Is it just me, or are all the best games the ones no one knows about?

[JC175]

That is how I was when GTA3 came out. I remember hyping that game all semester leading up to October 2001. I LOVED the first 2 GTA games. I was in NY after 9/11 in October and bought Devil May Cry. I got home where my PS2 was (obviously) and it was the same day GTA3 came out. That night and following 2 weeks was classic to me in my gaming history.

It felt great knowing about a game that became HUGELY successful so GTA3 holds high but doesn't count because it sold the same amount of units for like 13 months straight.

Knowing about Professor Layton and getting it first day felt like it was better game than it probably was (Yea, Right. Layton is amazing, and where is my sequel NOA?!). So sometimes knowing about a niche title that doesn't sell millions makes it better, I admit.

It is like having something that no one else has but you do. It increases how much more important it is to you.

See, I'm actually playing through GTA3 at the moment. Don't get me wrong, I'm enjoying it quite a bit, but it's starting to get a little stale, all of the mechanics of the game are open to you from the word go, apart from the different areas. That's why VTM:B is my all time favourite RPG - the atmosphere was awesomely compelling, and there were new things being introduced all the time, with all the side quests and disciplines and plot twists and whatnot.

But that one was spoiled because of bugs on release. Goddamn Activision and their deadlines.

 

[Steeveeo]

Sad, but true. It was some of the not-so-mainstream games that got good modding setups going, like Battlezone II. It doesn't look pretty by today's standards, but it has so many mods that you could almost never get bored.

FINALLY! Someone else on this board who knows the game!

Anyone who still plays, register on the bzuniverse.com and/or bz2md.com boards, we could always use another active player/modder.

If it helps, the recent patches to it fix up a lot of the initial critical bugs from the fresh install.

That, and I have a mod for it that makes everything in the game epic (check out Steeveeo's Recycler Variant on bz2md.com)

 

[JC175]

Everyone on the internet knows about Psychonauts.

And we all thank Yahtzee for that.

But has everyone on the internet bought it?

Everyone on the internet doesn't have to. You can get for free off gametap.

True. Trouble is, no matter how hard I try, it never let me create an account.

 

[mcgooch]

there've been a lot of hugely successful games I've played that I flat out haven't been able to get into, despite multiple attempts - the main culprit here being Halo. I've started the game over about three times in an effort to find out what's so amazing about the game, but every time the level design and average gameplay just turns me off until the point where I have no desire to play it anymore.

I agree with you. Halo and Gears of war would have to be two of my least favorite games. They are poorly written, repetitive and completely unoriginal (especially gears of war).

If you have a PS3 you should download floW and Flower (They are made by the same people). Both beautiful, touching, artistic and original games.

 

[JC175]

Everyone on the internet knows about Psychonauts.

And we all thank Yahtzee for that.

But has everyone on the internet bought it?

Everyone on the internet doesn't have to. You can get for free off gametap.

I was actually pretty sure that most of the artsy-fartsies, at least, knew about Psychonauts. I've been around the net a while and games like Psychonauts, BG&E, Deus Ex and SotC were being lauded and drooled over by the indie crowd long before Yahtzee emerged from the biohazardous, primordial soup we call the internet.

True, Tim Schafer normally does that to the indie crowd. But on average, if you asked someone about it chances are they wouldn't know the game at all, let alone have played it.

 

[asam92]

My favorite game is Secret of Mana, mainly because it is the game I've gotten the most time and enjoyment out of throughout my entire life (I would have first played it when I was five or six and I'll still happily play through it even now when I'm in uni). It's a less well known Sqaure RPG but still more popular.

I still think most people's answers to this question would be a well-known game, simply because they're more popular so a larger demographic has played them, and well, more popular is more likely to mean better (not always but in many cases) so it's a fair enough assumption to make.

yeah, thats what i think SOM is a classic i love it, however it cant be to unknown as each year it makes it way into the peoples choice top 100 on ign.com usually around the 60-70 mark, chronno trigger always makes top 20 however (even though i dont find it as good)
Just recently I have gone as far as to get the following
1. S-Video - RCA cable
2. SnesX9
3. Secret of Mana 2 Rom (with english patch)
4. Snes Retroport (usb cable)

Now I can play the Secret of Mana 2 in english on the TV with a SNES controller
When I finished the final step of setting this up I have begun to think that SOM 2 is better than SOM (maybe...)

 

[Mudora]

I think the problem is advertising. Most of the mainstream games have been around fo so long, they are icons, and they tower over most of the good inde games out there. I mean, just look at the Halo Wars add right next to this screen!

I'm not sure if this is still considered at low stream game, but I just barely got into Okami on the wii, and I'm freakin' enjoying it. Now there's a pretty good fan base for that one, but of course, Clover Studios went curplunk.

The Second Star Ocean wasn't that popular either, but I don't know the rating on that one. I could be wrong on that... that's changed a little now with the later installments...

I don't want to list anymore at the risk of sounding stupid... I'm not sure if I've played good un popular games, and if I have, I'm not sure they are current... ugh... CURSE YOU CASH INCOME!

 

[letsnoobtehpwns]

The games that you don't here about are usually great but usually not mainstream for a reason, because mainstream games are better. You can try to "cool" and say that I'm a twat and try to go Yahtzee on my ass but you'll just end up looking like a retard. Although I can't tell why some games are mainstream (Dead Space? Really? I fucking hate this game!). If you must go Yahtzee on my ass then keep in mind, I have my own opinion in games. Don't flame me just because I like Halo 3 and Grand Theft Auto 4.

