Underrated Games you like

[evil_ash_xero]

In another thread, there was a bit of discussion about Binary Domain. Which I almost started a thread called "Does anyone else like this game?". It has it's problems, with it's voice feature (doesn't work). But I think it's a better shooter than RE 5, personally.

The story isn't bad either.

Sometimes I think something's good, and I'll go back to it, and realize it isn't very good though. Ninja Blade for instance...I used to think it was OK, but I played the demo again recently (I gave my friend the game), and I was just knocked back by all the QTEs. REALLY bad idea.

Anything you guys like, that isn't that well known? And stuff from Cave, Treasure, and Platinum...well all know these here.

And does anyone else like Binary Domain?

[Ed Oscuro]

I've been hearing about Binary Domain and Dragon's Dogma a bit recently - I'd like to check them out.

It's been years since I played any, but one of my guilty pleasures always has been the old shareware-era DOS PC action games. Most are trash but a few have some good bits, enough for a fun playthrough.

[evil_ash_xero]

Dragon's Dogma would fit well into this list.

But I didn't like it, personally. I couldn't get past the running and running and running out of breath aspect. It was just absurd to have such huge spaces to traverse, and have such a limit on how much you could run.

Combat was good.

[Ed Oscuro]

Sounds like Battlefield! Run, run, run...

[evil_ash_xero]

I was really baffled by it. I mean, the stamina thing, and then the distance.....

Angry Joe (who I don't like) had a review on it, and he showed the guy bent over, trying to catch his breath, and said "this is what you will be doing 75 percent of the time", or something like that. And it wasn't inaccurate.

Lots of potential, but with Capcom having the problems they are having, I don't know if they'll ever make a sequel. If they did, and didn't fix that, I'd scream.
I was actually mad at them for it. Like "how could you guys screw this game up, like this?!". So close...

Another thing about Binary Domain...a lot of people acted as if it looked generic or whatever, like Sega were trying to copy Western shooters. For me though, I like it's aesthetics a good bit better the Gears.
I'm not saying it's a better game than Gears 3, but I like it's I-Robot look WAY better than the football players on steroids look of Gears.
The boss fights are better in Binary, though.

[BryanM]

EVO: Search for Eden.

Yeah, maybe the levels are pretty bland but it showed how limited threshold leveling up in a platform could work and could be cool if anyone ever tried giving a platformer a grinding based advancement system that didn't invalidate the game.

On that front, Kid Icarus comes to mind: how it'll increase your life bar if you whittled away the hours of your life in repetition. Another game I really like in concept but not as good as it should have been.

[Ed Oscuro]

Speaking of underrated platformers in particular - Xargon has some goofy modes. Like, I think you can be a bear? Or is that a bee? Both? You can also get into a nifty submarine sometimes, and your basic human character also can shoot steerable lasers. Steerable. Lasers! This was also the first game I saw the fenced-in overworld map in, and I think it's still probably one of the prettier ones (especially for the time period).

[brentsg]

Maybe it's too new to qualify, but I've been enjoying the heck out of Invisible, Inc on Steam. It's a fantastic turn-based strategy game where you're playing the part of a spy agency. Check it out!

[Gespenst]

S.L.A.I - Phantom Crash, a 'lighthearted' version of Armored Core with less part variations (compensated with ability to tune in your equipments as light/heavy as possible), restricted to deathmatch/survival gameplay only (except if it's multiplayer), FCS AI that you can train as you go (and can 'die' too) and lots of cyberpunk references.

[Bananamatic]

dodonpachi saidaioujou

[copy-paster]

Gradius : The Interstellar Assault
Cadillacs and Dinosaurs

[evil_ash_xero]

S.L.A.I - Phantom Crash, a 'lighthearted' version of Armored Core with less part variations (compensated with ability to tune in your equipments as light/heavy as possible), restricted to deathmatch/survival gameplay only (except if it's multiplayer), FCS AI that you can train as you go (and can 'die' too) and lots of cyberpunk references.

I'm gonna be checking this one out soon.

[Satan]

I really rather liked Mad World, Anarchy Reigns, Pure, The Club and Unreal Tournament 3.

