One of the paradoxes of the games industry dictates that the nearer a console gets to the end of its life-cycle, the better the games for it.
By now, every developer worthy of the name has got to grips with programming for Microsoft's hugely successful Xbox 360 and, while speculation mounts that its successor may make its bow at the E3 Show in June, Xbox 360 owners can lick their lips at the prospect of a deliciously tasty line-up of games due out in 2012.
We've arranged the year's 26 best Xbox 360 titles in alphabetical order, for your delectation and edification.
1. Assassin's Creed 3
The one thing we know for sure about the next instalment of Ubisoft's historical open-world action-adventure franchise is that it will come out on October 30 2012. But strong rumours suggest Assassin's Creed III will be set in the American Revolution, with a storyline centred on Desmond. Let's hope it receives a thorough freshening-up, after last year's Assassin's Creed: Revelations copped some flak for giving the impression it was going through the motions.
2. BioShock Infinite
The return of the great Ken Levine to the innovative, steampunk, plasmid-enhanced franchise has generate a palpable wave of anticipation - BioShock Infinite is, without a doubt, one of the year's most wanted. The action moves to 1912, and a city floating in the sky thanks to airships called Columbia. You play ex-Pinkerton agent Booker DeWitt, escorting a young woman called Elizabeth with fearsome powers which she must learn to harness.
3. Brothers In Arms: Furious 4
It's reboot time for Ubisoft's previously mega-realistic World War II franchise, this time with Gearbox, the hardest-working developer in the business, at the reins. Furious 4 will take a more cartoonish, larger-than-life approach, with you controlling one of four super-soldiers tracking the Fuhrer and fighting a secret Nazi army. Unsurprisingly, four-player co-op features prominently.
I have to say the only ones on that list that really inspire me are Bioshock, GTAV and maybe Hitman. Although I wasn't aware of Dishonoured at all, that could be interesting.
Far Cry 3, Ghost Recon and RE6 look like they'll be fun, but just not getting me particularly excited.
Why weren't Trials Evolution and Fez included? I'm expecting more great things from Summer of Arcade too.
Also i keep forgetting dishonored exists. Also yay for south park, tomb raider, spec ops, sleeping dogs, risen 2, resident evil 6, max payne 3, and i guess bioshock.
Really? Wow. That's more than just a bit of stretching there IMO.
There are some games on this list that I am mildly enthusiastic about; the two games I consider of definite interest to me are Prey 2 and Hitman: Absolution.
Still can't believe Gearbox have massacred BIA and produced this Furious 4 tripe...
I was so excited for the next chapter of BIA and wanted to see how they tackled the Battle of the Bulge, I suppose Gearbox gave up...so the best WW2 game dies...
I hope that Gearbox still have plans to continue the original BIA franchise then i wont be so disappointed in them...
All Kinect Star Wars will do is snuff out the inner-Jedi within you - unless you're in your preteens for who I imagine it would be as AWESOME as Phantom Menace
I think he's implying there should be more 360 exclusives mentioned, I can understand that point, as someone that has considered buying a 360 at different points in the past few years this list isn't tempting me.
Errm, cause there 25 of the most exciting Games (subjective) to appear on the Xbox in 2012.
Unless I read the article and headline wrong of course?
Surely there have to be some exclusives for microsoft that folks who have an xbox360 would look forward too and are somehow particularly innovative for that platform minecraft fable(the on rails shooter thing) Diabolical Pitch Alan Wake's American Nightmare
Sorry MC are you saying that your not surprised that Microsoft arnt bringing more to the table this year, you do realise that they are not short of a few pennies dont you, even if they are getting ready to launch a new console.
I know that the 360 is getting more Halo, Fable, Forza, loads of Kinect Games and load of xbla Games too. Plus all the AAA multi platform Games.
As PS3 owners, what do you expect to be playing this year? I have no interest in Starhawk, Twisted Metal or any of the JRPG's.
Pretty much your post reversed Dodo. Swings and roundabouts.
Were so late into the lifecycles of the consoles that exclusives are NOT as important as the multiplatform titles that are coming out, XBLA and PSN is where its at anyway.
I know that the 360 is getting more Halo, Fable, Forza, loads of Kinect Games and load of xbla Games too. Plus all the AAA multi platform Games.
