OK, I've basically been buried under a mountain of work for the past 9+ months or so and haven't really been playing to many Xbox 360 (or classic) games.  I've bought a few and they are still in the wrapper; however, I'm interested in hearing from everyone what they think the "must have games" are and why?  (This can include games for the 360 as well as the classic Xbox.)

Of the games you haven't played Dead Rising is my current single player only game that I am digging.  If you love survival horror and are a big fan of Dawn of the Dead then this is a must play.  There is a demo out for it right now.

I noticed you don't have GRAW yet.  This is probably one of my favorite games because it has coop play as well as adversarial.  Only downside is that it is 60 bucks and the map pack that came out with it is 15 so it is a heavy investment if you aren't a fan of the series.  But it was money well spent for me.  Burnout Revenge is always fun and I think it is on sale pretty cheap.  Just like the other ones but it looks really nice in HD.

There are a ton of demos out so it is easier than ever to find a game you really like.
 

Hehe... Yeah, but demos take time to try out.  So the main thing I'm looking for is for help in narrowing down the ones I should take a look at given my current time constraint (unless of course you guys want me to stop working on XBF for a while ;-)).

I think I did pick up GRAW, but it's one of the ones that is still in the wrapper (doh!).  I see that you've been playing Dead Rising quite a bit, so I might have to add that demo to the top of the list.

Like I said, if you are a zombie movie fan then this game is good.  It is a little frustrating to start with because it has the typical Capcom save system that is similar to the Resident Evil games.  You can only save in the security office or in a restroom.  Plus it is a timed game.  If you save with your 1 slot and you can't make it to the next mission point then you have to start the game over. 

This isn't as bad as it seems because the game can be completed from start to finish in about 6-7 hours.  But this game makes you want to play it over and over.  If you die you can also save your stats and your character that you have leveled up and start the game again with that character.  Right now I am at level 15 and you can go up to 50 to max him out.

I know it seems like there are some negatives to this game but it is actually pretty well done.  There are about 250 different items that you can pick up and use in the game to help you kill zombies from benches, signs, plants, cash registers, guns, knives, samurai swords, pipes, shotguns, frying pans, brooms... just about anything you can find in a mall you can use.

Definitely give the demo a try and you have to play it more than a few times to really get a feel for what you can do in the game.
 

It sounds out of date, but Halo 2 is an ABSOLUTE MUST (not the caps). It was released almost two years ago and it is still the most played game on Xbox Live.  Thats because the multiplayer is really awsome.   The single player, not so much, but still pretty good.

Some Single Player games:

• Fable (RPG)
• Knight of the Old Republic (RPG)
• Prince of Persia series (RPG)
• Burnout: Revenge (Cheap, Racing)
• NFS: Underground 1 (2 is not as good, Racing)
  

I can only tell you about Xbox games, but I've heard good things about CoD 2 and BF: 2 for XB360.
 

I recommend picking up one of the Burnout type games. Burnout is great if you want to game but only have say a half hour to spend on a game.  Its really fun but its not all consuming like Oblivion.

Personally, I really like GRAW,  Richard and I play together with some friends on Saturday nights. I like it because they shoot all the baddies and then I can frolic along behind them safely.  We have a lot of fun!

 
Last but not least by any means.  I think everyone should have Dead Rising.  I do not play it myself but  I love to watch Richard play it.  It cracks me up with all the ways you can kill the dumb dead guys.  Oh and don't forget you can wear a pretty pink dress and thats really funny when you die in it.  When you come back... you still wear the dress.

Don't waste your time with Chromhounds though. I am sure its fun if you have time to play it right but if you don't then its just a pain in the butt.