2. Halo
So with this at number 2, you may have guessed what is at number 1 but we can get to that in a moment, firstly let's concetrate on the game that really made people sit up and take notice of the Xbox, the truly spectacular Halo. Bungie's classic FPS which introduced us to the Master Chief, Cortana, the Covenant and of course the wonderful open plains of the Halo rings themselves. It set the bar for all future console FPS games and it is a bar which, arguably, the Halo franchise has never quite managed to clear itself with the subsequent games in the series. Everything about the game seemed perfect, the controls felt great, the graphics were amazing and the story was genuinely interesting. Stepping out of the downed escape capsule for the first time was an awe inspiring moment, taking in the wonderful surroundings and sumptuous graphics, it felt like a real place. It was the fourth mission though that really made me fall in love with the game, the Saving Private Ryan-esque assault on the beach remains to this day one of the greatest moments in gaming. A splendid game and a superb way for Microsoft to announce their arrival in console gaming.