Underappreciated games.

[zombiejoe]

Topic's in the title.

Let's discuss games we think don't get enough praise.

To name a few, in my opinion.

1. I Am Alive
The game was received well enough by most critics, but it seems to me that if one were to bring up the game, either people wouldn't know about it or hate it for not being like how it was originally promoted. Believe me, I would have loved playing through what I Am Alive was going to be, but as it stands I think that the I Am Alive we got has a creative combat system, incredibly oppressing and effective atmosphere, tense world traversal, and a resource system that actually mattered. I also think that the story is engaging, coming off like a single chapter in a much larger adventure, and it works because of it. The ending is pretty bad though.

2. Bioshock 2
Yes, it was not made by the same people as Bioshock 1. Yes, it wasn't as good as Bioshock 1. No, it did not "almost ruin the franchise", and it certainly does not deserve to be forgotten about. Narratively, the game has strong characters (both prominent and secondary), and gives a story that does not directly relate to the first game, but logically expands upon the concepts of the first game to tell its own story. Playing as a Big Daddy brought new additions to how the game played that worked (well enough) and the multiplayer's take on story telling is one of the best examples of multiplayer and story working together that I have seen in recent years. Titanfall could have learned from Bioshock 2.

3. Alpha Protocal
It receives a lot of praise now when talked about, but the negative reception it got on release was appalling. Combat required patience and planning, the dialog system was divine, and the choices you made carried a massive sense of weight that most other games fail to capture. Boss fights were pretty terrible though, I will accept that.

Feel free to argue with anything, I'd love to discuss.

 

[Liquidprid3]

Mario RPG's- They don't get enough love. Paper Mario TTYD is my personal favorite. You think. Mario games are easy. Play the final boss of this game, and prepared to have the most intense fight in your life. Excellent music, secrets, dialogue, design, and combat. It's well loved, but not enough.

Mother 3- Earthbound is my favorite of the bunch, but people don't discuss this game nearly as much. It pulls at your feels, it has a better battle system, and is honestly more interesting. I enjoy Earthbound more because it has funnier dialogue, is more memorable, and the story felt more personal to myself. However, mother 3 stands on it's own as an excellent game,and a worthy sequel.

Super Adventure Island II- Link's Adventure but better. Enough said.

Thomas Was Alone- Greatest indie game of all time, next to Super Meat Boy. Stellar narration, music and story.

Ty the Tasmainan Tiger- Does anyone talk about these games? Ever? God damn, they're all great.

Legend of Zelda- This game is often criticized for aging poorly, and not giving any information on where to go. Both are criticisms I agree with. However, I was simply captivated by this game when I played it last year. It started so much, and impacted the gaming industry heavily, that I couldn't help but have a smile my whole way through.

 

[theSovietConnection]

The biggest one I can think of right now is Steambot Chronicles. Absolutely brilliant mech/RPG from the PS2. Probably among my favorite games of all time.

 

[Willinium]

Heroes of Might and Magic IV. A fantastic turn based strategy RPG. Whilst there was a great many changes in this episode of the series, I found that for the most part they were for the better. The main problem that people seemed to have was the idea of the Hero itself being physically active in the combat. The biggest strength in the game, were the story aspects especially when compared to the previous episodes and those afterwords.

 

[Trunkage]

Heroes of Might and Magic IV. A fantastic turn based strategy RPG. Whilst there was a great many changes in this episode of the series, I found that for the most part they were for the better. The main problem that people seemed to have was the idea of the Hero itself being physically active in the combat. The biggest strength in the game, were the story aspects especially when compared to the previous episodes and those afterwords.

As a group, we stopped party heroes after this one. I liked it by my friends hated it. The might faction was a silly dysfunctional. I loved having multiple heroes in one army. We tried heroes VI together but just couldn't get into it

 

[Willinium]

Heroes of Might and Magic IV. A fantastic turn based strategy RPG. Whilst there was a great many changes in this episode of the series, I found that for the most part they were for the better. The main problem that people seemed to have was the idea of the Hero itself being physically active in the combat. The biggest strength in the game, were the story aspects especially when compared to the previous episodes and those afterwords.

As a group, we stopped party heroes after this one. I liked it by my friends hated it. The might faction was a silly dysfunctional. I loved having multiple heroes in one army. We tried heroes VI together but just couldn't get into it

I have played Might and Magic Heroes VI as-well (why did they switch the wording) however halfway through the Infernal campaign the game somehow went contrasted and I was then unable to play again. And yeah the Barbarian Faction was a bit strange wasn't it? I still say that the most overpowered faction was the Necromatic Kreegan path, Venom Spawns Teleporting Devils excetera were quite Op.

