Ok, so I’ve got my Xbox, and we got the Dance Central games (which I haven’t played yet), Kinect Sports (which I love the boxing and beach volleyball), NHL 12 (which is on the way, as they were sold out and so it’s coming direct to me either today or tomorrow), and Once Upon a Monster for my daughter (who loves it), as part of the Christmas plunder.
I have since downloaded a bunch of demos and have purchased Limbo (awesome) and Pac Man DX Championship (you were right…awesome).
Yesterday I got Arkham City (I figured I’d get to play it more on Xbox than PC due to the wife) and Forza 4 with a Best Buy gift card I got from my company Christmas party. Forza 4 looks and plays great…I think I’m going to like it quite a lot, and Batman is friggin awesome. I was a little worried about the controls on the pad, but they’re VERY well done, and I very quickly picked it up. Fantastic game…I played for about an hour and a half last night.
On the action front, I suggest Bayonetta. It’s rather punishing at higher difficulty levels but the controls are tight and the game is, eh, very flashy.
If you like platformer, consider Trine 2. It’s beautiful and has one of the best co-op gameplay.
On the RPG-side, I have heard that Divinity II : The Dragon Knight Saga is a good mix of action and rpg elements; plus you can shapeshift into a dragon!
Trine 2 definitely plays better on KB/M than gamepad - I’ve tried both. Grapple and wizard item creation precision is more important than movement precision. Plus it’s a game most remarkable for being amazingly beautiful, so it’s a particular bad game to cripple the graphics on.
Edit: Not trying to start an argument, but the OP specifically said he can do PC or Xbox and only wants xbox exclusives or games that are better specifically on xbox for whatever reason, and most people are ignoring that and listing multiplatform titles that are as good/better on PC. Stuff like Forza and Red Dead Redemption are good suggestions, Trine 2 and Arkham Asylum and Assassin’s Creed not so much.
Look around for deals. I recently picked up Bayonetta and Dante’s Inferno from Amazon, brand new, for less than $15 each. And Walmart and Best Buy are, I think, still selling Duke Nukem Forever for $10 or less. I know, DNF is said to suck muchly, but still, new game for less than $10!
Bayonetta is kind of embarrassing to play around people. “The gameplay is good.” Well, yeah, it is good. But it’s like having an issue of Playboy on the coffee table. It might have great articles, but nobody is going to believe you when you say that’s why you read it.
Pfff. Whatever. I played it through with my wife and she laughed her ass off the entire time. Your mileage may vary, but it’s no worse than some of the schlock like Bulletstorm or Shadows of the Damned. I’d argue it’s actually less braindead than a lot of games with less innuendo simply because of its degree of self awareness.
Don’t worry, Platinum Games is now going to make Metal Gear: Rising. I am not sure if that is any more family friendly though
And if you are dying for a spot of flight simulation, Ace Combat 6 (not the latest one, which is Assault Horizon) is quite good too. It’s an old game so you can easily get it from the budget bin at a low low price.
Self-aware over-the-top fan service is still over-the-top fan service. Anyway, it’s not a huge deal and as you said, mileage may vary. I just thought I’d mention it in case it’s something the OP cares about.
