5. Counter-Strike
(2003)
What’s being discontinued: Basically the entire game, since it’s focused solely on Xbox Live gameplay across 20 different maps, with some that are exclusive to the Xbox version.
What we’ll miss: When Counter-Strike was released for the Xbox in 2003, it gave console gamers a chance to take on a really popular PC shooter without having to worry about computer specs and looking for the lobby with the lowest ping. Of course, the Xbox version’s terrorist-on-counterterrorist action wasn’t as polished as 2004’s Counter-Strike: Source or even version 1.6 of the then-three-year-old original, but loading the game was easier and faster than opening it on your computer and going through Steam to look for a match.
4. Conker: Live %26amp; Reloaded
(2005)
What’s being discontinued: Deathmatch and Team game types on nine different maps.
What we’ll miss: What’s cuter than fuzzy-wuzzy animals? Fuzzy-wuzzy animals blowing each other up to bloody bits with rockets and slicing each others’ heads off with swords. Conker: Live & Reloaded’s multiplayer mode offered exactly that, with class-based, third-person shooter action that differed wildly from the dated single-player campaign, featured sprawling maps filled with gun emplacements and parodied everything from Medal of Honor to Halo. It was also one of the best-looking games of the last generation, with sharp-looking textures and detailed fur that weren’t really topped until the Xbox 360 released later that same year. It took a while to figure out the game’s mechanics (not to mention how to go anywhere without getting your cute, fuzzy head blown off by a sniper), but finally getting a handle on them made the kills very satisfying and fun.