As PS3 owners, what do you expect to be playing this year? I have no interest in Starhawk, Twisted Metal or any of the JRPG's.
Pretty much your post reversed Dodo. Swings and roundabouts.
Were so late into the lifecycles of the consoles that exclusives are NOT as important as the multiplatform titles that are coming out, XBLA and PSN is where its at anyway.
Personally i will be splashing out on Journey next, interested to see how the last of us , and the last guardian turn out. I know what your saying stonecold, just think the title of the piece is perhaps slightly misleading (although if taken literally it is correct) when 90% are in fact multiplatform. Perhaps CVG should do a best 25 exclusives for xbox360, or would they struggle with that?
Are The Last Guardian and The Last of Us going to be out this year? Journey does look rather spiffing though!
To be fair, this late into a console lifecycle, your not going to get 10 AAA exclusives a year as the platform holders look to the Next Gen.
Could any of the Big 3 produce 25 Brilliant retail or download exclusives this year?
Like Jamie T said It's all thriller, no filler
Yeh i dont hold up a lot of hope for last guardian, think it may of gone a bit tits up. I think there will be a lot of titles for PS3 , as Vita titles will im pretty sure be mostly converted over for the ps3 as well. I would think with the sales of consoles reaching a certain amount it would be a better time to release content as you've got more customers.
I guess going back to my main point, i think its just a couple of months away from E3 , and i think company's will really let us know what is coming out over those days, information seems a little sparse at the moment, so don't see too much of a point putting lists out of all the titles which everyone knows about. Its not a major problem but just seems a bit of a non story, if there isnt much news i'd prefer interviews with game designers,or a feature on a bit of tech in a game or something else a bit more meaty, but then like you say its horses for courses .
no inversion? no silent hill? no operation raccoon city? no aliens: colonial marines? no borderlands 2? no darksiders 2? & more
oh and @ dodo, killzone and god of war? can't think of any more high hitters on the ps3 and even those have no way near the fan base/cultural impact of series like halo or gears of war
no inversion? no silent hill? no operation raccoon city? no aliens: colonial marines? no borderlands 2? no darksiders 2? & more
oh and @ dodo, killzone and god of war? can't think of any more high hitters on the ps3 and even those have no way near the fan base/cultural impact of series like halo or gears of war
Uncharted ring a bell?
I don't know why cultural impact is relevant to my tastes, bigging up Shadows of the Damned for a year should tell you I don't care for cultural impact,
Listen I'm sure Gears is a fine game but I'm never going to play it because I hate the art style, I'm not a fan of "dude bro" shooters. Like I said I've been paying attention to 360 for a few years but there's not enough that interests me.
Alan Wake and Trials HD look cool (as did Limbo) and I'd love to play L4D one day but I don't buy consoles for just two or three games.
And Stonecold is right too, there isn't much for PS3 owners this year.
We've got Journey on PSN, Twisted Metal (not my thing at all), Starhawk (great multiplayer game based on beta), Sly Cooper 4 and then hopefully The Last of Us.
2012 is absolutelty the year of multi-platform titles.
no inversion? no silent hill? no operation raccoon city? no aliens: colonial marines? no borderlands 2? no darksiders 2? & more
oh and @ dodo, killzone and god of war? can't think of any more high hitters on the ps3 and even those have no way near the fan base/cultural impact of series like halo or gears of war
"Cultural impact"...wtf does that even mean in gaming terms? Fat nerds wearing Master Chief visors?
no inversion? no silent hill? no operation raccoon city? no aliens: colonial marines? no borderlands 2? no darksiders 2? & more
oh and @ dodo, killzone and god of war? can't think of any more high hitters on the ps3 and even those have no way near the fan base/cultural impact of series like halo or gears of war
"Cultural impact"...wtf does that even mean in gaming terms? Fat nerds wearing Master Chief visors?
