10 Great Games That Defined The Original Xbox

25 years ago, on November 15th, 2001, the gaming industry was forever changed when Microsoft officially dived into the console gaming market with the debut of its first home console, simply called the Xbox.

Designed to be a bridge between the hardware and software capabilities of PCs and the accessibility of home gaming consoles, the original Xbox console took the world by storm with its revolutionary gaming titles and services, proving that the United States can still rival Japanese gaming prospects.

With the original Xbox, and the overall Xbox brand, celebrating its momentous 25th anniversary this November, here’s a look back at 10 great exclusive games that defined the original Xbox and helped pave the way for Microsoft to become a modern gaming juggernaut.

Project Gotham Racing

Release Date

2001-11-09

ESRB

e // Mild Lyrics

Developer

Bizarre Creations

Publisher

Microsoft Game Studios

Today, Xbox is largely known for three exclusive franchises: Halo, Gears of War, and Forza but long before the latter simulation racing series took the Xbox brand by storm during the Xbox 360 era, there was another series that stood as Xbox’s premier exclusive racing franchise: Project Gotham Racing.

Originally released as one of the Xbox’s many launch titles, the first Project Gotham Racing allowed up to four players in split-screen multiplayer to race against each other using 29 of the hottest cars of the early 21st century across San Francisco, London, Tokyo, and New York City.

With its stunt-focused Kudos point system and fun, arcade-like modes, Project Gotham Racing became one of the earliest Platinum Hits on the Xbox, leading to the development of three direct sequels, a few spinoffs, and the hit Xbox Live Arcade game, Geometry Wars.

Fuzion Frenzy

Release Date

2001-11-15

ESRB

e

Publisher

Microsoft Game Studios

Every great console needs its own standout amusing party game, and while Nintendo had Mario Party and PlayStation had Crash Bash, Xbox got its own distinct party game in the form of Fuzion Frenzy.

Another Xbox launch title, Fuzion Frenzy was an original party game not based on any prior IP, with the game being set in a futuristic tournament pitting four players against one another across randomized or pre-selected minigames with the goal of obtaining as many orbs and points as possible.

Chaotic minigames like Paint Panic and Falling Star quickly made Fuzion Frenzy a fan-favorite, and while it only got one sequel on the Xbox 360, many players still go back to play its wacky games to this very day (thanks to FF being backwards compatible on every future Xbox platform).

Jet Set Radio Future

Release Date

2002-02-25

ESRB

t // Strong Lyrics, Violence

Developer

Smilebit

Publisher

Sega

The sixth generation of consoles was a time for beginnings and a time for endings for many in the gaming industry at the time, most notably Sega. The Sega Dreamcast would mark the end for its home console prospects.

However, the failure of the Dreamcast didn’t mark the end for several Sega properties, as Microsoft collaborated with Sega to make the Xbox the exclusive home for several Dreamcast ports and sequels. Arguably the best was the funky Jet Set Radio Future.

A sequel to Jet Grind Radio, Jet Set Radio Future is a hyper stylized action game set in a futuristic Tokyo, where a group of teenagers called the GGs skate throughout the city and spray paint graffiti as a form of resistance against the dominating Rokkaku Group megacorporation.

The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind

Release Date

2002-05-01

ESRB

T For Teen due to Blood, Violence

Developer

Bethesda Game Studios

Publisher

Bethesda Softworks

The RPG giant that is Bethesda is currently owned by Microsoft, and is a major part of Xbox’s future game investments. The Elder Scrolls VI: Sentinel is rumored to become a Project Helix exclusive, but long before Microsoft purchased Bethesda, the two companies first collaborated to release The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind exclusively on the original Xbox.

The first Elder Scrolls title to debut on a home console, The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind was a first and third-person RPG set in the titular ash-clouded Tamriel province of Morrowind, following a customizable prisoner who sets out on a journey to defeat the oppressive Dagoth Ur.

While Morrowind hasn’t aged as well as its successors, it paved the way for Bethesda to debut other landmark RPGs, such as Fallout, Skyrim, and Starfield on consoles, helping showcase the immense potential of western RPGs.

MechAssault

Release Date

2002-11-12

Developer

Day 1 Studios

Publisher

Microsoft Game Studios

One of the greatest innovations the original Xbox featured was the creation of Xbox Live, as it was one of the first online multiplayer gaming services designed for home consoles and practically laid the groundwork for all modern online gaming services. Xbox Live’s debut title was MechAssault.

Set in the multimedia BattleTech franchise, MechAssault is a third-person mech shooter game set on the planet Helios. It follows a Wolf’s Dragoons BattleMech pilot as they attempt to liberate the planet from the technology-worshipping faction Word of Blake.

