Great Games that have gone Unnoticed

[RhinoTuna]

Zone of Enders.

No offense, but didn't that game exist entirely to promote a trailer for Metal Gear Solid 2? I don't know much about the game, except for that little bit of trivia.

None taken. I don't really know to be honest, but i really enjoyed ZOE1&2 and it was pretty low-key game so i added to this ever-growing list we all have

 

[Pudgyboi]

GTA IV
Portal

Aw shoot, I'm all out of ideas.

Portal? I don't know where you've been man but Portal has gotten so much praise which it deserves.

You're kidding, right? Maybe I should've added a /sarcasm for some help.

Yeah, would have helped. A lot of people I know didn't think to much of GTA 4 so meh.

 

[Tattaglia]

GTA IV
Portal

Aw shoot, I'm all out of ideas.

Portal? I don't know where you've been man but Portal has gotten so much praise which it deserves.

You're kidding, right? Maybe I should've added a /sarcasm for some help.

Yeah, would have helped. A lot of people I know didn't think to much of GTA 4 so meh.

So you didn't notice the 9/10 and 10/10s spewing from the mouths of reviewers everywhere? Interesting... very interesting. *writes on a clipboard*

 

[Kuweekee]

I would have to say Fahrenheit/Indigo Project. The game succeeded on every subject except the marketing part.

 

[Graustein]

Cave Story, a freeware game made by a single Japanese dude. He worked on it for over 3 years, and he did everything from art to story to physics to music, all of which is fantastic. It's so awesome there's a DS port coming out.

 

[rottenbutter]

(Note: I played this game before I was plugged in to the whole gaming scene, so it might not of actually gone unnoticed at the time, but I haven't heard one person ever mention the game, ever.)

Sphinx and the Cursed Mummy for PS2. It had a great story, wondrous setting, fun platforming, and interesting puzzles. This game was amazing and desperately deserves a sequel.

 

[Zeke109]

Die Hard: Nakatomi Plaza
Starship Troopers

 

[Syphonz]

Metal Gear Solid Portable Ops
Syphon Filter 2, 3, Omega Strain

 

[Spektre41]

Klonoa: Door To Phantomile was an excellent PS1 platformer (and is one of my favourite 2D platformers) that was horrendously unnoticed, the gameplay was great, the visuals were beautiful and the soundtrack was amazing. It's being remade for the Wii, so make sure you snatch it up if you're a platformer fan.

 

[varulfic]

I love how you guys just write down names of games you think has gone unnoticed and then post without adding any description of the game or reason why you think it's great. If the game has been unnoticed, how do you expect us to know what you're talking about just from a title?

I have a few unnoticed games to add, but since list thread sucks, I'll just wait until the next one inevitably comes along next week. One might think that I could add one of those descriptive posts I asked for instead of just complaining, but I'm afraid it's too late for that now.

 

[Uncompetative]

BREAKDOWN. Seriously, every time one of these types of threads comes up I say the same thing. And noone else has ever even heard of the game. If my fellow Escapists haven't heard of a game, I think that qualifies for Unnoticed.

Sorry for the rant, but I loved that game, and it hurts that noone else knows what I'm talking about. Anyways, Overlord was pretty good and unnoticed.

I was impressed by the demo on the Xbox. It was a kind of first person beat-em-up adventure thing. Unusual.

I might dig it out of my collection in order to compare it to Mirror's Edge.

 

[Graustein]

I love how you guys just write down names of games you think has gone unnoticed and then post without adding any description of the game or reason why you think it's great. If the game has been unnoticed, how do you expect us to know what you're talking about just from a title?

I have a few unnoticed games to add, but since list thread sucks, I'll just wait until the next one inevitably comes along next week. One might think that I could add one of those descriptive posts I asked for instead of just complaining, but I'm afraid it's too late for that now.