I prefer wearing my Master Chief undies and getting the mrs to paint herself blue... Giggety.
no inversion? no silent hill? no operation raccoon city? no aliens: colonial marines? no borderlands 2? no darksiders 2? & more
oh and @ dodo, killzone and god of war? can't think of any more high hitters on the ps3 and even those have no way near the fan base/cultural impact of series like halo or gears of war
"Cultural impact"...wtf does that even mean in gaming terms? Fat nerds wearing Master Chief visors?
i sued cultural impact to prove a point, you'd see more people wasting money on master chief armour/clothes etc than uncharted, killzone & resistance etc etc
and i wasn't slaggin of ps3 it's just your post came across as a firestarter,
i sued cultural impact to prove a point, you'd see more people wasting money on master chief armour/clothes etc than uncharted, killzone & resistance etc etc
and i wasn't slaggin of ps3 it's just your post came across as a firestarter,
You see more people wasting money on Bieber too
I wasn't trying to start any fires, it's my honest opinion.
i sued cultural impact to prove a point, you'd see more people wasting money on master chief armour/clothes etc than uncharted, killzone & resistance etc etc
and i wasn't slaggin of ps3 it's just your post came across as a firestarter,
Lol, I am a twisted firestarter!
It's only my opinion at the end of the day but anybody who feels the need to dress up as the MC clearly has serious issues...
On the other hand, Nathan Drake (like the typical PS3 owner) gets all the ladies.
This list is bogus! A lot of the games haven't even been released yet, so the reviewers don't know how good, or bad, they are. On top of that they've got Kinect Star Wars listed, and it's utter tosh! This is just the hype machine in full swing trying to make sales. What happened to the days when reviewers used to give a fair view of what games were about? These days it seems the devs, publishers and reviewers are all batting on the same team. The "let's all pat each other on the back and make money" team...
Could be worse, could be the PS3 and the top 25 would be the substandard ports of the 360 versions Uncharted 4 and possibly the new killzone which is bassicaly the same as the old one with the same weapons, characters, enemies, levels etc...
i read through that whole list with ever increasing dismay.
at least 2 of the "best games" are semi playable clusterf**ks (star wars and ridge racer) of the rest all except the witcher are force online multiplayer at the expense of a better single player mode so that dlc mappacks can be sold or like prototype are already dlc laden marketplaces with a little bit of game to start with, look on your friends list and see almost everyone who bought prototype 2 already has 1000 gamerscore on it.
Gaming as a whole is a bit stale right now on all platforms. You can pick and mix the odd sparkle but it doesn't have the "glow" it had even a year or so ago. Just the current "markets" bs, it'll pass. Not the best time to release or the best time to buy, that's why we need stuff like E3, to force people to keep pushing because they're going to have to show it to a live audience. E3 and the likes keep the industry at least tethered to reality.
All Kinect Star Wars will do is snuff out the inner-Jedi within you - unless you're in your preteens for who I imagine it would be as AWESOME as Phantom Menace
I am looking forward to Tomb Raider
I'm forty one and can easily say that TPM is the third best Star Wars film, and can qualify that statement if needed. Also who doesn't want to be on a dance floor with Lando Calrissian as your wing man? The other games all suck and are not worth getting excited about. Also I can't believe that Minesweeper HD isn't on the list.
hmmmm - How many of these will now be released in 2012 and how many have now been pushed back to 2013 (or even cancelled/delayed indefinitely - Prey 2)
I revisited this post as I was looking to see what games I have missed so far (that are worth looking out for) and what games I need to keep some money for.
I wouldn't mind seeing this Article revisited and revised to include review scores (with a link to the actual review) and release dates of future games due out this year. A top 10 XBLA games of 2012 so far would be nice too... (based on review scores)
I think most of them are cross format games. Prey was garbage, don't really know much about Prey 2. Dirt Showdown is decent. Surprised Grid 2 and Forza Horizon are not in there. Can't see how South Park is in there, it's total crap on TV. It's fair to say it's best to wait until the year is over to pick the best.
Assassins Creed is the biggest waste of money I have ever spent(all of the assassin creeds suck)... How does anyone enjoy that game?
I totally agree. The first one was terrible gameplay wise, but it did have ace graphics. There's so many games out there that just seem to be crap to average. The Half-Life series is up there with Creed.
Comments
51 comments so far...
OckMc on 11 Mar '12 said:
they are all sequels yay...
gmcb007 on 11 Mar '12 said:
No they're not.
ricflair on 11 Mar '12 said:
I have to say the only ones on that list that really inspire me are Bioshock, GTAV and maybe Hitman. Although I wasn't aware of Dishonoured at all, that could be interesting.
