Underappreciated games of 2011
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Persona 2: Innocent Sin - It's more remake than 'port' and it's the first time this game has (legally) been available to English readers/speakers.
WarHammer 40k: Space Marine - Fantastic game that I've enjoyed more than Gears1/2
Alice 2: Madness returns. - Amazing graphically, decent story and game play.
WarHammer 40k: Space Marine - Fantastic game that I've enjoyed more than Gears1/2
Alice 2: Madness returns. - Amazing graphically, decent story and game play.
Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective is the most original game I played all year. It's probably because of this originality that it sold abysmally. I loved the game, and I think it is by far the most under appreciated of the year.
Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine is this year's most overlooked shooter. It isn't just good, it's fucking fantastic(it beats the high holy hell out of Gears of War 3), and the fluid combat, terrific multiplayer, and various, exciting campaign are all worthy of note and praise. Oh well. I hear tell it sold decently, so maybe we'll get another. I'd like that.
This is a bit of a stretch considering that it clean-swept the "best fighting game" category at every awards show ever and sold like hotcakes, but I don't think people fully appreciate just how goddamn good Mortal Kombat really is. Skillful fighting mechanics, solid balance, a dedicated dev team at the community's beck and call, and a hi-fucking-larious story mode make this the best fighting game to be released since Street Fighter IV turned fighting games into casually-oriented Xbox LIVE vehicles and ruined the genre for everybody who ever held it dear.
On that note, let's talk about The King of Fighters XIII. This is as old-school as it gets: a sprite-based fighting game with strict execution, a multitude of useful mechanics, and no fucking stupid comeback system that rewards the losing player(seriously, fuck Street Fighter IV). It's unlikely to be a big hit since it lacks the accessibility that the modern gamer craves, but it's what a fighting game should be: a skill-based measure of technical prowess and mental gymnastics. I applaud SNK for having the balls to defy the modern trend of fighting games as manufactured e-sports for the Xbox LIVE crowd and remember what the genre is meant to be about.
Duke Nukem Forever is a thoroughly average game. It is not the worst game of 2011(that would be either Catherine or Brink). It is nowhere near the worst game of all time. It's just average, and no amount of pretentious scoffing at it will change that, no matter what your little e-friends on your My Little Pony GeoCities fansite tell you. Deal with it.
Infamous 2 is much, much better than several of the big contenders for top honors at this year's awards shows(hello, Skyward Sword, why are you sitting next to Skyrim? You should be at the back of the bus). Excellent writing, intuitive controls, a decent difficulty curve, and versatile combat make this one of the best sandbox games ever made. This is the killer app that the PS3 needs. Uncharted 3 is not.
While all of the above games are valiant underdogs deserving of much more praise than they received, the single most criminally underrated game of 2011, and indeed one of the most underrated games I've ever played, is the unrivaled powerhouse in interactive storytelling that is Bastion. Not only is Bastion the best game of 2011, it's the best Xbox LIVE Marketplace title ever, one of the best action-RPGs ever, and proof positive that video games are capable of telling stories in a way that no other medium can. It's rare that such a masterpiece rolls along, and the fact that people were too busy slurping up Shigeru Miyamoto's latest turd to notice it is just fucking sad.
This is a bit of a stretch considering that it clean-swept the "best fighting game" category at every awards show ever and sold like hotcakes, but I don't think people fully appreciate just how goddamn good Mortal Kombat really is. Skillful fighting mechanics, solid balance, a dedicated dev team at the community's beck and call, and a hi-fucking-larious story mode make this the best fighting game to be released since Street Fighter IV turned fighting games into casually-oriented Xbox LIVE vehicles and ruined the genre for everybody who ever held it dear.
On that note, let's talk about The King of Fighters XIII. This is as old-school as it gets: a sprite-based fighting game with strict execution, a multitude of useful mechanics, and no fucking stupid comeback system that rewards the losing player(seriously, fuck Street Fighter IV). It's unlikely to be a big hit since it lacks the accessibility that the modern gamer craves, but it's what a fighting game should be: a skill-based measure of technical prowess and mental gymnastics. I applaud SNK for having the balls to defy the modern trend of fighting games as manufactured e-sports for the Xbox LIVE crowd and remember what the genre is meant to be about.
Duke Nukem Forever is a thoroughly average game. It is not the worst game of 2011(that would be either Catherine or Brink). It is nowhere near the worst game of all time. It's just average, and no amount of pretentious scoffing at it will change that, no matter what your little e-friends on your My Little Pony GeoCities fansite tell you. Deal with it.
Infamous 2 is much, much better than several of the big contenders for top honors at this year's awards shows(hello, Skyward Sword, why are you sitting next to Skyrim? You should be at the back of the bus). Excellent writing, intuitive controls, a decent difficulty curve, and versatile combat make this one of the best sandbox games ever made. This is the killer app that the PS3 needs. Uncharted 3 is not.
While all of the above games are valiant underdogs deserving of much more praise than they received, the single most criminally underrated game of 2011, and indeed one of the most underrated games I've ever played, is the unrivaled powerhouse in interactive storytelling that is Bastion. Not only is Bastion the best game of 2011, it's the best Xbox LIVE Marketplace title ever, one of the best action-RPGs ever, and proof positive that video games are capable of telling stories in a way that no other medium can. It's rare that such a masterpiece rolls along, and the fact that people were too busy slurping up Shigeru Miyamoto's latest turd to notice it is just fucking sad.
http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/The_Binding_of_Isaac_game_224.jpg
I don't think I've even conceptualized of "A horror dungeon crawler where the protagonist is a naked child and the weapons are tears" before playing this.
