I haven't played Fable 3, but I thought Fable 1 and 2 were great.

This, plus I would look at more arcade games if you are looking for shorter spruts of gaming and/or more casual stuff.

Any of those Popcap games would be good casual pick up games such as plants v zombies as well as peggle. But you can play those on a phone.

Borderlands is a great suggestion, in 30 minutes you can complete 1 quest and feel good about it and turn it off. Plus if you ever have any of the dads over for playdates..the Co-op is a ton of fun.

Fable 2 is the best, I certainly agree with that. But Fable 3 is by no means broken or unlikable. It is a decent game, but just could have been done a bit better. I would actually play Fable 3 first and then go to Fable 2. Just my opinion though.

Grab the Orange Box for cheap, you can check out Portal before getting 2 and also have a great game in Half Life if you so desire.

no. it isn't that easy. it's kinda like a potato chip...you can't just eat one. you will want to go on and on looking for red chests and the next beastly weapon.

I get that point that it is addicting..but it is not like in Skyrim or ME, where it takes longer than 30 minutes to accomplish something

I'm in the same boat as OP except I have no time restraints per session. I haven't played video games in several years but I am really into stealth games. I did play the first Splinter Cell at friends once and loved it so I'll probably go on ebay and get the old games before I get to the newer ones.

I also loved the PC series of Thief so I'll probably pick up the xbox version Thief: Deadly Shadows; any other suggestions "stealth" wise?

Two Arcade games that I absolutely love are Geometry Wars 2 and Poker Smash. Download their demos and check them out. In GW2, I probably played the game mode Pacifism 95% of the time, which probably isn't on the demo though. There are probably some pretty wicked Youtube videos of each as well. I know they were both pretty popular when they first came out a few years ago.

Skyrim you can be a assassin

I will definitely get Syrim but I am going to wait awhile. From what I hear, its like I'll be ruining myself for every other game if I play it now.

What do you mean Xbox version, you bought an original Xbox? Because that game is not available on 360. Plus it sucked. OK maybe mediocre at BEST.

Echo the Orange Box suggestion. Great value for the gameplay.

You should buy Oblivion 5th anniversary edition. Only $30 and comes with all the expansion packs. By the time you finish Oblivion Skyriim will probably be discounted

I'd recommend Burnout Paradise and Split/Second. These are fun, arcade-style racing games. You should be able to pick them up for under $20.

Actually, the first thing I'd recommend is downloading a bunch of game demos. Find out what kind of games you like. When I bought my 360, I was expecting to love RPGs and hate Shooters. Turns out, I hated open-world RPGs and loved the Shooters.

The Wolverine X-Men Origins game I would recommend too. I'm very much a casual gamer now out of necessity, and I loved that one. (it is pretty violent, so not really good for when the kids are watching) When I hear people complain a game only takes 8-10 hours to beat, I figure it's probably right up my alley.

http://support.xbox.com/en-US/xbox-3...original-games

Should I have any reason not to believe this? Outdated?

Just got a 360 as well. It came with Halo Reach. As I understand it, that's a prequel to the first Halo, correct?

If I like Reach, I'll probably grab Halo Anniversary and Halo 3 eventually. Will Halo 2 work on the 360? Does anyone know if they have that available for download, or if they're planning to release a remastered version? Thanks...

Probably the best suggestion yet. Instead of buying any game I'd make sure to get on "Xbox Live" first and foremost. There are plenty "demos" you can try out. You already have Halo Reach so don't go overboard. Doing SP (single player) is one thing but with "Live" playing either co-op or MP takes it to a new level.

And you are wise to consider any "older versions" as well. Not only will it save you money but may get up up-to-date with a storyline or whatever. Basically any game is a "30 minute" one....you can play as long as you want. Doesn't matter race, FPS or role playing. There are some good arcade games on "Live' you can demo and buy.

And finally once you get up and going, you'll find plenty here to help out and even go thru a game or two with you. Happy shopping and welcome to the 360.

So far I am not a fan of Fable III. "follow this guy. Change your clothes. Destroy bats." blah, blah blah. It probably picks up, but so far I'm bored with it. Didn't get a chance to play Halo Reach. It was taking forever to download. I'll definitely be trying out some demos too.

Bought a 360 about a month ago and did this. Where I bought it they gave you a choice of three used games for free if you bought a system. I chose Fable 3, Midnight Club: LA, and GTA 4. Love the last two, Fable 3 sucked and sold it quickly.

I thought Oblivion looked cool since back in the day, and now that I finally have a 360 I bought that instead of Skyrim due to it being half the price and it's "new to me." I've had the game for a few weeks and seems like I've played a lot but haven't made much progress it seems..which is fine because it's fun.

Just posted this for someone on CAG, download demos to some of these older exclusives:

Retail
Condemned: Criminal Origins - still one of the most atmospheric titles this gen. Well worth picking up. Should be dirt cheap anywhere. If you have an HDTV and 5.1, it's a MUST. Only play at night, with all the lights out.

Kameo - Have you ever been into platformer/adventures? It was a launch title and should also be dirt cheap. It's a gorgeous game, and very fun. Think, Zelda or Ratchet & Clank.

Viva Pinata - Very odd and unique game from Rare. Build a garden and breed different pinata species and feed them to other pinatas, or beat them to death. It may sound quite dumb, but the game is strangely addicting.

Crackdown - open world super-agent game where you can "leap tall buildings in a single bound." THE game that started the collect-a-thon objectives this gen, that are now in most games... and still did it better than any since.

XBLA
Pac-Man: Championship Edition
Shadow Complex
Wik: Fable of Souls
Cloning Clyde
Geometry Wars 2
Splosion Man
Rez HD

Thanks for all the suggestions. I've been playing the hell out of Pac-Man: Championship Edition. That's a whole lotta fun...

I'm also enjoying Halo: Reach, though I haven't gotten very far yet. I got Forza 4 from Best Buy's buy 2get1, but haven't played it yet. I also got Dance Central (for wife) and Disneyland Adventures (kids).

I don't see myself going back to Fable 3 anytime soon. I found it quite boring.

Thought Id bump and suggest (hesitantly based off of your time constraints) Dead Island. A little gory if the little ones are running around but fun a hell. Its a first person "shooter" but you mainly used hand held weapons. Its a fairly long game but mission based (i.i.e fo get us 6 bottles of water, STAT!) so you can do one two missions and be good for the evening.