Far Cry 3, Ghost Recon and RE6 look like they'll be fun, but just not getting me particularly excited.
Why weren't Trials Evolution and Fez included? I'm expecting more great things from Summer of Arcade too.
rbt2 on 11 Mar '12 said:
Most exciting 360 game?
That wun wiv all the shooting.
Hold up! That was all of 'em!!!
ilovelager on 11 Mar '12 said:
Where is Alien Col Marines
TheMopFromMars on 11 Mar '12 said:
Ensemble Studios made Halo Wars, so it's not the first non-bungie halo game.
Fr33Kye on 11 Mar '12 said:
WOOOOHH!! PREY 2 I LOVE YOU!!!
Also i keep forgetting dishonored exists. Also yay for south park, tomb raider, spec ops, sleeping dogs, risen 2, resident evil 6, max payne 3, and i guess bioshock.
The_KFD_Case on 11 Mar '12 said:
"13. Kinect Star Wars"
Really? Wow. That's more than just a bit of stretching there IMO.
There are some games on this list that I am mildly enthusiastic about; the two games I consider of definite interest to me are Prey 2 and Hitman: Absolution.
bubblyofart on 11 Mar '12 said:
Still can't believe Gearbox have massacred BIA and produced this Furious 4 tripe...
I was so excited for the next chapter of BIA and wanted to see how they tackled the Battle of the Bulge, I suppose Gearbox gave up...so the best WW2 game dies...
I hope that Gearbox still have plans to continue the original BIA franchise then i wont be so disappointed in them...
Amoeba88 on 11 Mar '12 said:
Is it me or does the image of Max Payne look like Rick Grimes from The Walking Dead?
http://l.yimg.com/bt/api/res/1.2/iIz249L5eGjlh6tSLVGwxQ--/YXBwaWQ9eW5ld3M7cT04NTt3PTYzMA--/http://media.zenfs.com/en-SG/blogs/singaporeshowbiz/630Yahoo_AndrewLincoln.jpg
HarryJack on 11 Mar '12 said:
Give me games, me need games, urgh *drools*
RoKuShaKuBoJutSu on 12 Mar '12 said:
Thank the gaming gods for 3rd party huh! Else the list could have been done on 1 page, with 3 entries.
Padua on 12 Mar '12 said:
All Kinect Star Wars will do is snuff out the inner-Jedi within you - unless you're in your preteens for who I imagine it would be as AWESOME as Phantom Menace
I am looking forward to Tomb Raider
sammikid on 12 Mar '12 said:
This list is a bit of a stretch
Weezer on 12 Mar '12 said:
Tgere's really only two games there that I genuinely care about: Ass Creed 3 and Witcher 2.
And maybe Halo 4 if it isn't just more of the same... and just maybe that Bethesda thing. But Generic Brown Shooter 4 - no thanks.
The_KFD_Case on 12 Mar '12 said:
martinawatson on 12 Mar '12 said:
I think you oughta quit with this best of list business, your doing s**t cvg, all these games apart from 2 i think are multiplatform, whats the point?
StonecoldMC on 12 Mar '12 said:
Errm, cause there 25 of the most exciting Games (subjective) to appear on the Xbox in 2012.
Unless I read the article and headline wrong of course?
TheLastDodo on 12 Mar '12 said:
I think he's implying there should be more 360 exclusives mentioned, I can understand that point, as someone that has considered buying a 360 at different points in the past few years this list isn't tempting me.
martinawatson on 12 Mar '12 said:
Surely there have to be some exclusives for microsoft that folks who have an xbox360 would look forward too and are somehow particularly innovative for that platform
minecraft
fable(the on rails shooter thing)
Diabolical Pitch
Alan Wake's American Nightmare
Sorry MC are you saying that your not surprised that Microsoft arnt bringing more to the table this year, you do realise that they are not short of a few pennies dont you, even if they are getting ready to launch a new console.
martinawatson on 12 Mar '12 said:
and "FEZ" that looks very interesting ,been delayed for two years, shown at developers conferences created a buzz,looks intriguing.
StonecoldMC on 12 Mar '12 said:
OK.
