Five years ago today, the Xbox 360 was released into the wild. Microsoft's second console brought high definition graphics and the co-op friendly features of Xbox Live to eager gamers on November 22, 2005. Though the half-decade hasn't been without a few red-ringed problems here and there (okay, more like everywhere), the system has been a success by most standards. Of the 1200+ games in the Co-Optimus games database, roughly a quarter of them are for the Xbox 360. I'm not sure what that means, except that it's a very, very good system for fans of cooperative gameplay.
I myself was about a year late to the Xbox 360 party, picking one up when I couldn't find a Wii upon that system's launch in late 2006. All it took was an hour of Marvel Ultimate Alliance with my kids on our shiny new HDTV and I was hopelessly hooked. While that game is fun, it pales in comparision to the other co-op juggernauts on the system. We've compiled a list of the top five Xbox 360 game series, as determined by user ratings and staff review scores. How does your favorite stack up?
#5. Left 4 Dead
You can't cross the street without running into a zombie game these days, and Valve's co-op zombie masterpiece is one reason the genre is so popular. 4 player co-op, including two player splitscreen, is always great. But it was the high level of player interaction and near-infinite replayability that took it to the next level. Left 4 Dead 2 took everything that made the original great and added in some great new tricks that keep co-op fans coming back for more, just like a good zombie horde.
#4. Rock Band
The music game genre wasn't born on the Xbox 360, but all the best examples of the genre certainly are. Rock Band brought us four player co-op with vocals and drums. Rock Band 2 polished that experience to a glossy sheen. The Beatles: Rock Band made you feel as if you really were the Fab Four from their humble beginnings to superstardom. Recent release Rock Band 3 innovated again with Pro Mode and the long awaited addition of Keyboards. If you want a co-op game anyone can enjoy, a Rock Band game is just what you're looking for.
#3. Borderlands
Dozens of Co-Optimus forum users can't be wrong: Borderlands is one of the top co-op games available today, even a year after its release. Teaming up with three others to roam the apocalyptic world in search of gear and experience is quite addicting. While lacking splitscreen online play, the remarkable support for the game keeps players coming back. Some of the best downloadable content you can get is found in the wild world of the Borderlands. Let's just hope that a Borderlands 2 is coming someday, so another legendary co-op series can be initiated.
#2. Gears of War
If imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, then Gears of War has recieved an embarassment of praise. It entwined third person action and the cover mechanic to absolute perfection, and is one of the most influential games of this console generation. While the first game limited the co-op to two buddies, Gears of War 2 upped the limit to five players in Horde mode, a gameplay mode that's fun to revisit again and again. As if chainsaw machine guns weren't enough to keep you coming back. We look forward to Gears 3 curb stomping our minds once again next fall.
#1. The Halo Series
Can anything top Master Chief? Not much, except maybe a smaller fellow known only as Noble 6. Halo Reach is the pinnacle of cooperative gameplay on the Xbox 360. Four player co-op through both campaign and Firefight modes, including two player split-screen, is simply glorious. A staggeringly robust rank system and weekly challenges extend the experience as far as you want to take it. Don't get us wrong, the other Halo games on Xbox 360 are among the greatest available, too. The culmination of the Halo story (so far) in Halo 3, the successful genre-shifting of Halo Wars, and ODST's Firefight mode (plus my favorite narrative structure to boot), along with Reach, make Halo the cream of the co-op crop for the Xbox 360.