A look back at some older, obscure, or passed over next gen games

So.. I'm broke right now, and I sold a great deal of my shitty titles back to Gamestop. However, I kept some of the ones that looked like they had a good deal of promise. Hopefully someone else will see this thread, and give some of these games a shot, as they are all dirt cheap by now.

Chaos Legion - PS 2

A decent game, surpringsly. Plays alot like Devil May Cry without the style, however your combat moves grow with the more Legions you get. Sieg can summon legions to help him do battle with him, and it's not uncommon for you to be surrounded by 20 enemies at once.

A short game, only 13 stages, but you unlock extra stuff such as new characters, hard, and super hard mode. Normal mode is already plenty difficult, can't imagine what super hard is like 0_0

It's got an ok story, and the music is pretty good. The graphics hold up just fine, except for the overuse of fog. No slowdown, either.

This game dosen't break new ground, but it's good at what it does. If you're interested in an action game that's cheap and you see it around, you might as well give it a shot.

Manhunt - PS 2 / Xbox

Still on level 5 on this one... it's a gory, no holds barred stealth game. It features a twisted story, plenty of violence, and some definite nerve wracking. Hiding in the shadows, and a hunter is right in front of you, taunting you and yelling at you but can't see you, it is unsettling.

However, by level 5, the game is growing a but repetitous. Knock on the wall, wait for enemy to show up, wait for him to turn around, and then choke / gut / bludgeon him to death. The nail gun really makes the action pick up though, and MrWhiteFolks has told me the game takes a change of pace and gets really good halfway through, when they introduce all the guns in the game, and guys with flashlights (so hiding in the dark won't work, I guess).

So far it's ok, but I feel it will only really cater to a small group of people. Most people will just pass it up for MGS 3, and I really can't say I blame them.

Downhill Domination - PS2

A bike racing game brought to you by Incog Studios, the same people who brought us Twisted Metal: Black. The premise is, you're on a bike, racing against other people, descending down a mountain. Sounds simple, but the stages and sense of speed are where this game really shines.

Lots of shortcuts per level, lots of varied and interesting levels, and lots of gameplay options. I picked it up for 10 bucks, and it's definately something I could see myself playing every once in awhile.

Lackluster soundtrack, decent graphics, and not enough levels really hold this game back. But where is there is golden, definately worth checking out.


So that's just three out of however many... might as well open this thread up to everyone to list games they enjoyed, that seem to have been quickly forgotten by everyone. Would help if they were cheap too, for a cheap / quick fix.

Just throw the name, the system, and description, and you're good to go.

Transformers (PS2)
The game sold decently, but I'm pretty sure those sales were to a bunch of ten-year-olds because I know no one that's played the game. It's nothing amazing, but it's one of the better third person shooter games I've played. I even like it better than Ratchet Clank for a number of reasons, including the fact that Transformers is actually somewhat challenging. I at first wasn't interested in the game because it's based on the Armada series, but that actually worked in the game's favor as far as gameplay. There are 40 Mini-Cons in the game (some hidden, some necessary) that give your Transformer special abilities. You can equip up to four Mini-Cons at a time, and each one takes up a certain amount of your limited power supply. It forces some interesting strategizing when picking your Mini-Cons before a level, as the abilities of each Mini-Con are pretty diverse (some upgrade your regular cannon, some give you missiles or rockets, one lets you turn temporarily invisible, one lets you glide on wings, another lets you jump higher, one's a sniper rifle...). Using them all to their max abilities makes the combat super interesting even though it is extremely simple and straight-forward. The controls are tight, the graphics are somewhat impressive, and the boss fights are awesome (fighting the aircraft carrier Tidal Wave is easily the highlight). My biggest complaint is how little the game utilizes the whole transforming aspect--I rarely transform, and when I do it's only to move long distances a bit more quickly. Even still, this is a very solid shooter and well worth the $20 it goes for now.

Sudeki (XBX) - I only played it for about a half-hour, but it really doesn't seem that bad. Nifty little combo system, too.

I thought the levels for Chaos Legion just kept getting worse as the game progressed


personally for me the best underrated game of this Generation has been Sphinx and the Cursed Mummy

Legaia 2 - The story isn't much, but the battle system is fun, and the game's structure resembles 16-bit stuff, with less of an emphasis on cutscenes and more on the game itself.

Lupin the Third: Treasure of the Sorcerer King - Fun fighting stuff, neat disguises, okay stealth, bad AI, but great puzzles done in a way that I haven't seen in a long time.

Firefighter F.D. 18 - Pure KCET greatness with good platforming, a decent plot, surprising voice acting, and the main firefighting play is intense. The graphics are also done really well, with the fire effects in particular being quite impressive.

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Originally Posted by ChaoofNee

Sudeki (XBX) - I only played it for about a half-hour, but it really doesn't seem that bad. Nifty little combo system, too.

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Play it for longer, the game really turns into a mess story and character wise, espically near the end.

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Originally Posted by Jeremy

Legaia 2 - The story isn't much, but the battle system is fun, and the game's structure resembles 16-bit stuff, with less of an emphasis on cutscenes and more on the game itself.

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Yea, I forgot how awesome this game was.

Chaos Legion bored the shit out of me. Downhill Domination is good stuff. Trasnformers seemed pretty good from what I played. Manhunt, Sphinx andf Lupin I need to check out.

Some underrated games:

Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines(PC) - A very cool recent ARPG that seems to be getting lost among bigger holiday titles. I'm disappointed that it's way more linear than I initially thought and the combat can be a bit frustrating but overall it's still one of my favorites this year.

