Original Xbox faves

I had trouble finding a good free web font in the old Xbox style. This is the closest I could get. The rest of this is just me color picking screenshots to get a color palette, then doing it all from scratch with pure CSS.

I got my old Xbox in 2004 when it was on sale, and there were lots of used games cheap soon after, so the average I spent was around $20 per game. I had a tiny 13 inch TV that I used it with at home and at the dorms. Just sat it right on top.

So these are the games I remember the most, in the order I played them.

Halo 2

Yes I know this seems obvious but it was a decent campaign and of course multiplayer. Halo 1 was good, there were fun bits like flying around, but the second improved on most of it. HAving more time and more money helps of course.

I didn't want to just rip images online and get copyright strikes so I got this free photo which seemed cooler than taking a photo of my own game manual or whatever. (Also I am aware of the irony of me worrying about copyright when megacorps steal everyone's stuff)

Otogi 1 and 2

I played #2 first, it was one of the first games I got for my Xbox when I had NO idea what I was doing, just grabbing things that looked cool at Best Buy. Yes, we went into large box stores and looked at boxes with discs in them.

So this is a hack and slash and smash game where you destroy everything you can to get loot. Very fun when you're in that sort of mood. And the second one had several characters with different styles of fighting. At least, that's what I remember, it's been a while, but checking YouTube videos I remember some of the levels.

Splinter Cell series

The first two were kind of annoying with the alarms, but shooting out the lights and hearing Sam go "Darkness!!!" was simply too fun. Also the sticky shockers were great fun. BZZZT! AAAH! then a conveniently unconscious NPC to drag into the shadows. The first one was good but kind of rough. Pandora Tomorrow had a good story and was a bit smoother to play. Chaos Theory is the best balance of smooth gameplay while keeping the stealth elements. And then there was another one? It was OK. I didn't hate it but don't remember as clearly it like the others.

KOTOR 1 and 2

This was my first RPG, I think. Before I got my Xbox we just had random games on DOS, like Wolfenstein, so I had no idea how it all worked, lol. The stats were totally weird since I'd never played DND either. Even with needing to keep lots of notes it was fun though.

At some point I gave #1 to a friend, and let another borrow #2 and then forgot I did. Whoops! But that's OK, I got the PC versions cheap on sale and replayed with mods, that may be the best way to play them now. I have a wired 360 controller I got cheap to play on my PC with and it works great.

Jade Empire

is basically Kung Fu KOTOR, and that's cool. Instead of blasters and lightsabers, you punch and kick your way through zombies and minions. The the world could be bigger, it's kind of rushed, but it's still good overall. Not only is it compatible on all newer Xboxes, but you can get it for PC cheap on GOG when it goes on sale. I did in fact replay this a few years ago on my 360 and it was still fun.

Thief: Deadly Shadows

Yes, I know, the levels were too small since the Xbox only had 64 megabytes of RAM. Yes, I experienced the bug climbing on corners of things, it like, kinda slips and doesn't go smoothly. But it was still so much fun in a creepy gloomy city stealing things. With steampunk nerds and crazy druids and fish people underground and zombies. I got it on PC for a few bucks and replayed it there too. Heck, I even found the official guide at a game store for a few bucks and got that just for fun. I'm sure a psychologist would be very interested in my affinity for stealth games.

Morrowind

Did it take forever to load? Yes. Did it have a weird bug where you'd start walking up into the sky then fall!? YES. Did I once spend ten minutes at level one having a knife fight with a mudcrab!?!?! YES. Was it fun!? YES! I hesitated to get it because by then I knew RPGS could be massively time consuming but after a thousand hours and like ten characters it was worth the ten bucks I spent on a used copy.

Psychonauts

Between the part where you're the monster stomping the city and the Milkman level it's hard to pick a favorite part. Totally weird but fun.

Silent Hill 2

I don't remember if I tried to get the dog ending or even knew it existed back in 2008, but that's the one everyone remembers lol

When i was starting the game you're walking in fog and see blood on the ground and my first thought was "run away!" - but of course you can't, you have to go in. And all you have is a board with a nail in it! And then the monsters start appearing.

Destroy All Humans!

This was a fun concept, you're an alien going after cows and zapping people with lasers and such. The controls were a bit clunky though, so I never got very far. Oh, I found this used in 2018 so it wasn't too long ago I finally got around to playing it! In fact since it's back compatible I just played it on my 360.