Shorty's favorite under-appreciated titles.

shortylickens

No Lifer
Jul 15, 2003
80,287
17,080
136
When I say under-appreciated I mean good but not popular. Not controversial stuff like Starcraft 2.
Doesn't have to be completely unknown either, could be stuff thats famous for not selling well, even though it was good.


-RPG-

Anachronox.
Fun, funny, good combat system (once you get used to it) and a genuinely interesting, deep world to explore. It was the 2nd game Ion Storm made, after Deus Ex (or maybe it was before Deus Ex). Did not get much attention at the time cuz it used the Quake 2 engine which was already considered old compared to better stuff like Half Life and Unreal.

Septerra Core.
As per others suggestions, this really needs to be on the list.

-RTS-
Z.
Fast fun action and genuine strategy, but it was overshadowed by Warcraft 2 and all the C&C titles. A good challenge too, difficulty ramped up slightly. Reasonably funny, but you would never see most of the cinematics unless you were an excellent player.

-TBS-
While I am of the opinion the whole genre is under-appreciated, even within this group some titles get pushed aside. Heroes of Might and Magic gets loads of attention, as does Kings Bounty, but little indie stuff from Strategy First gets ignored.

Disciples 2.
An excellent TBS action and surprisingly deep, but most people never get passed the 2D appearance to appreciate it.

4X games almost deserve their own category but I think those of us who appreciate such things do a good job keeping up to date.

-FPS-
Many folks dont remember or never played Marathon, and I think thats a darn shame.

-Sports-
Thanks to EA's monopoly I dont think under-appreciated is the problem here. More like overhyped. If anyone has suggestions I'd love to hear them. I think Tiger Woods 2004 was unloved on Windows, but thats just me.

-Racing-
Now separate from sports as they have earned the right to call themselves a distinct genre.
TDU came and went pretty fast on the Xbox and was virtually ignored on Windows, but it was actually a crapload of fun. True to its namesake you could walk into any dealership at any point in the game and test drive ANY car on display, even stuff that was not actually available for sale. You could also rent a variety of vehicles to compete in events when you could not yet afford to pay for them fully, or didnt feel like adding them to your permanent collection just to use in one or two races.
A ton of vehicles to select from, including more in a little known expansion, and they didnt waste too much time with anything besides racing and making money. Also, you could run around a very beautiful rendering of Hawaii if you were bored but didnt want to compete. There were houses, but mostly those were just places to park your cars. The clothes buying was mostly optional, but you did have to get some things for completion points. TDU 2 milked this concept of not racing in a racing game to death and probably killed the franchise, which is a darn shame.


-Platform-
Since the reawakening of platformers (thanks mostly to Steam) I dont believe any one game has gone under-appreciated, but you guys are welcome to suggest something.
Theres was a game way back in the DOS days called Vengeance on Talos IV that was basically a Super metroid clone. I cant find it now. In fact I wouldnt be surprised if it got the company sued.

-Puzzle-
Same thing, they seem to get the recognition they deserved, but I am open to suggestions.



For you guys:

-RPG-

-RTS-

-TBS-

-FPS-

-Sports-

-Racing-

-Platform-

-Puzzle-
 
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Craig234

Lifer
May 1, 2006
38,548
350
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I've thought of a thread like this. I don't have the games handy to do it justice but will mention a few. Interesting picks, I'll check some out.

Genres to add: Adventure, MMO, casual

-RPG-
None really come to mind. I'll plug Legends of Grimrock which is barely an RPG, it's puzzle.

Arx Fatalis? Divine Divinity? Risen?

-RTS-
At the time - Uprising/Uprising 2 were pretty neat, probably very dated now.

Games like Sacrifice and Perimeter tried to do interesting things, but can't recommend strongly.

For obscure games - anyone remember Warwind from SGI?

-TBS-

ROGUE! No one plays it now, but should.

Warlords Battlecry games were just fun, but again dated

-FPS-

Not my genre.

-Sports-

Strongly not my genre.

-Racing-

Burnout: Paradise, just a great game with difference environments to explore.

-Platform-

Limbo?

-Puzzle-

Heaven & Earth, only came on floppies from Buena Vista (Disney), best puzzle game ever.

__________________
 

shortylickens

No Lifer
Jul 15, 2003
80,287
17,080
136
Sacrifice definitely qualifies, not nearly enough people played that one.

Limbo not so much, its very popular on Steam.
 

Ricochet

Diamond Member
Oct 31, 1999
6,390
19
81
Sacrifice was one of my favorite games ever. Played through it at least 10x. The replayability for it was simply unmatched. Never did get a Persephone ending though. Regardless whether I chose Persephone or James (Earth Worm Jim), the ending always went to James. Was that intentional by Shiny or a glitch? Your main character's voice actor also has a big role in Metal Gear Solid series. Oh, and Warcraft 3 ending was an intentional copy of Sacrifice. Homage/inspiration or so many of the same talents went to Blizzard?

