Halo 2 (Xbox)

Bungie's 2004 sequel may not have a particularly memorable campaign in terms of its narrative - it also ends rather abruptly - but pretty much everything else about Halo 2 improved upon its predecessor.

Of course the big addition here was online multiplayer straight out of the box (although it did take the developer a while to sort out all the cheating), this really blasted Halo 2 into the stratosphere in terms of popularity and laid the foundations for how the series would look and play going forward.

With an expanded arsenal of weapons, vehicles and enemies and levels that allowed much more freedom to experiment, Halo 2 was an impressive follow-up and a game that's absolutely still worth grabbing and blasting through today.

  • Backwards Compatibility? Yes, as part of the Master Chief Collection

Half Life 2 (Xbox)

What is there left to say about Valve's incredible 2004 sequel? One of the very best of all-time, Half-Life 2 has got it all. Top-notch shooting, fantastic physics-based puzzles, amazing graphics, fantastic characters, one of our favourite in-game companions ever, incredible enemies...it goes on.

From its chilling opening through some exquisitely designed levels that funnel you through its eerie locales whilst rewarding and encouraging exploration, Half Life 2 never put a foot wrong. It mixed horror and sci-fi with seemingly effortless ease and the end result is game we've played over and over again throughout the years and still want more of. Wake up, Mr Freeman, wake up and smell the ashes!

  • Backwards Compatibility? Yes, as part of The Orange Box

Jade Empire (Xbox)

Bioware's 2005 action RPG, Jade Empire taps a rich vein of ancient Chinese history and mythology to deliver an excellent game that's absolutely dripping in little details and atmosphere.

Assuming the role of "the spirit monk", players are whisked away on a roughly twenty hour adventure here that's packed full of meaningful and interesting choices, fun real-time combat and romancing that takes place in a truly wonderful setting. There's a great plot here, some fantastic writing and, overall, a game that's well worth digging out and experiencing for yourself if you've yet to play it.

  • Backwards Compatible? Yes

Ninja Gaiden Black (Xbox)

Team Ninja's revamped version of their superb 2004 hack and slash effort, Ninja Gaiden Black dares you to come at it.

With increased difficulty - this game is absolutely brutal - a new mission mode, improved camera and combo system and all manner of little tweaks here and there, it's the definitive version of a stone cold classic. Ryu Hayabusa's adventure here is a slick, brutal, bloody and breath-taking action experience that demands you stop that button-mashing and master its combo system in order to become the ultimate ninja badass. Hack and slash games don't really get any better, or cooler, than this.

  • Backwards Compatible? Yes

NFL 2K5 (ESPN) (Xbox)

The end of an era in so many ways, Visual Concept's NFL 2K5 was the final football game in the 2K franchise before EA snapped up the rights to the NFL and changed the course of football gaming history.

But why is this game still so beloved by so many gamers? Was it the weird and wacky elements, the celebs like Steve-O and Carmen Elektra who'd call you up on the phone, The Crib - a precursor to modern 2K games' hubs - or even just the fact it cost half the price of its nearest competitor in the genre?

We reckon the magic here is all about how it advanced the offensive element of the game by including sophisticated new animations that allowed runners more freedom than ever before, twisting, turning, duking and squeezing in between tackles as they made their way downfield. At the time this was head and shoulders above its rivals and felt better than football games had done up until that point.

It may have aged a bit these days, and most of what made it special then is standard fare now, but NFL 2K5 remains a special game, the end of a particular style and brand of NFL game, that people still talk about and play to this day.

  • Backwards Compatible? No

Oddworld Stranger's Wrath (Xbox)

One of the last major releases on the original Xbox console, 2005's Oddworld:Stranger's Wrath saw the series at a real high point as it mixed fantastic third-person platforming with punchy first-person shooting, a unique weapons system, surprisingly dark eco-narrative and slick open ended mission design.

As off-kilter an experience as any in the Oddworld franchise, this was a game that felt truly special back when it released and still holds up today. The Stranger's adventures are well worth seeking out and digging into.

  • Backwards Compatible? No

Panzer Dragoon Orta (Xbox)

The fourth and final entry in the Panzer Dragoon saga, 2003's Panzer Dragoon Orta saw players blast through the forces of a mysterious empire as teenage hero, Orta, as she flees the clutches of evil dragonmares.

With super tight gameplay that sees you switch between three unique dragoons and graphics that were mind-blowing for the time and still hold up today, this might be a relatively short blast of super-charged, on-rails goodness, but it's top-notch shooter excellence while it lasts. This is one is well worth getting stuck into to see what all the fuss was about.

  • Backwards Compatible? Yes

Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time (Xbox)

Ah, we still remember vividly the first time we got our hands on Ubisoft's Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time. This 2003 action adventure was one of the best looking games around at the time and featured a stunning revamp of a classic character, a prince who could now get down to some seriously stylish platforming action.

The fights against rather bland sand enemies may not have been a high point, but when combined with lots of fantastic puzzles, platforming and a rewind time mechanic that was wonderfully fresh and unique at the time, this was still a mightily impressive game mechanically, and one that had some of the most sumptuous settings we've ever had the pleasure of swinging, jumping and puzzling around.

  • Backwards Compatible? Yes

Project Gotham Racing 2 (Xbox)

Bizarre Creations returned to the road racing fray in late 2003 with this belting sequel that took players on a tour of eleven cool cities in over 100 stylish, super-charged cars.

As with its predecessor, Project Gotham Racing 2 differs from most racing games in that you're rewarded not just for speed but for skill and style. Racking up Kudos points in the excellent Kudos World Series by powersliding and overtaking opponents as you tear around Edinburgh, Barcelona and beyond delivered some superbly addictive arcade racing thrills.

With top-notch graphics, tons of cars and an online mode that only ever saw you rise in the rankings via accumulated Kudos, this is one racer that's still worth seeking out and digging into.

  • Backwards Compatible? No

Psychonauts (Xbox)

We're all on a little bit of a Psychonauts high right now after the recent release of the spectacularly good sequel, and back in 2005 the original game was having pretty much the same effect on gamers.

Raz's debut adventure is a wonderfully bizarro trip through an off-kilter world that's jam-packed full of sharp humour and witty dialogue that so obviously shares DNA with the great LucasArts. The mixture of wacky settings, tight platforming, hilarious NPC conversations and psychic abilities here pushes the game through and keeps things on a high, even when the humour starts to wane just a little in the final stretch. Psychonauts is an all-time classic that you've simply got to jump into and try for yourself.

  • Backwards Compatible? Yes