We’ve sung the praises of Remedy’s Alan Wake numerous times over the years, and it’s easy to see why. And hey, the Xbox version featured a two-player co-op mode, which combined with the other multiplayer modes, made it a must-have. Not to mention the oppressive atmosphere in the UAC base was only heightened by the fact that the game forced you to switch from your weapon to a flashlight to see in the dark. The scripted jump scares and predictable AI was annoying, but you couldn’t deny how gorgeous the game looked.
The result forgoes the pure guns-blazing action for more of a survival horror atmosphere, though you still have plenty of gunplay to satisfy your bloodlust.
Nevertheless, the idea of searching a condemned building for a serial killer with only your flashlight is still awesome.Īfter the massive successes that were Doom and Doom 2, id Software was tasked with the impossible with Doom 3. Admittedly, the story is on the weak side, and while interesting, the crime scene investigations aren’t particularly deep. The idea of the player having to investigate crime scenes and record evidence at points throughout the game juxtaposes nicely with the raw melee combat the player engages in with psychotic vagrants that have a habit of jumping out at you from the shadows. Someone over at Sega must have been a fan of The Silence of The Lambs, as Condemned: Criminal Origins is a near-perfect mash-up of survival horror and a crime thriller. Again, not outright horror, but several horror elements were woven into the gameplay and story.Ĭondemned: Criminal Origins (2005, Xbox 360) Apart from that, Gears of War looked so slick for its time and had some fun multiplayer modes. There was also that trailer that made use of “Mad World” by Gary Jules and Michael Andrews from Donnie Darko that put protagonist Marcus Fenix in a bit of a bind. Far grittier (and browner) than Halo‘s sci-fi action, Gears of War also had that lovely Lancer Assault Rifle that produced plenty of plasma for those getting up close with any Locust.
Halo was Microsoft’s franchise series for the Xbox, but that didn’t stop Epic Games from cranking out a system seller of their own. It also introduced a different kind of horror for gamers in the form of foul-mouthed 12-year-olds screaming into their mics during multiplayer sessions. Meanwhile, Halo was both a system seller and a key title for Microsoft’s then-fledgling Xbox Live service, and helped bring multiplayer gaming on a console to the forefront.
The Flood was so popular for players that the parasitic organisms made their return in Halo 2 and Halo 3.
And yes, technically some of these did release on PC at the same time, but Sony and Nintendo were still left out, so it still counts.Īdmittedly, Halo isn’t the first thing you think of when it comes to horror, but then there’s that part of the game where you encounter The Flood that changes that perception pretty quickly. So, with that in mind, here are some highlights throughout the Xbox’s first 20 years that either were/still are exclusive to the Xbox or were initially released first on the system. And while console exclusivity is a rarity these days, there are still those select titles that at one time or another you could only play on the Xbox. True, the Xbox has always played runner-up to Sony’s PlayStation, and it wasn’t without its growing pains (the initial Xbox controllers, the infamous 360 Red Ring of Death), but the extraordinarily large game console that could still ended up as the one that brought console gaming online in a meaningful way (sorry, Dreamcast), and today provides gamers with a massive library of titles to enjoy, thanks to the Xbox Game Pass and the Xbox Backwards Compatibility program. What started as a snicker for many gamers way back in 2001 has gone on to become a successful endeavor for Microsoft.