 

[Elfgore]

Topic's in the title.

Let's discuss games we think don't get enough praise.

To name a few, in my opinion.

1. I Am Alive
The game was received well enough by most critics, but it seems to me that if one were to bring up the game, either people wouldn't know about it or hate it for not being like how it was originally promoted. Believe me, I would have loved playing through what I Am Alive was going to be, but as it stands I think that the I Am Alive we got has a creative combat system, incredibly oppressing and effective atmosphere, tense world traversal, and a resource system that actually mattered. I also think that the story is engaging, coming off like a single chapter in a much larger adventure, and it works because of it. The ending is pretty bad though.

3. Alpha Protocal
It receives a lot of praise now when talked about, but the negative reception it got on release was appalling. Combat required patience and planning, the dialog system was divine, and the choices you made carried a massive sense of weight that most other games fail to capture. Boss fights were pretty terrible though, I will accept that.

I Am Alive did look amazing in its original form and I do agree that what we got was still good. I do have a massive complaint about the stamina system though. That really got annoying.

Alpha Protocol I'll agree had an amazing dialogue system and the choices were real... but the combat was terrible. Forced boss fights and boring as hell combat just ruined the game for me. I go in guns blazing, to bad that game decides to make that class fucking useless.

OT: Submarine Titans. A hidden strategy game gem made in 2000. Takes place in a future where the Earth has flooded. Humanity has broken into two factions, the White Sharks and Black Octopi. An alien race known as the Silicon have invaded as well. Amazing combat, easy to learn, and a unique premise. Sadly the game got little to no attention. The wikipedia page is downright pathetic.

 

[Shoggoth2588]

I don't know what the overall sales were but there are a number of Xbox exclusives that kind haven't been seen since at all since the first console. Panzer Dragoon had a digital sequel released for the XBone but what about...

Breakdown
Crimson Skies: High Road to Revenge
Mechassault
Otogi: Myth of Demons (which had one sequel)
Voodoo Vince
Whacked!

and other games from that generation like,

Mace Griffin: Bounty Hunter
Time Splitters
Wario World
XIII

...yeah, I liked those. Haven't seen many new entries for any of those that I know of granted, I started playing Metroid Prime recently and it just seems like a much better Mace Griffin to me. I think it's also a shame that ZombiU won't get a sequel...apparently that's the Ubisoft rhythm; first game promotes the name, second game makes money...third game may or may not happen.

 

[NuclearKangaroo]

Thomas Was Alone- Greatest indie game of all time, next to Super Meat Boy. Stellar narration, music and story.

ewww, personally, i think its one of the most pretentious games ive played

anyways, the klonoa series, particulary, klonoa door to phantomile, the first game

jesus christ was that ending fucking sad

 

[lacktheknack]

Did you know that the Myst series had an MMO in it? A full-on canon, world-hub style adventure game with beautiful (especially in 2004) graphics, challenging adventure-game puzzles, and a bustling social centre to hang out in, and it allowed solo or with-friends gameplay, all currently free?

No?

Didn't think so.

http://mystonline.com/en/

 

[Artaneius]

Drakengard 1-3
Myst Series
BloodRayne
Legacy of Kain Series
Unreal Tournament 3
Breath of Fire 3
True Crime Series
Hydro Thunder
Ultima Series

 

[zombiejoe]

I just remembered another game I just need to mention.

ZombiU
It was ripped apart by critics who thought it was an action game. It is not an action game, it is a survival horror game, and a damn good one at that. Perhaps the best example of scary zombie game in a long while.

 

[BloatedGuppy]

Alpha Protocol had made it on to so many under appreciated lists that it's now over appreciated.

Ultima Series

Certainly today, where few people who gamed before 2000 remember it. In its heyday, however, Ultima was the most critically/popularly acclaimed RPG series on PCs.

 

[zombiejoe]

Alpha Protocol had made it on to so many under appreciated lists that it's now over appreciated.

Like I said, people really praise the game now. I just wish it got a little more love beforehand.

 

[Granfaloon]

Body Harvest for the N64. That game was awesome and definitely a precursor to some of this days favorite series (GTA anyone?). First somewhat open world game I can recall.

 

[FPLOON]

Uh... Catherine?
Fate EXTRA?
The Hyperdimension Neptunia series (before the anime series of the same name)?

I don't think I fully understand what "underapriciated" means...

 

[Drizzitdude]

Topic's in the title.

