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Underrated, Little Played or Rarely Trumpeted Videogames

As a sort of distant cousin to BarnDoor's rather useful and rather excellent Horror thread HERE, and as a prelude to what I hope will be his "general underrated or rarely discussed film thread", I thought the same could be done for the Other Gaming section of the site.

Gaming is Huge. Hundreds of titles released a year that no-one in their right mind will ever buy or play all of, and that's before you even take in to account the huge back catalogue that gaming has generated since the mid 80's or even older. From mobile phones to home consoles there are countless games that either get lost in the storm of big annual releases (like FIFA and COD) or are overlooked due to their content, design or name.

Like Barns thread I will try to post one a day, and I will stick to the same layout for each of my titles. Discussion/criticisim of peoples posts is more than welcome, and If people want to join in (I hope you will as this is not just my personal wank space) please try to stick to the same style as my posts and try not to post games that every fucker will have played. If you think a game was overlooked, doesn't matter what system or when it was released, post it!

Nier (2010)



General Information

Single Player
Cavia, Square-Enix
PS3, Xbox 360

Plot (No Spoilers)

In a distant future, after a catacylsmic event, a father tries to cure his daughter of a disease that is slowly wiping out the last remnants of humanity, in a world where creatures known as Shades stalk the land.

Thoughts

I bought Nier for £10 early 2011 after seeing it dumped in a basket at my local HMV, and I then proceeded to not play it for a month or two because even though I bought it I imagined it would be shit (don't ask), but when I did finally play it, I discovered one of my favourite games of this gen.

Nier is a strange mish mash of genres, and it manages to blend a variety of them together well; Zelda style dungeons and adventuring, Ikaruga like bullet hell, Resident Evil survival horror, and the old choose your own adventure novels... but it never manages to master any of them, and that is perhaps why it never got the recognition it deserved. For me, it is a game not without it's faults. The graphics are average at best and the standard enemy design is extremely limited. Fortunately it has enjoyable combat, some epic boss battles, a gripping story that gets better with each of the four play throughs required to see the true ending, a great cast of main characters with quality voice acting and an amazing soundtrack that I still listen to on my journey to work every now and then.

Nier is a game where you are not expected to do everything on your first playthrough, and the New Game+ feature picks up at a key point halfway in to the game and adds new story elements that completely change your conception of what the hell is going on and make you question right and wrong. (A few scenes nearly turned me in to a blubbering wreck) I highly recommend this game, it is quite clearly a 6 or 7 out of ten title but if you go in not expecting a classic then you may well be surprised.

Similar Titles

Though Nier is rather unique I would say: The Zelda Series, Darksiders, Drakengard

Trailer

[youtube]RqIDzlBLep8&NR[/youtube]
 
Skies of Arcadia (2000)



General Information

Single Player
Overworks, Sega
Dremacast, Gamecube

Plot (No Spoilers)

In a world where the continents float and transportation is by flying ships, the Valuan Empire is planning to resurrect ancient weapons of destruction with an aim to take over the world. Vyse, a young sky pirate stumbles across a young girl being chased by the Empire and gets dragged in to the events.

Thoughts

After having bought my Dremacast off Barn who in no way appreciated the amazing machine, Skies of Arcadia was one of my first purchases. It ended up being one of the only Japanese RPGs I have ever finished.

The game is literally huge with exploration being done via flying air ships on an ever expanding overworld map full of sites and countries to discover. Traditional battles are complimented by ship to ship and ship to giant creature battles.

Skies of Arcadia is no looker, but at a time where RPGs were all going pre-rended, this was a full 3D game with a controllable camera. The random battles are extremely abundant in number, often to a grievance, and some of the Giga battles are overlong and hard, but other than those facts, SoA is a classic in every sense. The artstyle and soundtrack are great, the cast are unique and colourful, the storyline is brilliant with some twists and turns along the way and the exploration element of the game is glorious. Never mentioned in the same breath as any of the more well known RPGs, this has only sold around 300k worldwide. Long overdue a sequel, I think any RPG fan should dig out a copy or get an emulator and give it ago, you won't regret it.

Similar Titles

The Final Fantasies, Dragon Quests and Breath of Fires are obvious ones, with a few Zelda-esuqe dungeons and puzzles thrown in for good measure and Wind Waker style overworld exploration.

