Each person - recommend one overlooked game

Okay, here's my idea for this thread. Each poster picks one game he thinks is overlooked. Describe it a bit and/or post pics or videos. And of course, discuss people's picks.


My choice for this thread is The Last Express, a 1997 graphic adventure for PC and Mac by Prince of Persia creator Jordan Mechner.

http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b2...stexpressb.gif

http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b2...texpress-1.gif

This game stood out in many ways. Unlike most adventures, it was mostly in real-time. It takes place on the Orient Express, and while you explore the train, events and character dialogue happen at times and places whether you're there or not. It's like Shenmue in this regard except made a few years earlier (it also has QTE-like action parts).

The rotoscoped animation and art nouveau look make the game stand out visually.

Also, there isn't a set order for all the puzzles. Your actions (or inactions) can affect the outcome of the game. You can rewind time to earlier points in the game if you need to.

That leads me to pretty much the only thing I don't like. There are a few things you can miss which will prevent you from getting the proper ending. It's very hard to tell where you need to rewind back to.

Demo - http://lastexpress.markmoran.net/demo.html

Well, I'll recommend Dino City for the Super Nintendo. It's based on a made for TV movie called Adventures in Dinosaur City. To me it feels a little like Super Mario World, only harder. Much harder. It's colorful with decent music and it's a fun platformer. But only for expert gamers! Definitely worth a try. I wrote a review for it here.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4g49zqx293g

Blood Gear, Blood Gear a million times. It's like... the second best non-shooter on the PCE CD, and nobody knows about it:
http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b4...ums/blge-2.png
http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b4...ums/blge-3.png
http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b4...ums/blge-5.png
http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b4...ums/blge-6.png
http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b4...ums/blge-7.png
http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b4...ums/blge-8.png
http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b4...ums/blge-9.png

RPG elements with items, money, shops and stat upgrades, Metroid style upgrade elements, awesome sidescrolling action... And the soundtrack is amazing besides the terrible drums.

Omikron: The Nomad Soul
Platform: Sega Dreamcast


This had all the edgy elements one could have hoped for in an early 6th gen Cyberpunk title. The soundtrack is by David Bowie (check-out the intro video below). It looked blocky even it it's hayday, so don't expect this to be a marvel of 6th gen graphics. There are elements to the gameplay that almost make you feel like you're playing a point and click adventure like Snatcher or Rise of the Dragon; which actually put me-off back when it was released. I remember buying this from Sears back in the day after much given (and well-deserved) hype (I know it may sound cliche, but very few games back then gave you the opportunity to go into a strip club. Not just cyberpunk, but with a ton of references to Blade Runner, I thought this was a sure win). I played it for about three hours and remember being disappointed (partly because I was expecting better graphics and an easier user interface). So, I headed back to Sears and returned the game (it was about $10, can't be certain now) and decided to wait it out until I could afford the $50 price tag that was Shenmue (the number one reason why I purchased my Dreamcast in the first place).

But I always knew at heart that I had not given this title a proper chance, and it always remained in the back of my mind until just a few months back when I finally repurchased it. I popped it in and, having close to zero expectations for this title, I was pleasantly surprised at how extremely well-balanced the game actually is. The story is superb; the directing is top notch (with David Bowie providing an equally superb soundtrack); the science feels extremely innovative (even for today); and the gameplay turned-out just as seamless as any current gen game (which lead me to the conclusion that what threw me off back then about the gameplay was the fact that I had not yet played any 3D game, nor had I had that many buttons on a controller before). I haven't yet given this game a proper play-through, but it is only because I'm saving the best for last (right alongside Skies of Arcadia and a couple other great Dreamcast titles).

My suggestion:
Play this game for it's cult value, it's story, the music, direction and even gameplay. Know that it is blocky, but where the graphics have aged, the direction and story will pick up.

I'll just copy and paste Mobygames description :p

Shark! Hunting the great white.

http://www.searchamateur.com/picture...te-shark-1.jpg

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Go shark hunting without the possibility of losing limbs! Grab your tank and weapons virtually and dive into the ocean to hunt 8 different species of sharks in full 3D, and even find a treasure or two. Win prizes to get better equipment. Play career mode or quick action, the choice is up to you.

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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EtGwcAItTFk

This is just one amazing early 3D diving game that really makes you feel that you're vulnerable,
gone are the enormous rocket launchers, and in comes the fear that creeps over your back as your heart (ingame) starts to race when the shark/s are getting closer to you.

Your quest to solve all Shark problems takes you from beaches to the deep ocean.

Spoiler : The last mission deals with a very famous Shark.

