It's been nearly fifteen years since the release of the Xbox 360 and seven since it was a current-gen console. Soon, with the release of the Xbox Series X, the Xbox One will join the 360 in the afterlife of consoles of the past and live on in the hearts of gamers forever. Oddly, there are still a ton of games that have a fairly big community on the Xbox 360.
Some of these games are classics that unfortunately never got remakes, or just have a better experience on the older generation of consoles. Thankfully with the release of backward compatibility, these games are 100% playable on the Xbox One and will hopefully remain playable on future consoles. Here are ten classic Xbox 360 games that still hold up in 2020.
10 Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 (2012)
While it may be hard to remember today, Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 made huge changes to the franchise and shifted it towards a new futuristic timeline that would last for the next couple of years following its release. Years after its release, the game still has quite a decent amount of players with some of the only downsides being its lack of developer support and it's growing population of hackers.
The storyline is still one of the best in the entire franchise and, of course, the zombie mode is always fun to play solo or with friends.
9 Halo 3 (2007)
Originally the grand finale to the beloved Halo trilogy, Halo 3 is an absolute classic and was one of the first major games releases on the Xbox 360. Here, players can finally finish the fight as Master Chief in his epic journey and the conclusion to the classic trilogy.
With Halo: Infinite on the horizon, Halo 3 has seen a large spike of players that still are interested in the original game due to a couple features missing from The Master Chief Collection. There's also just a ton of nostalgia involved and memories that will last a lifetime.
8 Skate 3 (2010)
Old-school fans know by heart that Skate 3 is one of the most chill and hilarious games to be released on the Xbox 360. A new game is in development for the future generation of consoles and will hopefully have more information released later this year.
Skate 3 is the best of its trilogy and still has a very popular online mode to this day. In online mode, players can sign up for competitions against their friends or random players to determine who's the best skateboarder. A testament to this title's enduring popularity is the hype surrounding the recently confirmed Skate 4.
7 Tales of Vesperia (2008)
Tales of Vesperia is one of the best JRPG's on the Xbox 360 with a spectacular story and cast. It was released back in 2008 and has gotten an HD rerelease for the PS4, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch. The rerelease added a bunch of new content and is the better version of the game.
However, for players that don't own a current-gen console, the Xbox 360 version is still amazing and can be found online for a pretty fair price. The story and its characters are truly unforgettable and the combat in the game is one of the best in the series.
6 Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (2009)
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 is another classic first-person-shooter experience that still has a fairly large player base. Some of the maps in the game are the best in the franchise and have been remade several times in newer games. The story mode is also an extremely enjoyable experience that has some unforgettable moments.
At a time, Modern Warfare 2 was one of the most requested games to be released for backward compatibility on the Xbox One. It was finally added to the backward compatible catalog back in 2018 and still remains as one of the most beloved Call of Duty games of all time.
5 Fallout: New Vegas (2010)
With its unique post-apocalypse and endless ways to replay the same story, Fallout is one of the most iconic video games of all time and New Vegas is often held as the best experience out of all the currently released games. It has a very engaging storyline as well as memorable characters and locations.
Fallout 3 and 4 are great but don't feel as alive as the world in Fallout: New Vegas. The DLC available for the game is also amazing and adds a ton of content to the already huge world of New Vegas.
4 Red Dead Redemption (2010)
Despite being the follow up to a somewhat forgotten cowboy game that was released on the original Xbox, Red Dead Redemption was one of the most popular titles of its time. It's one of the best action-adventure games available, as well as one of the best cowboy games ever made. It's the spiritual successor to Red Dead Revolver and is the direct predecessor to the equally beloved Red Dead Redemption 2 that was released back in 2018.
A remaster of the game still hasn't been announced but could hopefully be released in the future. It holds up very well on the Xbox 360 and also has a zombie DLC that's a ton of fun.
3 Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion (2006)
While Skyrim is often held as the best Elder Scrolls game and one of the greatest RPG's of all time, Oblivion is one of the series' entries that should not be forgotten. Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion does a lot of things better than Skyrim but in a way that can be unforgiving to some fans of the series.
It doesn't hold the player's hand throughout most of the story and forces them to truly dive deep into the lore and immerse themselves in the world. The combat and skills work a lot differently and while the graphics don't hold up, the story and world most certainly do.
2 Grand Theft Auto V (2013)
This shouldn't come as a surprise considering how popular the game is on every platform that it is currently available on. Grand Theft Auto V took over the world when it was released back in 2013 and still remains as one of the most popular and successful video games of all time.
It's so popular that it remained as the only entry on current-gen consoles and will be rereleased on next-gen consoles in the future. It has an addicting online mode as well as an unforgettable story with phenomenal character performances.
1 Dark Souls (2011)
It's common knowledge by now that Dark Souls is a very difficult and brutal video game that isn't for everyone. However, for those patient enough to learn and adapt to the violent world and its vicious creatures, it can be an extremely rewarding experience.
The first game in the trilogy looks fairly rough compared to its sequels but still has a ton of amazing boss fights, weapons, armor, and visuals that make the experience worth it.