Trailer

[youtube]OjZCScqS2CU[/youtube][/QUOTE]
 
Prince of Persia (2008)



General Information

Single Player
Ubisot Montreal, Ubisoft
PS3, Xbox 360, Windows, Mac OSX

Plot (No Spoilers)

In Ancient Persia, a young prince is caught in a sandstorm, and after finding himself miles off course and in a strange land meets a princess who needs his assitance in fighting off teh evil power of a god who was locked away 1000 years earlier.

Thoughts

At the start of 2010 I lost my job so I was unemployed, with a lot of free time, but no money to game. I happened across Prince of Persia for the pricely sum of £5 in GAME and decided to buy it.

I never played The Sands of Time trilogy of games, so this was my first experience of modern PoP. The game is beautiful in terms of visuals, with the game being presented in a unique cel shaded engine. With stunning vistas to behold, the whole corrupted/non-corrupted worlds and the changes experienced between both of them are glorious.

The Prince and his companion are great characters, and their development and intereactions during the game are one of the many highlights. In terms of gameplay, PoP is very easy, infact it's impossible to die during platforming segments due to your partner, but that doesnt mean it is not enjoyable. When you get in to the swing of things, there is nothing quite like exploring in PoP. Combat is limited to a few encounters per area, with a main boss for each world, but the system is well designed and there are plenty of combos to learn.

The only negative I can levy against the game is the ending sequence, and the fact it has a DLC for the true finale, I really cannot fault Prince of Persia, it was a brilliant experience and one that criminally went under the radar for too many people. I long for a sequel but doubt it will ever receive one......

Similar Titles

The Sands of Time Trilogy, Enslaved

Trailer

[youtube]y7tA-6mlbNY[/youtube]
 

Ali

It is happening again
While I can't comment on the first 2, PoP is a good game. You can get it very cheap now. Only real criticism is that they shouldn't have used Nolan North (still relatively unknown back then, to be fair) for the voice. That being said, I did enjoy the dynamic between the characters.

I wouldn't say it's underrated per se, as it good a good response from critics.

I'll try and think of some games to add to the thread, Jonno! But in terms of what you're after, is it just any game that I really enjoyed that not many people played?
 
I liked Nolan North as the prince tbh, he just had the right amount of cockiness and charisma combined.

As stated Ali, it's for any game that was either underrated, ignored by the masses or not appreciated enough. PoP was well received by critics, sold 2 million copies but is not held in any sort of esteem.

Yes ali, post games that you liked that either no-one ever mentions, did not set the charts alight or critics gave poor reviews but it was actually ok. Don't do things like posting Resident Evil 5, Call of Duty, Final Fantasy, Metal Gear Solid etc, this is for the likes of Freedom Fighters, Kuru Kuru Kururin, Judge Dredd Vs Death, Megaman Battle Network etc
 

Ali

It is happening again
Yes ali, post games that you liked that either no-one ever mentions, did not set the charts alight or critics gave poor reviews but it was actually ok. Don't do things like posting Resident Evil 5, Call of Duty, Final Fantasy, Metal Gear Solid etc, this is for the likes of Freedom Fighters, Kuru Kuru Kururin, Judge Dredd Vs Death, Megaman Battle Network etc

I was thinking of posting that one. :D

Don't worry, I have a few more up my sleeve. Hopefully I've chosen a couple of obscure-ish ones for you. Watch this space!
 
I won't be doing Freedom Fighters as I ever played much of it, but know it's a great game because barn wanks off over it.

I'm probably gonna have to start plumbing the depths of SNES/N64 soon
 
Enslaved (2010)



General Information

Single Player
Ninja Theory, Namco Bandai
PS3, Xbox 360

Plot (No Spoilers)

150 years in the future, a prison ship suffers a catastrophic accident and crashes onto an earth inhabited by human killing war machines of bygone times. A prisoner, Monkey is forced to help Trip, the only other survivor after she places a slave headband on him, and together they attempt to reach the safety of her village 300 miles away.

Thoughts

Enslaved is another of those titles released during 2010 that was criminally overlooked. While reviews were mostly positive, sales figures show it sold less than 500K and this gem ended up in the bargain bin, exactly where I picked it up upon securing a job in early 2011.

