NationStates Jolt Archive

What's the most underrated or overlooked game, in your opinion?

I nominate Rise of the Triad. Great gameplay, unique weapons and items, remarkably good music for a PC game, and some innovative and unique ideas that still haven't been matched.

ICO.
One of the best games ever.

Majesty on the PC. One of the most innovative strategy/sim games ever made, and the only one reflective of a fantasy world, yet it wasn't very big on the gamesites.

What's the most underrated or overlooked game, in your opinion?

I nominate Rise of the Triad. Great gameplay, unique weapons and items, remarkably good music for a PC game, and some innovative and unique ideas that still haven't been matched.
The only one that comes to mind right now is Warlords Battlecry II. It's a great strategy game with RPG elements. Warlords Battlecry III has a little more RPG feel to it. Good graphics, excellent music/sound effects, and challenging AI, in addition to the aforementioned RPG characteristics like hero equipment and experience gain for units other than the hero. Hours upon hours of addictive fun.

The only one that comes to mind right now is Warlords Battlecry II. It's a great strategy game with RPG elements. Warlords Battlecry III has a little more RPG feel to it. Good graphics, excellent music/sound effects, and challenging AI, in addition to the aforementioned RPG characteristics like hero equipment and experience gain for units other than the hero. Hours upon hours of addictive fun.
Ah yes, that was awesome too. What I didn't like about WIII was the change in the AI so that the hero would no longer spellcast on his/her own initiative. That pissed me off. I loved the High/Dark elves in that game. Awesome races.

What's the most underrated or overlooked game, in your opinion?

Professor Muhammad Abd-el-Rahman Barker 's Empire of the Petal Throne and it's successors. So-so system, but one of the best game worlds EVER created! (And I know it peaves off the Tolkienistas, but his world is at least the equal of Papa's.)

I wouldn't say 'most ever' but the one that upsets me is Gladius.

I dug that game-the story itself was kinda weak but I like the game itself and its set ups. I wanted a Gladius II-there wasn't much I really thought needed 'fixing,' so I really just wanted more. But no one I talk to has heard of the game, though I was talked into the game and talked some others into it. I can see how it wouldn't be a lot people's bag, but I dug it. Someone was telling me the engine was similar to one of the Star Wars games. Maybe I'll check that out, though that can't have one of the elements I liked the most (building and managing my stable of fighters.)

Professor Muhammad Abd-el-Rahman Barker 's Empire of the Petal Throne and it's successors. So-so system, but one of the best game worlds EVER created! (And I know it peaves off the Tolkienistas, but his world is at least the equal of Papa's.)
Is it a written game world or a PC one? I thought the topic was for video games.

Delta Force 2. It didnt get a lot of hype, but it was awsome. I've lost my disk, though :( [my first smlie!]

Ah yes, that was awesome too. What I didn't like about WIII was the change in the AI so that the hero would no longer spellcast on his/her own initiative. That pissed me off. I loved the High/Dark elves in that game. Awesome races.
Yeah, I always preferred to cast spells on my own anyway. But the friendly AI doesn't seem to want to cast spells when set to magic attacker and the like. That pissed me off. I don't mind managing all my hero's spell casting.
I always preferred the Daemons. Incredible late-game race. Suits my style just fine. And I think the Daemon Titan was the strongest.

Yeah, I always preferred to cast spells on my own anyway. But the friendly AI doesn't seem to want to cast spells when set to magic attacker and the like. That pissed me off. I don't mind managing all my hero's spell casting.
I always preferred the Daemons. Incredible late-game race. Suits my style just fine. And I think the Daemon Titan was the strongest.
I hate micro-managing my units. One of the reasons I love Majesty for. Since the hero, although noticeably more powerful, is a unit, my hatred extends to having to manage him/her as well. As for the Titan, yeah their's was pretty powerful (Balora, was it?). Kargoth and Lunarion were also fierce though. What I loved most about the Dark Elves were their Sorcerers. Those were brutal with full upgrades. Their Pillar of Fire could even waste Titans. Better than the Blackguards even.

Is it a written game world or a PC one? I thought the topic was for video games.

Written.

What's the most underrated or overlooked game, in your opinion?

Says game on my monitor. No "video" visible.

Frisbee Golf rocks
It's like golf but without all the status pressure.
Plus it gets peeps out from under the baleful glow of their computer monitors and into the fresh air and sunlight before their butt hairs grow into their chair cushions.
Which is nice.

Written.
I must look it up then. I always thought Monte Cook's Arcana Evolved wasn't given the credit it was due. The system is hugely innovative, a real magnum opus.

War of the Monsters
Freedom Fighters
ICO
Buried in Time
Impossible Creatures
Project: Snowblind
The Black/Vivendi Line of Lord of the rings games for PS2
Glitch in the System

Stratego.

Total annihilation. Honestly one of the best RTS's out there, and the guy who did it are just now getting around to making it's successor, Supreme Commander.

