Underrated/unheard of video games?

[Trax]

Why are half the games ITT from major publishers. If Ubisoft, 2K, THQ, or Nintendo put a game out with a boxed release, then anyone vaguely interested in games was probably aware of it at the time. Complaint aside I like the idea of this topic so...

Beneath a Steel Sky
A mid 1990s point and click adventure game in a cyberpunk setting that still held up when I first played it a decade later, Beneath a Steel Sky sets the standard for adventure games by a combination of an interesting story well told and none of the all too common bullshit that dragged down other adventure games (such as the all too common illogical "logic" puzzles that break up the story flow and annoy the hell out of you when you can't use the brick to break the window...), the dialogue is beautifully written and the graphics (while constrained somewhat by the technology of the time) are cleverly made with a comic book style brought by Dave Gibbons (the artist of the original Watchmen series) with distinct environments and characters making visual identification of what's going on clear. The running gag with the robot circuit board being plugged into different shells is also one of the best examples of comedy in games.

Apparently it was remastered for iOS in 2009 so it's available there or the original on PC (which is freeware).

 

[verbatim]

Why are half the games ITT from major publishers. If Ubisoft, 2K, THQ, or Nintendo put a game out with a boxed release, then anyone vaguely interested in games was probably aware of it at the time.

I'd argue that you can make a point for major publishers games if they ended up being ignored/critically panned. In the latter case...

Sonic Chronicles (by Bioware), is a turn based rpg with touch controls incorporated into determining the power of your specials a la Paper Mario The Thousand Year Door. Where critics had previously panned the effort, I have always loved the combination of the wide variety of characters, special moves, old school Looney Toons styled sound design, stat optimization, atmosphere, and most of all, the best accurate (i.e. not a cinematic) intro to any video game of all time (see below)

 

[Mia Wallace]

I'd argue that you can make a point for major publishers games if they ended up being ignored/critically panned. In the latter case...

Sonic Chronicles (by Bioware), is a turn based rpg with touch controls incorporated into determining the power of your specials a la Paper Mario The Thousand Year Door. Where critics had previously panned the effort, I have always loved the combination of the wide variety of characters, special moves, old school Looney Toons styled sound design, stat optimization, atmosphere, and most of all, the best accurate (i.e. not a cinematic) intro to any video game of all time (see below)

I planned on posting this eventually =p

 

[Enguarde]

Don't be so quick to dismiss this as " shit pokemon game with dinosaurs", this was such a good rpg with fun grinding mechanics and a great sense of humor. There was a good difficulty curve and the want to collect them all was far greater in this for me as opposed to pokemon since you could actually obtain everything in the game with perseverance and you were rewarded for it with something much more than a shitty certificate! The e3 trailer for the most recent one on 3ds is looks extremely weird though as it sort of looks like a shift from the core mechanics which made the first 2 so good.

 

[Mia Wallace]

Don't be so quick to dismiss this as " shit pokemon game with dinosaurs", this was such a good rpg with fun grinding mechanics and a great sense of humor. There was a good difficulty curve and the want to collect them all was far greater in this for me as opposed to pokemon since you could actually obtain everything in the game with perseverance and you were rewarded for it with something much more than a shitty certificate! The e3 trailer for the most recent one on 3ds is looks extremely weird though as it sort of looks like a shift from the core mechanics which made the first 2 so good.

This was SUCH a fun game!

 

[Mia Wallace]

Time to post some more of my favorite Underrated/Unheard of games.

I'm going to start off this game with what many people call one of the greatest games of all time. A game that put the put the player in an amazing and beautifully designed open world and pushed them to overcome colossal challenges.

Shadow of the Colossus

Now you might be saying, " Mia that game is literally 10/10 Greatest Hit Top 20 all time, Why are you listing it?". Well, No one talks about the beauty and epicness that this game possess. No one talks about this Masterpiece, a game that's considerably a piece of art. Shadow of the Colossus sets you in an expansive open world where you take the role of a silent hero aided only by your horse pal and armed only with a short sword and small bow. The Challenge? Fighting Bosses that tower hundreds of feet above you in a game where Fall damage is very realistic. You never hear people say " Damn remember that time I climbed to the top of that Colossus and ran out of stamina and fell to my death?". While this game isn't unheard of, it is extremely underrated by the newer generation of Gamers. Put down Child of light and Watch Dogs because I promise you, you'll get a much better experience out of Shadow of the Colossus.

Battleblock Theater:

Now I know what you're probably thinking again " Mia Game Grumps is playing this and it's on Steam and it's GREEEAAATTT!!!!!". But, There was a point when this game wasn't any sort of big deal at all. It had almost no community and was given absolutely no credit for being the 10/10 title that it is. Another example of what Game Developers should do with their games...make them with the intention of entertaining, and have fun making them. There's not much I Can say about the game that people aren't already aware of, since it's just now getting attention. However, I will say that Stamper's narrating is by far what makes this game so popular. It's not really the unique concept or unexplainably frustrating challenge in the game, it's the stupid shit Stamper says death after Death to piss you off. And the improvised storytelling that explains the overall plot ( Yes, a huge portion of his dialog was improvised , 10/10 dialog on the spot ). Anyways, I seriously suggest this game, It's just now getting a huge following and it's easily one of the most enjoyable games of all time.


Def Jam: Icon

This is a Street Fighter Style fighting game in which you TAKE THE ROLE OF MOTHER FUCKING RAP SUPER STARS LIKE LIL' JOHN!!!!! HOW IS THIS NOT THE HYPEST GAME EVERRR?!?!?!!??!?! You spend hours of fun throwing mother fuckers to the window and to the walls in which I happily refer to as one of my FAVORITE Fighters of all time. Seriously, check it out. Like, it's a 3$ game at most and i promise you you'll enjoy yourself because of how bad the concept it but how amazing the outcome was.