[TransatlanticFoe]

Remember Me

It got a lukewarm response but I really enjoyed it. Didn't find the combat repetitive at all, because it introduced different enemies and forced you to use a bit of strategy. Creating epic combos and pulling them off in a massive brawl with great fun, particularly hopping over enemies to keep the chain going in a tight spot. Would've been nice to have branching storylines based on different outcomes of the memory remix sequences though.

Aliens: Colonial Marines

No, seriously. I had a blast with this! Yeah it's buggy (mainly silly clipping, never ran into a gamebreaker) and the boss fights are disappointing, but the same can be said of plenty of (more well received) games. I found the core game really enjoyable, the DLC was even better. It just seemed cool to hate on it for really dumb reasons. It's far from the masterpiece it had the potential to be, but it was still really good fun.

[Satan]

Bulletstorm.

[Mischief Maker]

Another bump for S.L.A.I. I wrote a review of it on Caltrops years ago.

I'd also add Nox to this list. It was and still is panned by people as a Diablo clone without random dungeon layouts but I say they've got it all wrong. The real idea behind Nox was to succeed where Ultima 8 failed! Like Ultima, you play a dude from modern day Earth sucked into a fantasy world by a dimensional gate, but while the Avatar was a bookish middleclass englishman, the hero of Nox is southern american trailer trash. Like Ultima there are isometric jump puzzles, but in Nox they aren't instadeath and they're sparing enough to avoid becoming obnoxious. Unlike Diablo, there are no stats to optimize, success in Nox is based on skill and reflex.

[BrianC]

Ghost House SMS
Tutankham Atari 2600
Gain Ground
Atomic Runner Genesis

[Bonus!]

And does anyone else like Binary Domain?

I think it's an absolutely brilliant game, and one of the few X360 games I didn't sell. There are very few parts I didn't like mechanically, but those are over very quickly, but the shooting is oh-so-satisfying with the robots as enemies. No, it's not just robots instead of humans --- for those of you who haven't played this game --- instead, you can take them apart as you see fit. You'll probably get a few Terminator deja vus when they're crawling towards you. I also liked the story quite a bit. I couldn't care less about the interactions between the squad members, but the overarching story angle is very good, and certainly a lot better than what you normally encounter in video games. Binary Domain is one of very few games that made me lose track of time, particularly some of the latter parts. Also, many of the boss fights were incredibly good.

Another underappreciated game I like a lot is Spec Ops: The Line. Yes, this game gets a lot of praise, but mainly for the story, and deservedly so. I've even read some drivel along the lines of "boring shooting, but intended because you're not supposed to enjoy it". I wonder what those guys were playing, since those parts are very good, with a pretty smart AI, and plenty of fights that require a strategic as well as tactical approach. Maybe it's really boring on the easy setting, I don't know.

[Teufel_in_Blau]

This is like a the only place on the Internet that knows S.L.A.I., lol. I have it for my PS2 but only played it a little bit, so I can't really comment on the quality. I need to go back to it sometime.

I think Lollipop Chainsaw gets too much hate, it's a game I always love to get back for some mindless fun.

Front Mission 2 and Alternative are both highly underrated games but mostly because they never got released outside of Japan.

Oh, and Master of Orion III is my fav MoO. Game was very buggy at the release but the Strawberry Mod/patch clears up pretty much everything. It's a great Grand Strategy game, but people were expecting some space 4X like MoO II. If you enjoy the Paradox games, give it a try.

[Ed Oscuro]

Ghost House SMS
Tutankham Atari 2600
Gain Ground
Atomic Runner Genesis

Excellent choices, every one!

The Club

We still need to organize an in-forum play of that game. I don't know if servers are still up, though. (PC version here.)

[Blinge]

Lost Kingdoms

[evil_ash_xero]

I really rather liked Mad World, Anarchy Reigns, Pure, The Club and Unreal Tournament 3.

Problem with Anarchy Reigns/Max Anarchy, is that it was designed for online, and it's online community is pretty much dead. You have to set it up with people on Facebook, to get something going.

But the Multi-player was a blast. I have the JP version, and so I got to play MP longer than some. I wasn't very good.

