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I know we're behind the curve here, but we're finally getting an XBox360 for the family (currently have a PS2 and Wii).  The family includes my husband, who will only play car racing games, my almost-12 yo son, 9yo daughter, and me.

The games we're starting with: Call of Duty 4 (for me), Halo 3 (for my son and me), Beautiful Katamari (for my daughter and me).

What are other games we ought to get?

(We already have the Lego Star Wars series and Guitar Heroes series although probably getting 3 again because nobody likes it on the Wii).

Forza 2 (for the racing enthusiast)
Dead Rising (zombies, possibly not for the kids)
GTA IV (not for the kids)
Mass Effect (any RPG/shooter enthusiasts should like this, PC version will be better though).
skate (I'm assuming you don't have a PS3, should be fun for just about everyone and it's pretty PG)

Depending on your husband's kind of racing games, I'd also recommend Burnout Revenge, Burnout: Paradise (very different kinds of game), FlatOut 2 (which includes some great party games the whole family can play).

Burnout: Revenge and FlatOut should both be findable for cheap as well these days, and also suitable for your son.
B:P is a bit sandboxy.

Rock Band. If you enjoy GH, RB with the family will be fantastic =D. Might take a while for the young uns to get used to though.

Crackdown is decent if you want something at least a little more family friendly than GTA.

Marvel Ultimate Alliance is also good. Not only is it a classic RPG, but it's a pretty fun little beat-em-up with multiplayer.

Gears of War - Great singleplayer fun, great multiplayer fun. GoW2 coming soon so story can be followed up.
Kameo : Elements of Power - this is out on Classic, if you dig Rare and action/adventure games its a must have, the kids will love it at least
Mass Effect - Best Sci-Fi RPG since.. Dunno, it stands high in my book even above Deus Ex *ducks for cover*
GTA4 - The obvious
Forza 2 - For your hubby
Viva Pinata - Out on classic, its a loveable game.

I will second:

Gears of War
Burnout: Revenge (havent played paradise)
Marvel: Ultimate Alliance

I will also add:

Rainbow Six: Vegas 2, if you like shooters.
Also, The Darkness, which was a fun game, NOT kid friendly, but if you are into comics at all, this is a really cool game, and it has some different mechanics. I liked it a lot.

All great games. If you like GTA style games, and cant get enough with GTA4, I would suggest Saints Row. A lot of people found it buggy and unfun, but I had a great time with it.

Rock Band- this game is jus ridiculously fun, especially as a party game

GTA IV- extreme violence, but the strippers stay clothed and the sex happens off camera. Gotta love the Puritanical American spirit  :awesome_for_real:

NHL 2008 (if you like hockey, this is just fun as hell, especially MP)

NCAA 200x (football)- I like the college game better than the pros, at least for game playing. Can't run the triple option in Madden!

Forza 2 - if you are interested in graphic design, the paint customization alone is amazing.

I like Signe's post.

Overlord is also pretty awesome.

There is no Signe's post  :uhrr:

A few more games to add :

Burnout Revenge - Fun online mode, singleplayer is meh.
Virtua Fighter 5 - Great fun for the family, nothing is like beating the crap out of your kids. Virtually of course.
Eternal Sonata - If you like JapRPG stuff, this will be very popular. I'm not a fan, but I know its a good game most people enjoy.

Heh, j/k.  Hello Kitty and all that.

Lost Odyssey & Blue Dragon are OK, though they have their faults.  Best JRPGs on the system so far.

I will go against the grain and NOT suggest Gears of War. I also do not suggest Marvel. It's a boring game for some reason and I sold it ASAP. It's a good rental but the single player game is far too short to spend the money on. Instead:

Mass Effect if you like RPGs. Or Sci-fi. Or good games.
Kameo for the kids, and yourself too. It's fun.
Crackdown. I haven't played enough GTA yet to feel comfortable suggesting it.
Since you don't have a PS3 a few cross-platform games might be fun. Assassin's Creed for example.

I loved Gears of War and have played it through a few times now. Mass Effect ate up a good portion of my playing time until I finished it. I loved it pretty much from beginning to end, except got a bit tired of exploring each planet.

Marvel Ultimate Alliance was good for one play-through, but traded it in shortly after that. I'm still playing the original Rainbox Six: Las Vegas and it can be bought for pretty cheap. NHL08 was probably my favorite console hockey game ever. I might be the only person who says this, but I still have fun with Need for Speed: Most Wanted.

Marvel excels as a coop game. Also, its great for "same room coop" since you dont have to deal with split screen. My roommate and I enjoyed the hell out of it.

Yep, exactly why I suggested it. Co-Op with/for the kids goodness, not as a single-player hardcore experience.

After getitng it yesterday, I have to suggest Earth Defence Force 2017 as a cheap but surprisingly fun split-screen co-op experience, and all the violence is aimed at Giant Ants and robots. We played it for 2 solid hours after trying it out.
Pure Win.