One Year On: The Games of Xbox One

We take a look at the highlights of a year spent with Microsoft's latest console.

It's been a year - or there abouts - since the next-gen (then new-gen, now current-gen) consoles launched in the UK and in territories around the world. It's been an up and down twelve months, for both platforms, as we discuss in this weekend's other One Year On feature. But if you're all about the Xbox, or if you're locked into the PlayStation eco-system and you just want to reflect on how the other half live, here's a run down of best games that have landed on the platform over the past year. We'll be considering the best console exclusives, the finest third-party offerings, as well as the cream of the indie / digital scene.

Exclusives

Microsoft has, out of the two platform holders, probably just about come out on top when it comes to first-party and console exclusives. That of course may well change in the months ahead, with Sony's huge stable of first-party studios all set to deliver their projects sooner or later, but at launch and in the year that followed, it has been Xbox One that has been able to boast the bigger and better lineup of triple-A exclusives out of the two consoles.

Halo: The Master Chief Collection: Before you blast us for mentioning a game that shipped with a broken multiplayer component, that at the time of writing still isn't fixed despite a mammoth patch that seems to have done nothing to arrest the lengthy waiting times between matches, we should point out that we're including this just because of the single-player and co-op, which is still excellent enough to warrant a mention. On the disc there are four of the best sci-fi shooter campaigns ever made (well, that's not strictly true, two of them are brilliant, the other two are merely decent), and 343i has also assembled some clever playlists that see different mission types grouped together, adding further longevity to the single-player and co-op part of the collection. Hey, and one day, sooner or later, the multiplayer will work properly too, and when that happens, it's going to be magnificent.

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Titanfall: Halo: MCC shipped with broken multiplayer but superb campaigns, while Titanfall released in the opposite state. The multiplayer is brilliant; Call of Duty-esque future battlefields with giant mechs and increased played mobility (double-jump, cloaking, hanging on walls). It's an excellent debut from Respawn Entertainment, and the studio were happy to admit that they invested wholly in the online side of things, because there's not much of a single-player campaign there (it's actually a series of multiplayer matches played in order and framed slightly differently to the standard matches). Perhaps not great on story, but decent lore and excellent multiplayer made this an essential Xbox purchase. All map packs have been released now, so no doubt work on the sequel is well underway, and with no exclusivity agreement in place, expect that to appear on more platforms than just Xbox and PC.

Sunset Overdrive: This one offers some crazy open-world adventuring, with mutated enemies and plenty of arcade rail-grinding and shooting, along with bags and bags of attitude. It's perhaps the most colourful of the major games to have been released on the platform, and it's also Insomniac's first game exclusively for a Microsoft console, signalling the end of the studio's longterm relationship with Sony. The title was also given to Gold subscribers free of charge for one day only, as Microsoft celebrated the first birthday of their latest console.

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Forza Motorsport 5 and Forza Horizon 2: Two cracking racers from Turn 10 and Playground respectively. These games put Xbox One miles ahead of Sony's console when it comes to four-wheeled pursuits, with Sony only able to offer Driveclub in return. Motorsport 5 is the more simulator-focused entry in the series, although it was slightly held back by a lack of content. Subsequent DLC drops have helped, and other than that it's an excellent title and that looks and plays like a dream. Horizon 2 was the recent open-world entry into the franchise, and for the most part it had us purring with appreciation, with only a couple of minor things holding it back from the very highest praise. This time the street racing shifted from North America (as it was in the Xbox 360 original) to southern Europe, and some of visuals are nothing short of spectacular.

Dead Rising 3: We weren't expecting that much after our interest in the series flatlined somewhat during the last generation, but Dead Rising 3 had us pleasantly surprised when it released alongside the console this time last year. True, it wasn't the biggest of open-worlds, and yes, there were a few technical issues, but it was also hugely entertaining and there was plenty to do. It also ironed out most of the issues we had with the series after the first two games, which pleased us no end. Following on from the release of the game there's been plenty of DLC drops, further expanding the experience for dedicated players, but for our money none come close to the original campaign, which mightn't have been perfect, but was certainly enjoyable.

