephen Cakebread to create a fully-featured version. Like Trials HD, Geometry Wars captured the score-chasing wonder years of arcade gaming.

10. Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas Photograph: Rockstar

While Grand Theft Auto: Vice City was a PlayStation 2 exclusive, San Andreas brought Rockstar’s incendiary series to Microsoft’s machine – and in some style. The compelling story, huge environment and vast array of activities set a benchmark for the gangster adventure genre that took many years to surpass.

9. The Orange Box

Facebook Twitter Pinterest The Orange Box Photograph: Valve

Consisting of Half-life 2 (and its episodic successors), Team Fortress 2 and Portal, Valve’s incredible orange package squeezed some of the most seminal moments in first-person game design history into one package. Who knew back then that it would be the last we’d see of Gordon Freeman? *sniff*

8. Project Gotham Racing

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Project Gotham Racing Photograph: Microsoft

The spiritual successor to seminal Dreamcast title Metropolis Street Racer, Project Gotham saw Liverpool developer Bizarre Creations craft another sleek urban driving sim where stylish execution was as important as raw speed. Alongside Halo, this showy series truly symbolised the Xbox era.

7. Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Call of Duty 4 Modern Warfare Photograph: Activision

In which Infinity Ward practically invented the modern military shooter, with its thrilling campaign and exhaustive multiplayer set-up. Bringing role-playing game customisation and character progression into the online arena was a design masterstroke, ensuring even mediocre players were drawn into weeks of Team Deathmatch action.

6. Fable II

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Fable II Photograph: Lionhead

Arguably, Lionhead reached its creative peak with the second title in this idiosyncratic role-playing adventure series. A beautiful environment, richly drawn characters and exciting story came together perfectly with a quaint sideline in romance, relationships and offbeat humour, making this a distinctly British rendering of the genre.

5. Star Wars: Knights of the Republic

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic Photograph: LucasArts/Bioware

Directed by Casey Hudson who would go on to lead development on Mass Effect, this role-playing adventure, set thousands of years before the events of the Star Wars movies, really built the foundations of Bioware’s approach to game design. An unforgettable fusion of narrative, character, combat, dialogue and, of course, a pretty good movie license.

4. Bioshock



Facebook Twitter Pinterest Bioshock Photograph: Irrational

Featuring a failed Art Deco utopia, bizarre diving suit-clad monsters and a story that twisted and looped around the player’s assumptions, Bioshock introduced a new kind of action adventure game, loaded with meaning, style and adult themes. One of the most important – and widely discussed – narrative games ever devised.

3. Mass Effect 2

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Mass Effect 2 Photograph: Electronic Arts

While the opening title in Bioware’s acclaimed interactive space opera introduced the characters and scenario that millions would come to love, it was the second adventure that cemented the cast, structure and design. An astonishingly assured blend of genres, experiences and disparate narrative forces into one cogent and moving experience.

2. Gears of War 2



Facebook Twitter Pinterest Gears of War 2 Photograph: Epic Games

The story of macho space warriors and their chainsaw guns really hit its destructive stride in this second instalment. Marcus Fenix and co are forced to take the battle to the Locust underworld, leading to brilliant set-piece battles, wonderfully apocalyptic settings (Epic Games famously referred to its art style as ‘destroyed beauty’) and expert use of the game’s cover-focused combat system. Multiplayer was re-engineered too, to include the hugely influential Horde mode.

1. Halo: Combat Evolved

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Halo: Combat Evolved (Anniversary Edition) Photograph: Microsoft

Although GoldenEye was the first game to successfully bring the dynamics of the first-person shooter to games machines, Halo turned the whole concept of the console shooter into a distinct and credible artform. Excellent controls, brilliant structure, an array of weapons, smart enemies, a cogent, engrossing universe, Bungie’s game was revolutionary. And of course, it is the game that even now is most synonymous with Xbox – the attitude, aims and technology of the console series are all illustrated right here in this science fiction epic. Halo is Xbox and Xbox is Halo.