Underrated and Underappreciated games

Mobius · Post by **Mobius** » 2006-09-13 05:07am

SPC Brungardt wrote: Ring of Red, a hex-based strategy game with some real time combat

Ring of Red is square based

but yeah, it was a really fun game, with the support troops system and the other stuff...

wautd · Post by **wautd** » 2006-09-13 05:36am

I remember a strategy game where you had to colonize asteroids, build ships & buildings, research etc... You couldnt directly control your ships in combat but that was ok. Coolest thing imo was the fact that you could send daily missilespam to hostile bases from to soften targets up before you sent in the fleet.

The Grim Squeaker · Post by **The Grim Squeaker** » 2006-09-13 06:57am

PrinceofLowLight wrote:Sacrifice. Interesting RPG/RTS hybrid with a good sense of humor, good voice acting (Tim Curry as the god of storms) and lots of replayability.

Oh yes, I really liked that game for a while (Still have it).

Annoying you are oh Ooriginal Poster, for this thread exactly did I plan to post now that I can finally use a computer (After some damn busy days).
Still, my picks are:

The Neverhood -
A really beautiful, interesting and unique adventure game from the 90's, with the entire game and it's world being made entirely out of a few tons of clay (Called Klay in-game).
The game didn't sell well due to price and it's high costs, but the movies were very funny (Such as The Weasel) and it had a fuckton of background plot.

Unfortunately it had a hideous puzzle needed to be done to finish the game and collect all the story disks, for which you needed to go through ~27 IDENTICAL rooms (On which each was written background fluff and stories of the 7 sons of The Creator/Hoborg's father) and collect an item at the end before clicking your way back.
Still apart from that and another annoying puzzle or two the atmosphere more than makes up for it, as does the funky music and design.
(I have "Imaginarium" if anyone wants it)

Another excellent game is "The Last Express".
Another Adventure game it takes place on the Orient express just before WW1 as you go through it witnessing the stories of the passengers and uncovering the secrets of the Revolution, Alexei Alexandrovich and how your friend Kath was killed and what "The Pheonix" egg has to do with it.

It does have a irritating puzzle that requires some forethought to avoid (The case being stolen, leading to you being killed by the Revolutionists for failing to get The Gunrunner to stay on-board), but apart from that the atmosphere, artwork, unique animation style, story, depth, etc' more than make up for it.

Last game for now:
"Woodruff and the Schibble of Azimuth"
Made by Cocktel studios (Makers of Gobli/ii/iii/ns) and it yet again suits the "Very fun, funny, atmospheric and unique game, but with some annoying puzzles" (Some of which require you reading the hintbook that came with the book, such as the final confrontation with "The Big-wig").

Another one is called "Tachyon: The rift", and is a very fun space action/simulation game with voicing by "Bruce Campbell" (Who really has some fun lines in the game).
I'll write more once I get home and see my games next week

Post by **weemadando** » 2006-09-13 07:03am

Last Express was amazing.

Sacrifice was great.

The Neverhood is another one that I'll mention. - Fuck, just saw that it was in yours too...

Nevermind.

loomer · Post by **loomer** » 2006-09-13 08:09am

Startopia. Fantastic game, that's essentially Dungeon Keeper... IN SPACE! Sold poorly, had great gameplay and drove the company that produced it into bankruptcy.

Post by **The Yosemite Bear** » 2006-09-13 08:12am

loomer wrote:Startopia. Fantastic game, that's essentially Dungeon Keeper... IN SPACE! Sold poorly, had great gameplay and drove the company that produced it into bankruptcy.

I remember playing that one.

The Grim Squeaker · Post by **The Grim Squeaker** » 2006-09-13 08:39am

weemadando wrote:Last Express was amazing.

Sacrifice was great.

The Neverhood is another one that I'll mention. - Fuck, just saw that it was in yours too...

Nevermind.

. (Check your PM)

Also just remembered a few more:

Stargunner [Horizontal]
Raptor: Call of the Shadows
Tyrian (The original, though '2000' is even better)

All of these are 2d action shooters, but are in ascending order (Tyrian=Best) perhaps the best examples of their genre I know.
(Though I have the horrific feeling that I'm forgetting a game in between Raptor and Tyrian, curse me for a distracted fool).

A certain site that rhymes with "Under-___s" has a pretty good list of under-rated classics, though last I checked they were down due to domain thieves

Jade Falcon · Post by **Jade Falcon** » 2006-09-13 09:00am

Here's another game.

Does anyone remember a game called Anachranox? The graphics were a bit creaky when it was released, but it was decent enough.

I'm not quite sure on the sales, but Arcanum was ok, bar the combat system.

