The Xbox -- a barren country for RPGs. An foreboding territory that sees no role playing. Or so you may think. The truth of the matter is that while there is not a large library of games on the system, there are quite a few exclusive games that have garnered the attention and the hearts of the staffers here. What are they? Well, read on.

Best Xbox 2004 Winner Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic 2

Atop the reader picks is the grand adventure known as Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic 2: The Sith Lords. The follow up to last years number one xbox pick, Knights 2 delivers some fine tuning to an already excellent system. Based loosely on the Dungeons and Dragons third edition rules, Knights 2, offers a variety of classes and skills to choose from in character creation. This time around, another big D&D feature has been added, and that is getting to choose a prestige class, that is, a specialty class to help even further define who your character is.

Of course, this isn't just a rehash of the first game in new packaging. With a story that takes place a few years after the first, the game keeps the player involved in a fresh new story. Also, your team of characters this time around is almost all changed, for better or worse. The game progresses linearly at first, but then opens up to the player to be able to choose where they will go and in what order they do things. Knights 2 delivers just the kind of RPG experience that Xbox RPGamers have been waiting for since, well, the first Knights game.

Following in behind Knights is another Xbox exclusive RPG, the very controversial Fable. While the staff may have been a bit with how Fable turned out, that doesn't mean that the staff disliked the game. On the contrary, the readers enjoyed the Fable they got to play, even if it was less then what was promised to us. But with the graphics Fable boasts, its hard to get angry, or if you are, to stay angry for long. And graphics aren't the only thing to like about the game. Fable still gives us the chance to be what we want to be, either hero or destroyer. savior or tyrant. The battle system is a nice hack and slash style that allows you to fight in a melee style, sling spells, snipe your enemies, or all of the above. Fable is a solid play, well worth your time and effort.

Bringing up the rear, so to speak, are a bunch of mutie loving...mutants. X-Men: Legends ushered in the first attempt at RPGs for the popular comic book franchise, and they showed readers just what the X-Men are about. With action-based fighting, beautiful cel-shaded graphics, and a chance to save the world RPGamers couldn't help but recognize the eternal struggle of good versus Magneto.

by Matthew Foster