[trap15]

Nin2-Jump
Thunder Dragon 2

[BrianC]

Arm Wrestling Arcade

Despite the name, this isn't one of those machines with a mechanical arm. Instead, it uses a joystick controller. Gameplay involves pressing the joystick to the left rapidly and pressing the joystick in the opposite direction and pressing the action button rapidly to counter. It has a very similar feel to punch out, which similar over the top opponents and timing based gameplay. It also has some nice touches like a rich guy who throws a large bag of money to catch during a bonus round.

[1983parrothead]

I like underrated games from underrated developers.

Fighting? Asuka 120% BURNING Fest. franchise and Phantom Breaker fighting games.

Beat 'em up? Ninja Baseball Bat Man, Mad Stalker: Full Metal Force and Panzer Bandit and Phantom Breaker: BattleGrounds.

Shoot 'em up? ZAS and Solar Striker.

Strategy? Outpost 2: Divided Destiny.

Platformer? Perhaps the Gunman Clive series.

Puzzle? StarSweep for arcade, PS1 and GB?

RPG? Perhaps anything from Right Stuff.

FPS? Star Cruiser series and X.

Rail shooter? Metal Sight, Neural Gear and Knight Arms.

Bullet hell shoot 'em up? Vasara series?

Racing? Overtake?

That's several I can think of.

[BrianC]

Jr. Pac-Man, Baby Pac-Man, and Pac-Land are underrated.

[BIL]

Most of the games I like are at least well-regarded by the communities I participate in... though that's pretty much this forum and a few related ones, haha. Can't be bothered with what the big boring wider world thinks of favourite stuff I'd likely never have encountered before I quit paying attention.

I was surprised that I'd never once heard of Metalgun Slinger (GBA) until this year. Neat little sidescroller with some truly excellent acrobatic control, let down slightly by its going for airy open stage design over single-session tightness. It's certainly not the phenomenal quality of Ninja Cop, but more than worth a look.

Sunsoft's Gremlins 2 (FC) deserves more acclaim than it gets, I think. The first stage kind of sucks, with its godawful initial weapon, but it rapidly becomes a sharp, intense topdown shooter/platformer. I think of it as the FC's answer to SFC titan Kiki Kaikai.

[Squire Grooktook]

eXceed 2nd-Vampire Rex deserves more love IMO. Not the deepest shmup ever made, but the ultra aggressive boss point blanking strats and psyvariar-esque bullet surfing invincibility-chaining are exhilarating and make the game great fun to learn and 1cc/1lc. People who dismiss it as poor-man's Ikaruga are missing out, imo.

The King of Dragon's sadly gets passed off because of how braindead and easy the game is with Wizard or Elf's long range spam, combined with the Metal Slug 3/Gradius V-esque length. Which is a shame because when played with either of the three melee characters, it's a blast. Blocking feels more intuitive than its spiritual sequel, Knights of the Round, due to more heavily telegraphed enemy and boss attacks. Enemies themselves are very random (and much more aggressive on the highest dip switch difficulty setting) making the game a great go to for very simple but twitchy block-and-slash swordplay.

[BrianC]

Sunsoft's Gremlins 2 (FC) deserves more acclaim than it gets, I think. The first stage kind of sucks, with its godawful initial weapon, but it rapidly becomes a sharp, intense topdown shooter/platformer. I think of it as the FC's answer to SFC titan Kiki Kaikai.

I actually didn't mind the tomato too much. At least you aren't stuck with a pencil as the main weapon for the whole game like the GB version. I like the GB one despite that, though. Mainly due to the tricky level designs.

[dunpeal2064]

Lost Kingdoms

I've always been curious about this game, would love to hear more about what you thought of it!

On topic, I always thought Final Fantasy XIII got a harsh rap. Its far from flawless, but I thought it did a lot of interesting things, and had one of the more intense turn-based systems I've seen. I don't think I've ever had to be so prompt in my actions in a turn-based game, even if the choices were obvious a lot of the time. Also enjoyed that the characters, while again far from perfect, all had a reason to be on the quest, and all had story ties with each other. Like XII, this game didn't save all of its difficulty for superbosses, which is always welcome. Sadly, its hard to say "Just get past the first several hours" to convince someone to give the game a chance, since it is very fair and sensible to have dropped the game by then.