Enslaved is a beautiful game set in a post apocalyptic world where nature has taken over, rather than being destroyed. Green, Blue, Yellow, these colours make up the pallette of the world rather than the usual brown and blacks, and it is amazing to behold. The landscapes are gorgeous and all the levels are vibrant and unique. The best looking part of the game though are the two main characters, their models and faces are exceptionally detailed, and the mocap of Andy Serkis is as good as, if not better than any of his other work.

Not only is Serkis' motion capture great, but his acting is exceptional. Part of what makes Enslaved a gem imo is the casting, and the performances, interactions and development of the two main characters, as well as the third that joins the cast later on, is without equal.

Combat is simple but exceptionally entertaining, with a wide range of moves, and the AI of your partner is well done, so she never gets in your way and is extremely useful during encounters. Enemy designs are varied, and you can spot specific enemy types from a distance and start to plan how best to prepare for the encounter.

The only negative you can levy against Enslaved imo is the simplicity of the platforming. Monkey is exceptionally nimble, and the platforming segments are nearly as good as that of PoP 2008, Enslaved is still rather linear, and in most instances you cannot die (there are some though).

Enslaved really is a hidden treasure that too many people ignored. It's mature storytelling and exceptional presentation really should be experienced by more people.

Similar Titles

PoP 2008, Heavenly Sword, Castlevania: Lords of Shadows

Trailer

[youtube]NmfAORuigW0[/youtube][/QUOTE]
 
Hotel Dusk: Room 215 (2007)



General Information

Single Player
Cing, Nintendo
Nintendo DS

Plot (No Spoilers)

1970’s. Kyle Hyde, a former member of the New York Police Department searches for his corrupt former partner, and during a stay at an old hotel, Kyle unravels a mystery shrouded in its past that may lead him to the answers he's looking for.

Thoughts

After playing Phoenix Wright in 2006 and really appreciating the story over gameplay approach of that game, I stumbled across previews of Hotel Dusk and it’s striking visuals and exciting sounding plot, and decided to import it from the USA. The game is essentially an exceptional noir novel shoehorned in to a game, you even hold the DS like a book when playing. The minimal but entertaining gameplay (exploration of the hotel via first person/touch screen map mixed in with a few puzzles) is supplemented by long conversations and investigation sequences between the colourful and unique cast of characters. Comments of interest are noted down by Kyle during the well written chats and you can then press on and try to delve further in to these specific areas.

The game has a fantastic art style; using a paper like filter with minimal water colouring, and is one of a kind in my experience. The music is a mix of jazz and 70’s sounding cheese, but it compliments the well written plot and design of the game very well. Finally, Kyle Hyde is perhaps one of the best characters I have ever played as. His witty retorts, internal mologoues and dry humour combined with his general likeability made the game a joy to play.

The plot is full of mystery and intrigue and there are plenty of red herrings that keep you guessing, and when the reveals happen, they are brilliant. This is a quality game only bettered by it's sequel in my opinion when it comes to Visual novels. It's a shame Cing went bust :(



Similar Titles

Phoenix Wright Series, Last Window: Secret of Cape West, Another Code, 999

Trailer

[youtube]RNeEeXvoRVk[/youtube]
 
Bully (2006)



General Information

Single Player
Rockstar
PS2, Xbox360, Wii

Plot (No Spoilers)

Jimmy Hopkins ends up enrolled in Bullworth Academy, a boarding school full of different cliques and overrun with delinquents, when his newly married mother and stepfather go on a year-long honeymoon cruise. Jimmy embarks on a yearlong rise through the ranks of school society.

Thoughts

I remember the furore that surrounded the release of Canis Canem Edit in the UK. Newspapers were aghast at the prospect of a “Bully Simulator” being released for teenagers to play, but it was quite evident they hadn’t played the game, as barring the name Bully, this couldn’t have been further from the truth. I bought the PS2 version but never got in to it for some reason and traded it in shortly after, however I rebought Scholarship Edition on the Wii during 2010 and found to be what I believe one of R* three best releases (alongside RDR and Max Payne 3).

Bully is an open world sandbox game that is much smaller in scale than any of R* other releases, but in my opinion it feels better because of it. The world is slowly unlocked as the year at school progresses, and each area is unique in it’s own way. Mission structures are typically R* in design, but with a school yard twist to them (no murdering here, more pulling pranks, errands for school staff, paper routes etc) and these are complimented by Morning and afternoon academic lessons that can initially be annoying but once you finish them all, the whole of the ingame day is yours to do whatever you want with. Combat is fun with a wide range of weapons at your disposal and some of the melees are just great to take part in, especially the missions where you side with the nerds. There are plenty of set pieces that just need to be experienced to enjoy.

