Here are our picks for the best Xbox games that were released in the year 2004.
1. Halo 2
Bigger, better, more features – Halo 2 is the perfect sequel. It features a solid single player campaign along with some of the best online multiplayer you’ll find in a console game.2. Burnout 3: Takedown
Burnout 3 took everything that made the Burnout series good and kicked things up to 11. More crashes, more speed, and gorgeous looking graphics made Burnout 3 one of the best racers on the market.3. Ninja Gaiden
Great graphics, pure and wonderful gameplay, and extreme difficulty. That is Ninja Gaiden in a nutshell. It still stands as one of the all-time great Xbox exclusive games.
4. ESPN NFL 2k5
The last 2k football game before EA bought up the rights to the NFL license, ESPN NFL 2k5 still stands as the best football game on the market. Great graphics and animation along with some of the best gameplay you’ll find in an NFL game, NFL 2k5 is worth picking up even when the next Madden looms on the horizon.5. RalliSport Challenge 2
Yet another case of Microsoft taking a series that was good to start with and making an absolutely outstanding sequel. RalliSport Challenge 2 has amazing looking graphics and tight gameplay that makes it one of the best racers on Xbox.6. Chronicles of Riddick: Escape from Butcher Bay
Escape from Butcher Bay – Standing as arguably the best entry in the Riddick series (yes, better than the movies), Escape from Butcher Bay was dark, brutal, and disturbingly beautiful. Yet another great FPS in the Xbox lineup.7. Fable
Fable was undeniably overhyped and didn’t deliver on most of the promises that were made during its development, but it still turned out extremely well despite the missing stuff. Great graphics, fun gameplay that let you hack and slash, shoot arrows, or use magic however and whenever you wanted along with a good/evil aspect all combined to make Fable something special.8. Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords
KOTOR II is pretty much exactly like the first KOTOR which is both a good and a bad thing. It has a great story and the same fun gameplay, but it also has all of the same glitches and problems with few improvements. Still a great game, but not as good as the original.9. Def Jam Fight For NY
Def Jam Fight for NY is one of the coolest fighting games to come around in a long time. Don’t let the fact that this is a hip-hop and rap themed game drive you away. Fight for NY is an extremely solid fighting game that anyone, not just hip-hop fans, will enjoy.10. Breakdown
Breakdown is an interesting FPS game where you view the entire game through the eyes of your character (including when he gets sick and pukes his guts out). It is also notable for all of the weird hallucinations and strange flashbacks your character has. A great, under appreciated game.