Cross-platform

Available across both platforms, but often these games are arriving with slightly different levels of performance on the different consoles thanks to the differing architecture of the two. The recent trend is seeing Xbox One games land with 900p resolution, but with a steadier framerate, while PS4 games are launch with higher pixel counts but with framerates that sometimes struggle during more CPU-intensive moments. Still, we're splitting hairs, as most games run fine on both platforms, and all of the ones listed below come highly recommended.

Dragon Age: Inquisition: Bioware's return to their fantasy series is brilliant, and if you're after a lengthy adventure of substance then look no further than this. As per usual it's all about the characters you meet along the way, with another great story holding it altogether. What sets this apart from the first two games in the series is the huge open-world-esque regions that you'll be exploring during your adventure. It's massive and full of wonderful details. If you've long wanted Bioware to rub a bit more Bethesda into their RPGs, well now they've done just that.

Alien: Isolation: It's not just the pant-wettingly scary set-pieces that had us sold on Isolation, it's also the wonderful attention to detail woven into the world by developers Creative Assembly. There's some huge Alien fans on the Gamereactor team, and we all agree that the love that has gone into this title is almost unparalleled. This has got to be one of the best uses of a movie license ever, and if you're a fan of the films, especially the first one, you need to check this out. Like, right now.

Far Cry 4: After the so-so release of Assassin's Creed: Unity there was plenty of scepticism regarding what state Far Cry would ship in, but happily it didn't suffer from any of the issues that plagued Ubisoft's other flagship release. What we got was a rock-solid open-world shooter, and although it might have not quite measured up to its superlative predecessor, it's still one of the very best games available on Xbox One.

Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor: To be honest, we didn't expect this one to end up being as good as it is. Even when we first started playing we were underwhelmed by the size of the game world and some of design decisions. However, by the end we'd come to conclusion that it's the best Lord of the Rings game for a long time, perhaps ever, and the Nemesis System that debuted herein is a touch of class that we expect to see replicated in many games in the years ahead.

Destiny: Some people hated on Destiny, but there's some in the team who have played Bungie's shared-world shooter more than any other game this year. The endgame wasn't perfect, there's far too much grinding, but the journey there was hugely enjoyable. The PvP element - the Crucible - took some knocks too, but we love the "every dog has its day" mentality, with those supercharged abilities giving every player the chance to change the tide of battle. Super stuff, despite its shortcomings.

Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare: If there was ever a series that needed a shot in the arm it's Call of Duty, and the malaise that had started to settle in has been swept away thanks to a decent number of changes, improvements and revisions. The solo-campaign is the best for years (thanks to nice pacing and some stardust sprinkled by Kevin Spacey), and the double-jumping futuristic mechanics of the multiplayer have really shaken things up.

Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag: While not as technically impressive as Unity, Black Flag is the more polished, accomplished game. Where Unity stumbled after Ubisoft over-reached in certain areas, Black Flag polished tried and tested elements and fused them together to create the best Assassin's Creed game since the debut of Ezio, and perhaps the best pirate game of all time.

Diablo III: Ultimate Evil Edition: Diablo III plus the Reaper of Souls expansion, with local co-op and a raft of other features also added. It's an excellent package, and the design is such that it offers huge replay value. Perhaps we were most impressed with the leap from mouse/keyboard to controller; far from being a negative it actually offered an improvement in our opinion. If you like smashing demons in the face with ridiculously over-powered special attacks, look no further than this.

Rayman Legends: Picture perfect platforming and the most accessible genre entry since, well, Rayman Origins before it. Ubisoft has really perfected the formula in recent years, and Rayman and friends are the only platforming franchise that can genuinely stand shoulder to shoulder with Nintendo's plumbers, and that is high praise indeed.

Grand Theft Auto V: It wasn't the improved visuals of Grand Theft Auto V that wowed us, or even the steady framerate and more detailed world, although these things definitely bettered the experience. What makes the new-gen GTAV worth a look, even for those who played the hell out of the old-gen original last year, is the first-person mode. The game's the same, sure, but that doesn't stop this new feature being a game-changer. This is the best Grand Theft Auto ever.

