Five Xbox 360 Games Everyone Should Own

Check out this guide to the top five Xbox 360 games.

1. Halo 3.
   The good news: Halo 3 doesn't leave you hanging like the last installment. In addition to the top-of-the-genre gameplay you've come to expect from the Halo franchise, this installment includes a satisfying storyline that focuses primarily on Master Chief, with no sidetracking for the Arbiter storyline or ambiguity in the plot. With the great weaponry that Halo fans have grown to love and new equipment to deploy, the Halo 3 gameplay experience is top notch and will keep you coming back. A strong co-op mode, campaign mode, competitive solo mode and multiplayer matches incorporating team-based features round out the gameplay and give Halo 3 incredible replay value.
2. Grand Theft Auto IV.
   As Niko Bellic, you can explore Liberty City, unlock new areas, drive an impressive array of vehicles and wreak havoc or complete missions at will. Liberty City is conceptually impressive and successfully realized, with modeling and graphics that capture every true-to-life detail of a sometimes beautiful, sometimes grimy city full of people going about their business. Paired with a plethora of sound options, game play is entertaining and compelling, with a surprisingly rich storyline and truly likable (or contemptible) characters. Whether exploring the game in single-player mode or engaging in multiplayer destruction and mayhem, this Mature-rated game is sure to be a hit among the adults in your gaming circle. Although it's also available for the PS3, Xbox owners will get a bonus if they choose this version of the game, in the form of additional downloadable content that will be released in late 2008.
3. BioShock.
   While BioShock is a visually amazing first-person shooter, its appeal goes far beyond the standard genre fare to include an immersive storyline supported by a superb cast of voice actors. BioShock's unique weapon system is based on plasmids, which give you biological abilities, both weapon-like and subversive. BioShock doesn't leave out the traditional gun power, but the 1960s setting means the biological weapons are much more interesting. Period music and an intriguing soundtrack round out the detailed environments.
4. Gears of War.
   Gears of War isn't a game where you run up and shoot your enemies. It's more of a cat-and-mouse, hide-and-seek game where you must use cover and intelligent tactics to defeat powerful foes. Most sequences have you battling with a squad of fairly useless AI cronies, who are good only for distracting enemies and dropping like flies, leaving you to finish the battle alone or attempting to revive them in the midst of a barrage of bullets. The co-operative online multiplayer function gives you the option of playing with a more useful squad of cohorts, while team-based options let you wage war on competing squads.
5. Assassin's Creed.
   Want to play a blend of stealth, action and impressive acrobatic stunts? Assassin's Creed delivers interesting game play combined with a stunningly imagined virtual world. The living, breathing game world is richly realized with an impressive level of visual detail, combined with a soundstage incorporating everything from marketplace babble to cries for help when you shove through a crowd or when citizens are being harassed. The dual storyline is creative and original, unique in a world of derivative games.