The Top 10 Xbox Games Ranked

Steve

When Sony and Nintendo released the PlayStation 2 and Nintendo GameCube, respectively, Bill Gates panicked, thinking the new consoles would eat the Windows PC gaming market’s lunch. To quell his jangled nerves, his team got to work on developing the Xbox, a premium gaming console that would compete directly with other platforms. The Xbox came out swinging, mostly thanks to Bungie‘s game-changing first-person shooter, Halo: Combat Evolved. In addition to giving players greater choice in the gaming arena, Xbox reignited the console wars. This obnoxious but ultimately beneficial competition forced Sony, Nintendo, and Microsoft to think outside the box and develop games that helped the industry evolve.

I remember getting my Xbox for Christmas in 2001, with copies of Halo: Combat Evolved and Dead or Alive 3 to kick things off. Halo debuted as a game that felt new, engaging, and important. I beat the metal pants off that game like everyone else, but the game that lit a fire under my ass was Dead or Alive 3, a majestic and tactical 3D fighting game that quickly became my new obsession, but more on that later. The Xbox laid the foundation for Microsoft’s foray into console gaming, and what a ride it’s been. With plenty of ups and downs from one system to the next, Xbox’s future is questionable at best, but one thing’s for certain: the first Xbox was a banger. Let’s look back at the first Xbox and discuss some of the system’s best games, shall we?

1. Halo: Combat Evolved (2001) – Best overall Xbox game
2. Dead or Alive 3 (2001) – Best fighting game
3. Half-Life 2 (2004) – Second-best first-person shooter
4. SoulCalibur 2 (2002) – Best weapon-based fighting game
5. Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic (2003) – Best Star Wars game
6. Ninja Gaiden Black (2005) – Best action adventure game
7. Jet Set Radio Future (2002) – Best extreme sports game
8. Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory (2005) – Best stealth action game
9. Burnout 3: Takedown (2004) – Best racing game
10. Chronicles of Riddick: Escape From Butcher Bay (2004) – Best film-based action game

10) The Chronicles of Riddick: Escape from Butcher Bay

• Developer: Starbreeze Studios
• Publisher: Vivendi Universal Games
• Release Year: 2004
• Genre: Action-Adventure / Stealth

One of the biggest surprises on the Xbox is the licensed stealth-action game Chronicles of Riddick: Escape From Butcher Bay, developed by Starbreeze and Tigon Studios, and published by Vivendi Universal Games. Inspired by stealth games like Thief: The Dark Project and Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell, Butcher Bay puts players in control of Richard B. Riddick, Vin Diesel’s highly skilled survivalist character created by Ken and Jim Wheat. As a prequel to USA Films and Universal Pictures’ Pitch Black, the game finds Riddick navigating the maximum-security prison, Butch Bay, located on a desolate planet and populated by some of the worst criminals in the galaxy. Aided by a group of inmates, Riddick moves through the shadows toward freedom, killing anyone in his path and working toward the events that led to Pitch Black.

While any number of licensed games are easy to dismiss, some would argue that Escape From Butcher Bay is better than Pitch Black. This opinion is up for debate, but one thing’s for certain: Butcher Bay is far better than anyone ever thought it would be. In addition to looking great at the time, the gameplay in Butcher Bay is smooth, the prison layout is smart and fun to navigate, and the story packs more than a few narrative surprises. The game provides more insight into Diesel’s threadbare character, giving his role in Pitch Black more context and oomph. Dispatching enemies with a well-timed sneak attack never gets old, and the game is something of a miracle considering its completion in an 18-month development cycle. To this day, it remains one of the OG Xbox’s most celebrated titles.

9) Burnout 3: Takedown

• Developer: Criterion Games
• Publisher: Electronic Arts
• Release Year: 2004
• Genre: Racing

When Criterion Games made Burnout 3: Takedown, it’s as if they took the rulebook of racing games, purposefully left it in the middle of the street, and ran it over until it became roadkill. Often hailed as one of the best racing games ever made, Burnout 3: Takedown is a high-octane racer that blends blistering speed with frame-shattering collisions, letting you become a menace on the racetrack while shoving other drivers out of the way like a windmilling demon in a mosh pit hopped up on Red Bull and vodka.

Whether you’re racing solo, riding alongside AI opponents, or leaving your friends in the dust, Burnout 3: Takedown flips the bird to proper driving etiquette with unpredictable obstacles, ramps, an outstanding boost system, and crashes that have you thanking the filmmaking gods for the invention of the slo-motion camera. At the end of the day, the object of the game is to drive like a maniac, whether you’re playing Road Rage mode, Crash mode, or looking to destroy other vehicles using the Crashbreaker feature, which lets you detonate your car for a maximum damage score multiplier. Want to test your speed? Test your mettle in the game’s Burning Lap mode, where a single-lap time trial lets you rip the pavement up like that present you’ve been waiting for on Christmas morning. I don’t play a lot of racing games, because they’re often not my speed, but Burnout 3: Takedown is a stone-cold classic, and one of the best to hit the digital road.

8) Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory

• Developer: Ubisoft Montreal
• Publisher: Ubisoft
• Release Year: 2005
• Genre: Stealth Action

As arguably the best game in the Splinter Cell franchise, Chaos Theory is a pillar of the first-person stealth-action genre. In the game, you play as the highly decorated U.S. Navy SEAL and master spy Sam Fisher, who’s deep undercover in North Korea, attempting to extract vital information before Admiral Toshiro Otomo of the I-SDF can complete his dastardly plans. Throughout the mission, players explore new rifts in Splinter Cell’s signature dynamic lighting system, with light and shadow play that makes navigating compounds more fun than ever before.

In a stroke of genius, Ubisoft Montreal and Ubisoft Milan took a non-linear approach to the levels, letting you approach your target from any direction in whichever way you see fit. You can go in “loud” if you want, but the game will punish you for causing too much of a scene. Instead, the game rewards cunning, as you stealth your way from one enemy to the next. In addition to slick gameplay and a riveting story, Chaos Theory boasts a killer, ambient soundtrack by Amon Tobin, whose album, “Supermodified,” is a must-listen if you’ve never heard it. Last but not least, the game includes an intense multiplayer mode that requires players to use everything they’ve learned from the core game to get the edge over their opponents. Chaos Theory is bold, engrossing, creative, and makes you feel like a genuine spy. What’s not to love?

7) Jet Set Radio Future

• Developer: Smilebit
• Publisher: Sega
• Release Year: 2002
• Genre: Action Platformer

It’s amazing how a game like Jet Set Radio, developed by Smilebit and published by Sega in 2002, can remain so relevant more than two decades after its release. In this outstanding sequel to Jet Set Radio, you play as a member of the GGs, a group of rebellious youths on roller blades whose mission is to make life a living hell for the Rokkaku Group, a megacorporation controlling the government, and its stranglehold on a repressed society that might as well be a powder keg about to go off. With DJ Professor K as your guide, the GGs skate, tag, and trick their way toward a better tomorrow, and look damn good doing it.

Featuring a slamming soundtrack, with musical artists like Guitar Vade, Ad-Rock, Scapegoat Wax, Cibo Matto, The Prunes, and more, Jet Set Radio Future drips with style, attitude, and a flow-state combo system that makes tricking to the beat only one inspired aspect of the fun. The stages are a blast to rip through while tagging billboards, using open sewers like a half-pipe, and defying gravity as you skate up a spiral staircase toward the sky. If you let the game take you, Jet Set Radio Future is a rush that lets you play as a hometown hero who’s sick and tired of corrupt people in power taking advantage of people they’re supposed to protect. In my wildest dreams, I’d be a member of the GGs for real, but I’ll settle for the exhilarating gameplay, charm, and cel-shaded madness that is Sega’s Jet Set Radio Future.

6) Ninja Gaiden Black

• Developer: Team Ninja
• Publisher: Tecmo
• Release Year: 2005
• Genre: Action-Adventure / Hack-and-Slash

Reworked versions of old games are nothing new, but now and then, a studio will pull out all the stops to get the most out of something that was already awesome. In the case of Team Ninja and Tecmo’s Ninja Gaiden Black, a reworked compilation of Ninja Gaiden and the two Hurricane Packs, Black brings everything players love about the franchise to the forefront with new weapons, unlockable costumes, additional cutscenes, mission modes, and a blistering difficulty that would make most ninjas remain in the shadows.

Ryu Hayabusa is, without question, one of the coolest ninjas in video games. Whether you’re playing Ninja Gaiden or Dead or Alive, Ryu Hayabusa’s traditional look, lightning-quick movement, and punishing methods of erasing his enemies from existence are second to none. Not only did Ninja Gaiden Black set the standard for 3D action games, but it also introduced non-linear progression to the franchise, making Black feel more like an adventure game than walking a level-by-level path through one setpiece after another. Suppose you find yourself getting your ass kicked, repeatedly, practice. The reward for mastering Ryu’s movesets, weapons, and traversal is so incredibly rewarding that by the time you reach the game’s final stretch, you’ll feel like a god in black pajamas.

5) Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic

• Developer: BioWare
• Publisher: LucasArts
• Release Year: 2003
• Genre: Role-Playing Game (RPG)

Of all the Star Wars-related remakes Saber Interactive could be working on, I’m glad it’s Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic that’s getting a fresh coat of paint. Set thousands of years before the movies, KOTOR lets you explore the Star Wars Universe like no other game before its time. Granted, the gameplay won’t be for everyone, with KOTOR favoring a turn-based, Dungeons & Dragons-like combat system with invisible dice rolls, but for those who enjoy that sort of thing, it’s a way of interacting with the Star Wars franchise that’s strategic, smartly designed, and unforgettable.

Throughout the intergalactic adventure, players must choose which side they’re on via the game’s Light and Dark Side morality system. It’s the type of game where it feels like every decision you make matters, and the people you meet along the way influence your choices in unexpected ways. As you make your way from one planet to the next, KOTOR offers a surprising amount of depth and freedom as you explore, observe, and battle your way through a compelling narrative informed by your actions. Not only is KOTOR a great game, but it’s one of the best Star Wars experiences, full stop. Which side are you on?

4) SoulCalibur 2

• Developer: Project Soul
  Publisher: Namco
  Release Year: 2002
  Genre: Weapon-Based Fighting

Welcome back to the stage of history! Is your soul still burning? I hope so, because after including SoulCalibur on our Top 10 Sega Dreamcast Games list, Project Soul and Namco’s legendary fighting game franchise is back with praise for SoulCalibur 2. This masterpiece takes every lesson learned from the original SoulCalibur, itself a near-perfect game. It makes everything better with robust yet accessible gameplay, a brilliant 8-way run system for strategic battle approaches, elaborate stage design, and a character roster that includes Todd McFarlane’s Spawn for the Xbox version.

Yes, the GameCube version of the game includes Link from the Legend of Zelda franchise as a playable fighter. Still, when you’ve got characters like Seung Mina, Taki, Maxi, Kilik, Sophitia Alexander, Chai Xianghua, Talim, and Cassandra Alexander to choose from, there’s no need for Nintendo’s elf to stir from his nap at the Shrine of Resurrections. Want to get better at the game? Spend some time playing SoulCalibur 2‘s “Weapon Master” mode, a single-player RPG-lite adventure designed around miniature challenges introducing you to the game’s expansive combat system. Sure, you can button-mash your way through rounds. Still, the satisfaction derived from becoming untouchable with any character is a sensation I hope every fighting game player feels at some point in their gaming career.

3) Half-Life 2

• Developer: Valve
• Publisher: Vivendi Universal Games
• Release Year: 2004
• Genre: First-Person Shooter

When I worked at Acclaim Entertainment (Yes, I’m partially responsible for Mary-Kate & Ashley’s Sweet 16: License to Drive. You’re welcome.), two games were always on rotation during our lunch hour: Valve’s Counter-Strike and Half-Life 2. Considered by many to be the greatest first-person shooter of all time, Half-Life 2 is a timeless, superbly designed gaming experience with immersive storytelling, inspired gadgetry, entertaining environmental puzzle-solving, and gunplay that’s satisfying no matter what year you revisit this polished gem.

After Half-Life 2, first-person shooters needed to step up their game in almost every regard. Valve’s sequel to its 1998 classic not only set new standards for the genre, but also raised the bar so high that Valve seems terrified to attempt another chapter of the series. Yes, there’s Half-Life: Alyx, which is arguably one of the best VR games ever, but the day Half-Life 3 gets announced, the pressure for that game to be mind-blowing will be able to press diamonds. Until that day comes, Half-Life 2 sits atop a throne of gilded greatness, basking in its reputation and legacy like few games can hope to aspire to.

2) Dead or Alive 3

• Developer: Team Ninja
• Publisher: Tecmo
• Release Year: 2001
• Genre: Fighting

Go ahead. The comments section isn’t far away. Let it all out. For me, it doesn’t get any better than Dead or Alive 3, a fighting game so brutal, engaging, and perfect that I lost countless hours beating the ever-loving shit out of my friends with a big, sloppy grin on my face the entire time. Whether I’m fighting like a mad drunk with Brad Wong at the Seaside Market, pushing fools out of my way as Leifang, distracting opponents with Ivy’s sexier costumes, or engaging in a daddy-daughter beatdown with Bass and Tina Armstrong, Dead or Alive 3 hits harder than most games in the genre, every f**king time.

In addition to the game’s liquid-smooth gameplay, coming in at 60 frames per second in 720P, the combat is so welcoming that just about anyone can punch, kick, throw, and counter opponents with relative ease. Don’t get me wrong, I’ll put you through a wall if you give me an opening, but more often than not, novice players can find a character they enjoy and quickly give you a run for your money. Yes, the game is light on story, but who cares? The stunning visuals, high-impact action, and the ability to swap the soundtrack for any song on your Xbox hard drive (what I wouldn’t give to have this feature back on any console) made Dead or Alive 3 my go-to fighting game during the console’s lifecycle and long after its extinction.

