Things that you find underrated

[Rabbitboy]

Perhaps there is this game/movie/tv show/book/brand of cola or race of potato that you think is brilliant or like well enough. But the people around you don't think as highly about it as you/ find it disgusting / give it way more shit than you think it deserves.

A few examples

Dragon Age 2:While nowhere near as good as Origins I think DA2 is a good (if often frustrating) game. It has many problems like the enemy respawning and the recycled environments. But I think the Characters make up for it and I tought the combat animations looked a lot better than the boring ones in Origins.

The Dark knight Riseserhaps this is my memory failing me, but the main thing I remember people complaining about was about how Batman got back into gotham. And that's not enough ruin a very enjoyable movie for me.

And then there is fanta which is much better than coca cola

So what do you people find underrated?

( thanks to Kenbo Slice for giving me the inspiration [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/18.855485-Media-that-you-find-overrated])

 

[SoranMBane]

I see the Dead Space games, and Dead Space 2 especially, criticized a lot for not being as scary as something like Silent Hill or Amnesia or whatever. And they're right; it isn't as scary as those games. But it's still a fantastic action game, with fun and satisfying gameplay, beautiful visuals, and a lot of replay value. In fact, Dead Space 2 is probably the one game I've replayed more than any other.

I won't defend Dead Space 3, though. I mean, I like the weapon crafting and resource scavenging systems, but then it's got the human enemies, and co-op, and cover-based shooting, and, just, bleugh.

 

[Randoman01]

Jak and Daxter series maybe? I have always enjoyed those series.

 

[MrBaskerville]

The Counsellor and Cosmopolis, i think people hate them because the dialouge is a bit unconventional, they talk more like people in a novel than people in a movie, but that's kinda also one of the things i like about those movies. I strongly believe that these movies will end up as classics, while right now most people and critics despise them which i find odd.

Aside from that, i'm a big fan of the Armored Core series and of a lot of less known ps3 exclusives (like Guided Fate Paradox and the like) and i think it's a bit sad that they don't get more recognition.

 

[UltraPic]

Waterworld. Everyone hates it, I always liked it.

I don't I have ever met anyone who did not like it, it seemed to be an critic thing to hate it.

 

[rosac]

Tissues.

Seriously, proper tissues are a godsend when you have hayfever.

 

[Zontar]

The X3 trilogy: Reunion, Terran Conflict and Albian Prelude. The games are great, functionally their own genre with no others like it.

And then Egosoft pissed all over it by making Rebirth.

 

[laggyteabag]

Dragon Age 2: Sure, it may only take place in only as single city (and only a couple of environments, HURR HURR), and it may not be as adventurous or as large scale as Origins, but I found Dragon Age 2 to be a very enjoyable game in and of itself. The characters and the story were both great, but I just think that the game is held back a lot by the reused environments more than anything else.

 

[lacktheknack]

Tomb Raider Legend, methinks. Considering the absolute trainwreck that preceded it, it's amazing that Legend was as high-quality (albeit short) as it was.

 

[babinro]

Dragon Age 2

Agree completely with Dragon Age 2. The game has strong characters and an amazing Act 2. The combat is significantly improved from the first and among my favorite all time combat systems. People give the game a lot of flack for it's obvious faults but this isn't enough to make it a weak game on it's own. To this day I can still view DA:2 as an 8.5/10 game.

Marvel Puzzle Quest

I'm not sure if this game is underrated or simply not discussed since it would be viewed as a mobile/casual title. The game has gradually become my main game overthrowing Diablo 3. It's an excellent take on Puzzle Quest using the Marvel license and puts heavy focus on PvP tournaments (vs AI human made teams not real-time PvP). The game is a blast to play while doing other things. Check it out on steam, it's free to play and suffers from some annoying fee to wait mechanics but it's not as bad as the facebook games of old for that crap.

Alan Wake

Can we call this underrated? I feel as though this game offered one of the most uniquely amazing experience last console generation and yet feels forgotten. I can't recommend this game enough. You probably won't replay it over and over but that first game play experience was phenomenal. It harkens back to the feeling of playing through Resident Evil 4 for the first time. So many good set pieces with an interesting story and some decent scares. This game was really well received but seems like it's been forgotten with time

 

[Vault101]

Linkin Parks Thousand Suns

experimental, dark, and really the two albums after just feel kinda "meh" in comparison

 

[Inazuma1]

Tomb Raider Legend, methinks. Considering the absolute trainwreck that preceded it, it's amazing that Legend was as high-quality (albeit short) as it was.

