As a gamer myself, I understand how difficult we can be to buy presents for, especially if you don’t follow games yourself. To try and make it a little easier on everyone involved, I decided to make a series of lists for each console manufacturer and PC, highlighting what I consider to be some of better titles available for purchase this Holiday Season. Starting with this list for Xbox One and Xbox 360. The only proviso with titles is that they be relatively easy to purchase and gift, meaning many digital games were not included.
This is by no means a definitive list, and some tough decisions were made on titles that missed out. Due to the high costs involved Rock Band 4 missed out on entry, as did Lego Dimensions for a similar reason. Just Cause 3 is also missing due to the poor technical performance of the title on Xbox One.
Have a read of my Xbox Christmas Gift Guide, see what I suggest for gifts this year, and stay tuned for the Playstation Christmas Guide which will go live in the early evening on Monday December 7th.
Exclusive Games
Title: Forza Motorsport 6
Platform: Xbox One
Genre: Driving Simulator
Rating: G
Modes of Play: Single Player, Offline Multiplayer, Online Multiplayer
Family/Kid Friendly: Yes. Forza Motorsport 6 features very customisable difficulty settings, as well as a handy rewind feature, that make the game accessible to all ages. The split screen multiplayer also allows family members to race each other.
Rocket Chainsaw Review Score: 4.5
Title: Gears of War Ultimate Edition
Platform: Xbox One
Genre: Cover-based Third Person Shooter
Rating: MA
Modes of Play: Single Player, Offline Multiplayer, Offline Co-op, Online Multiplayer, Online Co-op
Family/Kid Friendly: No. Gears of War is another particularly violent shooter title, including exploding enemies and dismemberment.
Rocket Chainsaw Review Score: 4/5
Title: Halo 5: Guardians
Platform: Xbox One
Genre: Science Fiction First Person Shooter
Rating: M
Modes of Play: Single Player, Online Co-op, Online Multiplayer
Family/Kid Friendly: Buyer discretion is advised. Halo 5: Guardians’ M rating is due to the violence inherent in any first person shooter, however it is comparatively mild compared to other shooters. No dismemberment or exploding body parts here.
Rocket Chainsaw Review Score: 4/5
Title: Rare Replay
Platform: Xbox One
Genre: Game Collection featuring 2D and 3D Platformers, Shooters and more
Rating: MA 15+
Modes of Play: Single Player, Offline Multiplayer, Offline Co-op, Online Multi-player
Family/Kid Friendly: Yes and no. The majority of titles included in Rare Replay are family friendly, especially the Viva Pinata titles, however not all of the titles are so kid friendly. The Perfect Dark shooters bring a bit of violence to the package, while the language and themes in Conker’s Bad Fur Day are not what you want younger children seeing or hearing.
Rocket Chainsaw Review Score: 4/5
Title: Rise of the Tomb Raider
Platform: Xbox One and Xbox 360
Genre: Supernatural Survival Third Person Shooter
Rating: MA
Modes of Play: Single Player
Family/Kid Friendly: No. Rise of the Tomb Raider is a particularly graphic shooter, with many close up kill sequences, and lots of language children shouldn’t hear.
Rocket Chainsaw Review Score: 4.5/5
Multiplatform Titles
Title: Assassin’s Creed Syndicate
Platform: Xbox One
Genre: Victorian-era Third Person Action Adventure
Rating: MA
Modes of Play: Single Player
Family/Kid Friendly: No. Assassin’s Creed Syndicate features exactly what the name implies, many assassinations and deaths.
Rocket Chainsaw Review Score: N/A
Title: Batman: Arkham Knight
Platform: Xbox One
Genre: Batman Third Person Action Adventure
Rating: M
Modes of Play: Single Player
Family/Kid Friendly: Discretion Advised. Batman: Arkham Knight is a very physical title, with lots of hand to hand combat, however there is no dismemberment or particularly gruesome scenes.
Rocket Chainsaw Review Score: 4/5
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Title: Call of Duty: Black Ops 3
Platform: Xbox One and Xbox 360
Genre: Futuristic First Person Shooter
Rating: R
Modes of Play: Single Player, Offline Multiplayer, Offline Co-op, Online Multi-player, Online Co-op
Family/Kid Friendly: No. In this case, Call of Duty’s R rating mostly speaks for itself. The game includes especially gruesome violence, with enemies exploding, being burnt alive by abilities and other acts.
Rocket Chainsaw Review Score: N/A
Special Note: The Xbox 360 version does not include the story mode that is contained in the Xbox One version.
Title: Destiny: The Taken King
Platform: Xbox One and Xbox 360
Genre: Online Only Science Fiction First Person Shooter
Rating: M
Modes of Play: Online Only Single Player, Co-op and Multiplayer
Family/Kid Friendly: Discretion Advised. Like other titles in this list, Destiny’s genre means that there is some inherent violence included, however there are no gruesome executions and what is included is not confronting.
