Halo 3 – 8.1 million copies sold

Halo 3 is a first person shooter and the 3rd title in the Halo trilogy concluding the story arc that began in Halo: Combat Evolved and continued in Halo 2. Halo 3′s story centres on the intergalactic war between 26th century humanity, led by the United Nations Space Command, and a group of alien races known as the Covenant. The player once again assumes the role of enhanced supersoldier Master Chief as he wages war in defence of humanity. The game features new vehicles and weapons not seen in the previous games as well as an array of new features.

Gears of War – 5 million copies sold*

A third-person shooter game, Gears of War concentrates on the troops of Delta Squad as they wage war against an unrelenting subterranean enemy known as the Locust Horde on the fictional planet of Sera. The player assumes the role of Marcus Fenix, a former prisoner and war-hardened soldier. The game is based on the use of cover and strategic fire for the player to advance through the scenarios.

* Gears of War sales may include the PC version of the game.

Gears of War 2 – 5 million copies sold

Gears of War 2 is the 2nd game in the Gears of War franchise and players take control of Marcus Fenix who leads Delta Squad against the Locust Horde, who this time are attempting to sink all cities on the planet Sera by using a giant riftworm to eat the ground beneath them but instead they discover the true intent of the Locust actions. New guns and gameplay mechanics such as “hockey fights” and the ability to use defeated foes as “meatshields” were incorporated into the game.

Halo: Reach – 3.7 million copies sold

Halo: Reach is another first-person shooter in the Halo universe. Humanity is locked in a war with the alien Covenant in the year 2552 as players control Noble Six, a member of an elite supersoldier squad, during the battle for the world of Reach. As the Covenant start their assault on the planet, the UNSC begin their heroic yet ultimately futile effort to deter the alien invaders.

Fable II – 3.5 million copies sold

Fable II is an action role-playing game & takes place in the fictional land of Albion, 500 years after Fable’s original setting. Weapons are still primitive, and large castles and cities have developed in the place of towns. Unlike the original, the player may choose to be either male or female, while also choosing a character’s sexuality, allowing for marriage and sexual liaisons with male and female NPCs.

Forza Motorsport 2 – 2.6 million copies sold

Forza Motorsport 2 is a realistic racing simulator and the 2nd title in the Forza Motorsport franchise. Including downloadable content, there are 349 cars available in the game which are divided into 6 production classes and 4 race classes with the races a car is eligible for being limited by its. All cars have multiple settings for damage and physics characteristics and most of the cars can be visually customised with both aerodynamic parts as well as graphics. 1000 layers of graphics can be created to draw shapes, letters and pictures onto a car. Forza 2 contains real world tracks for circuit racing including – Silverstone, Laguna Seca, Sebring International Raceway, Suzuka Circuit, Road Atlanta, Tsukuba, Mugello Circuit, and Nrburgring Nordschleife which are all licensed and included.

Forza Motorsport 3 – 2 million copies sold

Forza Motorsport 3 is a racing game and sequel to Forza Motorsport 2. The game includes over 400 customisable cars (Over 500 cars in the Ultimate Collection version) from 50 manufacturers and over 100 race track variations with the ability to race up to 8 cars on track at a time. New additions to the game include a rewind feature, an in-car driving view, updated physics engine which includes tyre deformation, one button assisted driving, vehicle rollover with detailed undercarriages, real-simulation drifting and drag racing. Also new to the series is the addition of stock cars, albeit generic and the inclusion of some SUVs. The new single-player season mode puts the player through a completely tailor-made racing calendar that includes more than 200 different events, including circuit, oval, drag, drift, and timed events. New circuits added to the series are the Circuit de la Sarthe and Circuit de Catalunya tracks, with these joining the already impressive list from Forza 2.

Mass Effect – 1.6 million copies sold

Mass Effect is an action role-playing game which takes place in the year 2183. The titular mass effect is a form of inertia-suppressing technology; allowing faster-than-light travel for the player, who assumes the role of Commander Shepard, an elite human soldier who sets out to explore the Galaxy in a starship – the SSV Normandy. Mass Effect 2 (not an Xbox 360 exclusive), was released later and takes place two years after the events that transpired in the first game. The sequel directly uses players’ completed save data from the first game basing certain events and narrative threads on decisions and actions that the player made in the first game.

Dead Rising – 1.6 million copies sold

Dead Rising is a sandbox, action-adventure, survival horror game and centres on Frank West, a photojournalist who ends up trapped in a shopping mall infested with zombies. Frank must rescue survivors, contend with crazed psychopaths, defend himself from zombie attacks and stay alive while still attempting to uncover the truth behind the incident. The player controls Frank as he explores the mall, using any available object as a weapon and can complete several main or optional missions to earn Prestige Points to gain special abilities. The game features several endings depending on decisions the player makes along the way.

*A Wii remake was released in February 2009 titled Dead Rising: Chop Till You Drop.

Crackdown – 1.5 million copies sold

Crackdown is a third-person shooter set in an open world. The player controls a biologically enhanced Agent tasked with overcoming 3 crime lords and their crime organisations. The player’s abilities improve by defeating the crime lords and their supporters, as well as completing optional activities, such as street races and scavenger hunts. The gameplay is nonlinear, instead of adhering to a set mission sequence, players are free to select the approach to completing their missions and activities as they wish.

N.B. The sales information based on total games sold has been collated from Wikipedia and is correct as of April 2011. The definition of exclusive games in this article is meant to denote games that have not appeared on any other console (i.e. Sony Playstation 3 or Nintendo Wii).

The need to include the sales from the PC version of Gears of War is due to the Wikipedia article indicating it was not possible to distinguish between the sales from the Xbox 360 and the PC version.

Dead Rising made the list as an exclusive Xbox 360 title because a ‘remake’ for the Wii console (which was released under a different name – Dead Rising: Chop Till You Drop) had several changes from the original Xbox 360 version and so believe this an acceptable ‘exclusive’ title for the Xbox 360.

PhenomenalAJR has been an avid Xbox 360 gamer since it was released. He put this article together to give gamers an idea of what they may like to play next or add to their games collection. Please visit PhenomenalAJR’s Xbox 360 games website for more reviews, opinions & discussions.