You're about to leave a waspish comment about a certain Don Mattrick quote, aren't you - the one about what people should do if they dislike Xbox One's connected functions (usage of which is no longer mandatory, in circumstances that may have something to do with reaction to Mattrick's comments). Hold thy bloody hand, heretic! This isn't the place for your exec-bashing vitriol. It is, in fact, an article about the resolutely current generation projects that could yet stave off purchases of a shiny new Xbox One. The pick of a console's software line-up are generally to be encountered in its twilight years, and Xbox 360 is no exception: a landslide of quality approaches, via both high street retail and Xbox Live. Here are the games I'm most eager to lay hands on.

1. Splinter Cell: Blacklist

Ubisoft Toronto, Ubisoft, 23rd August 2013

Sam Fisher must be pretty bored of the whole "James Bond meets Tenchu" thing by now, but that's certainly not the impression you'll get from his latest release. Jade Raymond and her Ubisoft Toronto team are aiming for the ultimate marriage of unholy bloodlust and catlike infiltration with Blacklist, in which Sam takes command of a new US black ops unit Fourth Echelon, which operates from the security of a mobile fortress known as the Paladin. The craft is your mission and customisation hub, serves as a venue for interactions between Sam's four key accomplices, and is integral to multiplayer and online features (including the mysterious Shadownet).



Out in the AO, you can expect more potential for explosive throwdowns - e.g. calling in airstrikes via Kinect commands, or pulling off long chains of kills with the expanded, more flexible Mark & Execute system - but also more potential for sneakiness, care of a tuned light/dark system. Sounds excellent, but the real highlight - and the most lingering proof of the game's commitment to polar opposite gameplay styles - could be the return of Spies versus Mercenaries mode in multiplayer. Go on, try telling me the video above doesn't make your thumbs itch and your mouth water.

2. World of Tanks

Wargaming.net, Microsoft Studios, summer 2013

World of Tanks is the second greatest PC indie success story of the past decade or so, the first being Minecraft. It's less obviously appealing than the latter, being a tank sim with relatively low-key visuals and an unabashed hard-on for authenticity, but 60 million players can't be wrong, can they? The game will be free to play - well, free to play providing you've already shelled out for Xbox Live Gold, with a seven day trial available to Silver subs.



The premise is simple: pick from one of scores of rattling death machines, customise it to taste, and join 29 other players for a spot of mechanical carnage. Different classes of tank equal different tactics, naturally, and terrain factors can be crucial - a slight dip in the land makes the difference between a shell to the treads or a shell to the turret. We're planning to get on-board with the PC version shortly, to prepare ourselves for the chaos to come.

3. Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons

Starbreeze, Microsoft Studios, August 2013

Due out as part of this year's Summer of Arcade, which begins on 7th August, Brothers is an understated fantasy adventure from Swedish film-maker Josef Fares and Riddick developer Starbreeze Studios. The brothers of the title are on a journey to save their father, variously aided or hindered by a menagerie of mythical creatures. File this one under "soul-wrenching arthouse experiences", if you must. You could also draw comparisons with PS2 classic ICO, as the environments often directly reference the latter, and the colour scheme is redolent of it throughout.



The control system and mechanics facilitate a story that explores the nature of sorrow and the fractiousness of sibling relationships - each thumbstick controls a brother, one of whom is bigger and stronger than the other, and the pair will need to work in tandem to overcome the game's puzzles. The game's capacity to justify its "gamey" elements via the narrative is compelling - the younger brother refuses to swim, for instance, because he witnessed his mother drown.

4. Diablo 3

Blizzard, Activision, 3rd September 2013

Diablo 3's release on PC was dogged by controversy - it's an always-online RPG that leans heavily on micro-transactions, via the catastrophically implemented real-money Auction House. Fortunately, the console versions seem the height of design diplomacy. On the one hand, the controls have been appropriately tailored to reflect the demands of controller- and living room play. On the other, there's no Auction House or mandatory connection to worry about.



You'll play the part of a Witch Doctor, Barbarian, Wizard, Monk or Demon Hunter, and the objective is to find the titular Diablo and stab, fireball or otherwise pummel his face off. In company, if you choose - there's support for online, local and online-and-local multiplayer. Fold in the expected labyrinthine depth of skills and loot, and there's scope for an obsession that could easily swallow Christmas.