Legend was Crystal Dynamics first outing with Lara. And really, after how badly Core Design stopped trying with Angel of Darkness, there was nowhere to go but up.

I think Donkey Kong Country 2 is underrated compared to the first game. DKC 2 is a much tighter game with a better balance between the playable characters and the enemies are much more memorable due to the pirate them linking most of them together. Plus, the bosses are all unique and the final boss fights are actually challenging.

 

[Rabbitboy]

Tissues.

Seriously, proper tissues are a godsend when you have hayfever.

That reminds me of toilet paper. Even the roughest and cheapest toilet paper is still a better way of cleaning your but than using the same sponge as everyone else.

off topic: people who mentiond DA2 (or hate it) might find this [http://www.mattiebrice.com/346/] interesting to read.

 

[L. Declis]

Warhammer 40:000 Space Marine

It ended up being dismissed as a Gears clone, despite having an amazing aesthetic, combat which switches effortlessly between range and swords, and having a flowing and dynamic game which completely refused to bow to chest high walls.

Board Games

When you say board games, people think Cluedo, Monoploy, Risk, Connect 4, Battleships and so on, despite the fact that the bast majority of board games are far more engaging and interesting and less complicated than people think.
So the good board games like Settlers of Catan, Puerto Rico, Lords of Waterdeep, Munchkin and Game of Thrones are all a bastard to find people to play with, because when you say "Boardgame" people think "Oh shit, I hate monopoly, it's boring and takes hours".
Thankfully, Cards Against Humanity is solving that one racist joke at a time.

 

[Twintix]

St. Anger.

No, it's not the best of Metallica's albums, but I don't find it nearly as bad as some people do. No, it doesn't really sound like Metallica used to, but was it meant to? They probably just wanted to try a new sound and maybe garner some new fans.

Someone mentioned Linkin Park's A Thousand Suns, and I have to agree. The music is very experimental, and it doesn't sound like Linkin Park used to, but, again, was it meant to? I think the new songs sound kinda cool.

 

[rob_simple]

The Darkness II. I'm not sure how well it sold, but it didn't seem to have any kind of great impact, which is a shame because it was one of my favourite games, last gen; maybe ever.

The gunplay was extremely satisfying, especially mixed with the Darkness powers, and it's one of the few games where every single skill you could unlock was actually useful (especially playing through on the higher difficulties).

The story wasn't particularly deep but I found it very entertaining and I really, really like the parts where Jackie was in the mental hospital and couldn't work out if that was the dream or the real world. Again, not very original, but it was used to great effect; especially the way all the games characters appeared as staff and patients in the ward.

Finally, the soundtrack had one of my favourite songs I've ever heard in a game [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HoINlQZ5pZI], and it's one of the reasons it really stood out for me.

I very much doubt the game will ever get the sequel it hinted at, but I'm perfectly happy with what I already have so I can't get too disappointed.

P.S. Pretty much everything I've said here can also be applied to Shadows of the Damned.

 

[GamemasterAnthony]

Whoo boy...problem with a topic like this is that it's guaranteed to piss someone off no matter what you say.

CAPTCHA: fire + brim stone

SEE?!? The Captcha's already tuning up and I haven't said anything yet! Anyways...

Metroid - Other M

For some reason, nowadays I still see a lot of threads and/or countdowns pop up in regards to how bad this game is. The problem is, a lot of this hatred and bile towards the game seems to aimed as a result of the storyline...with at least one person mentioning how craptastic the final boss battle is.

Personally, though...having played the game myself, I didn't think the game was that bad from a gameplay perspective. The third person controls were well executed, and I love the up close and personal insta-kill attacks. (If anything, they made Samus look like even MORE of a badass!) My only issue was with some of the first person shooting aspects...being the only way you can fire missiles and such. If that were fixed and the storyline (and final boss) were changed, I suspect this game would have been much better received.