I know that the 360 is getting more Halo, Fable, Forza, loads of Kinect Games and load of xbla Games too. Plus all the AAA multi platform Games.
As PS3 owners, what do you expect to be playing this year? I have no interest in Starhawk, Twisted Metal or any of the JRPG's.
Pretty much your post reversed Dodo. Swings and roundabouts.
Were so late into the lifecycles of the consoles that exclusives are NOT as important as the multiplatform titles that are coming out, XBLA and PSN is where its at anyway.
martinawatson on 12 Mar '12 said:
Personally i will be splashing out on Journey next, interested to see how the last of us , and the last guardian turn out.
I know what your saying stonecold, just think the title of the piece is perhaps slightly misleading (although if taken literally it is correct) when 90% are in fact multiplatform. Perhaps CVG should do a best 25 exclusives for xbox360, or would they struggle with that?
StonecoldMC on 12 Mar '12 said:
Are The Last Guardian and The Last of Us going to be out this year? Journey does look rather spiffing though!
To be fair, this late into a console lifecycle, your not going to get 10 AAA exclusives a year as the platform holders look to the Next Gen.
Could any of the Big 3 produce 25 Brilliant retail or download exclusives this year?
Like Jamie T said It's all thriller, no filler
martinawatson on 12 Mar '12 said:
Yeh i dont hold up a lot of hope for last guardian, think it may of gone a bit tits up. I think there will be a lot of titles for PS3 , as Vita titles will im pretty sure be mostly converted over for the ps3 as well.
I would think with the sales of consoles reaching a certain amount it would be a better time to release content as you've got more customers.
I guess going back to my main point, i think its just a couple of months away from E3 , and i think company's will really let us know what is coming out over those days, information seems a little sparse at the moment, so don't see too much of a point putting lists out of all the titles which everyone knows about. Its not a major problem but just seems a bit of a non story, if there isnt much news i'd prefer interviews with game designers,or a feature on a bit of tech in a game or something else a bit more meaty, but then like you say its horses for courses .
TheBusterMan on 12 Mar '12 said:
Yes,yes he does.Let's just hope that Max Payne doesn't suck.Unlike the walking dead
StonecoldMC on 12 Mar '12 said:
Christ! Don't start doing lists
.
Like you say, E3 is where they put all their cards on the table. We know of some exclusives already and more will be announced.
Win Win for Everyone!
dicky1993 on 12 Mar '12 said:
no inversion?
no silent hill?
no operation raccoon city?
no aliens: colonial marines?
no borderlands 2?
no darksiders 2?
& more
oh and @ dodo, killzone and god of war? can't think of any more high hitters on the ps3 and even those have no way near the fan base/cultural impact of series like halo or gears of war
TheLastDodo on 12 Mar '12 said:
Uncharted ring a bell?
I don't know why cultural impact is relevant to my tastes, bigging up Shadows of the Damned for a year should tell you I don't care for cultural impact,
Listen I'm sure Gears is a fine game but I'm never going to play it because I hate the art style, I'm not a fan of "dude bro" shooters. Like I said I've been paying attention to 360 for a few years but there's not enough that interests me.
Alan Wake and Trials HD look cool (as did Limbo) and I'd love to play L4D one day but I don't buy consoles for just two or three games.
And Stonecold is right too, there isn't much for PS3 owners this year.
We've got Journey on PSN, Twisted Metal (not my thing at all), Starhawk (great multiplayer game based on beta), Sly Cooper 4 and then hopefully The Last of Us.
2012 is absolutelty the year of multi-platform titles.
porkchopz on 12 Mar '12 said:
"Cultural impact"...wtf does that even mean in gaming terms? Fat nerds wearing Master Chief visors?
MrPirtniw on 12 Mar '12 said:
I prefer wearing my Master Chief undies and getting the mrs to paint herself blue... Giggety.
sjholland87 on 12 Mar '12 said:
And we are approaching the end of this console cycle (about a year left). What else would you expect?
