Don’t just settle for the best-sellers; go for the top games that actually let the players get creative, making sure you get your money’s worth based on gameplay, replayability, or sheer gaming fun. The holidays are coming along, after all, and you’re probably wondering what Xbox 360 games you could buy for yourself or a friend or loved one who would simply be thrilled to have a new title to delve into over the holiday break.
Let us help you with that. We’ve scoured Amazon’s best-sellers and picked out 5 games that you or your friend or loved one can really get creative with in terms of gameplay, customization, features, or a combination of any of these.
5. Destiny – Xbox 360: Customize Your Own Brand of Awesomeness
Bungie’s Destiny might not be as visually stunning in the Xbox 360 compared to the Xbox One, but it’s practically the same game bursting at the seams with the same sets of customization options. If Bungie’s vision of Destiny’s breadth and scope didn’t make it worth your money, the amount of game time players would inevitably put into it due to its customization features surely will.
Destiny takes the basic facets of RPG character customization and leveling, puts it together with FPS weapons customization and tech tree progression, and adds a touch of distinct game lore mechanics and comes up with a winner. It’s not revolutionary, but it makes for some darn fun Christmas gaming festivities.
Destiny on the Xbox 360 grabs our fifth spot of creative best-sellers due to the wealth of player customization it offers – particularly in multiplayer mode. Gamers who replay campaigns using different set ups to experience the storyline in different ways will get a blast out of Destiny (pun intended), while multiplayer aficionados won’t find its action or personalization lacking.
Order your Destiny – Xbox 360 here.
| Why Destiny? | Why Not? | |
| Tons of character and weapons customization for hours of repeated gameplay in single missions and variety of combat options in multiplayer add more depth to an already sprawling game world and expansive lore. | The title only rehashes the successful basics Bungie created in the Halo universe, and the mash up of RPG and FPS elements might not appeal to some gamers. |
Buy your copy here >> $59.99 ($52.38 & FREE Shipping.)
Not entirely sold on the game yet? Check out our review of Destiny.
4. Grand Theft Auto V – Xbox 360: Get Crazy Creative With Devil-May-Care Gameplay
GTA V is genuinely grand in all aspects, well, perhaps except protagonist character background or development. But that’s beside the point: if you want a blockbuster game you can play any way you want, then the Grand Theft Auto series is your best bet.
GTA V is the most recent in a long line of GTA games that offer an open world where you can go crazy creative – with an emphasis on crazy. GTA is probably one of the games players always choose to waste time on just fooling around; its variety of gameplay options, weaponry, vehicles, tools, and of course, the open world, open game feature is a sure-fire recipe for creative mayhem. The result? A ton of fun that doesn’t even have to do with its story or its multiplayer, both of which are more than worth the game’s price tag.
GTA V is perfect for the lazy hours of this coming holiday break.
Order your Grand Theft Auto V – Xbox 360 here.
| Why GTA V? | Why Not? | |
| Gamers can play GTA V in any way possible, even bending the physical rules of its digital world. From the hustled up gameplay in both single and multiplayer modes to the aimless time-wasting meandering of freeform play, GTA V promises hours and hours of players’ lives lost in gaming. | Players looking for the depth and richness of plot only found in New York Times’ bestseller lists will probably be disappointed at the main characters’ two-dimensional traits, development, and overall lifestyles. The entire game, while crazily fun, is actually defined by shallow bits. |
Buy GTA V Here >> $59.99 ($38.31 & FREE Shipping.)
Wanna see just how much mayhem you’re in for? Check out our Grand Theft Auto V review.
3. NBA 2K15 – Xbox 360: Live Your Own Basketball Career
One word – or, actually, a portmanteau of two words: MyLeague. NBA 2K15 on the Xbox 360 carries on with the tradition of highly customizable main feature of previous titles in the series: your own character, in your own team, building his own career.
This feature has been a hallmark of games in the NBA and WWE series, and NBA 2K15’s MyLeague brings it to a whole new level, allowing players to fully immerse themselves into a professional career in basketball, creating a bond between player and character that only the best RPGs can engender. Players can actually scan their faces and use it in their characters. That, and it’s always fun fooling around with a custom character, especially if it’s a pixel-rendered version of you or your pals.
