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.