Brother-Captain Gaius · Post by **Brother-Captain Gaius** » 2006-09-13 09:19am

Ooo! The Bard's Tale. Not the original, mind, but a recent "re-envisioning" by the same name (much like nBSG vs oBSG). The PC port suffered from some consolitis, but it was still a total laugh riot from start to finish. If the spectacular humor's not enough, its setting is a very refreshing Gaelic one (and a well-done one at that) as opposed to the usual "generic medieval fantasy setting." Though a lot of the gameplay is simply average, its other attributes make up for it, and the voice talent is excellent.

Despite all this, I virtually never even see mention of it, much less people who've played it. Its sales must have been dismal.

Crazedwraith · Post by **Crazedwraith** » 2006-09-13 09:26am

Red Faction 1 & 2. Fun Games, especially two where you run around with a sweet grenade launcher for most of the game.

Rekkon · Post by **Rekkon** » 2006-09-13 10:27am

DEATH wrote:Another one is called "Tachyon: The rift", and is a very fun space action/simulation game with voicing by "Bruce Campbell" (Who really has some fun lines in the game).
I'll write more once I get home and see my games next week

Tachyon: The Fringe. And I will second that nomination. Multiplayer was awesome, and supported 100 players over dial up, including a built in voice chat (though only to one person at a time). In fact I reinstalled it several months ago, and there were still people playing. Not many mind you, but enough.

2000AD · Post by **2000AD** » 2006-09-13 10:50am

Call of Cthulu: Dark Corners of the Earth.
Graphics were a bit dodgy and some of the mechanics were annoying, but it was still fun and worth it for two of my favourite moments in gaming, fleeing for your life across the roofs of Insmouth combined with the first time yoiu realise your character suffers from vertigo.

Ar-Adunakhor · Post by **Ar-Adunakhor** » 2006-09-13 11:19am

Warhammer: Shadow of the Horned Rat

Yeah, the name was cheesy, but it was basically the Total War battle system set in the Warhammer RPG world. The kicker is that it came out years before other games like it and did not make too big a splash. Ahead of the curve, I suppose. It was damn fun though, and I loved it.

Manus Celer Dei · Post by **Manus Celer Dei** » 2006-09-13 12:11pm

2000AD wrote:Call of Cthulu: Dark Corners of the Earth.
Graphics were a bit dodgy and some of the mechanics were annoying, but it was still fun and worth it for two of my favourite moments in gaming, fleeing for your life across the roofs of Insmouth combined with the first time yoiu realise your character suffers from vertigo.

That game is fucked up.

The sanity system is really good, like whhen you're in the sewers. There's piles of weird corrisive slime everywhere, decaying skeletons and blood all over the place and eventually, after seeing all this, if you're not careful the guy you're playing as starts to loose it. The screen gets blurry and the like, which is standard, but you here him muttering things like "Oh god, I'm never getting out of here," to himself constantly. Really atmospheric.

And then there's the fucking Shoggoth.

The Grim Squeaker · Post by **The Grim Squeaker** » 2006-09-13 12:25pm

Rekkon wrote:
DEATH wrote:Another one is called "Tachyon: The rift", and is a very fun space action/simulation game with voicing by "Bruce Campbell" (Who really has some fun lines in the game).
I'll write more once I get home and see my games next week
Tachyon: The Fringe. And I will second that nomination. Multiplayer was awesome, and supported 100 players over dial up, including a built in voice chat (though only to one person at a time). In fact I reinstalled it several months ago, and there were still people playing. Not many mind you, but enough.

Doh, I'd just logged on to correct that.

I'd also nominate Starlancer, but it did have a (Crappy) Sequel made so it probably doesn't count.

"Arcanum, of steamworks and magic" is another good game by many of the makers of fallout, though I found it over-rated (Too many characters and the city was too damn big, with far too many "Find xx street" headaches) but it was good.
Gobliins is another fun if exceptionally annoying adventure game that I remember from my youth. [Cocktel S]

Oh, and don't forget "Ecoquest 1: The search for Cetus" and (At a much later date for me) "Ecoquest 2: Secret of the Rainforest" (That was far better built truth be told).
I never did get a maximum score in either game, not even the first no matter how many (4-5) times I replayed it though

.

And one last Game is "Inca 2:Wiracocha". [Action/Adventure depending on your choices).
(Though it's far below the league of most previously mentioned games) sadly I got stuck on the map sequence, then was unable to find the game after moving to my new house and losing the Install of my points on ADI.

Nephtys · Post by **Nephtys** » 2006-09-13 01:58pm

DEATH wrote:Raptor: Call of the Shadows

Raptor was HUGE in 1993/4. It was the equvilent of a graphics powerhouse, and even had an animated movie of your crazyplane landing. It's not underated nor underappreciated.