Trials Fusion: High score chasing. Big jumps. New tricks. Endless restarts. Perfect runs. Multiplayer. Trials has all of this and then some. The formula has been left largely unchanged over the years, but then it doesn't need to vary all that much, because it's basically video gaming smack. Hugely addictive stuff, especially when you've got a friend's score to chase and beat.

Tomb Raider: Lara's reboot was one of the first of the old-gen games to get dusted off, polished, and rereleased on new-gen consoles. It's a cracking return to form for Lara Croft, and this particular edition of Lara's origins story comes with a load of extra content bolted on from the get go. Well worth a look if you missed it the first time around.

Plants vs. Zombies: Garden Warfare: There's just not enough botanical shooters out there, so thank the heavens for this team-based shooter from PopCap. There's a couple of GR editors from across the network who've developed Garden Warfare addictions on Xbox One, and we were told if it wasn't included in this list that we'd be force-fed a chilibomb.

Digital

While they may have had the better of it when it comes to the bigger exclusives, Xbox One just can't compete when it comes to indie games and digital titles. That doesn't mean that there isn't a nice selection on Xbox, but it simply doesn't measure up to the lineup on PSN. Still, there's some cracking games on Microsoft's console, as you can see below.

Child of Light is a wonderful game made using the UbiArt Framework (that also powers Rayman), much like the equally excellent World War I adventure game, Valiant Hearts: The Great War.

Super Time Force has a brilliant time-bending mechanic (and some lovely pixel art to boot). It's out on PC now too, but at launch this was an Xbox One exclusive.

Peggle 2 landed first on Xbox One, and once again it's cutesy and addictive fun, and yet another excellent release from PopCap.

Guacemelee got a turbo edition on new-gen, and if you've not played this metroidvania platformer, it's well worth your time and money. This one has bags of personality.

The Walking Dead (and The Wolf Among Us) will have you questioning your own moral values thanks to Telltale's tried and tested adventure game mechanics. What will you do?

And finally in the digital indie section there's a little known game called Minecraft, which needs a special mention since Microsoft went and bought Mojang and the game earlier this year (although that hasn't meant that the game has been pulled the game from PlayStation platforms). Arguably it isn't indie or just digital anymore, but let's not forget its roots; this is a game that came from nowhere to take over the world.

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And for the rest, here's a selection of solid titles that are still worth picking up, if the price is right or the inclination is there. Not every game is going to be a classic, and here's the best of the rest.

Thief and Wolfenstein: The New Order are both reboots that brought back quality franchises and delivered them to modern gamers (Wolfenstein in particular was very entertaining, if a little uneven at times). You can probably pick up both for a very reasonable price now, and we'd be happy to recommend that you do so.

Another reboot came in the form of Killer Instinct, which is the only fighter of note on the platform (which says something about how under-nourished fighting fans have been on the new machines), and saw Microsoft experimenting with free-to-play financial models.

Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes is short and sweet, while Watch Dogs is perhaps a bit too long and perhaps not sweet enough. That said, both games are decent enough and won't look out of place in your collection.

Sniper Elite 3 is a solid WWII sniper-themed shooter, although perhaps it needs a bit more to it than the X-ray killcam party trick that defines the series now. Bigger sandbox levels make this the best entry in the series thus far.

Metro Redux is made up of two decent first-person shooters set in the Moscow subway system following a nuclear apocalypse, with the first first of the two receiving plenty of attention for this HD update. A great value proposition.

The Evil Within is a decent option for horror fans still waiting for Resident Evil to make its way to new-gen platforms. It's something of a love letter to the classics, so it's a better fit for fans who prefer to look back, not forward.

As per usual the Lego games are all of a similarly decent quality, so rather than single one out, you can buy either Marvel, Batman/DC, The Hobbit, or the game based on the movie, safe in the knowledge that it'll be decent family fun.

Finally, a shout out for new-gen football, with Pro Evolution Soccer 2015 and FIFA 15 finishing with a score draw this year (8-8 on GR-UK). It's been a good year for PES in particular, and arguably it's the better game as far as the football goes, but as ever FIFA 15 is solid and has excellent presentation.