Armed and Dangerous(PC/Xbox) - It's funny, action packed and has a great soundtrack.

Kya Dark Lineage(PS2) - Ignore the mediocre character designs. This Rayman-ish game is one of the best 3d platformers.

Phantasy Star Online Episode III(GC) - Everyone passed it by for being a card game but it's actually pretty good.

Heavy Metal: FAKK2(PC) - A solid third-person shooter/beat 'em up/platformer. It reminds me of 16-bit console action games.

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Originally Posted by NeoZeedeater

Chaos Legion bored the shit out of me.-

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It's starting to do the same to me by level 7.

It's a very cheap game, with the enemy generators and all =/

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Originally Posted by Roufuss

It's starting to do the same to me by level 7.

It's a very cheap game, with the enemy generators and all =/

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trust me I beat the game by the time you get to the end of it your gonna be hating it

the levels just keep getting worse and worse

the first level is awesome though :lol:

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Originally Posted by Shin Johnpv

trust me I beat the game by the time you get to the end of it your gonna be hating it

the levels just keep getting worse and worse

the first level is awesome though :lol:

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I enjoyed levels 1-6, 5 and 6 had decent boss fights to boot.

But now they make level 7 a total bitch, I have to kill some generator to move on, and it's being guarded by infinitely respawning guys, who respawn one as soon as I kill one.

I'd like to beat it for the sake of beating it, but it's a real struggle. Plus alot of the Legions just seems worthless =/

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Originally Posted by NeoZeedeater

Kya Dark Lineage(PS2) - Ignore the mediocre character designs. This Rayman-ish game is one of the best 3d platformers.

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you know I've been interested in this game since I first saw shots of it and I just never got around to picking it up and it's dirt cheap now I really need to grab it

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Originally Posted by NeoZeedeater

Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines(PC) - A very cool recent ARPG that seems to be getting lost among bigger holiday titles. I'm disappointed that it's way more linear than I initially thought and the combat can be a bit frustrating but overall it's still one of my favorites this year.

Armed and Dangerous(PC/Xbox) - It's funny, action packed and has a great soundtrack.

Heavy Metal: FAKK2(PC) - A solid third-person shooter/beat 'em up/platformer. It reminds me of 16-bit console action games.

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I'm playing Vampire at the moment and I'm enjoying it. I know nothing of the whole Vampire background (the white wolf stuff) but I like the setting though it has some glitches.

I didn't like Armed and Dangerous at all. Something about it I just didn't like and I think its totally inferior to Planet Moon's previous game, Giants: Citizen Kabuto. A&D had dull, repetitive gameplay, horrific fmv that took forever to finish (I skipped a few cause they were just getting stupid) and the game looked really plain compared to the colorful and bright Giants.

I also liked Heavy Metal. It looked great at the time and had some nice levels.

Chaos Legion is another clunker..it got insanely boring and repetitive by the 3rd stage and I somehow finished it for the hell of it (must've been a slow time for games then or something). I played the PC version though and I'm not sure how good the port was. I don't understand why Capcom ports their shit games to pc and not their good stuff unlike Konami who puts out really great ports like the Silent Hill games.

Can't say whats underrated stuff but some games I enjoyed that I'm sure most ignored (all pc..I just got back to console gaming)

Elite Force 2: Nice sequel to the Star Trek: Voyager FPS game. This one has no Voyager but you do meet up with Jean-Luc Picard and Tuvok.

Speaking of Star Trek there is the decent Deep Space Nine: The Fallen. Like Heavy Metal its a third-person action game with you controlling Sisko, Worf and Kira. You have to use the tri-corder alot to disable stuff and kill enemies..etc. Its not too bad.

Gothic 1 and 2: Great series made in Germany that was bought here and totally ignored which is too bad. The control is clunky and the series even has poor mouse support but I think its great stuff and I really recommend it. Has town where everyone has their own chores, jobs..etc. You can play the game as either a mercenary, paladin or mage and what you do effects how others react to you..etc. Gothic 2 had an expansion that was never bought here which I guess is due to the poor sales. Gothic 3 is in development..they BETTER bring it out though I guess I could always import the UK version.

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Originally Posted by Roufuss

Play it for longer, the game really turns into a mess story and character wise, espically near the end.

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But it's just so damned nice to look at.

I finished the game, and though the story isn't anything fantastic, it's workable. I just didn't like how once the ball got rolling the game seemed to end so abruptly.

I thought Chaos Legion was ok at first, but after a few hours it got really boring. I tried to make myself fininsh it, but I quit pretty close to the end.

I loved Manhunt. I actually thought it got pretty challenging towards the end. Good game.

I thought Alter Echo was a decent game. It's nothing spectacular, but I had fun playing through it. It's definately unique.

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Originally Posted by Shin Johnpv

personally for me the best underrated game of this Generation has been Sphinx and the Cursed Mummy

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With ease,what a great game.

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Originally Posted by elfneedsfood

I thought Alter Echo was a decent game. It's nothing spectacular, but I had fun playing through it. It's definately unique.

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You damned right!

I found Manhunt to be one of the more satisfying gaming experiences I've had in a while. Not for the queasy.

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Originally Posted by Revoltor

I found Manhunt to be one of the more satisfying gaming experiences I've had in a while. Not for the queasy.

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Yea, I just have to get over the hump.

This whole Junkyard scene with the Skinz is really boring.

Shadow of Destiny (PS2) - Very cool little adventure game, especially if you love Shenmue-style campiness, which I do indeed fancy.