I don't think I've even conceptualized of "A horror dungeon crawler where the protagonist is a naked child and the weapons are tears" before playing this.
I loved those! Though, it probably didn't help their sales much, because all of the underaged gamers whose mothers saw the commercials... weren't amused. Mine being one of them.Terminate421 said:
I got it anyway though. >:3 Along with my special edition model Plasma Cutter.
I'll have to throw Bulletstorm in there as well.
Fun gameplay, amusing dialogue, great single player. Story was sort of meh, but otherwise a fun ride, and they even set the ending up to hint at a sequel. The marketing just did not do a good enough job of portraying the game for what it was meant to be; a funny romp through a violent world full of explosions and kicking people into man-eating plants. Instead it seemed more like the entire point of the game was just generic bloodshed.
Also, an actual multiplayer, and if the horde mode didn't find matches like a tortoise would have probably been a good idea.
Fun gameplay, amusing dialogue, great single player. Story was sort of meh, but otherwise a fun ride, and they even set the ending up to hint at a sequel. The marketing just did not do a good enough job of portraying the game for what it was meant to be; a funny romp through a violent world full of explosions and kicking people into man-eating plants. Instead it seemed more like the entire point of the game was just generic bloodshed.
Also, an actual multiplayer, and if the horde mode didn't find matches like a tortoise would have probably been a good idea.
Rayman: Origins
It's truely one of the best platformers I have ever played. The animations are fluent and AMAZING to say the least. It's like watching a new saturday-morning cartoon that's funny and stylish.
It's just... GAH, IT'S PERFECT, BRILLIANT EVEN!
And lastly, I can't leave this thread without mentioning the music.
It's truely one of the best platformers I have ever played. The animations are fluent and AMAZING to say the least. It's like watching a new saturday-morning cartoon that's funny and stylish.
It's just... GAH, IT'S PERFECT, BRILLIANT EVEN!
And lastly, I can't leave this thread without mentioning the music.
I'm not sure if I'd call it under appreciated, but Super Mario 3D Land isn't getting anywhere near the fanfare the inferior (IMO) Super Mario Galaxy games got.
I second Dragon Age II and Pokemon Black/White. I wish I could say more, but I haven't played all that many of this year's games, I have stocked up on some of this year's indies so hopefully as I make my way through those I'll find more under appreciated games. I would like to add the 3DS in general, it's a really good handheld that just happened to have a botched launch...
I second Dragon Age II and Pokemon Black/White. I wish I could say more, but I haven't played all that many of this year's games, I have stocked up on some of this year's indies so hopefully as I make my way through those I'll find more under appreciated games. I would like to add the 3DS in general, it's a really good handheld that just happened to have a botched launch...
I'm going to get a lot of shit for saying this, but I would also say Modern Warfare 3.
I find the immense hatred for it on the internet very unfair, since it has great single player and co-op campaigns and a fun, deep and incredibly polished multi-player experience. Sure, the multiplayer may not be original or innovative, but it's still very robust and enjoyable (especially for newcomers to the series).
I find the immense hatred for it on the internet very unfair, since it has great single player and co-op campaigns and a fun, deep and incredibly polished multi-player experience. Sure, the multiplayer may not be original or innovative, but it's still very robust and enjoyable (especially for newcomers to the series).
Whilst I'll support you in the view of MW3 getting far more flak than it deserves, especially given the radical overhaul given to both the co-op and multiplayer game-modes, it was hardly under appreciated (except on this site). Despite only being out for a few months it's trashed game sales records which is pretty much the opposite of under appreciated.Samus Aran but a man said:
OT: I'd say Orcs Must Die! was a pleasant indie surprise for me this year. Only the lack of a co-op mode stopped this game being my contender for indie game of the year, but I have yet to see more than two or three threads in it's honour. With so much emphasis on realism and immersion in gaming these days it's good to just kick back and play a game that doesn't try to be anything other than shameless fun but it has received (as far as I can tell) very little coverage from the gaming community.
Orcs Must Die! is awesomeGrouchy Imp said:
but yeah I know the game was critically and financially well received - I meant it was very under appreciated by the forums, such as this one
Does L.A. Noire count as underappreciated? If so, thats my pick. Cole Phelps was a wonderfully developed character imo. The game definately had its faults, but I found the story rather moving.
Hmm, I nomiate LOTR:War in the North, it came out at the same time as Skyrim, so people kinda didn't notice it.
Ok, I see where you're coming from. Perhaps a better way we could put it would be to say that MW3 is instead 'overly condemned'. As is often the way with popular franchises these days.Samus Aran but a man said:Orcs Must Die! is awesomeGrouchy Imp said:
but yeah I know the game was critically and financially well received - I meant it was very under appreciated by the forums, such as this one
I'll second Infamous 2. Had loads of fun with it(platinuuuum!), but can't recall seeing any buzz over the game.
This, first of all.XMark said:
Bulletstorm was one of the most enjoyable games I've ever played, and I was appaled when I learned how poor the game actually sold. Poor marketing has to be one of the major reasons this game didn't sell well. Hell, I followed the game ever since I read the GameInformer article on it, and I managed to pick it up day one.
Orcs Must Die! is another game I'm loving and didn't see a whole lot about it. Kinda sad, since the game is great simple fun.
I'm not sure how well From Dust did, I loved how unique and challenging it was, and I really hope I'll get to see more of it in the future.