Action platformer game with very good graphics. Underrated NES gem.

Only arcade games come to my mind. This one is a super high speed run and run made by the same folks who did Metal Slug. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=br5SO4V2OkA

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Originally Posted by Kamahl

Blood Gear, Blood Gear a million times. It's like... the second best non-shooter on the PCE CD, and nobody knows about it:

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I have a copy of Blood Gear, i'ts a shame, I never managed to pass the initial overhead stage because of the language barrier, from what I have seen this game is text heavy and the interface is far from "intuitive", I may give it another chance when I have the time.

Anachronox

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedi...ronoxcover.jpg

It's a big RPG that defies classification. At the start you're a drunk private eye who lives on a planet that turns itself inside out regularly, later you're a down-and-out superhero, and somewhere in between you're an entire planet. It's just wild. And it would have been even bigger, had they not run short on time and money. But this leads me to why it's not better remembered. The game has some rough spots and weirdness that reveals its budget problems, then ends on a cliffhanger. But I think it's so cool and quirky that I enjoy it just the same, and would recommend people try it.

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Originally Posted by chinitosoccer

I have a copy of Blood Gear, i'ts a shame, I never managed to pass the initial overhead stage because of the language barrier, from what I have seen this game is text heavy and the interface is far from "intuitive", I may give it another chance when I have the time.

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Yes, luckily the game is extremely linear, so the old "talk to everyone twice" trick usually works.

title: panzer bandit
system: playstation

panzer bandit was released in 1997 for the playstation only in japan and later re-released in 2011 on japan psn. it was basically the playstation equivalent of guardian heroes minus the leveling up but the gameplay was very similar. it's a great unknown beat em up that not many people know about. unfortunately since it wasn't very well known it tends to be a bit on the expensive side to obtain a original copy.

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-7SAsaCkjCe...reen+level.jpg

http://theisozone.com/images/screens...1329779862.jpg

http://www.mondemul.net/screens/roms...X-NTSC-JAP.jpg

http://hardcoregaming101.net/panzerbandit/pbandit6.jpg

http://hardcoregaming101.net/panzerbandit/pbandit9.jpg

http://media.giantbomb.com/uploads/0...ombo_super.png

http://www.mobygames.com/images/shot...t-the-lard.png

Great choices. I was waiting for Blood Gear to get translated before delving far into it. From what I played of it a few years ago it seemed awesome (no surprise since it's from Westone). I should dig out Omikron again. I never did finish it. The adventure portion was well made even though the action parts sucked.

Silent Bomber for the PS1. It's characters and dialogue are so 1990's, but the game play is fast and top notch.

Heart of China

Dynamix's follow-up to Rise of the Dragon. Not as fondly remembered as its older brother, but I had it as a kid and thought it was amazing if not ridiculously difficult.

Could some of the lazier forum members perhaps start adding at least some pics of a youtube link to their game suggestions?

NeoVamp that shark game looks pretty cool. I never played it but I played Treasures of the Deep on Playstation which isnt too bad and I also like Jaws on PS2. The shark is pretty tough to control but it is pretty fun exploring the open ocean and eating everything in sight.

It's a recent title, but it sold very poorly (shame on you!)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xvPFrcvtYmg

Hmm... I think my top choices would have to be Pod and Netstorm, both on the PC. Both are from 1997. Pod's one of my favorite racing games ever. It's got dozens of tracks, all good sized and complex (some are downloadable addons, 16 are included with the game), just as many cars, great futuristic racing gameplay... it's a great game. It was moderately popular at the time, but not successful enough; the only sequel it got is the still okay, but vastly inferior, Pod 2: Speed Zone for the Dreamcast. It's not even half the game the PC original was. The original's so great, though... it's got an actual plot, which is weird but interesting (the planet you're on is doomed, and there's only one more seat on a shuttle off... and only the winner of this race tournament gets that seat. Pressure!). The intro FMV's pretty long. The ending's short, but strange and interesting. And of course, it's a fantastic game beyond that 16-track main championship, too... with so much stuff to do, with all those tracks, the game has endless playability. The game's not a weapons-based racer -- it's all about the driving and the tracks. Fortunately, the tracks are outstanding, and are incredibly varied. There are short ones, long ones, medium ones, some simple circuits, others inordinately complicated ones that require high degrees of memorization to just get through a single lap (because the path is not clear, and only one path will lead you correctly while the others will go nowhere...). It's all just outstanding, outstanding work.

