A major disadvantage of upgrading your console or even switching to an entirely new brand is that you've got to start fresh with your video game library. The good news is that Microsoft has installed a backward-compatibility feature on Xbox One.
While there's no need to throw out your entire library of Xbox 360 games, keep in mind that some games aren't compatible with Xbox One. We have put together a list of the best Xbox 360 games that work with the Xbox One to save you some time.
Further reading
Action-adventure
Assassin's Creed Brotherhood
Building on the improved structure and combat of Assassin's Creed II, Brotherhood introduced allied assassins to assist during missions, and Ezio's story was just as charming and full of historical figures as it was the first time around.
Read our full Assassin's Creed Brotherhood reviewGrand Theft Auto IV
The American Dream is a complicated concept that rarely goes according to plan, and Grand Theft Auto IV showed its dark and depressing truth. Protagonist Niko Bellic arrives in Liberty City hoping to turn his life around and forget the violent past he left in Eastern Europe, but he's instead forced to accept that America isn't a fantasy land, and his hands are still going to get bloody.
With a brilliant climax, a huge number of side activities, and a gorgeous city to explore, Grand Theft Auto IV is a timeless classic.
Castlevania: Lords of Shadow
With voice talent like Robert Carlyle and Patrick Stewart, the performances and stellar, and help Lords of Shadow stand on its own, Castlevania name or not.
Red Dead Redemption
Before you play the excellent Red Dead Redemption 2, play the original Red Dead Redemption to learn more about the game's massive cast of characters, and to see the fate of John Marston after he left Dutch van der Linde's gang of outlaws.
A fully realized Old West on the brink of death is fleshed out with some of the best characters and writing of the generation, and the innovative "Dead Eye" system makes it easy to become the ultimate gunslinger.
Shooter
BioShock Infinite
A divisive game that introduced science-fiction elements bordering on fantasy to the brilliant shooter series, BioShock Infinite 's personal tale of family, betrayal, revenge, and what it means to accept responsibility for one's own actions is a roller coaster ride that doesn't slow down until the closing credits. Combat improvements, including the new "Sky-Hook" weapon, make getting around the city of Columbia a breeze, and the gorgeous environments are perfectly suited for the game's stylized art design.
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2
Crysis 2
Far Cry 3
The game that would set the template for the series to this day, Far Cry 3 is a phenomenal open-world shooter that manages to make the main storyline and the dozens of side activities worthwhile.
The star of the show is villain Vaas Montenegro, whose chilling monologues make our skin crawl, but the tropical island you're exploring is an even better character. With so many animals to hunt, races to complete, and outposts to liberate, you can sink 50 hours in Far Cry 3 and still not see the whole game, and you won't mind doubling that number.
Gears of War (series)
The series that encouraged many Xbox 360 players to buy the console in the first place, Gears of War popularized the cover-based shooter that is still so prevalent on the Xbox One today.
Telling a story of family, loss, and brotherhood, Epic Games' trilogy managed to be a tearjerker despite the presence of burrowing alien creates and men with biceps the size of redwood trees. The chainsaw-equipped Lancer rifle is among the best guns in any video game, and it still feels awesome to cut a Locust enemy into bite-size bloody chunks.
Ghost Recon: Future Soldier
The Ghost Recon series has taken several different forms over the years, transitioning from a first-person shooter to a third-person shooter with an emphasis on stealth and tactics, and it was it its most high-tech in 2012's Ghost Recon: Future Soldier.
The game is fully playable solo or cooperatively, and it introduced the "sync shot" feature that allows you to take out four enemies simultaneously. The online multiplayer played like a cross between Gears of War and Battlefield, with teamwork valued above all else, and the excellent controls made taking cover and eliminating enemies a breeze.
Read our full Ghost Recon: Future Soldier reviewHalo: Reach
Halo 3 was the original game's formula polished to a blinding sheen, but Halo: Reach wasn't content to just make trivial changes. Taking place before the events of the first game, the campaign saw multiple Spartan supersoldiers band together in a failed attempt to stop the Covenant from taking over the titular planet, and it made for some of the most dramatic moments in the series to date.