5. The Bureau: XCOM Declassified

2K Marin, 2K Interactive, 23rd August

If you wanted to like last year's XCOM: Enemy Unknown reboot, but found yourself deterred by the absence of a Mass Effect-style three-man squad system and real-time battles, rejoice! Because that's basically what you're getting with XCOM Declassified, which combines Enemy Unknown's base management and research aspects with no-nonsense blasting. Well, there's a commendable amount of nonsense to the blasting, actually. You can hoist an Engineer's turret to a better vantage point using a psionic Lift move, for instance, and positioning is as vital as ever.



Tactics are implemented care of the Battle Mode view, which pauses time and lets you browse a radial menu. If that strikes you as a disgusting capitulation to user-friendliness, rest easy in the knowledge that dead allies are gone forever and that you will, therefore, probably burst into acid tears at some point and be compelled to start your save from scratch. The classes, enemies, research "narrative" and many of the weapons are as they were in Enemy Unknown; the Bioshock veterans at 2K Marin have, however, explored the subtleties of the universe to a degree the original's choice of perspective couldn't allow.

6. GTA 5

Rockstar, 2K Games, 17th September 2013

Rockstar has stood fast against repeated calls for a next generation version of Grand Theft Auto 5, and the developer's unwillingness to cave is the single best reason to stick with Xbox 360. Offering three main characters, Rockstar's grandest, most detailed open world and a story that's built around non-linear heists, this is shaping up to be the best GTA yet. The roster of distractions is intimidatingly huge - among other things, you'll customise vehicles with new license plates and suspension, tour the ocean floor, run a property empire, hunt wilderness game and use character-specific special skills to unlock Max Payne-worthy cans of whoopass.



And all that's without mentioning the multiplayer, of which we've heard very little other than that it will be "groundbreaking". GTA 4's online was a massive success and very ambitious, but undeniably flawed. Red Dead Redemption took the same template and shaved off many of the rough edges. Rockstar's next shot at the idea could be its breakthrough contribution.

7. Batman: Arkham Origins

Warner Bros Montreal, Warner Bros, 25th October 2013

A bit of editorial insight: every time somebody writes about Batman on OXM who isn't Aoife, she runs out into the countryside and roundhouse kicks an endangered animal, straight in the hindparts. Just imagine how much damage is being done to such rare species as the British Red Squirrel, right this very moment, while I tell you about the overhauled Detective Mode, and the revamped gadget progression tree, and Batman's new Just Cause-esque double-ended grapple, and the expanded rogue's gallery, which now includes assassin Deathstroke and Black Mask.



Go on, I'll tell you about the multiplayer too. This one's strictly rumour-only for the moment, but it comes care of respected sources. Apparently, there's a Batman: Arkham Origins mode in which you play a member of either Joker or Bane's gang, and must take down the Dark Knight and Boy Wonder - a reversal of Arkham's battle-proven sandbox setpieces. How are we doing, Aoife? Any squirrels left standing upright?

8. South Park: The Stick of Truth

Obsidian, Ubisoft, holiday 2013

I'll breathe a hearty sigh of relief when Obsidian's licensed role-player hits shelves, personally. The game has been tossing on the waves of industry misfortune for quite some time - it was left briefly without a publisher when THQ went under last year, only to be snapped up by Ubisoft. Written by filthy-minded South Park creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone, The Stick of Truth manages nonetheless to be an elegant turn-based battler that should appeal to fans of the developer's "serious" work.



9. Dark Souls 2

From Software, Namco, March 2014

I called GTA 5 "the single best reason to stick with Xbox 360" a few pages back, but that was my Official Editor persona in operation, truth be told - the impending current gen release that really, truly keeps me up at nights is From Software's latest action role-player, a dark, dank, grotesquely morbid offering which looks to expand interestingly on the Dark Souls mythos.



The basics are the same - you're a lone adventurer, travelling from bonfire to bonfire in search of loot, upgrades and answers - but key devices have been altered. There's no Humanity, for instance, which suggests that the online has been radically overhauled, and some levels offer points of no return, where you're asked to choose between branching paths. One thing's for sure - you'll die a lot getting to the bottom of all this.

Source: Rheena.com