Holiday Games Gift Guide – Xbox 360 December 23, 2012

The Holidays are coming pretty soon and I know that many of you may very well be opening up brand new gifts including a wide range of consoles and handhelds for the first time. However, with a new console or handheld comes the responsiblity to find some of the best games to get for it. The hope is to bring you a list of currently in print brand new games which are either some of the best for the platform or the best deals on the platform that you can easily pick up at the store for a reasonable price, pop it into your new gaming system and enjoy every second of it! So, in the time leading up to Christmas, I’m going to be posting a series of articles for each platform and handheld system currently on the market and tell you what are some of the must-have games for new console owners!

As we come to the final platform for this year’s Holiday Games Gift Guide, we’re going to be talking about the Microsoft Xbox 360. Okay, let’s get this out of the way first off, Halo 4 is probably the newest and biggest 360-exclusive release, and one heck of a great reason to get a 360, but after that game what other 360 exclusive games are out there that can be gotten for a reasonable price?

Halo 3, Halo 3 ODST, Halo Reach, Halo Wars – Like it or not, the Xbox 360 is the Halo platform, and with very good reason. The Halo games have been some of the most polished games of the past ten years. Halo 3 finished the fight. Halo 3 ODST may have a short single player campaign but that short story is one of the best stories (with some of the best music) of the series, and it includes all the downloadable multiplayer maps for Halo 3 on a second disc. Halo Wars took the RTS concept and made it actually work on a console, offered pre-rendered FMVs that rivaled some computer animated feature-length movies, and new Platinum Hits copies of the game will include download codes for all the game’s downloadable content. You can probably find all of these games for between $19.99-$24.99 US each.

Gears of War Triple Pack – Other than Halo, there has been no other exclusive franchise as important to the 360 as Gears of War, and with good reason. These games redefined what made for an action game. This bundles together the first two Gears of War games in one package. Sadly, Gears of War 3 isn’t included with this pack, but it does come with codes for all DLC for Gears of War 2, including several map packs and a deleted single player level. The downloadable map packs for the original Gears of War are all free. You can find this for $24.99 US.

And for those of you who have a Kinect to go along with that Xbox 360, here are some games I recommend which take advantage or require the Kinect.

Kinect Adventures – This will probably be the first Kinect title you play on the Xbox 360 and let me tell you that this game alone made my purchase worth it. It was a ton of fun going through all the different game types on the disc with a friend, trying to get the medals needed to unlock the later stages. Kinect Adventures is included free with every Kinect or Kinect-Bundled Xbox 360.

The Gunstringer – Made by the awesome guys over at Twisted Pixel, The Gunstringer is an amazing game which blends live action and 3D gameplay better than anything I’ve ever seen before. You control The Gunstringer, a mariachi puppet out for revenge against the gang that killed him. Oh and did I mention it’s hilarious too? The game also features a free DLC called the “Wavy Tube Man Chronicles”, and a voucher for the free XBLA Kinect game Fruit Ninja. The Gunstringer is currently $39.99 US.

Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary – The entire original Halo: Combat Evolved game, remade for the Xbox 360 with brand new graphics and unlockables. I know what you’re thinking, why would I include this game in the Kinect section of the list if it can be played without a Kinect? Because the game’s library feature, which allows you to scan objects, items and characters in the game and unlock encyclopedia entries in the game menu will only work for Kinect-equipped players. Oh and it includes the full multiplayer Halo Reach client on disc, and a download code that gives Reach players some new multiplayer maps to boot. If you’re lucky you can probably find the game for $29.99 US, but the normal price for it is $39.99 US.

And with that, we come to the end of this year’s Holiday Gift Games Guide. Wishing all of you a happy and safe holiday season!