Mafia (PC) - One of the best games this generation, imo, which has unfortunately gotten a bad reputation because of the weak console versions. The game really deserved much more attention, it was absolute class.

Max Payne 2 (PC) - Okay, one or two people may have played this game. And they may or may not have liked it. But not nearly enough people have played it, and none of them have liked it enough. MP2 also gets way more flak than it should thanks to bad console ports, but like Mafia, it is leagues better on it's original platform, and deserves attention for so much more than bullet time.

Breakdown (Xbox) - Yeah, it's sometimes controller-breaking hard, yeah, it's linear, and yeah, it's got a terrible platforming level, but despite all that Breakdown is still one of the best games of the year to me. The story, the visual design, the atmosphere, the joy of pounding the absolute hell out of people... all excellent. It's still also the only FPS to try and give the player a body - even in HL2 you're nothing more then a camera box with arms that magically absorbs powerups - and that alone would make Breakdown special.

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Originally Posted by MechDeus

Breakdown (Xbox) - Yeah, it's sometimes controller-breaking hard, yeah, it's linear, and yeah, it's got a terrible platforming level, but despite all that Breakdown is still one of the best games of the year to me. The story, the visual design, the atmosphere, the joy of pounding the absolute hell out of people... all excellent. It's still also the only FPS to try and give the player a body - even in HL2 you're nothing more then a camera box with arms that magically absorbs powerups - and that alone would make Breakdown special.

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I tried to like this game. It has a really cool concept, but the 40th time I died because the main guy is drinking a fucking soda I just said "fuck it". He has to look at every power up/gun/ammo clip he picks up. The gameplay was frustrating, and you needed moves that take out more than one enemy at a time. The flaws were just too much for me, they overshadowed the good things about the game.

I haven't played the Xbox(AFD Storm) or PS2(AFD Strike) versions, but Air Force Delta is a great arcade style, air combat game. The train level is one of the best I've ever played in this style of game. I actually enjoyed AFD more than Ace Combat 4 and the enemy planes actually make you work for the kill.


Ring of Red: A unique strategy game from Konami, with a different style combat system. You actually help determine the damage your mech does in battle, by aiming the guns at the enemy. Think of this game as somewhat like Front Mission, with a little more interactivity.

Worms 3D: An excellent 3d adaption to a supremely fun multiplayer game, most matches end up as Fire Punch fests though :(

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Originally Posted by Andy

Shadow of Destiny (PS2) - Very cool little adventure game, especially if you love Shenmue-style campiness, which I do indeed fancy.

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I forgot about this one. What a great story. Putting the whole thing together was very,very cool.

Ribbit King: the graphics weren't much, and i felt kinda stupid while playing it, but it was really funny in some parts, and the gameplay got pretty challenging toward the end. Add that to the strange characters and memorable multiplayer matches and it was worth more than what i spent on it.

Magic Pengel: The graphics hurt my eyes a little. and the adorable characters made my blood curdle. but...i couldn't help but like it. it had a really entertaining concept that changed what you draw on the screen into a living polygon that would then do battle with other living polygons. It takes a little imagination to enjoy, tho, since the presentation and battle system were kinda flawed. Aside from the things that weren't so great, I still got a kick out of it.

I really enjoyed manhunt quite a bit, and you're right, Roufuss, the game kinda takes a small nosedive somewhere near the 1/3 mark. But once you leave the "show" and actually start acting on your own against the guy talking in your head, the game really gets good.

In particular, the level outside the mansion is both incredibly hard and entertaining.

I-Ninja, Metal Arms and Culdcept. For MA/Culdcept, they got plenty of attention here tho, which is a good thing!

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Originally Posted by animegirl20

I tried to like this game. It has a really cool concept, but the 40th time I died because the main guy is drinking a fucking soda I just said "fuck it". He has to look at every power up/gun/ammo clip he picks up. The gameplay was frustrating, and you needed moves that take out more than one enemy at a time. The flaws were just too much for me, they overshadowed the good things about the game.

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I'm glad I'm not the only one who felt that way. I really wanted to love this game, because it was mind-numbingly awesome in a number of ways... just not when you had to fight people. I eventually got too frustrated, and found I had a number of games in my backlog I'd rather be playing. I'd like to try again someday, but I'm not so sure that I will. The smallest task in Breakdown felt like a huge chore.

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Originally Posted by gamevet

Ring of Red: A unique strategy game from Konami, with a different style combat system. You actually help determine the damage your mech does in battle, by aiming the guns at the enemy. Think of this game as somewhat like Front Mission, with a little more interactivity.

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I've always wanted to try this.

Anyway, personally, I'm a huge fan of Sky Odyssey. It was a really early PS2 title, maybe launch, I'm not sure. Kind of reminds me of the flying parts of Pilotwings. Really nice, adventure-y music, simple control yet gameplay that could be incredibly tricky at times. Lots of cool missions, and the flying has a great feel to it. I got it as a gift a long while back, and I know back then finding a new copy was as hard as hell, but I've seen used copies around at EBs and GameStops, so it can't be that hard to find.