The_KFD_Case on 13 Mar '12 said:
porkchopz on 13 Mar '12 said:
Sorry, I'm becoming a grumpy ol man lol.
dicky1993 on 14 Mar '12 said:
i sued cultural impact to prove a point, you'd see more people wasting money on master chief armour/clothes etc than uncharted, killzone & resistance etc etc
and i wasn't slaggin of ps3 it's just your post came across as a firestarter,
TheLastDodo on 14 Mar '12 said:
You see more people wasting money on Bieber too
I wasn't trying to start any fires, it's my honest opinion.
porkchopz on 14 Mar '12 said:
Lol, I am a twisted firestarter!
It's only my opinion at the end of the day but anybody who feels the need to dress up as the MC clearly has serious issues...
On the other hand, Nathan Drake (like the typical PS3 owner) gets all the ladies.
peteuplink on 10 May '12 said:
This list is bogus! A lot of the games haven't even been released yet, so the reviewers don't know how good, or bad, they are. On top of that they've got Kinect Star Wars listed, and it's utter tosh! This is just the hype machine in full swing trying to make sales. What happened to the days when reviewers used to give a fair view of what games were about? These days it seems the devs, publishers and reviewers are all batting on the same team. The "let's all pat each other on the back and make money" team...
GaryStew1980 on 10 May '12 said:
Could be worse, could be the PS3 and the top 25 would be the substandard ports of the 360 versions Uncharted 4 and possibly the new killzone which is bassicaly the same as the old one with the same weapons, characters, enemies, levels etc...
Jabbermon on 12 May '12 said:
No Crysis 3?
billysastard on 13 May '12 said:
i read through that whole list with ever increasing dismay.
at least 2 of the "best games" are semi playable clusterf**ks (star wars and ridge racer) of the rest all except the witcher are force online multiplayer at the expense of a better single player mode so that dlc mappacks can be sold or like prototype are already dlc laden marketplaces with a little bit of game to start with, look on your friends list and see almost everyone who bought prototype 2 already has 1000 gamerscore on it.
Imaduck on 2 Jun '12 said:
Gaming as a whole is a bit stale right now on all platforms. You can pick and mix the odd sparkle but it doesn't have the "glow" it had even a year or so ago. Just the current "markets" bs, it'll pass. Not the best time to release or the best time to buy, that's why we need stuff like E3, to force people to keep pushing because they're going to have to show it to a live audience. E3 and the likes keep the industry at least tethered to reality.
Lady Gagagged on 2 Jun '12 said:
I'm forty one and can easily say that TPM is the third best Star Wars film, and can qualify that statement if needed. Also who doesn't want to be on a dance floor with Lando Calrissian as your wing man? The other games all suck and are not worth getting excited about. Also I can't believe that Minesweeper HD isn't on the list.
PMIKE5 on 16 Jun '12 said:
Err, where's Mass Effect 3? Or has CVG changed their stance on ME3 to avoid to pander to the whiners?
S-Smith on 16 Jun '12 said:
Kinect Star Wars? That was a joke yeah, CVG lol
jacko K. on 22 Jun '12 said:
hey sjholland87 what did you mean by saying "the end of this console cycle (about a year left)." ??
MrMoobs on 4 Jul '12 said:
No Darksiders 2... I've now lost all respect for you CVG!
Shommy on 6 Jul '12 said:
Assassins Creed is the biggest waste of money I have ever spent(all of the assassin creeds suck)... How does anyone enjoy that game?
bamozzy on 22 Jul '12 said:
hmmmm - How many of these will now be released in 2012 and how many have now been pushed back to 2013 (or even cancelled/delayed indefinitely - Prey 2)
I revisited this post as I was looking to see what games I have missed so far (that are worth looking out for) and what games I need to keep some money for.
I wouldn't mind seeing this Article revisited and revised to include review scores (with a link to the actual review) and release dates of future games due out this year. A top 10 XBLA games of 2012 so far would be nice too... (based on review scores)
Agent75 on 12 Aug '12 said:
I think most of them are cross format games. Prey was garbage, don't really know much about Prey 2. Dirt Showdown is decent. Surprised Grid 2 and Forza Horizon are not in there. Can't see how South Park is in there, it's total crap on TV. It's fair to say it's best to wait until the year is over to pick the best.
Agent75 on 12 Aug '12 said:
I totally agree. The first one was terrible gameplay wise, but it did have ace graphics. There's so many games out there that just seem to be crap to average. The Half-Life series is up there with Creed.