I hate micro-managing my units. One of the reasons I love Majesty for. Since the hero, although noticeably more powerful, is a unit, my hatred extends to having to manage him/her as well. As for the Titan, yeah their's was pretty powerful (Balora, was it?). Kargoth and Lunarion were also fierce though. What I loved most about the Dark Elves were their Sorcerers. Those were brutal with full upgrades. Their Pillar of Fire could even waste Titans. Better than the Blackguards even.
There really isn't a whole lot of micromanagment with my fighting style. I set up patrols of a few really strong units from my retinue while I build stuff until I can mass a bunch of troops. Usually try first with salamanders. Just mass 16 of them and send them all to attack into the heart of the enemy base. If they fail, then I'm probably at a position to start producing stacks of daemons to do the same. I don't mind managing the hero or a little micromanagment. But the settlement management in Rome: Total War was a bitch after I conquered half the map. Yeah, it was Balora. True, they were, especially Kargoth, but I like Balora more. Her and an entourage of seven dragons.:D My enemies never usually last long enough to get a Titan out when I play as the daemons, except during my hero's lower levels. I made one kick-ass merchant daemon so I could upgrade and start popping out dragons while the AI was still at a level three citadel structure.:cool: Also turned him into a pyromancer, so he doesn't even need to build a base, just run off with whatever I could afford to summon from the retinue and destroy the enemies with ease in their infancy. Sorta negates the purpose of being a merchant.

What's the most underrated or overlooked game, in your opinion?

I nominate Rise of the Triad. Great gameplay, unique weapons and items, remarkably good music for a PC game, and some innovative and unique ideas that still haven't been matched.

Wow.. I thought I was the only one who even remembered that game.. that was, what, '96 or so?

Any roguelike would qualify.

Apart from that, hmm...anyone remember Crusader: No Remorse and Crusader: No Regret?

They were damned awesome, and haven't lost any gameplay today.

I must look it up then. I always thought Monte Cook's Arcana Evolved wasn't given the credit it was due. The system is hugely innovative, a real magnum opus.

Oh it's really excellent. And one of the best things is that it's a non-western based setting. (That's probably one of the big reasons it's less popular as well - just too unfamiliar.)

It has completely unique and highly original non-humans, a good backstory, highly detailed cultures (maybe even overly detailed - one of the great source books available is largely an extended ethnography), and some unusual quirks (there are no stars in the sky, no riding beasts, iron and steel are very rare and valuable, really interesting flora and fauna, and a religious based "alignment" system that isn't based on good and evil actually makes sense in the world.)

http://www.tekumel.com/ (especially this PDF (http://www.tekumel.com/downloads/Intrototekumel.pdf))
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/T%C3%A9kumel:_Empire_of_the_Petal_Throne

Freedom Fighters is definitely a candidate. So is Falcon 4: Allied Force.

Overrated: Gran Turismo Concept. Why they thought it'd be a good idea to hype it like they did is beyond me.

Underrated: Taking it back a long way, but Bonanza Bros. :p

Professor Muhammad Abd-el-Rahman Barker 's Empire of the Petal Throne and it's successors. So-so system, but one of the best game worlds EVER created! (And I know it peaves off the Tolkienistas, but his world is at least the equal of Papa's.)
oohhh... played that game... one of our companions got a copper sword.

I got a iron one but it was cursed... and I almost beheaded our group leader... damn, missed him by thaaaat much.

Video games...

PC: Spaceward Ho!. a simple galaxy exploration game that can be played over the net. infact it was designed to be played at work. (When it's your turn, your computer quietly *coughs* at you.)

Phantasmagoria: IMHO, the First true Horror Game.

Console: Tropical Island for the NES. power of the Yo-yo
Fatal Frame for the PS2... never play that game at night.
Might and Magic for the Sega Genesis.

Body Harvest for the n64 and Kagero's Deception for psx

Oh, and a couple more:

Sword of the Samurai
Uncharted Waters 2
Crisis in the Kremlin

I guess Hearts of Iron 2 might qualify as well even though it is reasonably popular.

So is Falcon 4: Allied Force.

I honestly wouldn't say so. Anyone who is into flight sims knows that F4 is the premier modern air combat sim.

Loads of great games on the N64 passed with barely a whimper. Jet Force Gemini is awesome, and one of the few games where I actually felt like I had achieved something by beating it.

Patrician II

It is an EXCELLENT trading game. If you like trading and business, along with other external issues to keep the game realistic, then you'll love this game.

Body Harvest for the n64 and Kagero's Deception for psx
ZOMG, I'd forgotten about Body Harvest! Awesome game! One of my favorites for the 64. Almost as fun as the not-so-overlooked Perfect Dark.

Loads of great games on the N64 passed with barely a whimper. Jet Force Gemini is awesome, and one of the few games where I actually felt like I had achieved something by beating it.
I didn't quite beat it. I got almost to the end and realized I was missing one vital piece. I went back and looked everywhere, but I couldn't find it before I had to return it to my friend. Great game, though. Fun to play through even if you aren't serious about beating it.

Planescape: Torment.
Little Big Adventure 2 (Twinsen's Odyssey).