Online, the Pod fanbase was small but fairly dedicated. I think there are still a few Pod fansites on the internet. Time-trial play became particularly popular, before many of those people moved on to TrackMania... some of the downloadable tracks don't even have AI, so they're multiplayer or timetrial only (others do, though; basically, the official download tracks do have AI, but the ones made by fans do not.). I always liked championships more than timetrial, of course, but either way, it's a great game. It was great in online play as well, while that was easily available.


As for Netstorm, it's a RTS game, but it's the most original RTS game since the creation of the genre, I would say. It's such a unique, unique game... it's another one that has a hardcore, small fanbase (you can find them at www.netstormhq.com ), but the game bombed hard at retail in 1997-1998, and the developer shut down in '98, after their first and only game. Very sad. And of course, given the game's failure, no one else has copied it either, so the game remains utterly unlike anything else in the genre.

Basically, Netstorm is an RTS with Tetris elements, and where all attack units are towers. The game is set on floating islands on a planet of sky. You start on your home island, and build bridges, with a selection of pieces on the side (this is the Tetris element -- you only have 6 pieces to work with at a time), to connect it to storm geysers (money for buying stuff with, once returned to your base) or other islands, or for building towers off of. Learning to bridge quickly is a key skill in the game, and it's one that will take time to learn. You can build a tower (selected from the bar on the side of the screen) off of any bridge end, or on any island that either you control or that is neutral (you can't build on an enemy island). Base buildings (on your home island) are build with your High Priest unit, though, but the towers are seperate, and are placed via that sidebar. You have limited space on your island, so you have to choose which base buildings you want -- you can't fit everything in. It is possible to build bases on other islands, to deny territory or to set up shorter paths for your resource gatherers, but you'll usually only have the unit (tower)-enabling buildings that you can fit in your home island.

In order to win, you have to capture and sacrifice (from a base building where your priest sacrifices your enemies' one) your enemies' High Priests. So yeah, keep track of yours. Priests are as I said the only unit that can build base buildings, too. High Priests also can gather resources, but ... um, be careful about where he's going. It's safer to use other units to gather resources with. Some resource gatherers can fly, too, circumventing the problem of having to keep going around fighting for territory so as to get more storm geysers; each one only has a few thousand in it, so they only last so long.

As for the towers, there are four different sets of units -- Sun, Wind, Rain, and Thunder. Sun are the base units, the cheap and weak but versatile ones. Wind, Rain, and Thunder are more expensive units. Each unit in the game has specific uses, and positives and negatives. Units are all immobile towers, so they cannot be moved or re-targeted once placed, so you need to be careful when placing them that you've got them pointed right. You can't directly tell your units what to attack, either -- they'll just follow their programming, and attack what's in front of them. There are towers that make barricade walls between them, towers that shoot in a straight line, towers that shoot at anything in an angled arc in front of them, towers that create little flying units which attack anything within a certain radius, towers that can't attack, but block fire, etc. It's a highly strategic game.

The game has okay graphics, but they never were anything special, even back in 1997. The game's got a bad lack of polish, too. Fanmade patches have fixed things somewhat, and improved the game a lot, but still you can tell. It doesn't hurt the game much in my opinion, though... what is a bigger issue is the weak single player mode. The campaigns just aren't very interesting, and there's no saving during a map, either... you either finish the level in one try, or start over. Bah. The online play's really what the game's about, though, of course, which is why it's so fortunate that there are still some fans interested in playing it. The game has interesting stuff like levels and persistent islands in online play, as well as lobbies where you fly around with your island while choosing which game to join -- it was really innovative at the time! Oh, and the game has a great soundtrack, too, which was done by Mark Morgan of Fallout and Planescape: Torment fame. This was the soundtrack he did right before Torment's, and there are some strong similarities between the two. Anyone who likes Torment's soundtrack should consider Netstorm a must-listen! It's just great stuff. Perfect "airy" music that well fits the battles-in-the-sky design.

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Originally Posted by Iron Lizard

Only arcade games come to my mind. This one is a super high speed run and run made by the same folks who did Metal Slug. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=br5SO4V2OkA

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I'm actually a fan of GunForce 1 (Arcade/SNES)... the second one was arcades-only, but the first did have a home port. Apart from lots of slowdown, it's a pretty good, accurate port. The game is short, and pretty easy too -- I've beaten it multiple times, even though it does have limited continues. You only get like three continues. Let's just say that I've never gotten anywhere NEAR the end of a Metal Slug (or Contra) game with only three continues... GunForce just isn't as hard of a game. Even the bosses aren't too bad.