I also really liked Robotech Battlecry, despite some irritating flaws with the escort missions, though those can easily be beaten by abusing the not-so-great AI. I think I appreciate the game more now that Robotech Invasion is out, because Invasion is a boring piece of shit. This depresses me, because I love the final Robotech saga. I don't even like the look of Invasion... I don't like what they did to the Invids. Anyway, Battlecry has a really nice cel-shaded look, reasonably good gameplay, and let's face it: if you want to play a game where you can pilot a Veritech/Valkyrie and you don't want it to suck, there's not a lot of options. I welcomed Battlecry for that alone. It's worth having for Robotech fans simply because all the old voice actors are back, and there's a lot of cool bonus material like interviews with them, at least, on the Xbox version, anyway. Since it's available for all 3 current consoles and it can be easily had for under $20 (probably the limited edition too, I got it for $25, tent-like t-shirt and all), there's no reason a Robotech fan shouldn't own it.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer for Xbox is another massively overlooked title. The Collective is awesome. This game and Indiana Jones have great engines, the fighting never gets too boring, and you can use all kinds of awesome shit scattered around as weapons. In Buffy, that translates to being able to break wooden stuff in the levels for makeshift stakes, which is a gameplay feature I still think is pretty cool.

I also liked Gunvalkyrie a lot, too. The people who dislike Gunvalkyrie seem to HATE it, though. The control takes some getting used to, but it was one of the first Xbox titles I got, and I did have a ton of fun with it.

Robot Alchemic Drive for PS2 is one of the games I grabbed on a whim during the Circuit City clearance, I was always curious about it, and I'm very glad I picked it up. The voice acting is gratingly bad, and though it appears it was done so on purpose, that doesn't make it any easier to listen to. The plot is also horrible and I don't give a shit about any of the characters, but the gameplay is fantastic. More or less, when you're in a combat situation, you run around on foot as the kid you control, find a good spot to view the action from on top of a building, and then you switch over to robot controls. At that point the PS2 controller becomes something of a remote control. The L and R triggers control each individual leg movement, forward and backward. The analog sticks control the arms and punching. The face buttons activate mode changes, special attacks, etc. There's a bit of a learning curve, but it's really worth it if you can find it. The illusion of size for the robots and things you fight are amazing, too. The screen shakes when they walk, buildings crumble as fights continue, often making you move to a safer spot, leaving your robot vulnerable.

I was going to mention Way of the Samurai and JSRF, but I've rambled on enough for now. I'd even argue that DMC2 was better than most people gave it credit for. Maybe later.

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Originally Posted by animegirl20

It has a really cool concept, but the 40th time I died because the main guy is drinking a fucking soda I just said "fuck it".

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Then, uh, stop doing that while you're getting hit. I don't think I ever died while healing. Crowd control is also a nice thing to learn, if you don't let them surround you you only to worry about multiple enemies in one very late portion of the game.

I'm not saying the game can't be frustrating, but I'm also saying you shouldn't hate it because it doesn't coddle you.

DMC2 was ok a little better than what people made it out to be thought a little bit on the easy side and a worthless second disc.

Beyond Good & Evil I 'm actually playing through this now picked it up last week for $10 from Circuit City very enjoyable game. For $10 can't go wrong adventure game fans.

Kung Fu Chaos also picked it up for $10 very fun party game (I dont really like playing it on my own) check those out for cheap gaming fun.

Also I like Castlevania LOI. People hated that one it seemed the music was great.

BTW JSRF was ok I liked the first so much better from music to play machanics. The second game wasn't as great or good as the first to me. I got either frustrated or bored by the time I got the Roller Coaster stage I think thats where I left it off at. I have yet to finish and don't have any desire to.

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Originally Posted by MechDeus

Then, uh, stop doing that while you're getting hit. I don't think I ever died while healing. Crowd control is also a nice thing to learn, if you don't let them surround you you only to worry about multiple enemies in one very late portion of the game.

I'm not saying the game can't be frustrating, but I'm also saying you shouldn't hate it because it doesn't coddle you.

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I've never had the "hit while healing or picking up items" problem, I just had difficulty fighting more than one person... or even one person. It was as hard as hell for me to track them. Like I said, the game did a lot of cool things, but in the end, I didn't feel like it was rewarding enough to deal with the frustration I got. And in the end, if I'm not having fun, well... I'm gonna stop playing the game, because it's no longer serving its purpose.

I'll have to second RAD & the Buffy games (I liked Chaos Bleeds even better).

And I'll add in Sub Rebellion for the PS2. A true 3d sequel to In the Hunt, I was surprised it came together so well. Fighting underwater & on the surface were done differently enough to make it enjoyable to go back and forth between them. Plus there were some great boss battles. I haven't taken it off my shelf for over a year now, think I'll put in some time with it this week after I finish kotor2.

Yeah, Sub Rebellion really is a great game.

Another great, looked-over title is Sega GT 2002. It's little more than a nice-looking GT clone, but it plays really nice and doesn't make you do those silly driving tests.

Okay, fuck it, I'm done with classes, and I have all the time in the world. I will continue!

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Originally Posted by x2y

DMC2 was ok a little better than what people made it out to be thought a little bit on the easy side and a worthless second disc.

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I paid $30 for DMC when it was new (I think I had a Best Buy gift card or somesuch) and I never really regretted it. No, it was nowhere near as good as the first, and some of the dreary environments got boring fast, while being nowhere near as cool as the castle in the first game. It was mind-numbingly easy (even on Dante Must Die mode, there was no challenge) and I didn't really like the girl (whose name I forgot... Lucia or something?), but... it wasn't an awful experience. I had fun with it. I played through it a couple times and when I got bored with it, I felt like I got what I paid for. I can't hate it too much, but DMC3 looks infinitely better.

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Originally Posted by x2y

Also I like Castlevania LOI. People hated that one it seemed the music was great.

BTW JSRF was ok I liked the first so much better from music to play machanics. The second game wasn't as great or good as the first to me. I got either frustrated or bored by the time I got the Roller Coaster stage I think thats where I left it off at. I have yet to finish and don't have any desire to.