Any roguelike would qualify.
Second that. Especially Dungeon Crawl. But then who's going to play a game with a title like that? ;)

Another one that comes to mind is Ascendancy. One of the most complex, immersive and replayable games in its day, I think.

oohhh... played that game... one of our companions got a copper sword.

I got a iron one but it was cursed... and I almost beheaded our group leader... damn, missed him by thaaaat much.

Lottsa funny stories, mostly when I was starting out. The GM had a nice little set of introductory adventures, designed to introduce the common aspects of the game world to the unfamiliar, in which you entered as a "barbarian" from a remote corner of the world and knowing nothing of the world. (For some odd reason almost everyone started out being from "Texas" - quirky little group tradition. ;))

My first character got himself kidnapped when he IDed himself as a "Dragon Warrior" (that related to this (http://www.tekumel.com/world_history05.html) bit of the backstory that I hadn't known).

Two great deaths earned me the party's Han Solo "never tell me the odds" award.

The "Dragon Warrior" died when we ran into a party of Ssú (http://www.tekumel.com/world_nonhumans12.html) while exploring part of the underworld. I had no idea what Ssú were, but had the highest initiative, so I drew my sword and all the others ran away.

The other glorious death was that of my N’lüss (http://www.tekumel.com/world_lands07.html). While traveling somewhere, our party ran across some tax collectors (travelling in about a company sized unit). Those who hadn't paid their taxes (the penalty for tax evasion is death) tried to hide. When spotted, he pulled out his favorite weapon - a 6 foot chain flail with razor links that the party hated because it was just plain idiotically dangerous to the user and the party in addition to being horribly fatal :D - and asked "how many do I take out before I die?" (It ended up being almost 100.)

Second that. Especially Dungeon Crawl. But then who's going to play a game with a title like that? ;)

Heh, I downloaded it some time ago, but I haven't gotten into it yet.

One relatively obscure one I particularly enjoyed was Omega... (http://www.prankster.com/winomega/)

Another one that comes to mind is Ascendancy. One of the most complex, immersive and replayable games in its day, I think.

Except for the poor AI. Patched up it was better - never got to play it multiplayer though, which is probably where it really shined.

Shadowbane. One of the best hardcore PvP MMO's out there, and because they didn't slip 3 months to ship, they lost most of their playerbase before the game came into it's own. Instead, carebear games like WoW took over the market.

Shadowbane. One of the best hardcore PvP MMO's out there, and because they didn't slip 3 months to ship, they lost most of their playerbase before the game came into it's own. Instead, carebear games like WoW took over the market.


Rallos Zek was the only hardcore pvp mmo ever.

Wow.. I thought I was the only one who even remembered that game.. that was, what, '96 or so?

1994, actually. It was originally a sequel to Wolf 3-D.

Total annihilation. Honestly one of the best RTS's out there, and the guy who did it are just now getting around to making it's successor, Supreme Commander.

That wasn't underrated or overlooked.

Both little big adventures, and Beyond Good & Evil.

Loved them all :D

Temple of Elemental Evil...a little buggy, but great gameplay and best D&D interface ever...

Dinotopia, before that horrendous movie. Wonderful dialogues between the characters and it came with a card game.

Apart from that, hmm...anyone remember Crusader: No Remorse and Crusader: No Regret?

They were damned awesome, and haven't lost any gameplay today.

i had no remorse. golly, i loved that game more then i loved cream cheese. and im a man who loves his cream cheese.

the freedom force games made me feel all curly inside, but they didnt get nearly as much awesome points as they should've.

uplink was fun as all get out, albeit way simple. sorta.

i dont know how much time i spent playing metal fatigue. that was a good'n too.

Planescape: Torment.

and how! that game rocked my face right the hell off.

pac-man

What's the most underrated or overlooked game, in your opinion?

I nominate Rise of the Triad. Great gameplay, unique weapons and items, remarkably good music for a PC game, and some innovative and unique ideas that still haven't been matched.

My brother had it, so I played it heaps. I thought it was good, but not really very different to other shooters that were around. I liked 'shrooms mode though! I also liked the way the game told you that you sucked whenever you died.

Defintely the Descent series, but specificly Descent 3

Divine Divinity was a game truly underrated. IT was huge, it was lots of fun and had incredible interaction. ITs sense of humor was great. And the music of Krill Polovsky(or povolsky? something like htat) was an award winner.

Warrior Kings, or it's slightly more clunky but slightly more clever sequel, Warrior Kings Battles.

Realistic unit mechanics, delightful economics system and incredibly innovative method for faction selection. This game has everything - magical, tactical and logistical entertainment. The sequel added a skirmish mode but had a clunkier interface and more graphical demands; However, the AI generals in the skirmish mode each had unique personalities and tactical methods that made different demands of the player in terms of innovation.

It's cheap as chips out there at the moment, I'd heartily recommend people buy it.

Battlezone 1 & 2, awesome games, great fun with a decent story to play along to. Good multi player too.

the game, Vex, was awesome and very inventive, and you can still find it, unlike some of these other games

Total Soccer Manager on GBA. Despite the name, the main point of it was a Sensible Soccer-style topdown football PLAYING game. Absolutely brilliant.