Something obscure that you feel deserves a bit more love. Let's share.



I'll start with Duke Nukem: Zero Hour, a game that has been on my mind, of late, after listening to Duke Nukem Forever impressions on several podcasts. This Eurocom third-person action game on the N64 was probably my favorite game in the series. It had great (Expansion Pak-enhanced) graphics for the time, a decent multiplayer, and a fairly epic single-player campaign. The campaign was a bit punishing, since you could only save between the lengthy levels, but I appreciated the old-school mastery that that save scheme demanded. Very fun, underappreciated game. I remember that it got ONE star in Next Generation magazine, which I subscribed to at the time. That might have been my first taste of losing faith in the game reviewing industry.

Now you guys!

URL to share (right click and copy)

@Anand
Is it a crime that I want to see the ad more than I want to play the game?

No. No, it isn't.

Just buy, like, an old issue of Captain America from the '80s, or something.

I plan on getting Duke Nukem: Zero Hour at some point, since I've been getting into the series lately. I've heard it's one of the best spinoff titles in the series, and I like third-person shooters, so I'm looking forward to trying it out



As for an underrated game that I want to list, well where do I begin...?

But because I want to write something new, I'll talk about another game I really enjoy: The Crystal Bearers (Wii). The Crystal Bearers is one of the most uniquely enjoyable sandbox/action/adventure games I've ever played, with a surprisingly interactive world you can explore, and lots of hidden areas and secrets to discover at your own pace. Despite this, the game received mediocre to terrible reviews at the time of its release. Part of why it reviewed so poorly was that the game admittedly didn't do the greatest job of letting the player know just how much he or she could do in the game's world. Complaints ranged from the game's length, with some complaining it was too long, while other complained it was too short! Yet others felt it was too easy, while some felt it was too hard! Because of this, I think it's best that you at least try out the game for yourself. I personally think it's amazing for what it does, but it might not be everyone's cup of tea (Simba ). Regardless of how others perceive the game though, I think it's one of my favorite games of all time. Definitely one of my favorites on the Wii, for sure.

@X-pert74
Oh God, I can't believe I forgot about that game. Played it in January last year but didn't finish it.

Liked what I played of it, though.

Hitman: Blood Money gets a decent amount of love but I feel like it should be way higher. Such a fun game and it has elements that can appeal to almost any gamer.

@X-pert74

Agreed, the game is under-rated. Sure, the voice acting was forgettable and the controls sometimes didn't do exactly what you wanted, but the game was pretty good. It wasn't too long and encouraged multiple play-throughs.

Another game I'd like to nominate: Fragile Dreams: Farewell Ruins of the Moon. I'll be the first to admit that the combat wasn't great, but if you want an atmospheric game with a touching story, this is the game to play. A nice adventure/(light) RPG that's enjoyable from start to finish, especially if you let yourself get attached to Seto and his growth throughout the game. I may need to review that title sometime soon...

@stephen08 Do you think the demo does a decent job of showing what the game is about? I tried it out, but I didn't really enjoy it; partly because it basically told the player what to do, step by step, and if you didn't follow it you had to retry.

@X-pert74

Yeah that demo is awful. In the game it's basically the tutorial level where it's showing you each of the mechanics one by one and in that respect it does a good job. But taken on it's own as an independent entity like a demo it's incredibly restrictive.The actual levels are very much sandboxes. You choose what weapons you want to take, what attachments you want on them, it drops you in the level and from that point on you can play however you see fit. The really cool thing is how many ways there are to assassinate someone. Sure you can just shoot them but you can also go about it in a variety of more effective ways. In that respect is sort of like a small scale sandbox game. It's an old title now so it should be really cheap, I highly recommend it.

@stephen08 That sounds pretty fun! I'll be sure to check it out

This thread. It was made for me. To the people who mentioned Metal Arms, I love you already and I don't even know you guys.

An obscure game I particularly enjoy is The Adventures of Cookies and Cream. It's a PS2/DS co-op platformer and it's pretty much one of the most fun co-op games I've played. It's also developed by From Software. Yup, same guys who do Armored Core and Demons' Souls.

Another one is the Dokapon Kindom games (PS2/Wii/DS). I love them mainly due to the fact that it's Mario Party only with more dick moves. Manages to be really fun while you destroy the bonds you created with your friends.