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I liked LoI a lot. Once you get done with the "Castlevania May Cry" heckling, it's not a bad game. It's not a terribly difficult game either, but I did enjoy it a good deal. I absolutely loved the enemy design, a lot of old CV enemies translated to 3D extraordinarily well. The environments were a bit boring at times and I do wish it was one seamless castle like SotN, because I feel that could work insanely well in 3D, but oh well. For those who didn't like LoI, shut up and go play the N64 Castlevanias again. You'll develop an appreciation really fast. :D

I liked the first JSR a lot, but I had a couple problems with it. For one, I thought the control could use some tightening up. I know I'm alone on this one, but I didn't always like how it felt. Two, I wanted to play that game fast, and I felt like the tagging just slowed me down. Yeah, one-button tags make the game a lot easier, but I love the look of JSRF, and the gameplay moves at a much faster rate, and I actually had more fun with it than I did with the first. Though, now that I think of it, I don't think I finished either one. Hm.

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Originally Posted by Xeno G

I'll have to second RAD & the Buffy games (I liked Chaos Bleeds even better).

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Never played Chaos Bleeds, I forgot all about it. I should hunt a copy down sometime.

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Originally Posted by sleeveboy

Another great, looked-over title is Sega GT 2002. It's little more than a nice-looking GT clone, but it plays really nice and doesn't make you do those silly driving tests.

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A friend of mine told me that a while ago, too. He said after the first couple races (which I gave up on it in the middle of), it gets good. Unfortunately, I still don't like Gran Turismo-style racing games, so I don't think I can find much there. Not doing the driving tests helps, but I just don't see the fun in trying to emulate real world driving physics without the other fun parts of driving... it just seems dull when games like Burnout exist. I'm still interested to give it another try sometime soon, though, and hell, I'm sure a number of us have it on the same disc as JSRF and probably never gave it much of a chance.

I'll second a Sega GT 2002 nod to some extent, the graphics are still amazing, and it's the most enjoyable sim game I've ever played, as I wasn't bored to tears after a day of play. The replay feature also rules, I need to get the online expansion soon, while it's still in stores. Okage Shadow King is quite awesome, although not quite an uknown gem. JSRF isn't unknown, but it is under appreciated.

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Originally Posted by Glass Joe

With ease,what a great game.

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I really really really really hope there's a sequel

I remember when the game was coming out Eurocomm said they made enough from everything else they had done that even if it sold poorly they'd beable and want to do a sequel but I haven't heard anything about it since

:(

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Originally Posted by Andy

Shadow of Destiny (PS2) - Very cool little adventure game, especially if you love Shenmue-style campiness, which I do indeed fancy.

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I always chime in when I see this game mentioned. Easily the best story in any adventure game I've ever played! Brilliant stuff.

Gothic's cool too. Worst interface ever? Maybe. But it's somehow more forgiveable than Morrowind's. Just forget the mouse entirely and you'll start to adapt. I like this game's sense of exploration though I've barely begun. I really need to set aside some time for it 'cause I have the sequel waiting as well.

And to the guy who mentioned Sky Odyssey. Did you mean Sky Gunner... or is that the japanese name? Anyway, I have this too. Looks good. Heard there's slowdown problems though.

And to finally add my own: Doom 3. This game received a lot of undeserved backlash. Lights off. Sound up, way up. Graphics set to high. Probably my favorite FPS of all time even above HL2 (though I concede HL2 is a better, more fleshed-out overall experience, I had more fun with Doom 3).

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Originally Posted by Compass

And to the guy who mentioned Sky Odyssey. Did you mean Sky Gunner... or is that the japanese name? Anyway, I have this too. Looks good. Heard there's slowdown problems though.

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Are you kidding? Both! Okay, I was not the one to make that statement, but both of the games were really fun, and completely overlooked.

Skygunner was a game where you flew around in these odd-looking biplanes and shot the crap out of stuff. It had a distinct visual style (even considering the fact that "anime-inspised" is hardly distinct), some interesting scoring/destruction mechanics (shooting things in a specific order and chaining explosions would score you crazy points and make your life easier), and a very odd health system (when you took too much damage, you spun out of control and had to mash on the controls to recover -- the more times you did this, the more buttons you had to hit in the time limit. Your health was a direct function of how fast you can mash.) The real problem with the game is that it is short as hell (5 stages), but playing with the various characters (three plus two secret ones) changes all of the missions around.

-Dippy

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Originally Posted by Dipstick

Are you kidding? Both! Okay, I was not the one to make that statement, but both of the games were really fun, and completely overlooked.

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Yeah, I meant Sky Odyssey when I said Sky Odyssey, but Skygunner fits the bill too. Fun little game, but yeah, there's big slowdown problems.

Hmm, okay. I guess I have no idea what Sky Odyssey is. I know I've seen it written but my brain always translated it into Skygunner and I thought they were the same game. I'll look into it.

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Originally Posted by sleeveboy

Another great, looked-over title is Sega GT 2002. It's little more than a nice-looking GT clone, but it plays really nice and doesn't make you do those silly driving tests.

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I really enjoyed Sega GT on the Dreamcast. It shouldn't be compared to Gran Tourismo, but you can see some of it's influence in that game. I liked it's more arcade like play though. I picked up the Sega GT 2002/ JSRF combo a couple of months ago for $8. I've yet to give it a spin though.

