Original Xbox 10th Anniversary Thread

In case you guys missed it, the original Microsoft Xbox turned 10 yesterday, making it now arguably at least somewhat quasi-retro. Now I know there's other threads about the Xbox, but I think it deserves its own anniversary thread.

When people think Xbox, they think the 360, not the original. As time passes, I think the original Xbox has actually become underrated by even the western public that adopted it so openly.

I mean, people widely still play the PS2, and GameCube games are still readily played if not on the GameCube then on the Wii, but when was the last time you guys in particular went back and played the Xbox 1? There's a lot of fantastic games for it that still make it worth owning even without going into its homebrew usages as a fully featured media center and emulation powerhouse.

Since its the tenth anniversary, I figured we should all give our picks for our ten favorite games for the system. Ten for ten only seems right.

So here's a personal top 10. Links to reviews I wrote are embedded. As soon as I finish up my NES top 100, expect a top 25 Original Xbox list, hopefully before the end of the year.

My picks (in alphabetical order)

Doom 3
Dead or Alive 2 Ultimate
Dreamfall: The Longest Journey
Fatal Frame
Jet Set Radio Future
Heroes of the Pacific
Metal Wolf Chaos
Otogi: Myth of Demons
Outrun 2006
Serious Sam


Feel free to chime in with your thoughts on my list and your own top 10. Happy anniversary, Xbox!

I actually revisit my original Xbox quite a bit. Despite investing a lot more time and money into the 360, I personally feel the original Xbox had more charm to it.

It is often claimed by haters that its only strength were the Halo games but one doesn't need to look far for some great titles. Microsoft's first party offerings were pretty solid and the console even found itself with a sizable library of 2D fighters.

The console is also a fantastic investment right now. You can get a used system for dirt cheap and the aftermarket prices on the games are often lower than PS2 and GameCube. I picked up four games at once not too long ago, all complete in box for $10 total.

Anyway, my top ten picks would be (in no particular order)…

Fable
Halo CE
Outrun 2
Doom 3
Jet Set Radio Future
Mechassault
Crimson Skies
Morrowind
Splinter Cell
Jade Empire

Actually the best use of an xbox right now is xbmc so easy to do just avoid the early models with the Thompson drives.

Fond gaming memories from, GTA SA played much better on xbox, Fable, KOTR 1 and 2, Halo 1-2 (nothing like 16 man matches over a college fraternity's network), Doom 3, Mechassault, and Prince of Persia two thrones.

I've owned one modded 160gb xbox from ebay, I sold that, bought a used one from GS which I soft modded that which I later sold. Then I bought a like new Halo Xbox which I was going to mod but I just sold it. Then I bought a modded xbox off CL and the dvd drive is busted currently my brother has it.

How about the accessories? Any fond memories of those?

My brother originally got the Xbox back in the day, so I only had a few games for it. If I could recommend a couple interesting ones I would say Toejam & Earl III and Whacked! TJ&E III is the last game in the series (stemming from the Genesis prequels), which places our alien heroes back on Earth to find out what has taken away the Funk (their essence/way of life). It keeps some of the features which made the original great: split-screen multiplayer, music, and presents!
Whacked! stood out for me because it was the last game published by Presto Studios. Good gameshow game!

Hughes (and others), if you're looking for a system-exclusive title that might prompt you to dust off your Xbox, check out Raze's Hell. It's an awesomely-twisted little budget title where you play as a demon, out to rid your world of invading armies of sickeningly-adorable creatures. If you ever wanted to viciously tear apart Barney the Dinosaur, the Telletubbies, and any other number of commercially-cute saccharine beasties, this game may be the sort of catharsis you're looking for. Plus, it has a solid co-op mode. The best part is, as you sneak up on those technicolor troublemakers, you can listen in on their high-pitched conversations, which are usually pretty damn funny.

There were times that I had two Orginal Xboxes under my living room TV, one with xbmc and emulators the other just for reuglar xbox gaming. I think it's looked over a bit, because it's of that generation on which it relied on multiplatform games. Which in my opinion makes the machine not that collectable (although I have tons of games for it). While PS2 and Gamecube have a lot of obscure (japanese) classics that make it, for me a bit more interesting. But, of course, it has it share of unique games like Halo etc.

While PS2 and Gamecube have a lot of obscure (japanese) classics that make it, for me a bit more interesting.

There are actually some pretty good Japanese developed exclusives for the original Xbox, but they often go overlooked. JSRF, Otogi, Phantom Dust, Panzer Dragoon Orta, Breakdown and GunValkyrie to name a few. I think on the exterior the original Xbox comes off as just a "shooter" box for PC ports but it did receive some unique titles from the east.