Underrated Games | Shoulda Been Classics | Your forgotten gems

[BloatedGuppy]

The original System Shock. Always gets overlooked in favour of the more famous sequel.

Yeah the original was actually a ridiculously groundbreaking game. This was true of a lot of stuff Looking Glass did. RIP Looking Glass. =(

http://ttlg.com/articles/lgsclosing.asp

 

[Frankster]

Those vehicle sections are just generic like Uncharted 1 jet ski sections bad. Some of the bosses took so freaking long to kill that it got boring not even halfway through the fight. The shooting while solid and overall good was nothing spectacular especially compared Vanquish, that other robot killing game.

Now that you refreshed my memory...Some bosses really were a bit obnoxious.
Ok maybe I had a slight case of rose tinted glasses there.

And now you've made me sad because I never heard of Vanquish and was crushed to see it's not on pc

 

[happyninja42]

Mark of Kri.

Conan the Barbarian meets Disney cell shading artwork, mixed in some island warrior culture, and a badass narrator. Yes please, I will have a big ass helping of that.

Awesome stealth system, coupled with some gloriously brutal kill animations. Open combat was quick and fun, and made you feel like a total badass. And a great storyline with a rich original culture created for the story. Never get tired of praising this game.

 

[sky pies]

[snip]

Well look buddy I put them on my list because I reckon they don't get what they deserve

GTA 2 is never talked about, hell even GTA 3 is a forgotten prequel to Vice City. I happen to think AoE II is the definitive 2-D RTS experience, but the last time anyone other than me mentioned it on one of these forums? Nuff said. Ditto Homeworld in the 3-D stakes. Ditto pretty much all the other games. I noted Morrowind because everyone focuses on Oblivion and Skyrim - again, the last time anyone mentioned Morrowind as anything other than an old fashioned ancestor? Granted, this is less cut and dry than AoE II and Homeworld - nothing is more cut and dry than AoE II - but I felt it deserved a mention.

You can't tell me Dungeon Seige enjoys the classic status that I insist it deserves. Yeah sure some ridiculous company thought it was worth investing millions into a film and two sequels but that never made anyone say DS was a classic. I just did~

Point is the list was opinion based, and I don't think any of those games get mentioned in the same breath with Ocarina of Time (which itself is not mentioned enough any more) as I believe they should.

Operation Flashpoint was an utterly beautiful, ambitious work of art of a game that was solid and entertaining in it's handling of a genre that almost every game since - read: Op Flash 2 and the ARMA series - have got wrong. It's expansions, Red Hammer and Resistance, were fantastic games in their own right.

Interesting choice. I remember Operation Flashpoint was sort of the grognard version of ARMA. Not really well remembered today, at all. Good call. This is an underrated/forgotten game.

The ARMA series was formed by the makers of Operation Flashpoint after the producer and publisher broke up. I believe it was Bohemia Interactive who went on make the ARMA series. Op Flashpoint came first, ARMA was just an incomplete imitation sorely lacking the steadying influence of Codemasters, as far as I can tell. Operation Flashpoint was a fascinating game which felt disconnected, like you were playing within the scenario editor tool, but despite this felt really fun. What's more, they released Red Hammer and Resistance and a GOTY edition that rendered the entire Op Flash foray into a far more complete and polished experience than any of the ARMA titles.

Sacrifice

Yup!

like Diablo 3

I personally think D2 was the highlight, I got lost in Mephisto's Jungle and have never really returned. That game got ignored because of it's multiplayer function.

EDIT: Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six: Rogue Spear *

 

[FPLOON]

Odama: No, not "Obama" because X-Play already made that joke... Yes, it utilized the GameCube mic in terms of overall gameplay... Yes, the game can get a bit luck-based if you either suck at Pinball or suck at giving out voice commands, even though I won't blame you on the latter since you could literally just say anything and that may or may not make your army do "something", at least... Yes, it's better than Virtua Quest in my opinion, but that's not saying much...