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Originally Posted by Compass

And to finally add my own: Doom 3. This game received a lot of undeserved backlash. Lights off. Sound up, way up. Graphics set to high. Probably my favorite FPS of all time even above HL2 (though I concede HL2 is a better, more fleshed-out overall experience, I had more fun with Doom 3).

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Yeah, though it's not really overlooked I'm always annoyed when I see people talking about Doom 3 like it's so horribly mediocre. It does kind of drag and get repetitous towards the end (which seems like it should have been spent in hell anyway), but it's still a pretty amazing game. The fact that it doesn't bring anything new to the genre gameplay-wise doesn't seem like it should be surprising, and the presentation makes so much of a difference.

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Originally Posted by Shin Johnpv

I really really really really hope there's a sequel

I remember when the game was coming out Eurocomm said they made enough from everything else they had done that even if it sold poorly they'd beable and want to do a sequel but I haven't heard anything about it since

:(

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Yeah, I remember hearing that too(probably from you). It would be really great to have a sequel but not having heard anything yet makes me question it ever happening.

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Originally Posted by Glass Joe

Yeah, I remember hearing that too(probably from you). It would be really great to have a sequel but not having heard anything yet makes me question it ever happening.

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that's just a shame in my book, we can get 5 Crap Raiders but not 2 Sphinx and the Cursed Mummys

I kind of got hooked on Smuggler's Run Warzones GCN. It's 4 player mode is pretty fun and the single player is pretty addictive..to an extent. Picked it up for $9.99 a while ago at my local Zellers.

Maybe it didn't get overlooked here, but I recommend Rygar to customers all the time, most don't know what it is. I thought that game was great.

After a years worth of hoopla, I finally tried out Beyond Good and Evil last week. Had fun at first, but got annoyed by the camera, and the Slaughter house section. I got pretty far into it, got stuck, looked up a walkthrough, and found out I skipped some pretty important stuff in the beginning of the level. Things like that make me miss the days of linearity (is that a word?)

Played a bit of Kya. Good enough game to recommend, though I wouldn't (and didn't) have paid full price for it.

Wasn't Buffy Chaos Bleeds made by someone other than the collective? Whatever happened to the other game they were making, The Lost (at least I think they were the ones behind it.)

I tried very hard to like Legaia 2, but just as in the first one, I got tired of how long the battles took.

"It's little more than a nice-looking GT clone, but it plays really nice and doesn't make you do those silly driving tests"

The physics suck, the E-brake is broken, and it's lame to spend half your prize money to fix a car that got damaged through no fault of your own (the AI sucks).

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Originally Posted by kingoffighters

I-Ninja, Metal Arms and Culdcept. For MA/Culdcept, they got plenty of attention here tho, which is a good thing!

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Originally Posted by x2y

Beyond Good & Evil I 'm actually playing through this now picked it up last week for $10 from Circuit City very enjoyable game. For $10 can't go wrong adventure game fans.

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Originally Posted by Anarkex

Ribbit King: the graphics weren't much, and i felt kinda stupid while playing it, but it was really funny in some parts, and the gameplay got pretty challenging toward the end. Add that to the strange characters and memorable multiplayer matches and it was worth more than what i spent on it.

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Originally Posted by That New Consumer of Zeed

Armed and Dangerous(PC/Xbox) - It's funny, action packed and has a great soundtrack.

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IBTNes.
...and to think the only one I payed full price on was I-Ninja.

I'd have to give a nod to Shox (PS2). It's a fun, reasonably straightforward arcade-style rally racer, and shucks-howdy does it absorb my time when I fire it up. It's really too bad the game didn't really catch on in a big way, but still worth checking out if you stumble across it. I don't know how easy it'll be to track down. I got my copy just after EA dropped the price on the thing, and even then the game was getting scarce, but still well worth grabbing if you're lucky enough to find it.

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Originally Posted by Prome

I'd have to give a nod to Shox (PS2).

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I'm halfway tempted by that game every time I see it in stores, but I've got so many games to play right now that I'd never get around to touching Shox. I see it pretty much every time I go into an EB or GameStop, so I don't think it's hard to find.

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Originally Posted by Revoltor

I found Manhunt to be one of the more satisfying gaming experiences I've had in a while. Not for the queasy.

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Agreed, I really enjoyed Manhunt. And let me say the last level is fantastic. What a great ending...

Cubivore was some of the most fun I've had playing a game in a long time.

I also enjoyed PS2 Shinobi, although the last boss is an absolute bitch and uses the game's broken camera angles to max advantage.

I love love LOVE Sky Odyssey. Such a fun and relaxing game. Just flying aircrafts around and such. The graphics are really really dated, but they are clean and arn't trying to do to much so its not cluttered with crummy looking things. Fantastic stuff.

Kya was a great platformer for the price, it was 10-15$ within the blink of an eye of it's release and it must be pretty cheap now although harder to find. Really fun game, the only thing that was midly frustrating was the map wasn't always clear but really thats just nit picking.

D

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Originally Posted by Shin Johnpv

that's just a shame in my book, we can get 5 Crap Raiders but not 2 Sphinx and the Cursed Mummys

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The first Tomb Raider was at least 7,000 times better than Sphinx.

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Originally Posted by MechDeus

Breakdown (Xbox) - Yeah, it's sometimes controller-breaking hard, yeah, it's linear, and yeah, it's got a terrible platforming level, but despite all that Breakdown is still one of the best games of the year to me. The story, the visual design, the atmosphere, the joy of pounding the absolute hell out of people... all excellent. It's still also the only FPS to try and give the player a body - even in HL2 you're nothing more then a camera box with arms that magically absorbs powerups - and that alone would make Breakdown special.

