I followed the same path as you, I was pretty much a pure PC gamer until the X-box came along. I?m a total convert.
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------ Orig X-box -----
If you like Kingdom Hearts or Gods of War I think you'll LOVE the Prince of Persia series on the original x-box. Great puzzel/combat game.
RPG: You've already got KoTR and Jade Empire on your lists, so your good to go. D&D heros is also fun with friends.
Flight Combat: Crimson Skies is just DAMN fun. And this game is now dirt cheap.
Fighting Games: Soul Caliber II was my fav fighting game on the x-box, because Spawn rules.
FPS: Halo 1 & 2, nobody does it better. Also don?t miss the Splinter Cell series. The ultimate stealth shooter. GUN is a GREAT cowboy shooter. It?s also on the 360, but the x-box version is cheaper, and the same game.
Big Mech: I liked the Mechwarrior games. They were fast, fun, and mechy.
---------- 360 --------------
I really recommend you just go right to the 360, there's plenty to do there now. Allow me to elucidate while I illuminate:
Platform/Adventure
Kameo is a ?Kingdom Hearts? type game. That?s the one with ?hundreds of orcs on the screen at once?. I solved the game and loved every minute of it. The co-op via live patch just came out and I?m anxious to try that out with friends.
Tomb Raider Legends: Just played through the demo on live, the game is released this week. Felt very much like the original old school Laura, with the graphics look?n pretty damn amazing in 360 HD. I can?t remember the last game where a character got out of the water and actually looked wet.
FPS
GRAW: Ghost Recon Advanced Warrior. This one belongs in any FPS fan?s collection.
Battlefield II: Online FPS action. I played the demo, pretty freak?n fun. I?d get GRAW before this one though.
Avoid PDZ, it?s a rental at best.
Coming Soon: Gears of War, a lot of hype, but look?n good.
RPG
***Oblivion***: Drop whatever you are doing and go by this game NOW!!! I?ve been playing vid games for over 25 years (yes, I?m that old) and Oblivion is one of the most AMAZING things I?ve ever seen accomplished with a computer. PERIOD. It is an ACTION RPG, you fight, you block, you aim, you see your arrow stick in that guys shoulder, just like an FPS, but the depth of what you can do is insane. I have two friends who just bought a 360 just to play this game after seeing it on my 360. This is a killer 360 app. If you want to see the future of gaming, it?s here and it?s Oblivion. Don?t bother with the collector?s edition. Just get the regular game. I don?t think you need the ?guide? book either. (Yak, go rent this at Blockbuster, I think you?ll like it.) If you like RPG?s at all, just buy it. The game will last a long, long time and is worth every penny of $60. The game is NOTHING like Morrowind, which I didn?t like at all.
The RPG is probably looking like the 360?s early strong genre. There are some other great ones coming as you mentioned: Bioware has a sci-fi game coming that looks great. Trailers are avail on various OXM disks. ?Too Human? is also on the way, another sci-fi adventure.
RTS
?The Outfit? is sort of an RTS hybrid, rent it first, or download the online demo for free from Live. It?s pretty fun and has very unique game play.
<?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-comffice:smarttags" /><st1:City w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Battle</st1:place></st1:City> for Middle Earth II is coming this summer for the 360. A lot of folks are excited about this, because supposedly they?ve solved the famous ?controlling an RTS from a console? problem. I hope so, because the RTS genre is one of the few reasons I return to my PC for gaming. It would be nice to see a ?real? RTS on a console playable over live with headsets for chatt?n.
Other
DOA4 isn?t a bad fighter, and looks amazing. I?d rent it first, because you can unlock most of the movies and stuff in a weekend, but great fun.
Blazing Angels is a reasonably good flight game. The single player missions are just ok, but the live combat is really fun. If you LIKE flight combat, you?ll like this game, but it won?t convert anyone.
Dynasty Warriors 5 just came out for the 360, if you like that franchise, I?m sure you?d enjoy that one. They don?t really leverage the 360 graphics though.
Big Mech?s: There are a couple of quality look?n giant mech games in the hopper: Lost Planet and Chrome Hounds. Keep an eye out for these titles.
Happy gaming!