My buddy just bought an XBox ... but he needs me to guide him towards the fun. So when I go up to his place this weekend, I want to have a list of games to make him grab at Blockbuster to ensure that I have fun. I believe he has the 2 or 3 games that come bundled with the system, and maybe a football game to boot, but that's it.

Naturally, DOA Volleyball is already a guaranteed rental. And although I'm sure that Halo and Splinter Cell are great games, I don't think they qualify as "pick up, play, and walk away" games for stupid fun.

Any ideas?

Halo has an awesome coop mode where you essentially play the single player game with two people. Not to be missed.

For simple pick-up-and-go, I'd recommend Kung Fu Chaos and Sega Soccer Slam. Sega Soccer Slam is only $9.99 at EB Games, not much more than a rental if your friend isn't afraid to dive into a purchase sight-unseen. Kung Fu Chaos is a lot of fun, though a lot of the game's features are locked initially.

I agree with Halo....hmmm, depends what games you like also.

I play a lot of sports games, so NFL 2K3 or MAdden 2003 are good.....NCAA 2003 is fun also.
NHL Hitz 2003 is mindless fun with 2 people.

Rallisport Challenge is cheap now and tons of fun to play. I don't regret paying $50 for it.

DOA3 - still the best and prettiest fighting game on the Xbox.

Need for Speed 2 and Unreal are all quick to pick up and play and are fun.

I picked up CircusMaximus the other day for $10 and it is pretty fun. It is even better with 2 people.

I would agree with some of the suggestions above.

NHL Hitz is a great arcade-style hockey game.

Soccer Slam is great for the same reason, except it's Soccer.

Rallisport Challenge is a great racing game that's really fun multiplayer.

Deathrow is another good one if you want to try out. It's a kind of futuristic sports game that is like hockey, soccor, and pro wrestling all rolled into one.

Halo is great, but it's one to buy not rent.

DOA EBV was a big disappointment for me. Worth a rent, and you will have fun for a few hours, but then the novelty wears off.

Silent Hill 2 is my favorite of what I have played, though I am new to the X-Box as well. Probably good to rent to see if you like it and then buy it if you do (cause it goes for awhile).

Timesplitters 2 I am playing right now. It's fun, but on normal it is quite difficult for us amateurs. But a challenge is good. I just wish they had more save points.

Amped is a fun rental and is also cheap to buy.

Have fun.

Splinter Cell
LOTR:Two Towers
Halo

Get X-box live for
Mech Assault
Ghost Recon
Sports
more coming soon :-)

Splinter Cell, Mech Assault, NHL2k3, Ghost Recon, Panzer Dragoon Orta, Gun Valkyrie (give this one at least 3 levels so you get used to the control), Jet Set Radio Future, Sega Soccer Slam, Shenmue 2 (not for everybody), Halo (Duh)

doa x was boring... don't rent it. rent a porno instead.

splinter cell
panzer dragoon orta
quantum redshift
halo
project gotham racing
outlaw golf

If you like car racing you need NASCAR Thunder.

Save a yourself a rental fee and don't rent Halo - buy it. It really is that damn good.

For quick pick-up fun, try Serious Sam. Pure run-and-gun Doom-style goodness with no resource management or sneaky stealth necessary. Looks fantastic, too.

If you like Crazy Taxi, try Simpson's Road Rage. The 2-player mode is fun, and it's cheap if you decide to buy it.

Splinter Cell is too hard for just "pick up, play and walk away." You need to get comfortable with the controls first to enjoy the game. I've had it for about a week now and I'm still not used to it. Plus you need patience for this game, since it's based on stealth. Ghost Recon is really fun in co-op. Controls are also a bit hard at first but worth the investment. Also if your friend has a surround sound, make sure you get the a/v(u also need an optical cable) pack and not using analog for audio. The difference in sound is huge.

I definately second the serious sam opinion. That game is hours of fun in two player.

Yeah...all those money shots in DOAX just aren't as good as the real thing.

"Yeah...all those money shots in DOAX just aren't as good as the real thing. "

So your saying you'd rather check out polygons and pixels then real people?

Or Are u saying porno isnt as good as the real thing but moving a character around with your joystick is?

I don't know why you're rolling your eyes at me... I'm saying the game itself is boring. The volleyball "game" and the jumping from pillow to pillow "game" are boring and take no skill... that means it's all about trying to make little lesbo relationships and use the multi-camera angles and zooms to look at a cg animated 'girl'. The game lacks a point and substance. Porn also lacks substance, but the point is to have something to 'stimulate' you - plus, it's cheaper than renting a game in most cases. I'd say BMXXX is a decent bmx game with plenty of girly pics... also a better choice than DOAx. It's just my opinion - nobody has to agree.

Really? I heard it was Virtua Tennis fun ... didn't rent it, tho.

I played Halo, it did absolutely nothing for me at all. I tried single player, co-op, and deathmatch, but there was no spark at all. **

Project Gotham was cool, and I enjoyed it a ton, but didn't seem to do a whole lot different from MSR. Still fun, though and I love the slides. ***

As a rule, I hate football games, but NFL Fever was kinda fun. I figured out how to make my team pull off diving catches, so after that every play was destined for the highlight reel. **1/2

I loved MechAssault. I only played the single player game, but it was sooo pretty and so much fun to tear down the cities. ****

I can see why DOAX might not be for everyone, but I thought it was infectiously fun, personally.

I agree. I lost interest in the later levels, though, and I couldn't really get into it multiplayer.