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I agree with all of this. Breakdown is awesome and one of the best games I've ever played.

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Originally Posted by Yoshi

The first Tomb Raider was at least 7,000 times worse than Sphinx.

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There you go I fixed that for you

Tomb Raider has always and will always be complete trash

Anyone who has played Breakdown and has not played Chronicles of Riddick, needs to immediatly run to the store and buy a copy

Riddick not only takes the 1st person combat style from Breakdown, but mixes it up so that it is not monotonous and that you are doing the same thing all the time. The only thing Breakdown has on Riddick is the ability to combo punches/kicks.

Other than that Riddick has, tighter gameplay, better visuals, better control, better atmsophere, and IMHO a better storyline

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Originally Posted by D_N_G

Other than that Riddick has, tighter gameplay, better visuals, better control, better atmsophere, and IMHO a better storyline

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If you aren't playing Riddick on the PC, then you still aren't getting the tighter gameplay, better visuals, and better controls.

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Originally Posted by Shin Johnpv

Tomb Raider has always and will always be complete trash

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Wow. The first RE and MGS joind the first TR to form the holy trinity of action/adventure games. Sphinx was a forgettable Zelda clone. The two should not even be mentioned in the same thread.

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Originally Posted by PBMax

I also enjoyed PS2 Shinobi, although the last boss is an absolute bitch and uses the game's broken camera angles to max advantage.

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If we're going to mention Shinobi, I definitely think that Nightshade is worth a look too. It's not as challenging as the former, but it's still good fun. :)

A few more games that deserve a look:

Bombastic (PS2) - Devil Dice, only prettier, and with more game modes.

Wizardry: Tales of the Forsaken Land (PS2) - Old school dungeon crawl. :)

Throne of Darkness (PC) - Diablo in ancient Japan, with four characters to control at once.

BTW Prome, congrats on making it to 5 posts on TNL and not yet getting blasted with a STFU Noob

Edit* I just realized what one of the the next posts will be, sorry dude

I highly enjoyed Downhill Domination, Kya, Bombastic, Metal Arms, and Sphinx.

Crimson Sea (XB) - Deserves mention because it's so damn kooky. Anime-bizarre storyline & constant alien-bashing might turn some off, but there are some fantastic moments here. One level has you hunting invisible creatures on an alien desert world, and you can only see them by their tracks in the dust. Another has you using your radar and controller vibration to separate the shape-shifting creatures from the rest of the crowd in which they're trying to hide. There's lots of bashing through waves of enemies - not surprising since it's by Koei - but it's certainly a great stress reliever.

Put the inventive levels together with an incredible graphics engine, memorable soundtrack, and crazy art direction, and you've got one of the best action-RPGs this gen.

Otogi series (XB) - Beautiful, surreal, and challenging, From Software dropped a couple of overlooked gems here. Maybe too Japanese for many, and there isn't a whole lot to the story or gameplay, but there's nothing in modern gaming like smashing demons through buildings. The sequel adds more characters and mini-games, but I think the original is slightly better in terms of atmosphere and creativity.

Vexx (GC/XB - it's on the PS2 as well, but runs and looks pretty shoddy) This is the best 3D platformer of this generation. Vexx is a horrid-looking character, the camera's a little twitchy, and the combat is forgettable, and it's not really that original, but the gameplay is nothing less than sublime, tough-as-nails old-school obstacle courses, set in beautiful Dark Crystal-style levels. Yes, it's by Acclaim, but it's their best game in years.

kill.switch (PS2/XB) - Not very deep, and not very long, but definitely worth the $15 or so it's going for now. It's a modern military 3D shooter with a surprisingly interesting storyline, strategic yet intuitive duck-&-fire gameplay, and nicely designed levels. Woulda been nice there were unlockables or multiplayer, but what's there is pretty darn cool. Play it on Hard to experience some of the most enjoyably crafty AI around.

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Originally Posted by Prome

I'd have to give a nod to Shox (PS2). It's a fun, reasonably straightforward arcade-style rally racer, and shucks-howdy does it absorb my time when I fire it up. It's really too bad the game didn't really catch on in a big way, but still worth checking out if you stumble across it. I don't know how easy it'll be to track down. I got my copy just after EA dropped the price on the thing, and even then the game was getting scarce, but still well worth grabbing if you're lucky enough to find it.

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Interesting! I have always wanted to check it out, and it is so cheap used now that I should just buy it. Maybe someday.

Im a racing game slut, and Downhill Domination was really really good. I would say its the best arcade-style racing game on the PS2. Itll definitely be in my top 10 of 2004.

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Itll definitely be in my top 10 of 2004.

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You played (and liked) 10 games in 2004?

I'm pretty sure it released in fall '03, actually.

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Originally Posted by Bacon McShig

You played (and liked) 10 games in 2004?

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Uhh...


no.

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I'm pretty sure it released in fall '03, actually.

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Youre correct.

Oh well.

Shox is pretty decent, and it moves at a great clip. It's got some weird controlling issues with it though. I need to try Downhill Domination, and yeah, Vexx rules, it makes me sad that Acclaim died, so I hope someone buys the property, or at least the game engine.

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Originally Posted by Yoshi

Wow. The first RE and MGS joind the first TR to form the holy trinity of action/adventure games. Sphinx was a forgettable Zelda clone. The two should not even be mentioned in the same thread.