Also God Hand. Don't tell me you don't like the ball buster.

Speaking of which I'll nominate Duke Nukem Forever. I just finished it and whoa did reviewers get it wrong. A game that rarely exceeds mediocrity, sure, I could see someone say that but it's not a 3/10 or and F. It's a fun game bogged down by some technical issues.

AND




Man, racing used to be so awesome back on the SNES. These two gems, along with Super Mario Kart, were an untouchable trio of awesome.

Just read my reviews! They're pretty much all underappreciated games!

But to add a few that I haven't reviewed yet (and may get to eventually...)

Art Style: Orbient. It's so sublime.



Star Wars: The Clone Wars. I suspect that if I went back to it now I'd be like WTF, THIS SUCKS. At the time though, it felt like... taking the tank mode of Starfox 64 and putting it into full 3D. Apparently I love tank games.

Um, I'd post an image but my Internet just got real slow.

The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords Adventures. I still maintain that this is one of the best multiplayer games ever.



Growlanser Generations. Two games in one! And both are awesome real-time/turn-based hybrid SRPGs!

Is Growlanser real time? I didn't know that. Of course, I haven't really opened my copy.

@anon_mastermind
That Street Racer game has the exact same font as Speed Racer! It sounds familiar, but I'm not sure if I played it. Rock'n'Roll Racing and Super Mario Kart were absolutely godly, though. Blizzard!

@Gyrocoptor
I've always meant to pick up one of the Cookies and Cream games. The DS demo was fun.

Destiny of an Emperor (RPG - Capcom, NES)

So awesome.

Totally underrated. Some jerk gave it a 9.5.

The people who gave less than perfect 10's to the original are jerks too.

I'm not sure how well it holds up, but I've seen a few people take shots at North and South for the NES. Haven't played it in years, but I remember loving it as a kid. A great "My First Strategy Game" with some fun action elements. While I'm sure the NES AI isn't exactly IBM's Watson, I'd imagine it'd still hold up alright as a two player vs. game.

Also: The best explanation of the complexities of the American Civil War are in this commercial right here:



Get it now!

That commercial was mesmerizing. And I have never, ever heard of that game. Is it based on the John Jakes trilogy?

warerare said:

Forsaken 64, I loved this game it had great zero gravity style FPS action with enjoyable missions, a fun multiplayer mode and interesting weaponry. What an awesome game.

You are now my friend. I was going to post that, but you beat me to it. I wouldn't mind another sequel to that game.

Anyway, here's mine:



This game was awesome back in the days. This wasn't your typical fighting game that only went by rounds or by time limit. You start off with 9 characters (with 4 unlockable characters). To win a match, you have to reach 1-7 stars first. It varies from which mode you decide to do. The modes in the game are: Story, 2p versus, Survival, master's challenge and training. First, I'll explain how the point system work. There are several categories in how to score points. Those categories are Knockdown, Throwdown, Counter, Special, Ringout and Judge. Here are some examples on how this works:

Knockdown: Knocking your opponent out with punches and kicks.
Throwdown: Like in Judo, the match is over if you throw your opponent down on the ground. You (the player) also have an opportunity of reversing a throw to score a throwdown point.
Ring Out: The match is over if you can knock your opponent out of the ring. However, if you (the player) are hanging off the ring, you have an opportunity of dragging your opponent out of the ring.


Here is a little video of the gameplay.
2-player mode is what made this game awesome. You can customize how you wanted the match to be decided. You can choose 1 to 7 stars to decide the match. You can select how you wanted the score to go. Meaning if you wanted throwdowns to be scored 3 stars, you could. If you wanted knockdowns to be scored 1 star, you could. There is no time limit so it can be pretty hectic when trying to score points on whoever you're playing with.

Not only that, but there is a master's challenge. The moveset that you start off with is not the moveset you can end up with. In master's challenge, if you complete the challenge, you get a new move. You start off with this roulette wheel to game that has all "master's faces" on it. Once you complete that challenge, it turns into "Joker's faces" (I'll explain that one a little later). Complete all master challenges and (I believe) you'll unlock the Master.

Survival is your typical survival. Survive 100 characters and you win. I have never ever beaten survival because of one character: Joker. This purple/black sommamabitch kills me every freaking time I get to him. If you beat survival, you unlock him.

All in all, I loved this fighting game and wished they would do a "proper" sequel to it.