Underrated & Overlooked

[TornadoCreator]

I thought this would be a good way to share video games that people may otherwise overlook completely. Basically it's just this, name a game you feel is really overlooked and explain what's good about it. With luck we'll all find some great new games to play. Let's keep it to one game per post, so there's more focus on each game.

 

So, here's my first Splatterhouse (2010) for PS3/Xbox 360.

 

Given terrible reviews this game was panned and really didn't deserve it. It's a solid 3D Brawler that actually pulls off style over substance, whilst still maintaining enough substantive gameplay to stay challenging and fun. The art direction and plot evoke traditional eighties slasher flicks combining them with a hyper-masculine power fantasy, whilst still grounding the player in relateable goals. The theme of being on the edge of control is well reinforced and keeps the pacing up, and is well conveyed though great voice acting and witty dialogue. Level design is competent and reinforces the style of the game. The control and gameplay are responsive and balanced but nothing special for those seeking mastery of the game. Those who want to play for a sense of mastery would be far happier with games that emphasise skill such as Devil May Cry or Ninja Gaiden, Splatterhouse isn't trying to be so complex, and while not without challenge this emphasis on spectacle allows it to forgo the frustration often present in such games. Really this game is just a delivery system for it's horror styled motif and power fantasy experience and in that respect it's a clear success. If you enjoy abnegation in gameplay, sensory overload, and the tounge-in-cheek stylings of eighties horror you'll have fun here. Definitely worth picking up especially as it's often found online for less than £10, which is a fantastic price,

 

Hopefully this was useful and I look forward to seeing some recommendations from everyone else.

[Alex Heat]

I don't regret my purchase of Splatterhouse one bit.  Listening to Jim Cummings just mess around as the Terror Mask was great.  It's a shame that Namco pretty much sabotaged its development though.

 

One games that I always think of as being underrated (or at least rather unfairly lamblasted) is the 2009 Bionic Commando.

 

I get that every other game with a grapplin' n' swingin' mechanic (which is to say, Spider-Man games) was all about a big open world to fuck around in and when it didn't provide that, people were a bunch of whiny ass babies nonplussed.  That said, the act of actually swinging around?  Fun as hell.

 

 

And yes, the bit about bionics being made from the bodies (and souls?) of a loved one was kind of silly and out of left field, but ultimately didn't bother me. I actually thought it was an interesting enough idea.

 

[danielpholt]

Binary Domain.

 

No one played this game, but its a fairly enjoying 3rd person shooter with an interesting, if a little overdone central premise. Should be fairly cheap by now, so I certainly recommend picking it up. Also it's got a French speaking Robot in it that speaks English. 

[Alex Heat]

I loved Binary Domain so much that I bought it THREE times.

 

Although buying the Japanese version was a complete accident.

[TheRevanchist]

Ms. Pacman. Though Pacman was the first, this gem came out a few years later with few additions. Mainly, the bow on top of Pacman's head (I kid). There was a few extra fruits added to this version, as well.

 

The creators of Ms Pacman also added in, on the Atari version, the option to change the number of ghosts you can play against. So, for those who could never play more than a couple of minutes on the arcade versions, the game could be played for hours on just one ghost.

 

Yes, I am old.

[Hot Heart]

Really should finish my 'Lost Gems of Last Gen' article...

 

Spider-Man: Web of Shadows. Nails the mechanical aspects of Spider-Man unlike any other game (Spider-Man 2 had swinging AND THAT WAS IT) and is pretty fun to boot. You can go from mid-air battles to street level to fighting on the side of a building with fantastic ease. You can actually swing straight into enemies and boot them off into the distance, which is all I've ever wanted from a Spider-Man game. The QTEs suck (but are quite comical) and the voice-acting and writing are hit and miss but the overall story is somewhat interesting. Plus, Tricia Helfer as Black Cat. MEOW!

 

Alpha Protocol. Kinda tricky and finicky for the entire first section but stick with it (and go for a pistols and stealth build) and there's a lot to love. Your decisions in missions, intel purchases and conversations, have an impact, both big and small, on how the story plays out and all the connections between the various characters (you'll never get all the background info in one playthrough). It has a neat conversation system, before the Walking Dead games adapted it somewhat.

 

Plus, you can make a guy with a great big bushy beard!

 

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows. Probably best to go for the PC version if you do decide to give it a go, as that seems to have the fewest glitches.

 

Anyway, this is a game by developers who clearly love the franchise and had some neat ideas, but not enough time to fully deliver on them (probably how most 'flawed but fun' games occur). What you get for a reasonably low price (I'd say at least 50% off is the time to bite) is a fun little beat-em-up that somewhat apes the Arkham games but tries to add a little more variety to the proceedings. This isn't always achieved successfully, and the actual 'cadence' of the combat is a slower one, with very deliberate timing required, so it can feel clunky until you become accustomed to it. Each turtle has dozens of unique animations and all play very differently, so it provides a great deal of variety. You've got a story mode, a training dojo, a challenge mode and even a sidescrolling arcade mode that helps the combat shine even more in certain ways (and allows for four player local co-op like the olden days).

