10 Best Open-World Games On The Xbox 360

Summary

• In case you forgot, Skyrim was launched during this generation. And it still gets new releases.
• Red Dead Redemption stands out with both great single-player and multiplayer modes. We also love the zombies expansion, of course.
• Fallout 3 was a stepping stone in the series, and its 3D open-world has a lot to do with that.

During the Xbox 360 generation, a lot of games tried to be like Grand Theft Auto. That trend died out in future generations, as most developers realized they didn't have the budget of something like GTA5. However, that leaves the Xbox 360 with a more than healthy batch of open-world titles to sink into.

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The open-world genre is fairly wide, as all you need is an open-world, and the gameplay can be anything. As such, these titles are quite diverse, meaning if one isn't your jam, another will probably suit your liking.

Titles that were also released on newer systems will count as long as their 360 versions still have great quality.

10 Red Dead Redemption

A Great Single-Player, But Also The Best Multiplayer Open-World Title On The 360

One of the greatest sequels in gaming has to be Red Dead Redemption because that one title alone turned it into a franchise — most people probably never heard of Red Dead Revolver. It's like Street Fighter 2 in that way. The story still hits just as strong today, especially after playing Red Dead Redemption 2, and the quality of the open world is Rockstar's best up to this point.

What really elevates Red Dead 1 has to be multiplayer because it was Rockstar's first sandbox online mode, with everyone being on the game map at once. This is still a lot of fun, has plenty of content due to various DLC add-ons, and is still active to this day. Most 360 online games don't have that luxury.

9 Saints Row 2

The Best Saints Row Game

Saints Row used to be the runner-up to open-world sandbox games behind Rockstar's titles. These games were just wacky, good fun, and a nice GTA alternative. The best one was Saints Row 2 because it was the most grounded while still offering chaotic, destructively fun missions to play through.

Saints Row 3 and 4 were still quality open-world titles, but they went way too over the top to the point where it doesn't feel like all these games exist in the same universe. Plus, Saints Row 2 was more important as it came out the same year as GTA4. At release, GTA4 was pretty controversial in the GTA community, and many of those peeved folks preferred Saints Row 2.

8 Fallout 3

The Best Open World In A 360 Fallout Game

Most people will say that Fallout: New Vegas is the best modern Fallout title, and that's true, but in terms of open-world quality, that would go to Fallout 3. When looking at the overall game map, unique locations, and even Easter egg spots, Fallout 3 beats New Vegas easily.

Again, New Vegas is an RPG masterpiece, but when looking at its locations, it's nothing too special, with many spots on the map feeling rushed. Exploration feels much better in Fallout 3 when there's so many more distinct, interesting areas out there. Plus, it feels more dangerous than New Vegas due to the heavy amount of radiated areas that can kill you wildly fast.

7 The Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim

One Of The Greatest Open-World Games Of The Modern Era

When looking at the best games of the Xbox 360 and PS3 generation, Skyrim has to come up. It's still a phenomenal open-world RPG today, with so much to do that you can play it for hundreds of hours until moving on to something else. To be fair, it has aged a bit, particularly in terms of graphics and animation quality.

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However, the gameplay, questlines, characters, and open-world quality are still killer. Keep in mind, too, that Skyrim was particularly great on the Xbox 360, as the PlayStation 3 version had so many technical issues that it's probably the worst way to play it.

6 Fuel

More Important Than You Realize

A game that was ambitious, groundbreaking, and historically significant would be Fuel. Developed by Asobo Studio, who would later make the modern Microsoft Flight Simulator games, Fuel is an open-world racing title with a staggering size. Fuel actually boasted the largest open world ever for a console title when it came out.

There's even two achievements that force you to go to opposite ends of the map, which will take hours to drive all the way there. Nothing in the racing genre put in open-world elements like this, especially at this size. Today, however, a lot of racing games have open-world elements, and games like The Crew likely wouldn't have been the same without Fuel.

5 Prototype

A Superhero Game Classic

Radical Entertainment pioneered the fun, destructive superhero game with the release of The Incredible Hulk: Ultimate Destruction. The next evolution of that game would be Prototype. An incredibly fun open-world title with a vast amount of ways to wreak havoc, Prototype delivered the goods.

The controls and movement especially stood out and felt amazing. You can see the influence in modern games today with stuff like gliding through the city, which you can do in Spider-Man 2. Unfortunately, the game was released around the same time as the PS3 exclusive Infamous, which is vastly better, but for the 360, Prototype would be the best title in this destructive superhero genre.

4 Assassin's Creed 4: Black Flag

Still Outdoes Many Modern Pirate Games

The Assassin's Creed franchise has a pretty divisive reception when you look at it, but one entry virtually everyone loved is Assassin's Creed 4. This was the pirate game of the Assassin's Creed series, and damn, is it still one of the best pirate games you can play today.

You look at stuff like Ubisoft's own Skull and Bones, and it just pails in comparison to this over ten-year-old title. The ship combat, dynamic gameplay, and open world still outshine many new Ubisoft games. It's a bit of a shame, really, that Ubisoft can't recreate what made Assassin's Creed 4 so good, but that ultimately makes it even more special.

3 Batman: Arkham City

Still The Best Superhero Game Of All Time

While Prototype is the best destructive superhero game on the 360, the best traditional superhero title is no question Batman: Arkham City. Objectively, it's still the superhero game GOAT, and sure, you can say Spider-Man 2, but the craftsmanship and open-world quality on display in Arkham City is on a whole other level.

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The map's about as perfectly designed as you could get, and Arkham City remains one of the few open-world titles where 100 percent completion doesn't feel like a massive pain. It's fun the entire time, and not even open-world GOATs like GTA5 or Red Dead 2 can claim that.

2 Grand Theft Auto 4

GTA's HD Debut

Sort of like Wind Waker, Grand Theft Auto 4 is an entry that the fanbase eventually grew to love. The car physics and horrid graphics turned dozens of people off at release, but nobody makes a better open world than Rockstar Games. GTA4 again innovates and improves the open-world simulation and interactivity, plus the storyline of all three protagonists across the GTA4 campaigns is a lot of people's favorite in the series.

The way each protagonist's story interconnects with each other is really cool, especially when doing multiple playthroughs. The gunplay also holds up more than you may think, and the weapons feel punchy as all hell. Looks aren't everything; it's the gameplay that matters, which GTA4 delivers in spades.

1 Grand Theft Auto 5

The Swansong Title Of The Seventh-Generation

Grand Theft Auto 5 remains one of the most played games on current Xbox and PlayStation systems, yet it was released first on the old dusty PS3 and 360. That really shows just how special of a game GTA5 truly was. The jump between GTA4 and 5 was unearthly huge. Not only in terms of graphics but, again, open-world simulation and interactivity.

NPCs do so much more dynamic stuff, and even the cops received a massive buff, making them a good challenge this time around. The side quests are better than ever, plus the campaign's largely influenced by the movie Heat with its heists, and you can't go wrong with that. Even after all this time, GTA5 is one of the best open-world games you can play right now.

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