Not many people played Marathon because many PC gamers did not game on Macs. Is Halo considered a spiritual successor to Marathon? Would love to see an updated version of Marathon for 360/PC.
 

DaveSimmons

Elite Member
Aug 12, 2001
40,730
670
126
RPG: Vampire the Masquerade: Bloodlines.

People here and at ArsTechnica know about it, but it bombed at release and only has a cult following.

It's at the top of my list of games that deserve a graphics upgrade, but still looks pretty good running on version 1 of the Source engine.
 

Craig234

Lifer
May 1, 2006
38,548
350
126
Another category could be arcade games, and I'd put the ricochet series on that list - great breakout games that seems to get little attention.
 

Maximilian

Lifer
Feb 8, 2004
12,604
15
81
RTS: Earth 2150
Design your own units
Put freakin guns/shields/a flag/whatever on your buildings... or dont! The AI can do it for you to help out.
Dig underground tunnels and fight underground.
This game was epic for its time. Simple enough to play too.

TBS: Alpha centauri
I dunno if it deserves to be here because to be fair its always been appreciated by quite a few, its just always been overshadowed by the civ series.

FPS: Giants citizen kabuto
Funny, fun, great game! Multiplayer on gamespy was a laugh too, playing "hide the helipad" from your team so you were the only one who could get a gyrocopter :)
 

Maximilian

Lifer
Feb 8, 2004
12,604
15
81
-RTS-
Z.
Fast fun action and genuine strategy, but it was overshadowed by Warcraft 2 and all the C&C titles. A good challenge too, difficulty ramped up slightly. Reasonably funny, but you would never see most of the cinematics unless you were an excellent player.

I don't remember playing that game but i knew it was about robots... i played the demo of the sequel they brought out.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Z:_Steel_Soldiers

Who remembers demos? :awe: Today they are called "open betas".
 

AlexAL

Senior member
Jan 23, 2008
643
0
76
RPG: Vampire the Masquerade: Bloodlines.

People here and at ArsTechnica know about it, but it bombed at release and only has a cult following.

It's at the top of my list of games that deserve a graphics upgrade, but still looks pretty good running on version 1 of the Source engine.

There are about 3 (i think) quite thorough mods for this, and they address graphics to some extent.
 

you2

Diamond Member
Apr 2, 2002
6,097
1,204
126
Most of the games I like are unfortunately well known but still I'll mention a few:
-RPG-
divine divinity 2; this game was a total bomb when it came out yet I thought it was one of the best game of the year (better than dragon age 1)
-RTS-
tough one havne't played any recently
-TBS-
silent storm; had hope they would continue the series.
-FPS-
farcry 1 is still my favorite
-Sports-
don't play
-Racing-
don't play
-Platform-
don't play
-Puzzle-
 

DaveSimmons

Elite Member
Aug 12, 2001
40,730
670
126
(Vampire TMB): There are about 3 (i think) quite thorough mods for this, and they address graphics to some extent.

The fan patches (Wesp and Tessera) fix a zillion bugs and Wesp offers a bunch of game changes, but the patches only fix a textures bug where they were broken under Windows Vista-7-8.

AFAIK there is no finished hires texture pack, let alone a finished port to a newer version of Source. Feel free to correct me if I'm wrong about that.
 

clok1966

Golden Member
Jul 6, 2004
1,395
13
76
RTS: KOHAN

getting some press right now as the studio that did it was part of the new Aliens game meltdown. But if you have never played Kohan or (and yes it had a 2nd game) Kohan II you should check um out. Both are on Steam. The 2nd one is the better, but both are excellent. Civ like resources, and you can build your own unit sets (units are groups, not singel units) and you can level them.. so a good players ability shows.
 

ControlD

Diamond Member
Apr 25, 2005
5,440
44
91
I'm not sure exactly what category to put this one in (action / RPG), but how about Outcast? I think it has gotten a little more love since GoG released it, but I had never heard of the game and found it in the bargain bin at Sun (remember that place?). It is still a good game today if you can live with the Voxel graphics.
 

PhatoseAlpha

Platinum Member
Apr 10, 2005
2,131
21
81
Sacrifice was one of my favorite games ever. Played through it at least 10x. The replayability for it was simply unmatched. Never did get a Persephone ending though. Regardless whether I chose Persephone or James (Earth Worm Jim), the ending always went to James. Was that intentional by Shiny or a glitch?

Pretty sure that was intentional - at the end of Persephone's last mission, Eldred mentions that his contact with Persephone wasn't restored upon his victory. General implication is that Marduk got her while you were away.
 

SMOGZINN

Lifer
Jun 17, 2005
14,225
4,461
136
RTS (Kinda) - Harpoon

It a lot of ways is more of a simulation game then a RTS, but it was a very fun game for navel history buffs.
 

