Best Xbox games
The 217 best Xbox games, ranked from 33,523 critic and player ratings.
The best Xbox game right now is Half-Life 2, with a critic score of 96/100 — updated août 2026.
S
Half-Life 2
1998. HALF-LIFE sends a shock through the game industry with its combination of pounding action and continuous, immersive storytelling. NOW. By taking the suspense, challenge and visceral charge of the original, and adding startling new realism and responsiveness, Half-Life 2 opens the door to a world where the player's presence affects everything around them, from the physical environment to the behaviors even the emotions of both friends and enemies.
96
/100
02
SoulCalibur II
SoulCalibur II is the third installment in the Soul series and continues the tradition of his predecessors with improved graphics, new characters and new levels. A majority of the action takes place in Weapon Master mode where you have to choose a character and travel a set map to fight the many other warriors through different levels and challenges. Console ports were released, including guest characters from other franchises. The Arcade version has a unique mode called "Conquest Mode". This mode, which uses a name and password system to save data, allows the player to select one army among four. The player then fights against enemies in a series of eight 1-round battles, win or lose (the first seven are based on the player's rank, and the eighth is chosen by the player – this can only be interrupted by a Versus challenger.) After each round, the player earns EXP and can be promoted, and the game also rates the player in four categories: Soul, Power, Wisdom and Skill. The game also keeps track of which moves the player knows and uses most often. After the eight battles, territory control is updated and the player has the option to fight a bonus round against their character played by the AI.
95
/100
03
Grand Theft Auto: Vice City
In the year 1986, Tommy Vercetti is heavily indebted to his mafia superiors after a drug deal gone awry, but his dreams of taking over Vice City (based on Miami) push him down a different path. Featuring a wide variety of vehicles and weapons, radio stations playing hit songs from the era and an intense atmosphere, GTA: Vice City is an open-world sandbox satire of '80's Miami.
94
/100
Burnout 3: Takedown
94
/100
05
Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3
94
/100
06
Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic
Choose Your Path! Set 4,000 years before the Galactic Empire, you are the last hope for the Jedi Order and the Republic - can you master the ways of the Force to become their savior? Or will you fall to the dark side and achieve ultimate power? Hero, villain, peacekeeper, or chaos-bringer... you and your party will determine the fate of the galaxy! Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic is a role-playing video game. Players will be able to create their own characters and be able to choose what gender, appearance, class, skills, attributes, and feats they have throughout the game - no two characters will be the same!
94
/100
07
A
Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas
Returning after his mother's murder to the semi-fictional city of Los Santos (based on Los Angeles), Carl Johnson, a former gang banger, must take back the streets for his family and friends by gaining respect and once again gaining control over the streets. However, a story filled with crime, lies and corruption will lead him to trudge the entire state of San Andreas (based on California and Nevada) to rebuild his life.
93
/100
08
Grand Theft Auto III
Featuring a fully 3-D living city, a combination of narrative driven and non-linear gameplay and a completely open environment, Grand Theft Auto III represents a huge leap forward in interactive entertainment. For the first time, players are put at the heart of their very own gangster movie, and let loose in a fully-realised 3 dimensional city, in which anything can happen and probably will. With a cast of hundreds, 50 plus vehicles, ranging from sports cars to ice cream trucks and from boats to buses, 3 hours of music, including opera, reggae, house, drum and bass, pop and disco, a huge array of street ready weapons and some of the seediest characters in video game history, Grand Theft Auto 3 is a sprawling epic which will show you that sometimes, crime can pay and sometimes it can pay you back. Available now for PlayStation2, Xbox, PC and Macintosh.
93
/100
09
SSX 3
93
/100
10
Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell Chaos Theory
92
/100
11
SSX Tricky
92
/100
12
Brothers in Arms: Road to Hill 30
92
/100
13
Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell
91
/100
14
Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 4
91
/100
15
Beyond Good & Evil
91
/100
16
Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty
90
/100
17
Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Pandora Tomorrow
90
/100
18
The Chronicles of Riddick: Escape from Butcher Bay
90
/100
19
Tony Hawk's Underground
90
/100
20
TimeSplitters 2
90
/100
21
The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind
89
/100
22
Star Wars Jedi Knight II: Jedi Outcast
89
/100
23
Burnout Revenge
89
/100
24
Counter-Strike
88
/100
25
Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic
88
/100
26
Mafia: The City of Lost Heaven
88
/100
27
Sid Meier's Pirates!
88
/100
28
Medal of Honor: Frontline
88
/100
29
Shenmue II
88
/100
30
Burnout 2: Point of Impact
88
/100
31
Far Cry
88
/100
32
Commandos 2: Men of Courage
87
/100
33
Halo: Combat Evolved
87
/100
34
Fatal Frame II: Crimson Butterfly
87
/100
35
Silent Hill 2
87
/100
36
Onimusha: Warlords
86
/100
37
Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II - The Sith Lords
86
/100
38
Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance
85
/100
39
Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II – The Sith Lords
85
/100
40
Fahrenheit (Indigo Prophecy)
85
/100
41
The Sims
85
/100
42
Indigo Prophecy
85
/100
43
Thief 3: Deadly Shadows
85
/100
44
The Elder Scrolls 3: Bloodmoon
85
/100
45
Psychonauts
85
/100
46
Need for Speed: Most Wanted
85
/100
47
Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell
85
/100
48
Max Payne 2: The Fall of Max Payne
84
/100
49
Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time
84
/100
50
Tony Hawk's Underground 2
84
/100
What is the best Xbox game?
Half-Life 2 currently tops the ranking with a score of 96/100 across 4,105 ratings. It holds a S grade from the Tier community — updated août 2026.
How is this ranking built?
Games are ranked on their aggregated critic score out of 100, with a minimum vote threshold so a single glowing review never outranks a proven classic; the Tier community's own F-to-S grades are shown alongside each game.