What it is, though, is fun. You can see some of the origins of the Metal Slug series here. While it has some things that would change -- for instance, you have 8-direction firing in GunForce, instead of the more difficult "left, right, or up" style of Metal Slug, and it just has powerups, with no prisoners to rescue like Gunforce 2 and the Metal Slug games have, and of course it has a largely realistic, modern-day visual style, instead of Metal Slug's cartoony style that started phasing in in GunForce 2, but the game does have some things recognizably Metal Slug. Most notably, it has vehicles to ride in, and a weapon system straight out of Metal Slug, too. You have a basic gun with infinite ammo, but the weapon drops you can pick up all have limited ammo, so it's just like Metal Slug. Some of the guns would return in the later games, too, including a laser gun, rocket launcher, etc. As for the vehicles, they're not as important a part of the game as they would become in Metal Slug, and can only be used in certain areas, but still, they're fun to have. There's a helicopter, a little rolling platform thing, a jeep, etc.

Oh, and the final boss? While through the game you'd been fighting human enemies, gun emplacements, and the like, the final boss is... aliens. Maybe it's a Contra reference, but yeah, aliens would return in Metal Slug again for sure!

I remember liking this arcade game, and I still like the game. I've beaten the SNES game in both one player and two-player co-op modes. It won't take very long to get through, but any Metal Slug fan who hasn't played it should play through it sometime. :)

Either Body Harvest or Space Station - Silicon Valley on the N64.

Tinhead. An often overlooked platformer for the Genesis that, while it's control scheme takes some getting used to, is a well made little game. Nice graphics, good tunes, good sized levels, big bosses, solid controls... it does plenty right, but it gets snubbed a lot when people talk about Genesis platformers. Sure, it's no Sonic 3 & Knuckles or Ristar, but it's a good game that deserves more attention.

Kishin Douji Zenki, Game Gear


If this were on the Master System it would be that system's best game.

I'm inclined to say Zenki is more awesome than the GG Shinobi games.

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Originally Posted by Pulstar

It's a recent title, but it sold very poorly (shame on you!)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xvPFrcvtYmg

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I'm actually very interested in playing this. I just haven't had any real time to really dig into a game in about a month. It'll probably be the next game I pick up when I do find the time.

A far as the thread is concerned, my pick would be Psychonauts (xbox, ps2). A fantastic 3D platformer where the levels are played inside minds of various people at a summer camp for gifted youngsters. Apparently, no one bought this highly creative and hilarious game either.

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Originally Posted by Zz Badnusty

Kishin Douji Zenki, Game Gear


If this were on the Master System it would be that system's best game.

I'm inclined to say Zenki is more awesome than the GG Shinobi games.

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I have that game, I was surprised to see it mentioned since it's not very well known.

Yeah, Zenki is pretty damn good.
A few more games I really like, but are usually forgotten. For the Amiga this time:

Virocop
An awesome overhead shooter with great graphics and great sound. Basically you're a robot cleaning viruses inside a PC, and you travel through a lot of different "games" to do it. Has a pretty cool upgrade system, robotron style multiplayer, and the AGA version has an entirely new stage (the best in the game).

http://www.the-nextlevel.com/hosted/...p_(aga)_28.png

More screenshots:
http://hol.abime.net/1575/screenshot

Video:


Disposable Hero
An awesome 50fps shooter with great graphics and music for the amiga. Has a really unique upgrade/shop system, where you need to pickup blueprints on the map, and then choose a combination of upgrades on the shop.
It's just awesome.

http://www.the-nextlevel.com/hosted/...le_hero_10.png

More screenshots:
http://hol.abime.net/365/screenshot

Video:

I recommend S.o.S for Snes. One of my favorite games on the system, and not many people know about it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fsaw-w3dB0M

The premise of S.O.S is simple: you're a passenger on a sinking ship (which has turned over), and you must escape. However, you only have one hour to make it to the exit before the ship starts filling with water. Make it out in one hour, you've beaten the game. Fail, you lose. Your only enemy here is the clock, and your only savior is exploration.

BAD MOJO (PC)

"Bad Mojo tells the story of a young man named Roger Samms, who is transferred into the body of a tiny cockroach by a strange pendant. To retain his human form, he must journey through his dilapidated apartment to find his unconscious body, which is fairly troublesome given his state as a creepy crawly little bug."

http://hardcoregaming101.net/badmojo/badmojo-10.jpg
http://hardcoregaming101.net/badmojo/badmojo-4.jpg

BLOOD for the PC (3D realms/Monolith)

"A first-person shooter in the spirit of schlock horror/slasher flicks, the gameplay of Blood is witnessed through the eyes of the player-controlled character, Caleb, and consists of fighting the hordes of various enemies as he traverses the levels of the game. In single player mode, the objective of the player is to lead Caleb in his quest of revenge against his former master: this is achieved by navigating the levels of each separate episode, looking for an exit, until the "boss" level is reached and a showdown against a large opponent takes place. Each episode can be played separately, in no particular order, albeit these are organized to follow the game's storyline."