Bully really shines in its script. The writing is the best in a R* game in my opinion, and the diversity of the cast and their unique personalities create a world full of character that doesn’t get boring. Gary is the main antagonist throughout and he is just expertly portrayed as a scheming, twisting psychopath. The school and town are very much part of what makes this game great, and the changes in scenery as the seasons and various holidays pass (Halloween and Christmas are great) make the exploration of it memorable.

Rumours constantly persist of a Bully 2 being in production, and I literally would shit myself with excitement if one was announced, just an amazing, underappreciated R* gem.



Similar Titles

Any Open world Rockstar Game, Persona 3 and 4 (the school bits)

Trailer

[youtube]88KNf0MtU14[/youtube]
 
Eternal Darkness (2002)



General Information

Single Player
Silicon Knights, Nintendo
Gamecube

Plot (No Spoilers)

Edward Rovias has been murdered, and his lone heir Alexandra sets about examining his death at his Rhode Island mansion. While doing so she discovers a book made of human flesh called The Tome of Eternal Darkness, and discovers a plot to destroy the world spanning 12 lifetimes.

Thoughts

When people talk about surivial horror, Resident Evil, Silent Hill and Dead Space are the usual title people point to for examples of the best of the genre. Gamecube exclusive Eternal Darkness is one that slipped under so many peoples radars due to the console it was on and also because it was a Nintendo game, so sales figures of only 450K does the brilliant Lovecraft inspired game a disservice.

The game takes place in a mansion reminiscent of Resident Evil, with the goal of exploring and discovering the missing chapters from the titular tome, but upon discovery of each new chapter focus is shifted to a completely different time period, from 26BC Rome to Charlemagne era France through to Colonial America and Gulf War Kuwait. The game focuses on 4 key locations but each have a unique look and feel, and the changes between eras make exploring them again feel fresh. There are numerous puzzles throughout, but the main focus is on exploration and combat.

Fighting off the various monsters and demonic manifestations is done with a mix of period melee weapons, hand to hand combat and fire arms. Individual limbs on the creatures can be targeted, cutting off arms or legs will limit the attack/movement capabilities of the enemies and of course a head shot will kill them outright. The game also features a unique magic system that culminates in a rock-paper-scissor relationship. At the start of the game you choose a base alignment and this affects the difficulty and experience of the overall game, so each play through feels different.

Perhaps the standout selling point is the Sanity Meter and the associated Sanity Effects. Along with health your characters have a meter for their individual sanity, the more scared they are, or the more creatures they encounter, then the weaker their sanity becomes and the more likely they are to lose their grip on reality. Initially starting out with things like hearing crying babies, doors slamming behind you or blood seeping out of the walls, these escalate to full blown hallucinations such as your body parts falling off as you walk or your character shooting themselves and finally in to fourth wall breaking brilliance. Blue Screens of death, your TVs volume being turned down or being turned off, save game deletion messages….there are numerous to be encountered and they make playing the game an experience like no other.

Admittedly, Eternal Darkness is not the best looking game, the Resident Evil remake released on the GC months before hand blow it out of the water in terms of visuals, but in terms of art direction and plot ED is hands down the most interesting. Eternal Darkness shines in the audio department with eerie music and unsettling sound effects thoughout and exceptional voice acting and narration delivered during the 15-20 game length.

Eternal Darkness was a critical success but commercial failure. I’d implore anyone with a Wii (or a decent emulator capable PC) to play this game and you’ll agree that Eternal Darkness is long overdue a sequel, but It’s just a shame Denis Dyack is such a colossal dick. Retro Studios are rumoured to be helming an mature rated Wii U sequel, so who knows…..

Similar Titles

Pre-4 Resident Evil games and the Silent Hill series. Resident Evil Revelations and Forbidden Siren also match the episodic nature of events.

Trailer

[youtube]98l4NUlIiUk[/youtube]
 

Ali

It is happening again
Spartan: Total Warrior (2005)



A fun hack 'n slash game. Epic battles with hundreds of enemies, and as well as some big boss fights. When playing this game, at no point do you feel like anything less than a complete badass, which is why it's so fun.