Past me has spoken... but, present me would elaborate to answer your last two questions...

You see, game wants you to control your troops using a mic that you thought was only going to be used for the last two Mario Party games for the GameCube as well as use the Odama (the giant ball in the game) as a pinball only from a more strategic perspective than what you generally would associate with pinball and escort a bell (called the Nintenbell) from one end of the screen to the other all without losing the Odama, having the bell pushed back to you, or losing so much moral that you can't even command your soldiers properly... Did I mention that you do all this under a designated time limit? Anyway, the game's mostly played straight, which gives the game a surreal feel throughout with only a few sections that would make you go "Well, that was weird" in comparison to what is usually presented throughout the game... Also, the game's difficulty is based on both randomness and how well your overall results were in the previous battle... Even if my made sure your moral gauge was filled to the brim and you were able to get enough soldiers passed the open gate before the Nintenbell does, you can still lose the next battle either because you lost too many soldiers to the Odama when it wasn't covered in a green aura, the time limit beat you, or the battle is different enough that it doesn't feel like any of the previous battles that have came before it... In other words, the only consistency is the continuing results of the previous battle going into the next battle...

As to why I feel it's an underrated classic, it's because it takes a premise and does something you would not expect to do with said premise... I mean, when you think of feudal Japan, war, and strategy, "pinball" is not something that would be the first thing that would come to your mind, yet "voice command" might if someone pointed it out to you... Also, despite the game being labeled as a single player game, the game could be played with two people locally with one controlling the controller and the other controlling the mic... Then again, the game's shorter than a typical AAA game with the replay value being moderately low given how random each of the replayed sections could get even if you know how to beat them... In fact, in the game's instruction manual, it even states each of the battles that are in this game as well as how they could be completed, even though there's no in-game screenshots depicting how they can be completed in general...

Overall, it's a game that has a great concept, a mixed execution, and a gameplay method that not everyone would get behind if it were explained to them firsthand... I still enjoy playing it overall, but it's definitely not a game that anyone could get into overall...

 

[PsychicTaco115]

Don't know how "forgotten" it is but Golden Sun I + II will always be classics to me

Most people when they're young play Pokemon and get their love of the series from childhood nostalgia. I didn't play Pokemon, I played Golden Sun so that's where my nostalgia is at

Plus, it's been 5 years since the third game came out which itself was after a 7 year gap

 

[Chester Rabbit]

I would say Syphon Filter but...those weren't hidden gems. Not even a little bit back in their day. Syphon Filter was a pretty big deal. It's just the sands of time have buried the series.

Um...How about Tomba? That kinda counts as a forgotten and sort of hidden gem.

 

[Ugicywapih]

Spoiler: Snippity-snip

I'm also going to say GTA 2 was a classic game.

Widely considered a classic game. Not underrated!

Age of Empires II, and it's expansion, and Homeworld 1 and 2 were all classic RTS games that, although occasionally paid lipservice and HD remakes, are rarely afforded the recognition they deserve as classics.

Both are widely acknowledged as classics, both routinely show up in classic games lists, and both were so well remembered that they were tapped for HD remakes! These games were NOT underrated. Hell, Homeworld borders on overrated at this point.

Travelling into less trodden paths, I think Deus Ex: Human Revolution is the greatest PC game of all time!

Best PC game of all time is a bold statement, but it was both a well regarded/high selling title, and is part of an ongoing series. Not underrated!

Tom Clancy's Rogue Spear was fantastic.

I'll bite, I don't remember this.

The first Dungeon Seige was a wonderful seamless adventure of epic proportions and real challenge.

Spawned two sequels! Sold well! Not underrated! They even made a terrible movie!

Operation Flashpoint was an utterly beautiful, ambitious work of art of a game that was solid and entertaining in it's handling of a genre that almost every game since - read: Op Flash 2 and the ARMA series - have got wrong. It's expansions, Red Hammer and Resistance, were fantastic games in their own right.

