The Xbox One had a pretty decent year in 2015. Much like the PS4 though, 2016 is shaping up to be an even better year with more games coming out. Here’s some of the top ones worth checking out. Bear in mind, there are more Xbox One exclusives coming out in 2016, but we couldn’t fit all of them in.
5) Crackdown 3
The Crackdown series returns on the Xbox One and it might be the most ambitious title yet. Crackdown 2 came out in 2010 and the franchise kept quiet for many years. Many people were wondering when it will be back and now we know the third game is coming out next year.
The most innovative feature is the destructible environment that sees a lot of buildings crashing down. The feature is online only, but it should be a lot of fun. Hopefully more footage from the game is shared very soon.
4) Halo Wars 2
Much like Crackdown 3, Halo Wars is another series that gets revived in 2016. We’ve seen many FPS titles from the franchise, and Microsoft brings back the RTS spin-off that first came out in 2009. With the power of the Xbox One, we could see much larger armies and bigger environments.
Halo Wars 2 was announced at Gamescom 2015 to much fanfare. It will be developed in conjunction with The Creative Assembly who is responsible for the Total War series. The Creative Assembly are veterans in the RTS genre so this means the game should be really good if not great.
3) Gears of War 4
The Gears of War trilogy that starred the original cast has ended. Now Gears of War 4 ushers in new characters for the Xbox One generation. Gears of War innovated the third-person shooter genre back in 2006 and this new iteration looks like it will continue to push the series to new heights.
Gears of War: Ultimate Edition gave us a taste of the graphical power the Xbox One can do. That remake looked great compared to the 2006 original that came out on the Xbox 360. The footage we saw from E3 2015 for Gears of War 4 showed just how great the game will look like. It is sure to have a great campaign plus a fun multiplayer mode too.
2) Quantum Break
Quantum Break could be the dark horse for the Xbox One in 2016. It is by far the most unique looking game from this list. This is thanks to the game’s mechanic that allows gamers to manipulate time. You can freeze time at your own will giving you an advantage when shooting out bad guys. There is a lot that can be done using this game mechanic that separate it from other shooters.
The other thing that’s great about this game is that it has an impressive cast. Players assume the role of Jack Joyce played by Shawn Ashmore. People may know Ashmore as Iceman from the X-Men movies. Other famous actors in the game include Dominic Monaghan, Aiden Gillen Lance Riddick and more.
1) Scalebound
PlatinumGames have a great track record for developing kick-ass action games. They’ve made several awesome games such as Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance, the Bayonetta series and more. Now they’re set to develop Scalebound exclusively for Xbox One and it’s looking very impressive. We’ve seen how great other action RPGs have been in 2015 with the likes of The Witcher 3 and Bloodborne. There is potential that this game might be good as well.
The one thing that makes this game unique is that Drew (the main character) is joined by a dragon buddy that helps him out during combat. Much like the PS4’s Horizon: Zero Dawn, it appears Scalebound will also have a huge and beautiful open-world environment for players to explore.
