Top Games of the PS3 / Xbox 360 Generation
As the dawn of the PS4 / Xbox One era approaches, I’d like to take a look back at the games that made an impression on me during the last generation of video game consoles. They aren’t necessarily the best games, or the most impressive, but these are the games that I have the most fond memories of, and will likely stick with me over the years. In alphabetical order…
- Assassin’s Creed II – PS3, Xbox 360
It took a while to get going, but was a huge improvement over the first game, which didn’t quite live up to its expectations. - Batman: Arkham Asylum – PS3, Xbox 360
The first truly great Batman game. - Batman: Arkham City – PS3, Xbox 360
Huge improvement over an already solid game. - BioShock – Xbox 360, later PS3
The “Would you kindly…” reveal totally blew my mind! - Call of Duty 2 – Xbox 360
Never grew tired of WWII games, and COD 2 is to this day, one of the best. - Crackdown – Xbox 360
Agility orbs, get! Seriously, I don’t think I’ve every been so addicted to a game. - The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim – PS3, Xbox 360
Not a huge RPG fan, but I fell prey to Skyrim, and loved every second of it. - Far Cry 3 – PS3, Xbox 360
So. Much. Fun. Decent story with lots of twists, too. - Forza Motorsport 2 – Xbox 360
Had such a hard time putting this game down. - Gears of War – Xbox 360
Chainsaw bayonet. - Gears of War 2 – Xbox 360
Shockingly emotional story, that was also insanely fun and satisfying from beginning to end. - God of War III – PS3
Destroying the gods who wronged Kratos was just so great. - Grand Theft Auto V – PS3, Xbox 360
So big, so much polish, and an absolute blast. - Half-Life 2: Episode 2 – PS3, Xbox 360
So many great moments, on top of the usual level of awesomeness. - Halo 3 – Xbox 360
One of the first big bundle games, including a single player campaign, online co-op, online multiplayer, and a sandbox mode. - Halo 4 – Xbox 360
First Halo title not developed by Bungie, and it might actually be my favourite in the series. - Heavy Rain – PS3
Fantastic story and unique gesture based gameplay. - inFamous – PS3
Very cool comic inspired cut-scenes and narrative. Crazy fun gameplay. - inFamous 2 – PS3
Quite possibly the best first 5 minutes to a game in this generation. Awesome ending, as well. - Killzone 2 – PS3
Seriously impressive visuals, even now at the day of next-gen. - L.A. Noire – PS3, Xbox 360
Loved everything about this game. Incredibly motion capture, excellent story, super suspenseful, great setting and atmosphere. - The Last of Us – PS3
Incredible experience from beginning to end. Some truly heart wrenching scenes. - LEGO The Lord of the Rings – PS3, Xbox 360
I’ve been a big fan of the LEGO games, and LoTR was just so much fun. First game I hunted all the achievements for in years. - Limbo – Xbox 360, later PS3
Very unique side-scroller that left a huge impression on me. - LittleBigPlanet – PS3
It’s literally impossible to play this game, or even watch someone else play, without smiling. - Mass Effect – Xbox 360, later PS3
I’ve never felt so invested in a game. I spoke to every single person to find out every bit of backstory I possibly could. - Mass Effect 2 – PS3, Xbox 360
Played this 20 hour campaign 3 times, and never grew tired of it. Plenty of awesome DLC was released as well. - Portal – PS3, Xbox 360
It might have only lasted a few hours, but I’ll remember it for years. - Rayman Origins – PS3, Xbox 360
Perfect throwback to the golden age of side-scrolling platformers. - Red Dead Redemption – PS3, Xbox 360
One of the best endings in any video game, ever. - Rock Band 2 – PS3, Xbox 360
The first Rock Band game changed rhythm games forever. The second pretty much perfected the genre. - Skate 3 – PS3, Xbox 360
The series that buried Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater was never quite perfected, but this is the closest it came. - Tomb Raider – PS3, Xbox 360
Undoubtably the best in the series. Only complaint is that I would have enjoyed more tomb raiding. - Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune – PS3
I was blown away by the sheer scope of the single player campaign, and how good the voice acting and motion capture were. - Uncharted 2 – PS3
Perfection. An incredible action-packed adventure. - The Walking Dead – PS3, Xbox 360
Superb storytelling and incredibly suspenseful.
What’s on your list? Let me know in the comments, or via Twitter.