Interesting choice. I remember Operation Flashpoint was sort of the grognard version of ARMA. Not really well remembered today, at all. Good call. This is an underrated/forgotten game.

I would happily live on a desert island with Morrowind and it's two expansions.

Oh my word it was a mega-hit then and it was carried on with Oblivion and then Skyrim, the latter of which is the highest selling CRPG in history. NOT UNDERRATED. In fact, Morrowind fans can't shut up about it as the splinter point at which Elder Scrolls games became "too accessible". No Elder Scrolls title can fairly be said to be underrated or forgotten, except MAYBE Arena.

What is your list of games that have, in your mind, been unfairly overlooked by posterity?
Why do you think they were not classics?
Why do you think they should have been classics?

It's a hard call, there are games that were good in their day but eventually completely forgotten, like Magic Candle, or Sentinel Worlds, or The Ancient Art of War. There were games that were seminal, widely hailed classics that have been overlooked by younger gamers, like Ultima Or Wing Commander, Starflight or M.U.L.E...foundation games that could never accurately be called "underrated" but due to a lack of modern incarnations tend to be overlooked when discussing games of historical importance. There were niche/cult games like Sacrifice or Alpha Protocol that carry forward a loud and insistent fanbase but never got a followup. There were games considered under-appreciated in their day that have gone on to become almost over-appreciated in hindsight, like the aforementioned Homeworld, or Planescape Torment, or the original Deus Ex. And then there are games that are just straight up underrated for issues that have little to do with their quality, like Diablo 3, or a variety of MMOs.

I cannot, off hand, think of a game that was at once underrated, forgotten, AND "should have been a classic".

Fort Apocalypse, Raid on Bungeling Bay (Commodore 64) - amazingly deep considering how small the files were back then.

Raid on Bungling Bay! I played that! Greetings, fellow old person.

Okay okay okay wait OP, I have one.

I'm going to go with Worlds of Ultima: Martian Dreams. The "Worlds" spin-off series never got the acclaim that the core series, Ultima Underworld, or Ultima Online got...they were considered too esoteric for mass consumption. Unlike the campy-as-fuck Savage Empire, Martian Dreams actually had some pretty unique/original concepts banging around under the hood. It's SUPER forgotten, and should probably be considered a classic based on pure originality if nothing else.

http://www.gog.com/game/ultima_worlds_of_adventure_2_martian_dreams

I'll agree some of the games mentioned, while good, are not exactly forgotten or underrated.

Far as the games I'd mention...

Nox - a hack and slash released about the same time as Diablo 2, got totally dominated by Blizzard's juggernaut of the genre. Too bad, while the story was simplistic, it was also enjoyable and the spell system had some very interesting ideas, like setting magical traps, that could contain any spells you wanted to put into them.

Caesar 3 - arguably the best entry in a classic city builder series, but it seems to hardly ever get any mention nowadays...

Destruction Derby was just plain fun IMO, I've never really gotten into racing games, but having one where brutally pancaking your enemies is a valid strategy speaks to me, somehow.

Archon was an AWESOME idea, I'd love to see something like that done today. I've heard there's some "augmented chess" WH40K game called Regicide, anyone know if it's anything like that?

I believe Giants: Citizen Kabuto still has a small, but fairly rabid fanbase and not without good reason. It's a game where one of the protagonists you're playing is basically a kaiju, and it makes sense and manages to provide a challenge.

Pretty much anything made by Troika was solid gold, except arguably for ToEE (which was still very good IMO, just bugged to all Hell and then some)

Many classic RPGs like most of the Might and Magic or Wizardry series seem all but forgotten nowadays too...

I could prolly muster half a dozen more titles, but it's way past my bedtime so I'll just bugger off to bed now. But TBH, it looks like the game getting popular is at least as much a matter of its marketing as it is of its quality.