Zenoth

Diamond Member
Jan 29, 2005
5,198
203
106
In similar threads the one title that often automatically comes to my mind for the FPS genre is Dark Messiah of Might and Magic (2006). It received mixed reviews, some praising it, many under-rating it (in my opinion), and some literally bashing it. It was more "popular" (word might be too generous) in Europe, less so in North America. The first time I played it I actually did not really liked it (didn't "hate" it either though). I thought it was kinda "meh" (and couldn't get used to the "awkward" combat) but I kept playing and after maybe 3+ hours on my game's progression and more patience towards the controls and combat system it got much more interesting. I eventually completed it after days of non-stop play sessions during which I couldn't be bothered playing anything else.

I completed it two times to this day and enjoyed both play through. The last time I finished it was about two years ago. I will probably complete it again in the future (this year maybe).

As far as RTS goes I got two in mind...

The first one that I'm not actually sure about concerning its popularity at the time (since I actually first played it on the PS1 and then bought it about two years later for the PC) is Warzone 2100. So I don't know how it went on release and the following months for the PC when it was new, but on the PS1 it wasn't exactly "popular". It surely did better on the PC due to the keyboard + mouse controls, and maybe the graphics. But anyway I absolutely adored that game back then.

The second one is Star Wars: Empire at War. It was actually well advertised and I remember it being quite appreciated during some E3 expo, can't recall which one, but when they showed the whole "Space + Planetary Surface RTS" features the reactions were positive. I think that at release it did relatively well, but it "died" very fast, and here I'm mostly referring to its multi-player component which I desperately tried to enjoy but could barely find anyone. The expansion pack Forces of Corruption helped rejuvenate some interests and attention around it for a time... it lasted maybe a month or two in the media at the time... then silence, and again on-line was weak and barely active. But I really liked both of them (original + expansion) and still occasionally play it to this day. Although the game was (is still) quite mod-friendly, and I did install a few mods for it. That might explain why it died on-line quickly, since perhaps many ended up modifying it and couldn't play on-line as the vanilla version anymore.

Anyway yeah, I could type a novel about under-rated/appreciated games but I'll stop right here for now. I'm sure lots of people will come up with titles I might have mentioned (and it's been the case already with Outcast from a post above).
 
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CPA

Elite Member
Nov 19, 2001
30,322
4
0
RTS:

Age of Mythology. Still gets bashed by some when you bring the game up, but what other game do you have set your plebs to pray to the Gods for powers? lol.

Also, SimGolf was excellent and different. Probably Sid Meier's biggest sales dud, but I think it's more to do with the niche of the game not the gameplay itself.

Last underappreciated RTS: Blitzkreig - what I consider the pre-cursor to Company of Heroes
 

clok1966

Golden Member
Jul 6, 2004
1,395
13
76
RTS:

Age of Mythology. Still gets bashed by some when you bring the game up, but what other game do you have set your plebs to pray to the Gods for powers? lol.


Last underappreciated RTS: Blitzkreig - what I consider the pre-cursor to Company of Heroes


Just played through AOM a few months back again.. excellent game.

Blitzkrieg.. why oh why wont it run on WIN7 :( never played it when it was released.. but was a huge fan of CODE NAME PANZERS (the two where often mixed up) but neither run on win7 for me..
 

Maximilian

Lifer
Feb 8, 2004
12,604
15
81
The second one is Star Wars: Empire at War. It was actually well advertised and I remember it being quite appreciated during some E3 expo, can't recall which one, but when they showed the whole "Space + Planetary Surface RTS" features the reactions were positive. I think that at release it did relatively well, but it "died" very fast, and here I'm mostly referring to its multi-player component which I desperately tried to enjoy but could barely find anyone. The expansion pack Forces of Corruption helped rejuvenate some interests and attention around it for a time... it lasted maybe a month or two in the media at the time... then silence, and again on-line was weak and barely active. But I really liked both of them (original + expansion) and still occasionally play it to this day. Although the game was (is still) quite mod-friendly, and I did install a few mods for it. That might explain why it died on-line quickly, since perhaps many ended up modifying it and couldn't play on-line as the vanilla version anymore.

Anyway yeah, I could type a novel about under-rated/appreciated games but I'll stop right here for now. I'm sure lots of people will come up with titles I might have mentioned (and it's been the case already with Outcast from a post above).

I went into that game expecting something like imperium galactica II, but it was just too watered down and restrictive. IMO sins of a solar empire delivered where empire at war failed.
 

ThinClient

Diamond Member
Jan 28, 2013
3,977
4
0
RPG: Vampire the Masquerade: Bloodlines.

People here and at ArsTechnica know about it, but it bombed at release and only has a cult following.

It's at the top of my list of games that deserve a graphics upgrade, but still looks pretty good running on version 1 of the Source engine.

It bombed because the game was released before it was ready. To give you an idea, it was released using the HL2 engine -but released before HL2 was released. That's how fast it was built and shat onto the market.

There's a big community patch that fixes everything, transforming the game into the game it should have been at release.

Bloodlines is in my top 5 games ever.