MechAssault’s campaign is a lot of fun, but the game is far more famous for its multiplayer as it was one of the first console titles to feature Quick Matches, the ability to host and invite friends to online games, and multiplayer DLC such as new maps, gametypes, and new types of mechs like Raven and Loki.

Crimson Skies: High Road to Revenge

Release Date

2003-10-21

ESRB

t

Publisher

Microsoft Game Studios

Every sixth generation console featured fantastic titles that were beloved by many but just didn’t sell well enough to receive proper sequels, resulting in these types of games becoming cult classics. There’s no better Xbox cult classic out there than Crimson Skies: High Road to Revenge.

Loosely based on the 1998 Crimson Skies board game, Crimson Skies: High Road to Revenge has players embody Fortune Hunters air pirate gang leader Nathan Zachary, in an alternate 20th century where planes and zeppelins became the primary mode of transportation and the U.S. split into warring nations.

With an interesting world and story highly reminiscent of classic pulp books and films like Indiana Jones and enthralling third-person fighter plane gameplay, Revenge quickly became a fan-favorite. While it never received a sequel, it has since become the unofficial mascot for Xbox’s backwards compatibility.

Fable

Release Date

2004-09-14

ESRB

M For Mature 17+ Due To Blood and Gore, Language, Sexual Content, Use of Alcohol, Violence

Developer

Big Blue Box Studios, Lionhead Studios

Publisher

Microsoft Game Studios, Feral Interactive

Early on in the Xbox brand’s history, Xbox’s most famous exclusive franchises were Halo, Gears of War, and Peter Molyneux’s highly ambitious fantasy RPG Fable, which is finally set to return to Xbox early next year with a reboot of the series.

The original Fable was claimed by Molyneux to be the most ambitious RPG of the sixth console generation, with the game supposedly allowing players to have children in-game, play through the protagonist’s entire life, and witness plant life grow throughout the game, among other promises.

While most of these features weren’t present in the first Fable game, the original Fable still turned out to be an incredibly charming, comedic, and overall fun RPG, thanks to its witty British humor, morality system, and vast numbers of ways to interact with NPCs such as getting married and farting on people.

Halo 2

Release Date

2004-11-09

ESRB

M for Mature: Blood and Gore, Language, Violence

Developer

Bungie

Publisher

Microsoft Game Studios

Nintendo fans recently got to take part in the midnight launch of The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time remake launch at various gaming stores. Those launch events paled in comparison to the cultural phenomenon that was the launch of Halo 2.

The original Xbox was arguably the house Halo: Combat Evolved built, and as such, most gamers in the world were excited to see how Bungie would improve upon the series in Halo 2, leading to the sequel receiving 1.5 million U.S. pre-orders and selling over 2.4 million copies in its launch day alone.

This anticipation was warranted though, as Halo 2 became the most popular Xbox Live game up until the release of Gears of War 1 and is widely regarded to feature one of the best FPS campaigns of all time thanks to the introduction of the Arbiter, dual-wielding, vehicle hijacking, and more.

While Fable 1 is the RPG most associated with the original Xbox, I would argue that it wasn’t the best RPG available on the console, with that honor instead going to BioWare’s epic 2003 masterpiece Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic.

Many Star Wars video games were released exclusively for the original Xbox, but KOTOR was by far the most notable. It not only took place roughly 4,000 years before the events of the films during the Jedi Civil War, but featured one of the greatest gaming twists of all time, centered around Darth Revan.

KOTOR’s rather clunky round-based combat hasn’t exactly aged well over the years, but its story and characters are still regarded as being some of the best to appear any RPG, such as Darth Malak, Jedi Knight Bastila Shan, the murderous droid HK-47, and the Mandalorian Canderous Ordo to name a few.

Halo: Combat Evolved

Release Date

2001-11-15

ESRB

M For Mature 17+ due to Blood and Gore, Violence

Developer

Bungie

Publisher

Microsoft Game Studios

Finally, without a doubt, the number one exclusive video game that defined the original Xbox and arguably the Xbox brand overall was the launch title and Bungie’s revolutionary FPS Halo: Combat Evolved.

Halo: Combat Evolved was the definitive console-based FPS that truly showcased the capability of consoles to deliver an engaging, fun, and wondrous FPS experience, thanks to its cinematic quality, wide-open spaces, addictive gunplay and vehicle combat, and engrossing FPS multiplayer maps.

If Halo: Combat Evolved hadn’t been packaged with most Xbox consoles on day one, Xbox likely wouldn’t have lasted beyond the sixth generation of consoles and CE’s success ultimately led to Xbox not only obtaining a mascot with Master Chief but the creation of one of the most beloved sci-fi multimedia franchises of all time.