 

[Inverse Skies]

yeah, thats what i think SOM is a classic i love it, however it cant be to unknown as each year it makes it way into the peoples choice top 100 on ign.com usually around the 60-70 mark, chronno trigger always makes top 20 however (even though i dont find it as good)
Just recently I have gone as far as to get the following
1. S-Video - RCA cable
2. SnesX9
3. Secret of Mana 2 Rom (with english patch)
4. Snes Retroport (usb cable)

Now I can play the Secret of Mana 2 in english on the TV with a SNES controller
When I finished the final step of setting this up I have begun to think that SOM 2 is better than SOM (maybe...)

To be honest I didn't like SOM2 anywhere near as much. In the first game when you hit enemies they went into a being hit animation where you couldn't hit them again, and a similar thing happened if you were attacked. They took that crucial aspect out of the second game, which ruined the flow and dissolved the fights into endless slashing and hacking rather than setting up rythmic attack patterns and the enemy having a chance to attack back at you.

 

[JC175]

The games that you don't here about are usually great but usually not mainstream for a reason, because mainstream games are better. You can try to "cool" and say that I'm a twat and try to go Yahtzee on my ass but you'll just end up looking like a retard. Although I can't tell why some games are mainstream (Dead Space? Really? I fucking hate this game!). If you must go Yahtzee on my ass then keep in mind, I have my own opinion in games. Don't flame me just because I like Halo 3 and Grand Theft Auto 4.

Not trying to start a flame war at all, I can tell why some people would like Halo. For my interests though, its just too simple and cliche. I usually find that good games that are less well known are more creative.

 

[mcgooch]

The games that you don't here about are usually great but usually not mainstream for a reason, because mainstream games are better. You can try to "cool" and say that I'm a twat and try to go Yahtzee on my ass but you'll just end up looking like a retard. Although I can't tell why some games are mainstream (Dead Space? Really? I fucking hate this game!). If you must go Yahtzee on my ass then keep in mind, I have my own opinion in games. Don't flame me just because I like Halo 3 and Grand Theft Auto 4.

Not trying to start a flame war at all, I can tell why some people would like Halo. For my interests though, its just too simple and cliche. I usually find that good games that are less well known are more creative.

Mainstream games are very good at what they do, that's why their main stream. However some of us are looking for originality, creativity and a good plot. On the whole (note I said "on the whole") these are things main stream games lack.

 

[peachy_keen]

Everyone on the internet knows about Psychonauts.

And we all thank Yahtzee for that.

But has everyone on the internet bought it?

Everyone on the internet doesn't have to. You can get for free off gametap.

I was actually pretty sure that most of the artsy-fartsies, at least, knew about Psychonauts. I've been around the net a while and games like Psychonauts, BG&E, Deus Ex and SotC were being lauded and drooled over by the indie crowd long before Yahtzee emerged from the biohazardous, primordial soup we call the internet.

True, Tim Schafer normally does that to the indie crowd. But on average, if you asked someone about it chances are they wouldn't know the game at all, let alone have played it.

Probably not, but chances are those people wouldn't be on this site anyway. They'ed be playing Halo or Madden with their beer buddies.

That makes me think that this argument is incredibly relative. What is the 'no one' demographic? The people who post on Escapist?

Also, let me take a moment to appreciate your avatar, sir.

 

[Strong Intelligent]

Alot of people forget Timesplitters three, my favourite game of all time

 

[suiraclaw]

I completely agree. Games like wesnoth, savage: battle for newerth (apparently there's a sequel as well), nethergate, geneforce series, iji, exit fate, fantasy wars, teeworlds and dofus arena have been great fun, despite that they're not very popular.

 

[D_987]

Why don't you buy them?

Because those games often appeal to a certain type of gamer.

 

[Signa]

Excellent unpopular games are a travesty. Okami and Beyond Good and Evil being some of them. My latest gem is Sacred 2. I have to keep mentioning it as much as possible in hopes that some one will at least pirate it so they can experience it.

 

[JC175]

I'd like to update this thread to mention another favourite of mine: "Big Rigs: Over the Road Racing."

There's another classic where nobody has taken the time to enjoy its amazing, engrossing environment.

 

[GoblinOnFire]

Let me just preface this by saying that yeah, there are definitely mainstream games I've played that I've enjoyed the hell out of - the Half Life series being a notable entry.

But in saying that, there've been a lot of hugely successful games I've played that I flat out haven't been able to get into, despite multiple attempts - the main culprit here being Halo. I've started the game over about three times in an effort to find out what's so amazing about the game, but every time the level design and average gameplay just turns me off until the point where I have no desire to play it anymore.

But back to the point of this article, my favourite games by far would have to be Psychonauts, Vampire The Masquerade: Bloodlines, and System Shock 2 (granted, there's a pretty big cult following of SS2 but for argument's sake I'd say that's mainly due to people jumping on the Bioshock bandwagon). So why don't you people buy them? *Shakes fist*

Just wondering if anyone shares my thoughts.

The ones that "No one" knows of? You mean the ones that are not thought up yet?
Be spesific, man!

I miss Alien Breed. A top down Shoot em up for two players against a horde of aliens.
Oh oh oh: An Rampart from Blizzard. Anyone played that? (Not rampage. I don't like King Kong very much)