Top Xbox 360 Games 2023

Gorgeous to look at and complex in its construction, BioShock Infinite is a captivating addition to the popular first-person-shooter series.

It's easy to be jaded about World War II shooters, but Treyarch makes a convincing argument to stay excited with World at War. The game is packed with a deep amount of gameplay to appeal to every type of player, from those who want to experience a gritty single-player campaign to those who like to play with their friends to those who just like to play multiplayer. This is a solid, confident shooter with plenty to offer the casual and hardcore alike.

With its incremental but noticeable improvements, Madden NFL 25 is the best football game experience I've had to date. It shines on a technical level, but the real issue with the series is that other sports games have improved so much faster that Madden 25 looks and feels dated by comparison – fake Twitter streams and pre-game montages are already old news. It would be better if EA Sports did more that was new and interesting rather than bringing back features discarded in previous versions. But the real meat-and-potatoes gameplay is better than ever, and when it comes down to it, we’re here to play some damn football. Madden 25 brings it with bone-crunching intensity.

Shift 2 Unleashed's a violent and immersive racer that recreates the driving experience like no other game on the market. In doing so it builds well on the first Shift's foundations, benefitting from Slightly Mad Studios' more refined touch and the inclusion of Autolog, but its handling is still too loose and its steps forward too small for it to truly beat Gran Turismo and Forza – although it does enough to ensure that it's pulled ever closer.

Dirt 2 is prettier than its predecessor, has more varied tracks and a functional multiplayer offering. What it doesn’t have is a focus on pure time-trial rally races, which is really what I expect from a rally game. The other disciplines are fun to dabble in, but I’m old school and want a bit more tradition from a racing game. Dirt 2 is a solid racing game with some really fun events and a slick menu system, but it could use a little less of the arcade action and a bit more of the sim. I think the vast majority of racing fans are going to love what Dirt 2 has to offer, but there will be a few who long for the days when a hill climb was considered the ultimate racing experience.

If there's one thing I can't stand, it's contributing to the proverbial hype machine, but I honestly didn't want to stop playing Bomberman Live to write this review. The game is a ton of fun, very dynamic in terms of gameplay, and more than worth the asking price of 800 Microsoft Points ($10USD).

With much better collisions and a vastly improved fighting minigame, NHL 14 is becoming more gamey and less of a simulation, but that gives it a distinct and interesting flavor compared to its predecessors. Many long-standing complaints with the series have been addressed, though AI still needs work before it’ll stop embarrassing us on the ice. Between games, the new Live the Life additions give hardcore pro hockey players something to invest in, both online and off. Plus the NHL 94 Mode is a way better anniversary celebration than the weak loading-screen nostalgia of Madden NFL 25.

Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts is a game that never stopped being fun for me. It's an odd duck that doesn't fit into any conventional game genres and probably isn't right for everybody. Despite its friendly appearance, Nuts & Bolts isn't exactly easy to pick up and play and might be over the head of some small children. There's a lot of depth here and the vehicle creation tools allow you to flex your mind and your fingers at the same time. This is a great change of pace from the usual Xbox 360 fare and a game that will offer a lot of fun to those willing to invest some time in it.

Battlefield: Bad Company is F.U.B.A.R. Really. And I mean that in the most complimentary way. Where Frontlines: Fuel of War nervously adjusted the Battlefield template to make it work for consoles as a single-player FPS, Bad Company takes the single player console FPS, gives it a damn good shake, and makes it feel like a Battlefield with 50 per cent more bang and boom. The fact that it does this so successfully is remarkable. The fact that it still contains a fabulous multiplayer component makes it nigh unmissable.

The Bugbear Entertainment-developed Ridge Racer Unbounded takes the classic arcade racing series in a more "extreme" direction, breathing new life into a very familiar franchise.