[Alex Heat]

Alpha Protocol was one of the other games I was going to mention, but I couldn't think of a way to articulate my thoughts beyond 'Does some things Mass Effect does, but better, but also gets ragged on because of some bugs and texture pop-ins (boo hoo!)'.

[staySICK]

http://www.vg247.com/2014/06/26/the-28-most-underrated-games-of-the-last-console-generation/

 

This list is pretty spot on.

 

Bulletstorm.  A thousand times Bulletstorm.

[TornadoCreator]

http://www.vg247.com/2014/06/26/the-28-most-underrated-games-of-the-last-console-generation/

 

This list is pretty spot on.

 

Bulletstorm.  A thousand times Bulletstorm.

 

Great article, I've only played about half of these games but the ones I did play where far better than people said.

[deanb]

Bulletstorm I feel is less overlooked these days. Certainly a lot of people seemed pissed it would die alongside GFWL (Which obviously hasn't yet come to pass). Certainly a game I champion for the sub-£5 "go on, give it a go, it's fucking fun".

 

As for the list, kinda confused on Dawn of War 2 being there. As it stands just shy of half the folks I have on Steam have it.

 

Lost Odyssey is certainly a game I lament not being able to play any more. I guess one day I could try and track down someone I know with a 360, or maybe see if one goes dirt cheap one day. It felt very much how 7th gen FF should have been done, rather than what we got with FFXIII.

 

Brutal Legend is one that didn't really tickle me in the right spots, but I can get behind it. Some of the mechanics were a bit funky, but I think it took the premise and really ran with it. Fucking amazing VA cast as well. What other game has Ozzy Osbourne selling you car parts?

 

I don't really have much to add myself, I'd be the first to add I tend to be pretty mainstream in a lot of things. If I play something non-mainstream it tends to be a bit of a fluke. I guess looking through my list of played games, I could thrown out the Wolverine Origins game. The film gives it a bad rap, but it's one of my first games where I was all "hell yeah, now this is next gen shit!" with his body all being flayed off and regrowing. Some annoying mini-boss fights, but overall good fun.

[TCP]

3D Dot Game Heroes. It was so good! But so hard It's been on my list to try again with for years. I'd love a Vita port or a PS4 version with remote play. I still remember it coming out within the same week as Red Dead Redemption and Super Mario Galaxy 2.

[TornadoCreator]

Couldn't agree more there Deanb, Lost Odyssey is quite literally the only reason I still own an Xbox 360. I used to be an Xbox gamer... picked it over the PS2 for the superior multiplats, Bioware RPGs and SEGA support, then I went to the Xbox 360 with Lost Odyssey and Mass Effect being exclusives. Now, with PS3 having the Mass Effect series, Lost Odyssey is the only game on 360 that matters to me. I got Bayonetta on 360 because the PS3 version had terrible framerate issues and glitchy textures, but with the Wii U version coming out with added extras even that game won't matter. I swear I bought Gears Of War for the 360 just so Lost Odyssey wouldn't get lonely.

 

...pity really, the Xbox brand started so strong but now it's pretty much dirt. PS3 has won me over and I will eventually get a PS4, once they stop releasing the games cross-gen that is. It just seems silly to buy a PS4 if exactly the same game is coming to PS3 with the only difference being it runs 720p at 30fps instead of 1080p at 60fps. I really don't care about graphical clarity that much. Let's face it; The Last Of Us, Grand Theft Auto V, Tomb Raider, Watch Dogs, Dragon Age: Inquisition, The Evil Within, Metal Gear Sold V, Assassin's Creed IV, Aliens: Isolation and Mad Max... these are all PS4 games I'm interested in playing, none of which I've played (some have yet to release obviously), and every single one is also getting a PS3 release. This generation isn't transitioning and for me, without Final Fantasy XV, Uncharted 4, and Batman: Arkham Knight which aren't getting PS3 versions (and none of them will see a release before 2015); I see absolutely no reason to upgrade. ...well that was a massive tangent.

Edited July 7, 2014 by TornadoCreator

[Vecha]

I just want to say....ALPHA PROTOCOL. It has some flaws, but did the whole, "your choices matter!" run down a fuck ton better than mass effect(loved me some Mass Effect too).


Also, TC. Get a ps4. Stat. If you need help with a covert op to steal one, I'm game.(kidding. It is best to wait for 2015/16)

 

Edited July 7, 2014 by Vecha

[TornadoCreator]

I just want to say....ALPHA PROTOCOL. It has some flaws, but did the whole, "your choices matter!" run down a fuck ton better than mass effect(loved me some Mass Effect too).