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I'll give you RE and MGS but TR has always been garbage to me, I remember how nuts everyone was going about the first one and when I finally got to play it at a friends house, and the feeling of wanting to jab a large metal spike into my skull it gave me

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Originally Posted by Shin Johnpv

I'll give you RE and MGS but TR has always been garbage to me, I remember how nuts everyone was going about the first one and when I finally got to play it at a friends house, and the feeling of wanting to jab a large metal spike into my skull it gave me

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TR isn't a pick-up-and-play-at-a-friend's-house-and-instantly-fall-in-love kind of game. Much like real-life girls, you gotta spend some quality one-on-one time with Lara before she starts opening up the hidden crevasses of delight. :chick:

I love both Sphinx and TR 1(and TR 4 to a lesser extent). For that reason I think you are both wrong. Shin for his TR 1 hate and Yoshi for bashing Sphinx.

It may have been a "Zelda clone" but I think it was better than both Zelda WW and Zelda MM. Just because it didn't sell well doesn't mean shit.

Saying that Sphinx is better than Marjora's Mask is kind of like saying "Yeah, I'm actually really fucking gay."

Shox is pretty horrible. Don't expect SSX-level quality.

Rygar is amazing - it's one of the best games of the generation. Otogi is great as well (haven't played 2). Wave Race: Blue Storm is another awesome game, but I don't know if it qualifies for this thread.

Fatal Frame/Zero & Fatal Frame 2 Crimson Butterfly/Zero Akai Chou.

Honestly, I'm not sure why these two games never got all that recognition when everyone creams over Resident Evil and to a lot lesser extent, Silent Hill.

RE deserves its props for popularizing the genre, but it's the most behind in scares & gameplay. Fatal Frame is disturbing all the way through, and its camera-based battles heighten the creepy atmosphere. I never thought I'd be scared playing a video game, but this series proved me wrong.

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Originally Posted by Grave

I've never had the "hit while healing or picking up items" problem, I just had difficulty fighting more than one person... or even one person. It was as hard as hell for me to track them.

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There's a lock-on.

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Originally Posted by Compass

And to finally add my own: Doom 3. This game received a lot of undeserved backlash. Lights off. Sound up, way up. Graphics set to high. Probably my favorite FPS of all time even above HL2 (though I concede HL2 is a better, more fleshed-out overall experience, I had more fun with Doom 3).

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I agree with this. Maybe not the favorite FPS ever, but I haven't really thought about it.

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Originally Posted by Dipstick

Skygunner

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YES, SKYGUNNER! This game is awesome, although I never really put in the time that I wanted to into it. I loved it so much, yet neglected it at the same time. :(

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Originally Posted by D_N_G

Other than that Riddick has, tighter gameplay, better visuals, better control, better atmsophere, and IMHO a better storyline

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Riddick definately had better acting and better writing but its storyline wasn't anywhere in the league of Breakdown's. (Also, why did you write "IMHO" just there? The whole thing was IYHO.)

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Originally Posted by BioMechanic

Otogi series (XB)

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Werd. Still haven't played the sequel yet but there's something just so great about smashing creatures through stuff.

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Originally Posted by Tyler_Durden

Saying that Sphinx is better than Marjora's Mask is kind of like saying "Yeah, I'm actually really fucking gay."

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Best TNL quote, ever.

So, does this mean we're alowed to say "gay," and "fag," and such without being banned, again?

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Originally Posted by Tyler_Durden

Saying that Sphinx is better than Marjora's Mask is kind of like saying "Yeah, I'm actually really fucking gay."

Shox is pretty horrible. Don't expect SSX-level quality.

Rygar is amazing - it's one of the best games of the generation. Otogi is great as well (haven't played 2). Wave Race: Blue Storm is another awesome game, but I don't know if it qualifies for this thread.

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Ok,Ok I'll say it, Tyler Durden is actually really fucking gay. His words mods, not mine.

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Originally Posted by MechDeus

(Also, why did you write "IMHO" just there? The whole thing was IYHO.)

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Because people at TNL get offended if you don't use words like "In my opinion," "I think," "I believe," "I feel" to precede everything you say. IT'S LIKE YOU'RE TELLING ME FACTS WHEN IT IS IMPOSSIBLE FOR SUCH MATTERS TO BE FACTS.

Some people are 'tards.

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Originally Posted by MechDeus

There's a lock-on.

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It's not like I didn't know how to play the game. Dealing with two enemies was never fun for me, lock on or not.

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Originally Posted by Grave

It's not like I didn't know how to play the game. Dealing with two enemies was never fun for me, lock on or not.

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That comment was more for the remark about having trouble with one person. Fighting two enemies at once was tough, yeah, but that's what happens when you're on a fairly level playing field (which is pretty rare for a videogame to do) and you only have to deal with such problems a couple times during the entire game.

P.S. If it seems like I'm attacking you for not liking the game, I'm not. You didn't have fun with it, you stopped playing, that's cool. I'm just saying stuff about the reasons themselves that people bring up.

I liked Chaos Legion but then I have allways had a weak spot for mindless bashing, shame that the legions were so weak.
In the very hard mode one hit will kill you and the same goes for the enemies so just equip the.. arrow legion and you'll beat that mode really fast.
Praise to capcom for the corny song, that and Onimusha 2's russian rhoulette were priceless.

I had some fun with Asterix and Obelix, I liked the comics as a child so that could have had something to do with it. As good as the arcade game it is sadly not.

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Originally Posted by Tyler_Durden

Saying that Sphinx is better than Marjora's Mask is kind of like saying "Yeah, I'm actually really fucking gay."

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Try to carry on the discussion without resorting to this. Kthx.