http://mimg.ugo.com/201009/61193/cut...l_480x360.jpeg
http://yesgame.ru/uploads/posts/2009...09_blood01.png
http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_KsMWrvdjtB...s320/Blood.png

Sword of the Bezerk: Guts' Rage



Yeah, it's a beat em up, but I dig the storyline, and IMO it gets a lot of unfair flak. :)

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Originally Posted by Zz Badnusty

Kishin Douji Zenki, Game Gear

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Good call. The internet is full of Game Gear bashers. And not surprisingly, this is always one of the games they haven't played.

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Originally Posted by Curryman123

BAD MOJO (PC)

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I didn't play Bad Mojo until 2007 but I gave it a very positive review (looking back, my writing's a little awkward but I think it gets the point across).
http://www.the-nextlevel.com/review/retro/bad-mojo-pc/

This thread has served as a good reminder of games I want to try again, like SOS. And I'm hoping for more games I haven't played before. So far there's just Shark: Hunting the Great White. So I downloaded it. I'm happy it seems to run perfectly in Vista. And it's pretty cool from what I played. :)

This is Magical Tetris Challenge for Nintendo 64. One of my favorite incarnations of Tetris, it's a fast-paced version of Tetris where 2 players (or 1 and the computer) battle back and forth by making lines, combos, and tetrises in order to send harder blocks to use to their opponent and get them to the top faster. The first person to get to the top loses! Such an underrated game!

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Originally Posted by NeoZeedeater

Each poster picks one game

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Originally Posted by NeoZeedeater

Describe it a bit and/or post pics or videos.

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Figured I'd just quote these two since some people seem to have complete skipped the original post.


Also, Blood? really? that's like the Halo of its time, that's hardly an "overlooked" game.

It was pretty overlooked over here, most people I know didn't know about it, and we're talking some hardcore geeks here :S.

They're not geek enough I suppose :P

It would be nice if these purportedly overlooked titles had actual sales figures attached to them. Binary Domain for instance sold 20k copies on consoles in NA.

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Originally Posted by Kamahl

It was pretty overlooked over here, most people I know didn't know about it, and we're talking some hardcore geeks here :S.

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7 year old geeks don't count.

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Originally Posted by NeoVamp

7 year old geeks don't count.

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10 at the time actually, which was about when I first played the game. That was in 2000 though.
I did make sure to indoctrinate them all in the school of blood.

Heretic: Shadow of the Serpent Riders. Prequel to Hexen and Hexen II, but I liked the original best of all.

http://www.longplays.org/modules/rmd...RuIi5EP_9w.png

It was one of Id's first projects in the wake of Doom, with the same engine but more of a mythical/fantasy setting. I loved it even more than Doom, and to this day it's one of my favorite FPS games. You play the last surviving elf, out to avenge the slaughter of your race by the three Serpent Riders, demonic lords inspired by the Four Horsemen. The weapons and monsters are awesome, the music's pretty good and the final battle with D'Sparil is appropriately epic. If you liked Doom, you'll like this.

http://tap4play.com/wp-content/uploa.../heretic-1.jpg

Elevator Action Returns is one of the most awesome Taito arcade games EVAR!!

http://www.gamesdbase.com/Media/SYST...94_-_Taito.jpg


AND NOBODY SEEMS TO CARE!!
:fit::fit::fit::cry::cry::cry:

Heretic's by Raven, not id.

Hmm, I think I'll recommend Ninja Commando on NEO•GEO. It's a pretty nice Captain Commando clone. I never hear too much word on this one.

http://www.arcade-museum.com/images/...1242141146.png

Poy Poy (PSX)

This game rules! It's kinda like Bomberman (4-player arena combat) but different. And better! It's also the best reason to own a PSX multitap! I just got this one in the mail today and I'm super excited, haven't played it in ages. Definitely one of the more underrated Konami titles.

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Originally Posted by A Black Falcon

Heretic's by Raven, not id.

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It was developed by Raven for ID, and the game itself was published by ID.

@Tailsalone
Completely agree with you. I too love heretic, and it has far better level design than Doom.

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Originally Posted by Tanegashima

Elevator Action Returns is one of the most awesome Taito arcade games EVAR!!

http://www.gamesdbase.com/Media/SYST...94_-_Taito.jpg


AND NOBODY SEEMS TO CARE!!
:fit::fit::fit::cry::cry::cry:

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That looks like an excellent game. How are the controls?