2. Bioshock 2
Yes, it was not made by the same people as Bioshock 1. Yes, it wasn't as good as Bioshock 1. No, it did not "almost ruin the franchise", and it certainly does not deserve to be forgotten about. Narratively, the game has strong characters (both prominent and secondary), and gives a story that does not directly relate to the first game, but logically expands upon the concepts of the first game to tell its own story. Playing as a Big Daddy brought new additions to how the game played that worked (well enough) and the multiplayer's take on story telling is one of the best examples of multiplayer and story working together that I have seen in recent years. Titanfall could have learned from Bioshock 2.

Yes! I love bioshock 2 and didn't even realize people were giving it shit till after I beat the game. I thought the story was actually fantastic, not as great as the first sure, but something new and the whole concept in influencing you 'daughters' morality through your choices was extremely interesting. Anyway on to my vote.

*Dragon's Dogma: This game had a fast paced action combat system with learnable skills and combos that only expanded on it further, a huge amount of character customization, armor/weapon choice, and classes to chosoe from, it had a huge open world and the giant boss fights against enemies you could scale shadow of the colossus style. Seems like a recipe for success right? Wrong. This game was executed beautifully, but the the reviewers must have only played the first ten minutes (or just not played in depth) of it because the complaints they most harped on were that the game "lacked fast travel" and "had AI companions that wouldn't shut up and often repeated themselves" and this ended up giving the game a 6-7/10. Really?

And here is the absolute worst part, both of those things were wrong. You could literally put your pawn in a dunce stool and tell him to shut the hell up and you unlocked fast travel capabilities the second you got to the capital city about an hour or two in. Absolutely dreadful. Luckily the game seemed to be recieved well in japan at least (where it scored 9/10 and 10/10 for the most part), enough that they are at least considering a sequel to it. If they don't consider an english release because of the bad reception I am going to kick capcoms ass however.

 

[zombiejoe]

Topic's in the title.

2. Bioshock 2
Yes, it was not made by the same people as Bioshock 1. Yes, it wasn't as good as Bioshock 1. No, it did not "almost ruin the franchise", and it certainly does not deserve to be forgotten about. Narratively, the game has strong characters (both prominent and secondary), and gives a story that does not directly relate to the first game, but logically expands upon the concepts of the first game to tell its own story. Playing as a Big Daddy brought new additions to how the game played that worked (well enough) and the multiplayer's take on story telling is one of the best examples of multiplayer and story working together that I have seen in recent years. Titanfall could have learned from Bioshock 2.

Yes! I love bioshock 2 and didn't even realize people were giving it shit till after I beat the game. I thought the story was actually fantastic, not as great as the first sure, but something new and the whole concept in influencing you 'daughters' morality through your choices was extremely interesting. Anyway on to my vote.

*Dragon's Dogma: This game had a fast paced action combat system with learnable skills and combos that only expanded on it further, a huge amount of character customization, armor/weapon choice, and classes to chosoe from, it had a huge open world and the giant boss fights against enemies you could scale shadow of the colossus style. Seems like a recipe for success right? Wrong. This game was executed beautifully, but the the reviewers must have only played the first ten minutes (or just not played in depth) of it because the complaints they most harped on were that the game "lacked fast travel" and "had AI companions that wouldn't shut up and often repeated themselves" and this ended up giving the game a 6-7/10. Really?

And here is the absolute worst part, both of those things were wrong. You could literally put your pawn in a dunce stool and tell him to shut the hell up and you unlocked fast travel capabilities the second you got to the capital city about an hour or two in. Absolutely dreadful. Luckily the game seemed to be recieved well in japan at least (where it scored 9/10 and 10/10 for the most part), enough that they are at least considering a sequel to it. If they don't consider an english release because of the bad reception I am going to kick capcoms ass however.

Oh man, Dragon's Dogma is a gem, simply fantastic.

Despite the lukewarm reviews in the west, the people who played it love it. I know gaming websites that talk about DD every other day.

 

[BobblyDrink]

Spoiler: Yeah this one.

Stubbs the Zombie: Rebel Without a Pulse

Personally thought it was hilarious and some of the best tongue in cheek humor a video game has had. With a bizarre story line that gets nicely brought to a close at the end. Was just an all around great game, maybe with one or two "Eh" parts.

 

[Johnson McGee]

In terms of recent games: Every RTS that isn't Starcraft 2, but Sins of a Solar Empire: Rebellion in particular. Good mechanics, more focus on economy and military composition than clicky-clicky and a great soundtrack.

For older games: The Ogre Battle series. Unique and interesting battle mechanics (for the time), characters that weren't the typical JRPG pretty boys and enough story paths to keep it interesting for a dozen playthroughs.