The Best Original Xbox Games Of All Time

Soul Calibur 2 (Xbox)

One of the great fighting games of its generation, Soul Calibur 2 continued Project Souls' series by refining and evolving what had come before.

Besides being the best looking entry in the series to date, it added all manner of tweaks to the core gameplay such as an easier step and avoid system, arena walls and unique wall moves, a three step charge system, clashing weapons system and guard break.

Alongside several new characters and guest characters, a couple of which were designed by Todd McFarlane, this was a new high for Soul Calibur and a game that delivered easy to enjoy, flashy and frantic weapons-based fighting action. Thankfully the recent HD Online remake means it's easy to find out what all the fuss was about with this one.

• Backwards Compatible: No, but you can play via the HD Online remaster

Splinter Cell: Pandora Tomorrow (Xbox)

Sam Fisher's second outing saw Ubisoft subtly refine and improve upon what had come before with smoother gameplay and level design that made better use of shadows to give you more options in how you slunk around environments deploying all-manner of hi-tech gadgets to take out unsuspecting foes.

The voice-acting was a step up here, the story more intriguing and, most delicious of all, the brand new multiplayer component - regarded as one of the finest online modes available at the time - which saw players face off against one another in the super tense Spies vs Mercs mode.

If you're into your stealth game or have any interest whatsoever in how the genre has developed and evolved over the years, Splinter Cell: Pandora Tomorrow still ranks as one of the very best and is absolutely worth getting stuck into.

• Backwards Compatible? Yes

SSX 3 (Xbox)

The SSX snowboarding series really reached its peak in 2003 when EA Canada delivered a game that improved upon its predecessors in significant ways, the biggest of which was the introduction of an open world design that allowed unprecedented levels of freedom.

Yes, you can take part in bespoke races and all manner of competitive events in SSX3, but the real joy here, the thing that keeps us coming back and recommending it, is the fact you can just drop your board at the top of the mountain and go. It's a seamless ride from top to bottom and it's up to you to carve your way around, a liberating experience that's enhanced by cracking visuals and controls that really make you feel connected to your board and, in turn, the snow. SSX 3 is a stunning snowboarding experience.

• Backwards Compatible? Yes

Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic (Xbox)

One of Bioware's very best, and still in with a solid shout as the greatest of all Star Wars games released to date, this epic action-RPG let fans live out their fantasies like never before.

With an epic core narrative, tons of well-written side quests, solid combat, buckets of lore, meaningful choices, branching dialogue and big revelations, Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic remains one of the true greats and a hugely atmospheric experience no Star Wars fan should miss out on. This one's a stone-cold classic.

• Backwards Compatible? Yes

Star Wars: Republic Commando (Xbox)

This 2005 tactical squad-based shooter has come to be regarded as one of the best Star Wars games of all time and, once you've played it, this should come as no real surprise.

Taking control of RC-1138, the leader of Delta Squad, you wade into battle here across massively atmospheric locales in a game that feels wonderfully gritty and dark for a Star Wars title. Your three squad-mates, Sev, Fixer and Scorch are surprisingly well fleshed out characters, the story is far more engaging than it has any right to be and the combat feels tight and punchy.

Giving commands to your team in order to control firefights leads to missions that can approached in multiple ways and the end result is a game we keep on returning to over the years. Star Wars: Republic Commando is a fantastic tactical shooter.

• Backwards Compatible? Yes

Steel Battalion (Xbox)

We mean, it'd be rude not to include this absolute madness. If you could afford - or even find - the enormous controller, this 2002 Mech game absolutely immersed you in its action.

Right from the get-go here you were tasked with utilising the complex controller to start up your mech, flicking switches and pushing buttons, taking care not to topple it over when turning, engaging in epic firefights, watching for overheating, ejecting at the right time...heck even the window wipers were down to you.

It may not be the easiest game to get ahold of or try for yourself, but Steel Battalion earns a spot here because once you gained entry to the party, it was unlike anything else out there.

• Backwards Compatible: No

The Chronicles of Riddick: Escape From Butcher Bay (Xbox)

Starbreeze Studios’ 2004 effort proved once and for all that movie-tie ins didn’t have to be crap, actually. Chronicles of Riddick: Escape From Butcher Bay is a masterful mix of stealth, shooting, hand to hand combat and adventure roleplaying that provided an accompaniment to the Chronicles of Riddick that some think is actually more entertaining than the movie itself.

The real magic of Butcher Bay, of course, is in the attention to detail and the resultant, almost sickening, atmosphere that it creates as Riddick deals with terrifying rival inmates and attempts to find some way out of this proper hellhole of a maximum security future setting. With graphics that were top-notch for the time, slick controls and solid voice-acting to boot, our time with this one is still etched into our minds.

Backwards Compatible: No

The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind (Xbox)

The third entry in Bethesda's Elder Scrolls series, this 2002 behemoth gave players the freedom to do as they pleased as they adventured across Vvardenfell.

There's an epic plot to follow here, but the real joy of Morrowind is in just getting out there and doing whatever you want, whether that be following the story, becoming an absolute public nuisance or just disappearing entirely into its wonderfully well-realised wilds. With this dizzying breadth of scope, completely open ended design, real-time weather effects, a day/night cycle, lots of wildlife and hilariously janky NPCs to meet and/or kill, Morrowind was, and still is, an RPG that blew us away and one of the best entries in the Elder Scrolls series to date.

With most of Bethesda's back catalogue now on Xbox Game Pass, there's never been a better time to see what all the fuss is about with this one.

• Backwards Compatible? Yes

Timesplitters 2 (Xbox)

There's a reason why some people rate Timesplitters 2 over Goldeneye, it's just THAT GOOD. Coming from Free Radical Design, which itself was made up of some of the team who worked on James Bond's classic N64 outing, this 2002 FPS outdid the original Timesplitters in every way.

Battling through time in order to grab time crystals and save the world, players blasted their way through nine huge levels, with a cracking cast of characters to choose from. Animated cutscenes, slick controls, two player co-op, deathmatch multiplayer mode, a robust map maker and more round out a package that was staggering at the time, and still offers up tons of frantic FPS fun.

• Backwards Compatible: No (unless you own a copy of Homefront: The Revolution)

Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3 (Xbox)

The first two entries in this stellar franchise may have laid some seriously impressive foundations, but it was Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3 that served up skating perfection in 2001.

Everything that made its predecessors was present and correct here but, on this vastly more powerful hardware, all of it played better than ever before. However, this third game in the franchise also had a proper masterstroke up its sleeve in the form of reverts. Reverts let you combine combos into endless chains of sweet tricks, transforming the gameplay for the better and giving really skilled players something to really dig into.

Subsequent Tony Hawk games tried and failed to introduce more and more ill-advised mechanics and flab, Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3 hit the sweet spot. This is skating perfection.

• Backwards Compatible? No