Borderlands

Borderlands combined a first-person shooter with role-playing game rules, and the result was something without precedent at the time. On the parched planet of Pandora, four treasure hunters search for a legendary Vault full of alien technology, fighting their way through bandits, psychos and wild fauna along the way. Each of the heroes has a unique skill, from a combat turret to temporary invisibility, and their own skill tree, so even a second playthrough feels noticeably different.

The real draw, though, is the loot. Weapons are randomly generated from components, so a shotgun might fire incendiary rounds, a submachine gun might have a ridiculously oversized magazine, and the player is constantly comparing numbers to see if a new find beats what they already have. This loop, accompanied by damage numbers popping up over enemies, keeps players hooked for dozens of hours, especially in co-op with up to four people, where an ordinary firefight turns into chaotic joyride. Visually the game bet on a comic-book-style outlined look, which gave it a distinctive appearance on the Xbox 360 that hasn't aged as quickly as realistic graphics, and expansions like the trip to an island full of undead rank among the best-received add-ons of their time.

Reception was strong, and Borderlands became an unexpected hit that grew into one of the defining franchises of the whole generation. Its influence is impossible to miss: the term "looter shooter" now describes an entire subgenre, and few later games with randomly generated gear escape comparison to Pandora. Coming back to it today, it's clear the first game is rougher and rawer than its sequels, with less polished humor and an emptier world, but the foundation still holds. Played with four people, it remains one of the most enjoyable co-op games ever released on the Xbox 360. It's helped by a wholly distinctive tone that mixes post-apocalyptic humor, absurd side quests, and the endlessly chatty robot Claptrap, whom some players adore and others would love to shoot to pieces.