The 12 Games of Xbox Article

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10. Thief Deadly Shadows

• Review
• Xbox 360 compatible? Yes

What we said then:

'There's something so pleasingly honed about the overall structure of Deadly Shadows and how that integrates with the gameplay mechanic - and in terms of getting your money's worth, there are few games that suck you in quite as much. Playing for long periods never felt like an obligation - there was rarely a time when we were playing just to see what came next, but more because we wanted to. Deadly Shadows is the kind of console game you could have only dreamed of a few years back... it's almost the complete package.'

What we say now:

Kristan: The biggest tribute I can pay Deadly Shadows is that when I was enjoying Oblivion earlier this year, much of it reminded me of the opulent visual style and intense atmosphere that made Deadly Shadows such an engrossing game back in the day. Clearly Ion Storm overstretched the Xbox at times with trying to make the game look as beautiful as it does, but it's such a deliciously slow-paced pure stealth game that it matters little. Best played at night behind shut curtains and with a whole evening to spare, Deadly Shadows isn't just about great design, it feels crafted. One of the great lost Xbox games, no question.

Rob: I loved the Thief series, but this was probably the high point for me - intelligent, involving and amazingly atmospheric, it really did have everything going for it. It demanded a huge investment of time and concentration, which made it one for the long winter nights (a real January or February kind of game, if that makes any sense), but if you were willing to put the effort into the game, it was more than willing to reward you richly.

Tom: I bought this after much pestering, started playing it and then had to do some boring work or something, only to discover I couldn't find the disc again afterwards. To this day I believe it is simply hiding. Touché, Garrett.

How well has it aged?

So-so. You could argue that we wouldn't put up with such poor frame rates these days, but the trade-off then was staggering levels of detail that seem pretty normal now. In truth, some of the interface issues like the rubbish in-game map spoil it a little, but measured against the other stealth games around, it still ranks as one of my favourites.

11. The Elder Scrolls 3: Morrowind

• Review

What we said then:

'Role-playing on a truly epic scale, with an involving if mostly predictable storyline, hundreds of characters to talk to, dozens of tasks to carry out and several square miles of terrain to explore. If you want to lose yourself for a few months, Vvardenfell could be your holiday destination of choice.'

What we say now:

The Morrow of this story is Oblivion. Athankyou.

Ronan:Morrowind is broken. Anyone who has played the game knows this. Not only is it weighed down with bugs, but it's full of contradictions in gameplay too. It gives you unparalleled freedom to explore, but often punishes you for doing just that. It has monotonous, zombie-drone NPCs, yet they are strangely memorable for that very reason. Its combat lacks realism and action, but is utterly compelling nonetheless. In the days of hand-holding tutorials and pop-up advice bubbles, Morrowind's flawed freedom is a joy. Its alien landscape is perhaps the greatest example of a gaming world that isn't tailored to the player at every step, far more so than its brother Oblivion. So yes, Morrowind is broken - but we love it anyway.

Kristan: As is now well documented, Oblivion is my favourite game of the year. A true 10 out of 10 -yet many people bitterly insist that, in fact, Morrowind was the better game. I'm staying out of this one for now, but what I will say is that there are few Western RPGs with the scope and ambition of Bethesda's third Elder Scrolls epic, and what this game demonstrated beyond doubt was how important it was to have the hard disk in the Xbox. It gave developers the chance to developer (and port) the kind of games that up until that point had only been accessible to people with an expensive PC - and if this game did anything at all, it was to act as a stepping stone to preparing the console buying public for Oblivion.

How well has it aged?

If you're coming to it having played Oblivion, then the answer in technical terms isn't hugely positive. It's still a gorgeous and thrilling experience, and stands up as a great achievement, but it was every bit as buggy as the PC version that gave birth to it. But don't let that put you off if you haven't yet moved onto the 360.

12. Half-Life 2

• Review

What we said then:

'It's constantly surprising the gamer and reinventing itself with a seamless adventure that is as memorable an FPS as there has ever been. This continual evolution is consistently underpinned by Valve's masterfully understated storytelling techniques, wry, self-referential humour, warm characterisation and some of the most epic scenarios gamers have ever been pitted against. Despite some of its flaws, Half-Life 2 remains a thrilling sci-fi road trip that provides a tantalising glimpse of the possibilities of gaming.'

What we say now:

Antlions forever!

Kristan: Half-Life 2 still stands out as the benchmark shooter to beat. Not because it's the best looking, or the longest, or the most innovative, or has the best AI. Break down each element and you'll probably now find a game that has inched ahead in some small way, but put the whole thing together and it somehow towers above all the single player shooters. It's the way Valve manages to stitch together so many memorable set pieces and hugely contrasting sequences that initially beguiles. And then it backs up the whole thing by always remembering to give you new toys to play with, new enemies to topple and wrapping the whole thing up with great characters, a wonderful atmosphere and the usual subtle storytelling techniques. It's a game everybody ought to play. Putting a version on the humble Xbox seemed a ridiculous thing to do, but it just goes to show how brilliantly scalable the Source engine really was. There were very few compromises made in the end, and in many senses this maxed out what the Xbox was capable of, and will probably never be topped.

How well has it aged?

Despite the fact that we're drowning under the weight of high def shooters released lately, revisiting Half-Life 2 on Xbox is a surprisingly pleasant experience. As long as you don't play it on a giant TV, it's a wonderful looking game. Truly an immensely impressive demonstration of what the Xbox could do, visually. The lack of multiplayer didn't help its long-term appeal, and Valve was a bit mean not giving Xbox owners the freebies it was happy to dish out to PC players -especially given that they actually ended up charging more for this.