Dead Ball Zone (1998)



I played the demo of this on a PSM demo disk. I loved it, despite the somewhat mediocre reviews, so I immediately went out and bought it. Basically an up-dated, violent version of Speedball...... need I say much more? One of the cool aspects is that you could kill other teams players.... which obviously had a detrimental effect during league mode. :lol:

 
You might want to check out the Viking: Battle For Asgard game Creative Assembly released this gen. Very similar to Spartan apparently.
 
I don't care that no-one is posting, I like wanking off over older games so i'm keeping this going. I've got about 21 or so games on a list that I will post as long as I can be arsed or actually make paragraphs about.....

Okami (2006)



General Information

Single Player
Clover Studio, Capcom
PS2, Wii, PS3(PSN)

Plot (No Spoilers)

Legend says that the great 8 headed demon Orochi once attacked Nipon and terrorised the land before it was eventually sealed away by a White Wolf and a legendary swords man. 100 years later, the demon has been set free and the Sun Goddess Amaterasu, reincarnation of the legendary wolf, must return peace to the land.

Thoughts

Quick show of hands, how many of you have played this game, I’d wager 2 maybe 3 at most. When it was released on the PS2 it crashed and burned. The Wii release a few years later did no better, so the recent HD re-release came as a big but welcome surprise. I bought it on the PS2 and the Wii, and I will eventually get the HD remake. To those who have not played this, you are missing out on one of the best 3D adventure games without the word Zelda in it.

First things first, Okami is a beautiful game. The cel shaded graphics look glorious in motion and the paperlike filter of the engine really creates an artbook feel to events. The design of Okami herself is great and I think they nailed the playful nature you’d expect of an innocent dog like creature, especially noticeable during cutscenes or when you leave the pad for a while. The cast of characters are colourful, and the interactions between the 4 main characters and the way in which of each of them treats your wolf character are interesting to see.

The celestial powers you learn and control by drawing shapes with the analogue stick are definitely the unique selling point in Okami. You can create, destroy and restore objects or enemies throughout the world during puzzles and combat. See a bridge that has been destroyed by demons, you can rebuild it, trees that have been burnt to the ground, these can be revived. Restoring nature is one of the key elements and little things like the trail of sprouting flowers that follow you around while running look great.

Combat is a regular and thankfully strong feature, with a wide mixture of weapons, standard fighting styles and Goddess powers. The latter are especially useful in encounters where a quick pause and a swipe of a line across enemies will trigger a power slash or a quick circle with a line will bring a bomb in to the world. Enemy designs are great with a wide variety of demons, and excellent looking bosses to face off against.

The classical sounding Japanese OST compliments the game well with numerous reworked pieces for each area highlighting the changes in the environments as you progress. The less said about the weird computer generated language of the inhabitants of the world though, the better.

The only drawback in this game is that it probably is too dragged out. There feels like a bit too much filler, especially during the second part of the game, and you can’t help but feel they could’ve trimmed the fat a little and shortened the 30 hour plus game length. Other than that this is a stunning game that no fucker played, at last count only 600k copies were sold world wide. It’s £15 on PSN at the moment, buy it, it’s glorious. Also, buy the Okami: Complete Works artbook, it’s just amazing.

Similar Titles

Okamiden (sequel to Okami), The Zelda Series (notably Twilight Princess for the wolf segments), Darksiders

Trailer

[youtube]K4trRdKm9CA[/youtube]
 

nikos24

Registered User
Has anyone played the Conflict series? Namely the Desert Storm one? I thought that was a brilliant game playing with my friends. Good memories.
 

Ali

It is happening again
I remember playing the demo of that, in fact I think that was the demo course in that vid.
 

Makavelian

Registered User
Used to hammer it.
A new ps3 game would be amazing. Best non realistic driving game imo. Always thought wipeout was boring as fuck.
 

Bež

Registered User
Canis Canem Edit was a great game on the PS2. Used to enjoy just roaming around setting pranks off around the school grounds and fighting etc.

I'd forgot what that game was called until you'd mentioned it in that post, so yeah a very good candidate for this category of games.
 

Makavelian

Registered User
But wasn't underrated, was played a lot and also trumpeted a lot from my memory when I used to buy the ps magazines.
 
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