1) Halo: Combat Evolved

• Developer: Bungie
• Publisher: Microsoft Game Studios
• Release Year: 2001
• Genre: First-Person Shooter

I’ll be straight with you, I’m not a Halo guy. However, I recognize greatness when it presents itself, and Halo: Combat Evolved is a landmark game that helped revolutionize the first-person shooting genre by leaps and bounds. Don’t get me wrong, I loved Halo: Combat Evolved when it came out, but I didn’t make it my entire gaming persona like some other folks. First and foremost, the game feels great to play, and the firefights are some of the best in the business. Seemingly without warning, Halo: Combat Evolved goes from a quiet, atmospheric space military shooter to all-out war in a matter of seconds. The brilliant AI makes those battles engaging and unpredictable, like a moving puzzle as you bob and weave in and out of cover. Then, when you add Martin O’Donnell’s majestic score to the mix, Halo becomes so much more than I think anyone was ready for when the Xbox debuted on shelves.

Despite running the risk of feeling repetitive at times, Halo is a blast to play with friends. I loved talking with my friends while barking orders, calling out enemy funneling techniques, and hucking grenades with ease. Man, those Spike Grenades were the shit. Knowing you landed one of those suckers, then mentally counting down until their detonation was always so satisfying. As I said, I never got into the lore, but I respect Halo: Combat Evolved for laying the foundation for a sprawling story that spans several games, novels, and more. While it’s not my personal favorite game on the system by any stretch of the imagination, I have a deep and abiding respect for Halo: Combat Evolved, and genuinely think that if you own an Xbox, it’s a must-play experience that feels like a rite of passage and essential to what the console has to offer.

Honorable Mentions

While these games narrowly missed the Top 10, each deserves recognition as one of the original Xbox’s standout titles:

• Fable (2004)
• Project Gotham Racing 2 (2003)
• Panzer Dragoon Orta (2002)
• Jade Empire (2005)
• Crimson Skies: High Road to Revenge (2003)
• Star Wars Battlefront II (2005)
• Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time (2003)
• Psychonauts (2005)
• MechAssault (2002)
• The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind (2002)
• Otogi: Myth of Demons (2002)
• Conker: Live & Reloaded (2005)
• Beyond Good & Evil (2003)
• Star Wars: Republic Commando (2005)
• Fable: The Lost Chapters (2005)

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the best original Xbox game?

Many players consider Halo: Combat Evolved the best original Xbox game because of its revolutionary first-person shooter gameplay, intelligent enemy AI, memorable campaign, and role in establishing Xbox as a major gaming platform.

What are the best Xbox-exclusive games?

Some of the most acclaimed original Xbox exclusives include Halo: Combat Evolved, Dead or Alive 3, Jet Set Radio Future, Ninja Gaiden Black, Fable, and Project Gotham Racing 2.

What was the original Xbox’s most important game?

Halo: Combat Evolved is widely regarded as the original Xbox’s most important game. It served as the system’s killer app and helped Microsoft successfully enter the console gaming market.

Can you still play original Xbox games today?

Yes. Many original Xbox games can be played through backward compatibility on newer Xbox consoles, while others have received remasters, ports, or digital re-releases.

What was the original Xbox released to compete against?

Microsoft released the Xbox in 2001 to compete directly with Sony’s PlayStation 2 and Nintendo’s GameCube during the sixth generation of console gaming.

What was Xbox Live?

Xbox Live was Microsoft’s online gaming service. Introduced during the original Xbox era, it helped popularize console online multiplayer gaming and laid the foundation for modern online console ecosystems.

What are the rarest original Xbox games?

Some of the most sought-after original Xbox games among collectors include Steel Battalion, Panzer Dragoon Orta, Otogi: Myth of Demons, Metal Wolf Chaos, and Futurama.

What is the best original Xbox racing game?

Many fans consider Burnout 3: Takedown one of the greatest racing games ever made thanks to its emphasis on speed, spectacular crashes, and aggressive gameplay.

What is the best original Xbox RPG?

Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic is often regarded as the best RPG on the system due to its memorable story, player choice system, and influence on later role-playing games.

What is the best fighting game on the original Xbox?

The answer often comes down to personal preference, but Dead or Alive 3 and SoulCalibur II are frequently cited among the console’s finest fighting games.

What do you think about our Top 10 Xbox games list? What’s your Top 10 list look like? Leave a comment below and let us know what your favorite games for the Xbox are!