The 360 barely got any good exclusives in 2009. So making a top 5 list of the good 360 games that came out this year wasn’t really easy. But we managed, somehow.

Read on and see what 5 games won!

Forza Motorsport 3

A great racing simulator, for sure. Lots of cool cars, nice tracks, great controls, it’s accessible to both newbies to the genre as well as veterans with adjustable difficulty and assists, tons of tuning and upgrade options, and it’s overall just really fun to play.

Halo Wars

This was an attempt to bring a genre that usually doesn’t work on consoles to consoles, and make it work. Did they succeed? Well, it had really good controls, and made it a lot easier to play that other console RTS games I’ve played. There’s still a long way to go, but this is a few good steps in the right direction. Add to this a good story with some nice cinematics, good visuals, fun gameplay and you have a pretty fun game.

Halo 3: ODST

A new Halo game. Announced as an expansion for Halo 3, eventually becomeing its own game. It has a completely new campaign mode with great atmosphere (though a bit short), a new character other than Master Chief to control which changes up the gameplay, and a completely new multiplayer mode. To justify the WAY too high price tag, you also get the Halo 3 multiplayer with all the DLC on a second disc, just in case you don’t have it already, which is nice.

Splosion Man

Yeah, the Xbox 360 didn’t get many good retail exclusives, so we have to go with downloadable games. Splosion Man is a really fun 1-button platformer which feels a bit like a puzzler in addition to a platformer. Fast-paced gameplay, great level design, great visual and sound design, and you’ve got yourself a great game, at a great price too.

Shadow Complex

With the lack of 2D Metroid games, this is a welcome addition to the Xbox family. Despite being a downloadable game, it’s definitely one of the best games to come on the 360 this year. Great gameplay, lots of exploration and things to find, cool boss fights, and the metroid style just works great. And it’s only $15, what a deal!

jobocan Console, Game of the Year, Games