Rocket Chainsaw Review Score: 4/5
Title: Disney Infinity 3.0
Platform: Xbox One and Xbox 360
Genre: 3D Platformers and Action
Rating: G
Modes of Play: Single Player
Family/Kid Friendly: Yes. As with Disney films, Disney Infinity 3.0 is specifically built to a be a title for all ages.
Rocket Chainsaw Review Score: 4/5
Title: Dying Light
Platform: Xbox One
Genre: Survival-based Zombie-Apocalypse Action Adventure
Rating: R
Modes of Play: Single Player, Online Co-Op
Family/Kid Friendly: No. This is another title where the R rating should largely speak for itself. Chock full of confronting violence, dismemberment and x-ray vision shots as you break bones.
Rocket Chainsaw Review Score: N/A
Title: Fallout 4
Platform: Xbox One
Genre: Post-Apocalyptic First or Third Person Shooter
Rating: MA
Modes of Play: Single Player
Family/Kid Friendly: No. In Fallout 4 the most common recurring theme is your enemies heads of arms coming off their bodies as you shoot them, it’s not exactly the sort of thing children should see.
Rocket Chainsaw Review Score: 4/5
Title: Guitar Hero Live
Platform: Xbox One and Xbox 360
Genre: Guitar Simulator
Rating: M
Modes of Play: Single Player, Offline Multiplayer, Offline Co-op, Online Multi-player
Family/Kid Friendly: Largely, yes. The M rating for Guitar Hero Live comes from the language used in some songs included in the game.
Rocket Chainsaw Review Score: N/A
Title: Lego Jurassic World
Platform: Xbox One and Xbox 360
Genre: 3D Platformer and Adventure
Rating: PG
Modes of Play: Single Player, Offline Co-op
Family/Kid Friendly: 100%. The combination of family friendly action, easy to learn controls and split screen co-op makes Lego Jurassic World potentially the most family friendly title on this list.
Rocket Chainsaw Review Score:
Title: Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain
Platform: Xbox One and Xbox 360
Genre: Third Person Stealth Shooter
Rating: R
Modes of Play: Single Player, Online Multi-player
Family/Kid Friendly: No. Metal Gear Solid V deals with many themes that are inappropriate for younger players, include child slavery. Along with the level of violence present, it is not recommended for children.
Rocket Chainsaw Review Score: 4/5
Title: Mortal Kombat X
Platform: Xbox One
Genre: Hyper Violent Fighter
Rating: R
Modes of Play: Single Player, Offline Multiplayer, Online Multi-player
Family/Kid Friendly: No. X-ray shots as you break bones and burst internal organs, decapitation and heaps of blood make this a definite no-go for younger players.
Rocket Chainsaw Review Score: N/A
Title: Ori and the Blind Forest
Platform: Xbox One, Xbox 360 and PC
Genre: 2D Exploration Focused Platformer
Rating: PG
Modes of Play: Single Player
Family/Kid Friendly: Yes, but it is a difficult game. Ori and the Blind Forest contains some mild violence; however, it isn’t confronting.
Rocket Chainsaw Review Score: 3.5/5
Special Note: Ori and the Blind Forest is a downloadable title, however giftable copies can be obtained from the Microsoft Store website.
Title: Skylanders Superchargers
Platform: Xbox One and Xbox 360
Genre: 3D Platformer and Action
Rating: G
Modes of Play: Single Player
Family/Kid Friendly: Yes. Skylanders Superchargers is specifically built to a be a title for all ages.
Rocket Chainsaw Review Score: N/A
Title: Star Wars Battlefront
Platform: Xbox One
Genre: Science Fiction Star Wars Shooter
Rating: M
Modes of Play: Offline Multiplayer, Offline Co-op, Online Multi-player, Online Co-op
Family/Kid Friendly: Discretion Advised. As with the Star Wars films, Star Wars Battlefront comes with a non-confrontational level of violence. No decapitation, no gruesome deaths, but of course laser guns and shooting are still involved.
Rocket Chainsaw Review Score: 3.5/5
Title: The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt
Platform: Xbox One
Genre: Action Role Playing Game
Rating: R
Modes of Play: Single Player
Family/Kid Friendly: No. Nudity, sexual themes, as well as violence make The Witcher 3 an adults-only affair.
Rocket Chainsaw Review Score: 5/5
Title: Transformers Devastation
Platform: Xbox One and Xbox 360
Genre: Character Action
Rating: M
Modes of Play: Single Player
Family/Kid Friendly: Another title where the onus is on you. With cartoon visuals reminiscent of the 1980’s cartoons and stylised violence that doesn’t include any blood, Transformers Devastation is potentially fine for kids.
Rocket Chainsaw Review Score: N/A