 

 

Also, TC. Get a ps4. Stat. If you need help with a covert op to steal one, I'm game.(kidding. It is best to wait for 2015/16)

 

 

Never played Alpha Protocol, I heard bad things about it, both onlline and from my old roommate at the time. That said I'm always cautious of review scores, especially if there's 'outrage' over something.

 

A good friend of mine is planning to get a PS4 in November so I'll see it in action then but I won't be getting one till 2016 at the earliest. I want a new camcorder and editing PC first and I already have plenty of consoles.

[TheRevanchist]

AP was buggy, but a great storyline RPG, kinda nice that it was cloak and dagger. The outrage was the bugs, which seems to be a signature of brilliant Obsidian games.

[Hot Heart]

Lost Odyssey was another on my list, but didn't want to overload in one post. Really great JRPG from one of the original Final Fantasy creators. Trims all the fat off the grindathon template and introduces some interesting tactical considerations that trump levelling up a bunch.

 

Also, it has the greatest game advert of all time. OF ALL TIME.

 

Also ALSO. Even without playing the game, you totally need to 'experience' the fantastic collection of short stories inside the game. You're robbed of the significant contexts in which you discover them as you play, but that's no biggie. You will cry manly tears.

 

Here's the playlist.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LSQ6nCiq5jY&list=PL4FE03279FA2A0C42

[Strangelove]

Fear Effect & Fear Effect 2: Retro Helix

 

The first game is amazing. To this day it's still the creepiest game Ive ever played. It has no jump scares whatsoever, but the atmosphere is incredible. It makes me really uneasy playing it. Its also one of the few games that is about chinese mythology. It was also the first game I played where bad shit happened to all the playable characters. I wasnt used to shit happening to the characters I played as, not in a permanent way anyways. The voice overs are also really great for it's time, right next to MGS1. The games comes on 4 discs each because the backgrounds are fully animated fmvs, so the game still looks pretty good.

It basically plays like RE, but with a bit better movement. It has tank controls, but you can roll and duck to avoid getting hurt. The health meter is also different. There aren't any health packs, the only way to get health is by killing people or finding a save point. The game also has puzzle that are actually more similar to Silent Hill than RE. Some take a bit of effort.

 

Sadly, theyre not on PSN in the US, but I just found out they are on PSN in the EU PSN store. Im so fucking jealous. I cant even play them on a PSP with CFW because the disc switching is iffy. The only option we have in the US is to own the original PS1 discs, which I do. Id love to play them on my Vita though. They came out over a year ago in EU, so Im not holding my breath for them to come over here.

[danielpholt]

I want to talk to you all about a game called ZombiU. It was a WiiU Launch Title (haha, I know right..Wii U), but it totally grabbed me and wouldn't let me go. I know its not the prettiest game in the world, and it's gameplay can be a little tedious at times, but it might be my favourite 'Zombie' game of all time. I had a ball with it and unfortunately it looks set to die a lonely death on the back of poor WiiU sales. If they offered me a 2nd chance to play that game as new, I'd jump at it.

[TornadoCreator]

I'm not a fan of either Zombies in games (so very overdone), or first person perspective so I'll be giving Zombie U a miss but I always assumed it was hated on unduly just because it was on the Wii U and tried something different.

[Alex Heat]

For reference, I've found a fair amount of stuff I ended up enjoying via Hardcore Gaming 101.  Not that it serves exclusively as a thing full of underrated and overlooked stuff, but there is a good deal of it.

[Eleven]

Alpha P and Lost O, I've played them both and I agree they're good. Didn't seem to be bothered much by the glitches, played it on PS3 though when I was having Mass Effect withdrawal and I didn't have my Xbox.

 

Lost Odyssey was overlooked? I guess, but I thought it was one of those niche games that was really enjoyed by some people but not necessarily overlooked like the Souls games now. Loved the story there, was kinda annoyed with the slow combat but enjoyed the game nonetheless. I mean, fine, it's turn based, but I didn't like how you have to issue all orders first before it plays out, so you had to anticipate enemy attacks and heals alot. Eh.

 

I also remember boob veins. Man, there were threads about those boob veins.

[Dabubbies]

Enslaved:Odyssey To The West! Wonderful game. Super underrated and just really fun gameplay all around

[TheMightyEthan]

I liked it, but didn't think it was anything amazing.  That seems to be the general consensus too.

[toxicitizen]

You'd be surprised by the amount of undeserved shit Ninja Theory gets. DmC and Enslaved, while not perfect, are both very solid games imho. But a lot of people would have you believe they're the video game equivalent of war crimes or something. I seriously don't get where this hate for the studio is coming from. Not even a little.

[TheMightyEthan]

Maybe I've gauged it wrong.  If Enslaved is generally viewed as a terrible game then I would agree it's underrated.  It was a fun game, I enjoyed my time with it, played it to completion and certainly don't regret doing so.