 

[Shoggoth2588]

What's the first thing that comes to mind when I mention From Software? 10 out of 10 of your will says something that involves the word "Souls" but what comes to MY mind is an exclusive Xbox game called Otogi: Myth of Demons. In Otogi, you travel through a variety of huge levels where you must defeat demons and yokai to purify the land. You also purify the land by breaking literally everything in the hope of releasing a trapped soul. Otogi features a number of huge and imaginative bosses and everything about it oozes Japan. Some may say it's violently Japanese.

I wanted to post a video but the trailers seem to be made up of alpha and beta footage...there are lets-plays but the lets-players annoy me. Sorry...

Another game I really like that gets left by the wayside is Batman Returns. When people think about Konami Beat-em-ups the first thought is usually either X-Men or TMNT. Then your mind gets flooded by torrents of nostalgia and loathing because dammit, Konami used the be one of the best developers...anyway, Batman Returns was a side-scrolling beat-em-up on the NES and SNES. The NES version is much harder but even by the standards Konami set back then, it seems like Batman Returns on the SNES is harder than other SNES/Arcade beat-em-ups Konami released back in the 90's. It's a ton of fun though...like Konami used to be...

 

[Muspelheim]

Operation Flashpoint really do deserve its place as a classic. It's damn good, and holds up very well for being 14 years old.
I disagree about the ArmA-series, however. Each has been (to me) an improvement on the original OFP. It's honestly the same game, more or less, but with more stuff and a better coat of paint.
The only thing I feel is worse is that they keep moving away from OFP's basic Boots on the Ground-experience to focus more on elite forces, spec-ops and loads of new army-toys.

To contribute to the thread, I've always felt that Heroes of Might & Magic II has ended up stuck in the shadow of III. It's a shame, because it was a pretty damn good game. Mainly because it was so clear and readable. Not a slight against III, but it needed those big and stable shoulders to stand on.

 

[Souplex]

Boktai was a delightful game with novel mechanics.
Instead Kojima wastes his time on obnoxious stealth games.

 

[Xeros]

I would say Syphon Filter but...those weren't hidden gems. Not even a little bit back in their day. Syphon Filter was a pretty big deal. It's just the sands of time have buried the series.

Came here to say Syphon Filter, but I have to concede. I even remember seeing the

Spoiler: commercial for Syphon Filter 2.

Still, I wish they got more recognition these days.

OT: Instead I'll throw Freedom Fighters into the fray. The way the objectives weaved the levels and level design together was wonderful, and gave each area so much life. Couple that with some of the funnest third-person shooting and squad management, and you've got a great game ...that no one I know ever heard of.

 

[MetalShadowChaos]

E.Y.E Divine Cybermancy. I was reminded of it by a recent Daft Souls when Joe Skrebels brought it up briefly, and like every time I'm reminded of it I'm reminded of how amazingly bemusing and bemusingly amazing it is. It's most commonly remembered as the game where you can hack anything, and get hacked by anything, which most people find out in the first area where you have to hack a door and it will most likely hack you in return.

It's a fascinating game for the reason that it seems to be designed in order to be as obtuse as possible in every regard. It feels like deliberate effort is made to make things harder to understand than the should be. But then if you actually manage to get your head around the stats, augments, weapons, characters, story and level design, it STILL manages to confuse you with weird existential plot twists and confusing late-game unlockable powers.

I've gotten into a habit of buying copies whenever it goes on sale, and gifting them to everyone whenever I get the chance. It's a brilliant gift to give, for the bemusement of people trying to comprehend it. It often goes as low as 70p, and I really recommend checking it out.

 

[The Wykydtron]

I feel like for all the other good Visual Novels that get mentioned in the good old recommendation threads (Grisaia, Saya No Uta, Monster Girl Quest etc etc) I never see anyone but myself talk about Comyu and whenever someone does recognise it they don't really have a super positive impression of it when I ask them.

For me, it's the perfect example of how to write a dark story. None of this grimdark stuff where everything is super depressing all the time and it looks like nothing the main character can do will improve this shitbag of a world so why even fuckin' try (looking at you Witcher 2) and none of the crap pulled in some stuff like Clannad Afterstory, where they just pile despair arbitrarily onto characters the audience has grown to love for the most artificial "feels" moments in the world.

