Great Games released at the WRONG time.

[aozgolo]

I got to thinking about this, how many amazing games are there out there that many people didn't really play simply because they were overshadowed by another more popular or well known title releasing around the same time? One that comes to mind is Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning (Feb. 7, 2012) which is a really good RPG that released not even 3 months after the release of Skyrim (Nov. 11, 2011).

What other examples do you guys know of? Let's highlight some!

 

[The Madman]

Dreamfall: Chapters deserves far more attention than it's getting, but unfortunately being released around the same time as Life is Strange and a billion Telltale games has sort of stolen the thunder of what I consider to be the superior story-driven adventure game of the lot.

 

[fenrizz]

Dreamfall: Chapters deserves far more attention than it's getting, but unfortunately being released around the same time as Life is Strange and a billion Telltale games has sort of stolen the thunder of what I consider to be the superior story-driven adventure game of the lot.

Is it better than Life is Strange?
And, more importantly, did you like Life is Strange?

 

[Frezzato]

I got to thinking about this, how many amazing games are there out there that many people didn't really play simply because they were overshadowed by another more popular or well known title releasing around the same time? One that comes to mind is Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning (Feb. 7, 2012) which is a really good RPG that released not even 3 months after the release of Skyrim (Nov. 11, 2011).

What other examples do you guys know of? Let's highlight some!

Kingdoms of Amalur is great! The only genuine criticism I can think of with this game is the excessively long title.

It's a gamer's game. I remember being thoroughly unimpressed by the demo because (I think) it was limited to the dungeon, which is so insignificant it's utterly forgettable. Only now, after 38 Studios shut down, do I realize just how good this game is. Character trees can be redone for a price. There's weapon/armor crafting, plant-gathering, experimentation with potion building, fast travel...and even though I'm playing as a Rogue, I can still carry/use a shield. Someone in 38 Studios remembered the tedium from other RPGs and tried to correct them with Amalur.

I found some forum posts here that were written by Curt Schilling himself (under the name 'Gehrig38') and it got me curious as to just how good or bad Amalur was. I found the last copy available from Game Stop in a 50-mile area. Even though it was used, the flyer inside the case contained a valid online code for the seven bonus House of Valor missions. I've only been playing for about 6 hours now, and I'm sorry I only picked up Amalur two days ago.

The camera viewpoint feels limiting, and I would describe the graphics as maybe 2 steps above Torchlight II, but I would still recommend Amalur to anyone looking for an RPG where physical combat can be fun, especially on console.

 

[Bad Jim]

Unreal Tournament 3 was pretty good on balance. Shame it was released around the same time Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare came out.

 

[Unspoken_Request]

Kingdoms of Amalur is great! The only genuine criticism I can think of with this game is the excessively long title.

It's a gamer's game.

I love Amalur for its gameplay and sheer size, but I do not think it would have ever achieved Skyrim-level of popularity. I also do not think it is a gamer's game (way too easy). Again, I love this game and I think it is underrated. Still, it has a number of problems/design choices:

1) Too Easy: while the gameplay is great, it is way too easy, even on the hardest difficulty setting. As a result, there is no incentives to use any of the more advanced mechanics and even this great combat system becomes boring after a while.

2) Unengaging World: It is hard to get interested into this world's lore and conflicts. Too much time is spent on the Fae, which are very alien and therefore harder to relate to.

3) Boring Characters: Skyrim does not really shine in this department either, but I still think Skyrim's characters are better. Just don't even try to compare them to anything done by Bioware or Obsidian.

4) Not Very Immersive: The ability to interact with the world is much more limited. For instance, you can only jump from designated places. Most items in the world cannot be picked. Moreover, by dividing the world in zones, it feels less open-world. This is where TES games clearly outshine Amalur.

5) Bad UI: The worst offender probably is the maximum of four slots for magical abilities, as it limits the appeal of many builds if you are playing with a controller (which I think remains on balance the superior way to play this game, if you want to fully enjoy its great combat system). Neither Skyrim, nor Amalur's UI is great, but it is much harder to switch to use more than four spells/special abilities in Amalur du to how you need to equip and unequip from these four slots.

6) Too Whimsical: in a market that is clearly biased toward dark and gritty worlds, Amalur's art stlye is too whimsical for many people (I personally don't mind).

In spite of this, it is true that if Amalur had come at a different time, it could have sold more. Would it have been enough to save Studio 38? Not sure, given that the studio had serious management problems according to some news reports. The studio was also trying to make a WOW killer and we all know how these usually turn out...

 

[Frezzato]

snip

Oh, I agree. Kingdoms of Amalur and Skyrim don't compare. Easy or not, I love the hell out of both.

