PixlBit

This is my list in coordination with the all-time best OG Xbox games on Metacritic. I'm playing games in order of MC rating instead of release date this year. 

11. Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind - Game of the Year Edition (#55 on MC)

An open world, first-person view, RPG by Bethesda that set new standards for the genre in 2003. I've noticed a lot of dark and muddy graphics in a lot of Xbox games of late and thought there was something wrong with my system or TV, but I think it was just what it was back then. Some memories of playing it were going swinning and getting eaten by a fish and being robbed and murdered in the woods by bandits. I will enjoy being killed by the game yet again, no doubt. 

12. Doom 3 (#57, need to get a physical copy)

A first-person shooter by the legendary id Software using the id Tech 4 engine. I think I've played it three times now. The first time, it was too dark, I'm out. The second time, it was still too dark but I played on and now I'm lost. The third time it was SO dark I could't see the pits right under my feet that killed me. I almost beat the game in that last one. I think I could attept it one more time espectially on original hardware.  

13. Oddworld: Stranger's Wrath (#59) 

An action/adventure game by EA that departs from the usual puzzle game formula for Oddworld. This is what attracted me to it in the first place. It's a kind of old west shooter. The living ammo you use with your crossbow remind me strongly of the talking guns in High on Life. I wonder if they got inspriation from this game? In any case, I've never gotten every far in it for some reason. Time to change that. 

14. Timesplitters 2 (#60) 

This is a first-person shooter by the great game studio, Free Radical Design, who became Crytek after 2008's Haze (reminder to self to play the Crysis games). I wasn't that into the first Timesplitters, which was a PS2 exclusive. Last time I played it, I felt it was more a multiplayer shooter than a single player story game. But this sequel and the next one Future Perfect were high on my list of plays back in the early aughts for their lengthy story mode with co-op. 

15. Crimson Skies: High Road to Revenge (#61) 

It was a board game, then a PC game and finally a 2003 Xbox exlusive developed by FASA Studio who also made the MechAssault games. This is an air combat game with arcade style controls. You can turn around with a single move. Excellent! Most simulation style air combat games have you flying in circles trying in vain to get behind enemies who are also flying in circles. This focuses on the action. Perfect! I suddenly recall the similarity of this game's presentation to the film Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow from 2004, if you remember that one. 

16. Burnout 2: Point of Impact (#62)

Another gem by Criterion Games. I played the most of Burnout 3, but when that was played, I traveled back through the series. This has a pursuit mode where you play as a cop chasing down a car in order to unlock it. That makes me think of Criterion's entry ino the Need for Speed series with Hot Pursuit in 2010. That also marked the end of Burnout games (we won't talk about Burnout Crash!). Why?!

17. Beyond Good & Evil (#72)

An action/adventure game directed by Michel Ancel creator of Rayman (in my eyes Michel Ansel IS Rayman). What drew me to the game was the photography feature, and I loved it for that. What I didn't like was some of the stealth you had to do farther into it. I'm determined to try and get past that this time. 

18. Mercenaries: Playground of Destruction (#80, need to get another copy)

An action/adventure game by the mighty Pandemic Studios who did other favorites of mine like Army Men RTS and Destroy All Humans 1 and 2. EA ate them up in 2009 and they are now no more, sadly. I distinctly remember hearing the news of this and bemoaning the fact that it likely spelled the end of the Destroy All Humans franchise. It continued for a few more but were not good. Mecenaries reminds me of an old favorite, Wargames: Defcon 1 on Playstation. The ease at which you're able to move through the world on foot or in vehicles and reek mayhem is similar. 

19. Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords (#84)

A Star Wars RPG sequel to KotOR by Obsidian Entertainment who did a recent favorite of mine, Avowed. Bioware of Mass Effect fame did the first game. I've had this game in my collection for a long time, but I haven't played very much of it. I'm excited to dig in deep this time. 

20. Far Cry Instincts (#91,don't own yet)

A first-person shooter by Ubisoft. This is a Xbox remake of the PC game Far Cry. I got confused between this and Far Cry Instincts Predator, which is actually the sequel to this one on Xbox and which I own. I played the original Far Cry on PC in 2004 and then again with this version on Xbox in 2005. I remember some late game frustrations with this, but it was certainly fun. The PC game was the cutting edge in graphics at the time. It reminds me of Just Cause, which I was to play soon after this on Xbox 360. I'm excited to revisit the first Far Cry. They're on Far Cry 6 most recently. Wow!

And that's another ten games added to the playlist. . . and shopping list for a few of them. See anything you like?