Comyu keeps things on the edge, there's plenty of good comedy, thrilling action scenes featuring giant metallic dragons beating each other up and some pretty interesting philosophy concepts (if really heavy handedly implemented but at least it's consistent) but people do die, fucked up shit happens but all of it feels necessary for the plot. Each death fulfils a purpose. There's no random ass murders or rapes just there for its own sake, or for lazy world building. There's forever a feeling that yes, things are bad but MAYBE we can make things better. That is my measure of a good dark story. There needs to be some light to balance it out otherwise it's just too depressing to play. Remember that one Jimquistion a while back? Yeah. That.

Also I adore Akihito (Akito? Translators pls) as the main character. He's freaking cool yet kinda incompetent, a little bit anyway.

Finally, Kagome is Based Girl and god damn you Akatsuki Works for locking her route behind 4 other routes as the True Ending. A move that had to have been done for plot twist reasons but damn if Saejima's Route didn't make me want to kill myself...

In addendum, Umineko Naku Koro Ni is probably the most intelligent piece of fiction I have ever seen. I don't know if it's usually on a classics list but it has my vote.

 

[Chaos Isaac]

Skies of Arcadia.
And as someone mentioned, Jedi Academy.

I mean, this multiplayer could easily be whored out with another sequel basically that's only multiplayer and be amazing. I wouldn't even have a problem with it, 'cause it's awesome.

Golden Sun was sweet, as said before.

 

[immortalfrieza]

Star Wars The Force Unleashed. Not only did it have a great story, but it's a game where the combat, controls, and animations had finally advanced to the point that a game could have Force Users be the massively powerful near unstoppable badasses they really have been presented as very inconsistently throughout the rest of the Star Wars franchise. It made the controls, combat, and animations of even the Jedi Knight series look like crap in comparison. The only real issue with it was it was too short, about a 10-12 hour game depending on if you'd take your time getting collectables. The sequel improved the combat a bit but the story wasn't as good and it was even short, it was overall a step back but it served well enough.

 

[Imperioratorex Caprae]

Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six: Rogue Spear was fantastic.

I'll second Rogue Spear myself. Love the hell out of this game and it was one of the first deathmatch games that wasn't just a run'n'gun type like Quake, DOOM, DN3D, ROTT, etc. It also had a ton of mods back in its era that enhanced gameplay and added some great weapons and other things. I remember too having a DEagle mod that actually got the muzzle flare right. Scared the crap out of one of my friends playing it when I charged through the door emptying the clip. It also used my surround-enabled Soundblaster so well that I could have sworn I was really being shot at the first time I was up in a sniper's nest and someone took a potshot at me. I hit the deck and was found under my desk by friends when I wouldn't respond... I've been under fire before and it was damn close enough to trigger the response and shock.

 

[sky pies]

Golden Sun I + II will always be classics to me

Yes and yes! Oh man, those were by far the best things on my GBA. It seemed like I was playing a whole other console when I played those games.

Caesar 3 - arguably the best entry in a classic city builder series, but it seems to hardly ever get any mention nowadays...

Oh man, to this day I am still prone to playing multi-month binges of Caesar 3. I have to say I think Rise of the Middle Kingdom is the nicest game to play because it's so serene lol but C3 is undoubtedly the greatest.

 

[Chester Rabbit]

OT: Instead I'll throw Freedom Fighters into the fray. The way the objectives weaved the levels and level design together was wonderful, and gave each area so much life. Couple that with some of the funnest third-person shooting and squad management, and you've got a great game ...that no one I know ever heard of.

Misch! It was Misch!

Funny thing. Up until last week...I thought it was Mercenaries I owned and didn't realize I was getting titles confused. Always thought it was weird that my copy didn't have that guy with the mohawk and beard on the cover...