 

[Neverhoodian]

The Neverhood Chronicles had the misfortune of being released in 1996, when the market had lost interest in point-and-click adventure titles. Despite critical acclaim, it only sold a dismal 42,000 units. Luckily it gained a rabid cult following over the years to the point where a spiritual successor called Armikrog is right around the corner, thanks to a successful Kickstarter project.

I myself didn't play The Neverhood until 1998, when my aunt let me borrow her copy (and later let me keep it). To this day it remains one of my favorite games of all time. I would even go so far as to say it hugely influenced my outlook on life. It's got charm, humor, imagination, and a soundtrack that's absolutely bonkers.

Spoiler

 

[NPC009]

Resonance of Fate (PS3/X360)- March 16, 2010
Final Fantasy XIII (PS3/X360) - March 9, 2010

Sega made a fairly niche but certainly interesting JRPG go head to head with the newest and highly anticipated installement of Square Enix' juggernaut. You can guess how well that ended. And the saddest part is, Final Fantasy XIII wasn't all that amazing anyway.

 

[Johnlives]

Vampire: The Masquerade ? Bloodlines. Yeah it was a Troika game (I miss Troika) so expect bugs but great writing and role playing. But it was released Novemeber 2004.

Also launched that month: Half Life 2, Halo 2, Metal Gear Solid 3.

A great month for gaming, not for Bloodlines.

 

[Phoenixmgs_v1legacy]

Dreamfall: Chapters deserves far more attention than it's getting, but unfortunately being released around the same time as Life is Strange and a billion Telltale games has sort of stolen the thunder of what I consider to be the superior story-driven adventure game of the lot.

I read that Dreamfall: Chapters is going to release on PS4. The main thing I was wondering is if you can play this game without playing the others as I've read it picks up after the last one, which ended on a cliffhanger.

Resonance of Fate (PS3/X360)- March 16, 2010
Final Fantasy XIII (PS3/X360) - March 9, 2010

Sega made a fairly niche but certainly interesting JRPG go head to head with the newest and highly anticipated installement of Square Enix' juggernaut. You can guess how well that ended. And the saddest part is, Final Fantasy XIII wasn't all that amazing anyway.

I actually came to post this, I thought RoF came out the same day as FFXIII actually. I really liked a lot about RoF as I loved how you were just 3 people doing jobs to stay afloat (just like Firefly), I wish way more RPGs would do this as I think everyone is tired of save the world storylines. The combat system was pretty good, I felt it could've been more strategic with more gun types added (like shotguns, sniper rifles, etc.) as there's really only 2 strategies in the game. And the game doesn't explain the core story and characters very well at all, you actually have to read over a Wiki to get the full story.

 

[MetalDooley]

Pretty much most games released between Oct - Dec as they get overshadowed by the big annual releases.Why publishers insist on cramming the majority of releases into the autumn/winter period is beyond me

Beyond Good and Evil is a perfect example.Released a few weeks after Vice City and around the same time as Prince of Persia:Sands of Time,Mario Kartouble Dash,Max Payne 2 and KOTOR it didn't really stand a chance

Alan Wake is another good example.While it didn't do badly sales wise it was definitely a mistake to release it 4 days before Red Dead Redemption came out as it was always going to be overshadowed by Rockstars game

 

[Poetic Nova]

I would say SiN.

Introduced body specific damage (limbs, chest, etc), the ability to knock out firearms from people's hands, great A.I. and a rather deep interaction with the enviroment for its time.

The thing is, it was released in the same period as Half Life, and some bugs left the game with a somewhat lower review score. But it is a great game nonentheless.

Shame that its episodic sequel never finished the story....

 

[The Madman]

Is it better than Life is Strange?
And, more importantly, did you like Life is Strange?

Depends on what you enjoy. I played the first episode of Life is Strange and thought it was enjoyable and it had the potential to set up towards something very interesting, which I'm led to believe it has, but I'm also a bit old for teenage angst issues and the whole 'finding myself' subplot doesn't do much for me. I might play through the full thing sometime when it's over if the reviews are good, but I don't exactly find myself chomping at the bit to play it asap.

By contrast I love the unique story and setting of the Dreamfall games. Chapters is a continuation of the previous Dreamfall game, which itself is a sequel to my all time favourite adventure game The Longest Journey, all written by a gentleman named Ragnar Tørnquist who has a flair for dialogue and Neil Gaiman style modern fairytale sort of stuff. The story alternates between a Fantasy and Cyberpunk setting, both of which are well defined and realized, with a wide cast of interesting characters and a unique lore all of its own.

