

It was always easy to tell what to do next, allowing you to take in the story without scrambling through tons of menus or systems. Part of what made this game so appealing was its simple controls and user-friendly UI. There’s a time and a place for complex RPGs, sure, but Fable was an excellent entry point to the genre while still offering a fulfilling story with memorable characters and gameplay to match. That’s why the original Fable was so beloved, as it introduced many players to the genre without an overcomplicated story or controls. FableĪction RPGs are a dime a dozen these days, but back in 2004, they weren’t as common on consoles. Still, it’s one of the highlights of the original Xbox catalog. This game isn’t for the faint of heart and has a steep difficulty curve, even on normal mode. Though it was short, Panzer Dragoon Orta received critical acclaim, with many fans praising its story, visuals, sounds, and controls. In the early stages, it’s manageable, but as you progress, more and more enemies appear onscreen, attacking you from the land and the sky. You control the dragon’s movement onscreen and have the ability to utilize multiple weapon types against your foes. In it, you play as Orta, a teenage girl who rides atop a dragon. Here’s a blast from the past: Panzer Dragoon Orta is an Xbox-exclusive rail shooter and it’s surprisingly excellent. Despite being a sim racer, Forza Motorsport featured a number of assist settings, allowing players to ease into the more difficult tracks. It offered a variety of car tuning options, allowing players to customize their vehicles.

In total, it had 231 different licensed cars, a career mode (as well as quickplay), and lots of tracks - many of which are based on real locations. We didn’t know it at the time, but Forza would go on to become one of Microsoft’s tentpole franchises, and it all started with this game. In an attempt to rival Sony’s Gran Turismo series, Microsoft published Forza Motorsport, a sim racer with realistic visuals and physics.