Online multiplayer introduced more customization than we had seen thus far, with special armor abilities drastically changing how battles played out.
Ikaruga
Left 4 Dead
The zombie apocalypse would be an insurmountable challenge for one to face on their own, but with a few friends, it gets substantially more manageable. That is, of course, unless you're playing Left 4 Dead, a game in which one person's false move could spell misery for the entire squad.
A cooperative and open-ended survival game with a sense of character and humor not found elsewhere in the genre, Left 4 Dead is brutal, challenging, and satisfying, and the perfect game to play for some team-building exercises.
Action
Dead Space
Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance
Splinter Cell Blacklist
Role-playing
Fable II
The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion
Mass Effect (series)
The Mass Effect series has seen better days, and none were better than when Mass Effect 2 released in 2010. The story of Commander Shepard and the crew of the Normandy was at its strongest in the middle chapter, which fleshed out the universe and the cast of supporting characters with clever "loyalty missions," while also improving the combat drastically over the previous game.
Lost Odyssey
A criminally underrated game on the Xbox 360, Lost Odyssey is a JRPG from Hironobu Sakaguchi of Mistwalker. If you're unaware, Sakaguchi is the mind behind Final Fantasy. Lost Odyssey also features manga artist Takehiko Inoue, writer Kiyoshi Shigematsu, and Final Fantasy composer Nobuo Uematsu.
An epic RPG on the scale of any modern Final Fantasytitle, Lost Odyssey throws you in the middle of a magic-industrial revolution. Two warring nations, the kingdom of Gohtza and Repulic of Uhra, have their forces wiped out after a meteor strikes the battlegrounds. You play as Kaim, an immortal who's recently lost his memory, who's sent to investigate the magic-infused mechanical creations of the Gohtza and Uhra.
Sports and racing
Forza Horizon
Shifting away from the gearhead-centric Forza Motorsport games of the past, Forza Horizon is all about freedom. Set in a version Colorado filled with races to complete and challenges to beat, the high-speed events you've come to expect from Forza are still here, but they're presented as a smaller piece of the open-world whole. Forza Horizon feels like a racing game for people who don't like racing games, but it does so without alienating its original audience.
Read our full Forza Horizon reviewFight Night Champion
Sports games don't usually feature stories, and though FIFA and Madden have been doing so recently, you can trace their success back to the boxing game Fight Night Champion. A Mature-rated game with a story that features elements of racism, corruption, and disturbing violence, Fight Night Champion is a brutal boxing game. Every punch has weight to it, and finally landing a knockout blow takes patience and careful timing. It's the last Fight Night game Electronic Arts released before switching its focus to MMA, and considering its quality, that's a shame.
Strategy
XCOM: Enemy Unknown
XCOM: Enemy Unknown managed to revive a dead franchise and not only please series veterans with its tough, unforgiving tactical turn-based combat, but it also introduced the genre to a new generation. With permanent soldier deaths and intelligent enemies, one wrong move can mean disaster for your entire squad, and each failure brings the aliens even closer to total world domination. The gameplay loop is addicting enough to make you keep playing anyway, and figuring out a strategy to take down a group of aliens is a tremendous feeling.
Read our full XCOM: Enemy Unknown reviewSimulation
Viva Piñata
A concept that could only be conceived with a little help from chemistry, Viva Piñata is one of the weirdest games Rare has ever made. Essentially a petting zoo simulator where you can grow your own piñata animals, and even make them breed, it's a colorful and whimsical take on the simulation genre that thumbed its nose at industry trends. As other games focused on gray and brown, Viva Piñata took pride in color, and it's impossible to play it without a smile on your face.
Puzzle
Portal 2
Portal 2 is one of the rare games that has maintained its value and allure since the day it launched. In fact, some question whether it should be considered the best puzzle game ever developed.
As we follow Valve across various adventures, including ones that seemingly ignore the laws of physics, we get to experience novel items, mechanics, and characters through portals and an ever-changing environment. Fully immersive and fully realized, these worlds continue to captivate users.
Read our full Portal 2 review