CONDEMNED: CRIMINAL ORIGINS
Platform: Xbox 360
Price: $20 new, $10 used

If the Xbox 360 launch had a sleeper hit, it would have to be Condemned. This first-person fearfest snuck out without a lot of fanfare, but with the lights off, it offered what Call of Duty 2, Quake 4, and Perfect Dark Zero could not: terror.

As renegade FBI agent Ethan Thomas, you’ll need to scavenge low-tech urban melee weapons — pipes, two-by-fours, pieces of rebar — as you fight off homicidal maniacs who leap out of the shadows of paranoia-inducing dilapidated buildings and skuzzy subway stations. If you’re not freaked out by using CSI tools to search for evidence on disfi gured mannequins (or are they?), then you’ll also have no problems collecting dead and dying birds to earn Achievements. An intriguing sequel is coming soon, so spend $20 (or less) now and be prepared.