NBA 2K15 for the Xbox takes custom gameplay several levels above Destiny, and takes a place up from Grand Theft Auto V because you can actually play the entire thing as a custom character. Know someone who wants to be a baller this Christmas?
Buy NBA 2K15 – Xbox 360 here.
| Why NBA 2K15? | Why Not? | |
| The long-running NBA 2K franchise delivers a solid title with all the good bits of previous games – from the awesome basketball gameplay to the highly customizable MyLeague career. | NBA 2K15 on the Xbox 360 is nearly exactly the same as the NBA 2K14. Word on the street is if you already own NBA 2K14, it’s best to stay with it. |
Buy NBA 2K15 here >> $59.99 ($59.96 & FREE Shipping.)
Need more info before you take on your own career in the NBA? Check out our coverage of NBA 2K15.
2. Dark Souls II (Collector’s Edition) – Xbox 360 Collector’s Edition: Get Creative or Die Trying
Be warned: the creativity Dark Souls II requires comes hand in hand with hair-pulling, face-peeling frustration, because the only thing certain in this game is that the player will die. Many times, in fact.
Dark Souls II, just like its predecessor, appeals to a certain type of gamer; the masochistic type. Gamers who grew up on titles like R-Type or Final Fight that take a lifetime to finish thanks to limited retries, no cheats, and no freaking save points. Those gamers will get a lot of satisfaction pulling through a single stage of Dark Souls II. It’s gonna be a frustratingly fun Christmas with this game.
Seriously though, Dark Souls II pulls a quick one to land on our second spot for creative blockbuster games because it requires much more than creativity in gameplay – it requires skill, patience, and strategy. Even after all that, this game is certified to be ridiculously difficult, but equally satisfying to beat. If you or someone you know craves that sort of challenge, buying Dark Souls II is a no-brainer. The Collector’s Edition also showers players with collectibles – from included art books to a cool cloth map of the world in the game to a 12-inch Warrior Knight figurine.
Get your copy of Dark Souls II (Collector’s Edition) – Xbox 360 Collector’s Edition here.
| Why Dark Souls II Collector’s Edition? | Why Not? | |
| Because it’s Collector’s Edition. And because of the deep lore that rivals Robert Jordan in its expanse, because of the incredibly technical gameplay despite the RPG setting, and because it’s a modern take on frustratingly difficult games of previous generations. | Dark Souls II is not for the weak of heart, the ragequit-happy, or the impatient. Seriously, there’s a chance you’ll destroy your console out of desperation with this game. |
Buy Dark Souls II here >> $74.99 ($47.88 & FREE Shipping.)
Want to look before you leap? Here are 10 facts you need to know about Dark Souls 2.
1. Minecraft – Xbox 360: Can’t Get More Creative Than Digital Lego
Our top choice is no surprise for gamers: Minecraft for the Xbox 360 remains one of the most creative games out there, because really, it’s digital Lego. You can’t get more creative than Lego.
Minecraft adopts Lego’s building-block gameplay, infuses its own brand of storyline lore, and also features a sandbox mode for freeform creation and play. Seriously, people have done some crazy creative stuff on Minecraft: from recreating the lands of Westeros from GRRM’s A Song of Ice and Fire to some astounding structures in Middle-Earth from Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings. Evidently, you can spend days on this game without even playing its main campaign.
Better yet, if you wanted to buy a blockbuster game for someone who’s a bit too young for guns-blazing, sword-slashing action, Minecraft is a great choice. It’s one of those titles that crosses over genres, age gaps, and levels of gaming – from the casual gamer to the hardcore. Minecraft is perfect for anyone’s Christmas shopping list of games for the Xbox 360.
Buy Minecraft – Xbox 360 here.
| Why Minecraft? | Why Not? | |
| It’s like Lego, only grownups have a sane, totally mature excuse to play it. | Puzzle, world-building games not your thing? Better pass on this title. |
Buy Minecraft here >> $19.99
Not sure what you’re getting into? Neither did Conan O’Brien; take a look for yourself.
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5 Top Xbox 360 Games to Get Creative With This Holiday