What to buy for your new Xbox 360

Whether you received an eagerly-awaited Xbox 360 for Christmas or you've treated yourself to the purchase, you'll understandably want to get the most out of your new console by buying the top-rated games. With so many titles now available, it's important to sort the hits from the misses when building your games collection, to ensure your money doesn't go to waste.



Some of the most popular and acclaimed Xbox 360 titles are first-person shooters, something the Xbox has been noted for since the days of the first Halo release. Now, Halo 3 is storming the charts and instantly took its place among the greatest Xbox 360 titles on the market. If you've never played Halo before, the game takes place during an interstellar war, waged between the United Nations Space Command (of Earth) and the alien Covenant, and is widely praised for its superior gameplay and stunning graphics.



Call of Duty is another series that's made the successful transition to Xbox 360, and the latest in the noble line - Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare - leaves the Second World War behind in favour of more up-to-date conflicts. Call of Duty 4 is one of the games that makes the best use of Microsoft's Xbox Live service too, allowing players to wage campaigns together over an internet connection.

Continuing the theme of conflict, Gears of War 3 is another must-have Xbox 360 title, improving on the already excellent Gears of War 2 to offer an even more in-depth playing experience. Unlike some of the other titles in this list, the Gears of War franchise is notable for its third-person playing style, but that doesn't mean the player will feel any less engulfed by the epic action unfolding around them.



If warfare doesn't appeal to you, you might be pleased to know that there are many family-friendly titles available on the Xbox 360 too, including hits such as the Lego series. With franchises such as Indiana Jones, Star Wars and now Harry Potter being released in Lego video game form, the building bricks have taken on new life on the screen, combining the best features of the popular film series with highly addictive gameplay and colourful graphics.



Another successful kid's title is Ben 10 Alien Force: Vilgax Attacks, based on the popular animated series, which is notable for requiring players to use their brains rather than simply bash buttons. That's not to say the title is lacking in action though, and you can look forward to lots of alien-beating action when loading this to your Xbox 360.