3 Xbox 360 Launch Titles That Everyone Forgot About

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November 22nd, 2025 will mark the 20th anniversary of the Xbox 360. Microsoft’s second gaming console was a huge success, proving that Xbox was a serious contender in the industry. While many of the most popular Xbox 360 games came out a few years after its release, the initial launch had some great titles too. Many players remember games like Call of Duty 2 and Tony Hawk’s American Wasteland, which were very popular on the 360. However, there are also some fantastic games from that early period that have largely been forgotten.

Here are three underrated games from the Xbox 360’s launch.

3) Peter Jackson’s King Kong: The Official Game of the Movie

Okay, so the full game title is a bit of a mouthful, but King Kong was seriously one of the best movie-to-game adaptations when it came out. That was a big deal, because honestly, most games based on movies back then were just quick attempts to make money – they didn’t really try to make a good game. There were a few exceptions, of course, but they were pretty rare!

The game King Kong had some problems depending on the system you played it on. However, we’re focusing on the Xbox 360 version, which was actually quite good – but only if you had an HDTV. Like many games released early on the Xbox 360, King Kong was designed for high-definition televisions. This meant players using standard TVs sometimes struggled to see what was happening on screen.

Playing King Kong on powerful hardware felt revolutionary for its time. Though not a lengthy game, it brilliantly captured the excitement of action movies, immersing players in the experience. It still looks fantastic on modern TVs, which makes it disappointing that Skull Island: Rise of Kong didn’t achieve the same level of quality.

2) Amped 3

Amped 3 was the last game in the snowboarding series. By the time it was released, interest in extreme sports games was declining, and even though the Shaun White games would remain popular for a few more years, snowboarding games in general were losing their appeal.

Despite its flaws, Amped 3 is a fun snowboarding game that really emphasizes the over-the-top side of extreme sports. In fact, it even includes a two-player mode where the goal is to rack up the most injuries, which shows just how far the developers were pushing the boundaries with this final installment.

Okay, so playing Amped 3, the thing that really stuck with me was how they did the cutscenes. It’s seriously strange, but in a good way! Instead of just showing stuff happening in the game, they used everything – like, hand puppets, actual scrapbooks, even a fake talk show! I’ve seen games try different ways to tell stories before and since, but Amped 3 really went all-out with it. It’s probably the most creative I’ve seen.

1) Gun

During this time, Neversoft was most famous for the Tony Hawk video game series. They even released Tony Hawk’s American Wasteland when the Xbox 360 first came out, as we’ve noted. Gun was an interesting attempt for the developers, but ultimately it didn’t become a successful franchise.

Players took on the role of Colton White, a talented gunslinger navigating life in the Wild West. The game offered engaging shooting action, a variety of side activities, and a strong cast featuring Ron Perlman, Lance Henriksen, and Kris Kristofferson. Critics often drew comparisons to Grand Theft Auto, and the game achieved moderate commercial success.

Despite the success of Gun, Neversoft didn’t create another game in that style. Activision, the publisher, quickly shifted the studio back to working on the Tony Hawk series, and later, Guitar Hero. Luckily, fans who enjoyed Western-themed games got what they wanted when Rockstar released Red Dead Redemption in 2010.

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2025-11-17 22:12