While the exclusives department isn’t exactly the Xbox 360’s forte, 2011 saw a decent amount of strong exclusives for Microsoft’s system. Gamers were treated to the stunning conclusion to the Gears of War trilogy, the awesome Forza Motorsport 4 and the amazing remake to what is possibly the best shooter of all time, Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary. And while what MS fanboys got was nowhere near as overwhelming as the amount of exclusives the PS3 got, it was still better than what we expected. Counting the excellent multiplatforms that were also released this year, including the likes of Skyrim, Modern Warfare 3, Battlefield 3 and many others, the Xbox 360 had a strong year.
However, 2012 doesn’t look so good for the system. Focus has shifted completely to the Kinect now, and the only major exclusive the Xbox 360 is getting next year is Halo 4. Sure, we do have some other exclusives, but either they’re Kinect based games or they’re PC ports (ala The Witcher 2). But in the multiplatform department, the system is as strong as ever, with heavyweights such as Mass Effect 3, BioShock: Infinite, Far Cry 3 and others planned for release next year.
There’ve been plenty of announcements for the Xbox 360 for 2012 so far, and few have been exclusive to the system. We’re hoping we’ll be seeing more announcements from Microsoft soon, but till then, we always have the strong lineup of multiplatform games to keep us happy. So here’s a list of what we think are the most awesome looking Xbox 360 games- exclusives and multiplatforms- coming out next year. Enjoy, and give us your feedback in the comments section below.
Exclusives
Halo 4
Here it is- the biggest and probably the only exclusive for the Xbox 360 next year that almost everyone is interested in. But for many, this is enough to keep their hunger for exclusives at bay. Halo is one of the most prestigious franchises of all time, and no matter what naysayers say, no Halo game other than Wars has failed to deliver. And after the excellent Reach and Combat Evolved Anniversary, hype is at an all time high. Sure, the series is in the hands of absolutely new developers, but with Combat Evolved Anniversary, they have proved that they have a proper understanding of what the Halo franchise is about, and how they’re supposed to handle it. And more focus on Master Chief and Cortana? Who wouldn’t want to buy that?
The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings
The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings was one of the best games to have been released this entire year, and definitely the best PC game. Releasing exclusively on the Xbox 360 next year, it’s definitely a huge asset to the system. We all expect to see technical downgrades and other cutbacks, but despite that, we’re all really looking forward to it. The Witcher 2 is a quality RPG with a fantastic storyline, and anyone who hasn’t played it on their PCs yet should definitely keep it at the top of their wishlist for next year.
Minecraft
Just like The Witcher 2, Minecraft isn’t exactly an Xbox 360 exclusive, but it is being exclusively released on the system next year. And out of all the games in this article, this is probably the one that has me the most excited. Not because it’s a better game than the other ones listed here, but because of just how much fun I know it is. Minecraft is one of the few creative games of this generation, built around a genius idea of having the ability to create anything, and I admire it for its innovation. I honestly cannot wait to get my hands on it.
Fable: The Journey
The Fable series is at an all time low, with the backlash that Fable III got practically ruining the franchise’ reputation of quality and innovation. And Fable: The Journey’s E3 announcement didn’t help either. At the time it was announced, it looked like it would be a crappy on-rails Kinect game with clunky mechanics. However, since its announcement, Molyneux has confirmed that it is not an on-rails game, and that it will be a fully fledged Fable title. Of course, we’re disappointed that it’s a Kinect only game, but we’re still excited to see what the franchise has in store for us and how it looks to redeem itself.
Kinect Star Wars
There’s been a lot of hype surrounding this game, partly because of the awesome special edition Xbox 360 that was announced some time ago, but also because this looks like one of those actually hardcore, enjoyable Kinect games that we’ve all been waiting for. Sure, complete motion gaming will limit the controls of the game, and how we can maneuver our character during the gameplay, but it’s a must have game for any Star Wars fanatic, and any hardcore gamer who was unfortunate enough to spend his/her money on the Kinect and is now looking for a proper game to play.