I much prefer Dreamfall: Chapters of the two, but as a long-time fan of the series I'll also freely admit I'm pretty biased as well. In either case regardless of which is 'better', it's a travesty Dreamfall: Chapters isn't more talked about. I've often seen people complaining about Telltale failing to mix up their formula with their newer titles and here's a series doing just that which has just been completely overlooked.

I read that Dreamfall: Chapters is going to release on PS4. The main thing I was wondering is if you can play this game without playing the others as I've read it picks up after the last one, which ended on a cliffhanger.

I can imagine it would be pretty confusing for someone not familiar with the series to jump in with Chapters, but not having done so myself I wouldn't know. Reviews from people who haven't though still seem quite positive however so it's clearly not too big an issue.

 

[maninahat]

The Neverhood Chronicles had the misfortune of being released in 1996, when the market had lost interest in point-and-click adventure titles. Despite critical acclaim, it only sold a dismal 42,000 units. Luckily it gained a rabid cult following over the years to the point where a spiritual successor called Armikrog is right around the corner, thanks to a successful Kickstarter project.

I myself didn't play The Neverhood until 1998, when my aunt let me borrow her copy (and later let me keep it). To this day it remains one of my favorite games of all time. I would even go so far as to say it hugely influenced my outlook on life. It's got charm, humor, imagination, and a soundtrack that's absolutely bonkers.

Spoiler

And released around the other time as Grim Fandango, which whilst that undersold as well, at least it got some recognition over the next few years. Barely anyone has still heard of The Neverhood, and its even less well known ps1 patformer, Skull Monkeys.

 

[deleted+75193]

DELETED

 

[Evonisia]

ZombiU, a brilliant survival horror game that made great usage of the Wii U gamepad and managed to make Zombies a somewhat intimidating foe once more.

It was released as a launch title for the Wii U in November 2012. Both a very terrible time for Wii U sales, and for horror games in the time in which the also brilliant Call of Duty: Black Ops II and the bad-but-successful Halo 4 had only just released.

Ubisoft blames the Wii U and have declared that the hundreds of thousands worth of sales did not suffice for a sequel which I deem abhorrent. ZombiU's issues are ones expected of a launch title, a sequel could have been a horror game for the ages.

 

[Mutant1988]

Unreal Tournament 3 was pretty good on balance. Shame it was released around the same time Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare came out.

I didn't like Unreal Tournament 3 because to me it just felt like a re-package of UT 2004 (Which was a remake of 2003) but with much uglier characters and overly busy graphics (EVERYTHING IS SO SHINY). Solid enough gameplay, but ultimately it didn't hold my interest. Hover boards were kick ass though, I'll give it that.

 

[CrazyBlaze]

Kingdoms of Amalur is great! The only genuine criticism I can think of with this game is the excessively long title.

It's a gamer's game.

I love Amalur for its gameplay and sheer size, but I do not think it would have ever achieved Skyrim-level of popularity. I also do not think it is a gamer's game (way too easy). Again, I love this game and I think it is underrated. Still, it has a number of problems/design choices:

1) Too Easy: while the gameplay is great, it is way too easy, even on the hardest difficulty setting. As a result, there is no incentives to use any of the more advanced mechanics and even this great combat system becomes boring after a while.

2) Unengaging World: It is hard to get interested into this world's lore and conflicts. Too much time is spent on the Fae, which are very alien and therefore harder to relate to.

3) Boring Characters: Skyrim does not really shine in this department either, but I still think Skyrim's characters are better. Just don't even try to compare them to anything done by Bioware or Obsidian.

4) Not Very Immersive: The ability to interact with the world is much more limited. For instance, you can only jump from designated places. Most items in the world cannot be picked. Moreover, by dividing the world in zones, it feels less open-world. This is where TES games clearly outshine Amalur.

5) Bad UI: The worst offender probably is the maximum of four slots for magical abilities, as it limits the appeal of many builds if you are playing with a controller (which I think remains on balance the superior way to play this game, if you want to fully enjoy its great combat system). Neither Skyrim, nor Amalur's UI is great, but it is much harder to switch to use more than four spells/special abilities in Amalur du to how you need to equip and unequip from these four slots.

6) Too Whimsical: in a market that is clearly biased toward dark and gritty worlds, Amalur's art stlye is too whimsical for many people (I personally don't mind).

In spite of this, it is true that if Amalur had come at a different time, it could have sold more. Would it have been enough to save Studio 38? Not sure, given that the studio had serious management problems according to some news reports. The studio was also trying to make a WOW killer and we all know how these usually turn out...

KoA is one of those games you know would have had an amazing sequel given the chance. There was a lot to like and a number of things not to like. But they could've been improved and we could've gotten a really good game. Sadly we all know the tale of what happened.