Xbox has done a pretty great job at ensuring that much of the Xbox and Xbox 360 libraries are preserved on modern hardware. While not every game got dedicated ports or made backwards compatible, there’s still a vast selection on offer, allowing players lugging around their physical collection of 360 games to pop the disc into their Series X and have a grand old time. It is great for collectors, for game preservation as a whole, and certainly for Microsoft’s wallet, as it allows the studio to continue selling their older games at a relatively high premium (looking at you, original Fable).
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Frankly, it is amazing what the dedicated Xbox preservation team has managed to pull off, but there are undoubtedly titles missing. It is a shame to see some certified classics rendered completely unplayable on modern hardware, and, for a while, it felt like we all had to surrender any notions that they’d eventually get brought over. Fortunately, for Xbox’s 25th anniversary, the preservation team has been teasing a new project to do with backwards compatibility. While that may just be enhancements to existing titles, it could also mean that new games are being added to the already exhaustive list of backward-compatible Xbox games. If that is the case, then these titles must be the first to make the cut.
5. Two Worlds 2
Many are unlikely to remember Two Worlds 2 or its predecessor, the game meant to kill The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion. It was a low-budget, sprawling fantasy adventure from Reality Pump Studios that was undeniably punching well above its weight. Despite the expected jank and plethora of underbaked mechanics, there was a lot to love about it, including its gorgeous environments, incredible magic system, and in-depth progression mechanics. While it is available on PC, you can’t play the original 360 version on current-gen systems, and that is a genuine shame.
At a time when fantasy RPGs are a dying breed on console, we could do with a game like Two Worlds 2. Sure, it isn’t perfect, but it offers something that a lot of games are simply too afraid to deliver nowadays: creativity born out of limitations. The aforementioned magic system, which lets you design your own spells, is a perfect example of that, as is its surprisingly reactive world. The story is neither here nor there, and the visuals look extremely dated, but Two Worlds 2 deserves another shot in the spotlight, and I hope that it is brought over to modern hardware one way or another.
4. The Godfather 2
So few movie tie-in games end up being genuinely good that when one does somehow manage to pull it off, it is an extremely welcome surprise. This was the case with Visceral Games’ The Godfather 2, the sequel to 2006’s open-world game of the same name (minus the 2). I have a lot of fond memories playing this game as a child, despite the ridiculous amount of gore and mature content, largely thanks to its focus on territory management. My predominant memory of The Godfather 2 was managing businesses, something an 11-year-old shouldn’t really be concerning themselves with, assigning guards to them, and racing over to gun down anyone attempting to reclaim them.
You could hire guys to join your crew, and each of them had a unique trait, such as my favorite side character, Bill Bardi, the explosives expert. They’d drive around the numerous gorgeous open-world maps with you, blasting enemy enforcers and helping you take out your rivals’ capos. The Godfather 2 is one of the better GTA clones available, perhaps even the best, and it is criminal that you cannot access it on modern hardware. I’m sure there are licensing issues, but I’d love to see it preserved, as right now you’d need a PS3 or Xbox 360 to drive down the streets of Miami with Bill Bardi by your side.
3. Spider-Man: Web of Shadows
Spider-Man: Web of Shadows may now be best known for its incredibly edgy opening that has been endlessly shared online since its release back in 2008, but it was a legitimately great adaptation of the character and perhaps the best iteration before Insomniac Games swooped in with Marvel’s Spider-Man a decade later. Centred around its reputation mechanic, Spider-Man: Web of Shadows felt a little more mature than its video game predecessors. Sure, your mileage with it may have varied, but it was fun to see the different heroes or villains you could summon depending on the choices you made throughout, as well as civilians freaking out the more you veer towards the dark side.
Web of Shadows remains one of the most requested Xbox 360 games for the backwards compatibility program, and I can see why. While it has been outclassed since, there’s a lot it got right, most importantly of all being the web-swinging mechanics. Web of Shadows’ world isn’t quite as alive as Marvel’s Spider-Man’s, but for 2008, it certainly hit all the right notes and offered something its predecessors had failed to. If you were lucky enough to play it back in 2008 and be a giant Spider-Man nerd like myself, then it was a delightful treat and a fun adaptation that’s undeniably worth preserving today.
2. Lord of the Rings: Conquest
One of the greatest Lord of the Rings games is LOTR: Conquest, a title that took the idea “what if we made Star Wars: Battlefront but set it in Middle-earth” and ran with it. That’s largely because it was developed by the same team, Pandemic Studios, which took its expertise in making large-scale battles and gave it a fantasy flair. While the execution isn’t quite as flawless as its Star Wars counterpart, Conquest remains a lot of fun, especially in couch co-op with a friend. It is also one of the better representations of The Lord of the Rings’ epic battles, an aspect that appeals to a lot of fans, myself included.
Sadly, I’m not wholly convinced we’ll ever get this on modern hardware, as much as it absolutely deserves to be on there. EA lost the licensing rights to it, meaning there’s little it can actually do with the game now. I guess we can always hope, but the chances of this making its way on Xbox Series X/S are as slim as Frodo slipping through the Black Gate unnoticed.
1. The Simpsons: Hit & Run
Of all the games on this list, The Simpsons: Hit & Run may just be the one we get. Developed by Radical Entertainment back in 2003, Hit & Run became a staple in pretty much every household, or at least that’s how it felt to me. Everyone I knew had a copy of it perpetually prepped in their disc drive, and there isn’t a gaming YouTuber out there who hasn’t, at some point in their career, spoken highly of this legendarily good game. It holds up today immensely well, has had numerous fan projects dedicated to reviving it, and absolutely deserves to be preserved on modern hardware.
Luckily, its developer has made a comeback as New Radical Games, a studio dedicated entirely to “remastering classic games.” The Simpsons showrunner, Matt Selman, told People in an interview, “Never say never” when asked about a potential revival of Hit & Run. So, let’s all collectively cross our fingers and hope the world gives us this one kindness. It feels like a game that should have been put on Xbox Series X/S a long time ago, and perhaps 2026 is finally the year Xbox makes that happen.
Which games would you like to see added to the Xbox backward compatibility program? Leave a comment below and join the conversation now in the ComicBook Forum!
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Image Courtesy of Prime Video & Dark Horse Comics