I'm so vain I think this post's about me. Righto.
Cave Story is a 2D platforming shooter vaguely reminiscent of the Metroid games. The guns vary from mundane (single shot gun, rocket launcher) to... well, different is the only word I can come up with at the moment.
Example is the Bubbler. At the first level it is amazingly weak, doing only one point of damage with a short-ranged bubble, as well as having you press the fire button once for every pathetic shot. Second level is marginally more useful, having improved range, damage, spread, and being rapid-fire. The third level shoots up to fifteen bubbles which float around your character forming a shield that damages enemies that touch them. When a bubble is touched, it pops. When you reach fifteen it will start shooting the bubbles forwards, one at a time, at the same rate you produce them (which is very fast), with minor damage and impressive range. If at any point you release the fire button the bubbles will all shoot forward en masse, dealing considerable damage.
Oh, and there's a machine gun that lets you fly if you point it downwards. How cool is that?

That's just the combat. The platforming sections are, while not Super Mario, quite impressive. The monsters are imaginative, as are the characters, all of whom have unique and memorable personalities. The story is deep and the villain twisted, at one point

Spoiler

transforming Toroko, a cute and loveable Mimiga, into a ferocious, twisted monster and setting her loose on you, forcing you to kill her (and yes, you know full well who it is at the time, having witnessed the transformation).

.
The game pulls you in and refuses to let go.
Finally, the boss battles are top-notch. Have you ever fought a boss upwards of ten times, getting closer and closer to victory each time, determined to win? While difficult, they give the sense that they are by no means impossible, you must better yourself to fight them. It's not frustrating, it's compelling. When I finally beat the final boss, I was more elated than I'd been in a LONG time.

Oh, and if that's not enough, there's

Spoiler: Balrog

What is he? Nobody knows. But he is awesome.

 

[Fightbulb]

Team Buddies on the PS1, and Alien Hominid on PS2, XBOX, GC, and XBLA.

 

[RhinoTuna]

Speaking of Cave Story, i just started playing it no more than an hour ago. It's certainly different and takes a little getting used to (I'm definitely more used to graphic-whoring games).

I love how you guys just write down names of games you think has gone unnoticed and then post without adding any description of the game or reason why you think it's great. If the game has been unnoticed, how do you expect us to know what you're talking about just from a title?

I have a few unnoticed games to add, but since list thread sucks, I'll just wait until the next one inevitably comes along next week. One might think that I could add one of those descriptive posts I asked for instead of just complaining, but I'm afraid it's too late for that now.

Didn't realise it was a pre-requisite to write an essay about a game you probably know nothing about to post in this thread.

 

[Zeldadudes]

The world ends with you.
I'm not sure how big it was but i really loved its storyline and i had to stop playing once i lost the stamina in my arms.
Any thoughts?

 

[The Wooster]

The world ends with you.
I'm not sure how big it was but i really loved its storyline and i had to stop playing once i lost the stamina in my arms.
Any thoughts?

It was atrociously hard on anything above normal and automatic mode. Particularly the creepy math guy.

 

[AuntyEthel]

Grandia II - brilliant battle system and storyline, I finished it even though I don't like RPGs. The voice acting was awful tho.

 

[Strategia]

SunAge: one of the better recent RTSes IMO. While the basic premise is fairly standard, there are some unique touches (like the power networks or the secondary combat modes) and the visual quality is excellent, precisely because it's a 2D game.

Space Empires series: not everyone's cup of tea, but hey, epic scale 4X space strategy game that lets you fight with fleets of thousands of ships, and collapse suns into black holes. If you're patient enough, it's pretty damn awesome. And ofc fully customisable (read: designable!) ships.

Red Orchestra: WWII shooter, MP-/botmatch-only, set on the Eastern Front, more realistic than Operation Flashpoint. I can't think of any other game where machinegunners have to change barrels every now and again due to overheating, or where you have to take breathing and bullet drop into account when firing a rifle.

 

[theklng]

warioland 2,3,4

as little respect i have for nintendo for marketing the wrong franchises, these three gems are absolutely flawless. these are what some famous person would call, "a killer 7 experience".

 

[bkd69]

Harpoon. Real naval strategy. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harpoon_(computer_game)

Falcon 4.0 Allied Force. The game that killed flight sim games updated for 2005. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Falcon_4.0:_Allied_Force

Pac-Man Vs. on the Gamecube. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pac-Man_Vs.