Games no one knows (but are awesome or at least pretty good)

[Marek]

I'm bringing the topic trilogy to completion with the following question: which games you know are so obscure that they've been mostly forgotten about, but were in fact quite enjoyable?

I nominate: Fantavision.

A Playstation 2 launch title, I believe. Not sure how obscure this one is, because I wasn't paying much attention to console gaming around 2000, but I've rarely (if ever) heard about it.

It's a game about fireworks. You have to link up different colors to let them explode. It's pretty!

[Erwin_Br]

Hmmm, I say Wetlands. I loved the cinematics and the 3D environment mixed with 2D characters.

--Erwin

[loonyboi]

One of my favorite games of all-time is Tempest 2000 for the Jaguar. Most people have never heard or played it.

I don't think those people have the right to call themselves gamers.

[Erkki]

Vangers: One for the Road.

The first half is pretty good, after that it gets too difficult and I've never finished it.

[lailoken]

As was already mentioned in this forum, Outcast is pretty much one of the greatest games ever! But a LOT of people never heard about it! I loved exploring and the seamlessness of action to stealth to adventure to interaction... awesome game

[Erkki]

I've played Outcast at least five times. Certainly one of the greatest games ever, if a bit buggy.

[Roderick]

Have to agree on the Outcast thing. Buggy as hell and never could finish it [partially because of it], but I must've played it over five times over many years. And very likely to just start again at any given time.

[ThunderPeel2001]

I think Exile is possibly one of the top 5 best games ever made, but not many peeps have heard of it, let alone played it. Same goes for System Shock 2 (although I think people have at least heard of it).

I recently eBayed myself a copy of Last Express... WOW! Of course, everyone here knows that game

[loonyboi]

I think Exile is possibly one of the top 5 best games ever made, but not many peeps have heard of it, let alone played it. Same goes for System Shock 2 (although I think people have at least heard of it).

System Shock 2 is almost universally regarded in the press as one of the best games of all time.

...but it sold terribly.

But the reviews were spectacular.

[netmonkey]

Some adventure games made with Adventure Game Studio, of course!

Some classics:

Budokan: The Martial Spirit (Made by EA? It must have been a different EA)

Battle Chess - Live chess pieces battling to the death. Take that, Chessmaster 42000!

Modern Games? Man, I seriously can't think of a game that no one has heard of. I'll keep thinking about it.

[Twilo]

Subspace

Aside from the 1000 or so regular players, nobody knows subspace.

It's free, what's the worst that could happen?

[ThunderPeel2001]

System Shock 2 is almost universally regarded in the press as one of the best games of all time.

...but it sold terribly.

Yup.

[Trithemius]

King of Dragon Pass

I think this game is neat, but I have become a bit of a Glorantha fan so I am likely biased.

It's kind of turn-based stratgegy/story-telling with some pretty still artwork. It also has some pretty neat ideas involved in it. I think it is really worth the time investment if you are into magical pseudo-Bronze Age clan, tribe, and kingdom building. The music is pretty good too.

Official website, with a "tour"

King of Dragon Pass at Home of the Underdogs

[SiN]

One of my favorite games of all-time is Tempest 2000 for the Jaguar. Most people have never heard or played it.

funny you should mention that ... i started playing it for the first time a couple of days ago, and it is indeed an excellent, excellent game.

jeff minter (aka Yak) is a friggin genius ... a one man team who created the game that has got me "in the zone" faster than any other game ever did by a long shot. tempest 2000 is definetly great.

its too bad Unity got cancelled, but ive been told he's still working on incredibly trippy/cool stuff.

SiN

[Spaff]

One of my favorite games of all-time is Tempest 2000 for the Jaguar. Most people have never heard or played it.

i must say i prefer the original tempest arcade - with the funky swirly controller - definitley one of the greatest game series ever though

[Spaff]

there is a game.. called univeral warrior and its fucking genius

not universal soldier .. but warrior.

it involved building a robot and entering it into a series of levels, you bet o nthe robot and insure part sof it if you want... after the level you play you have to fix broken shit or buy new parts and then enter the next area.

was sooo good.

http://exotica.fix.no/gallery/games/images/u/UniversalWarrior.jpg

http://www.amigagames.com/gage/u/universalwarrior.html

[pj-]

which games you know are so obscure that they've been mostly forgotten about, but were in fact quite enjoyable?

Remind me to bump this thread in six months and say "psychonauts"

[netmonkey]

Aw, I really hope it doesn't happen... but chances are that it might become true

[ThunderPeel2001]

Yup, it's hard to know how to sell it, I think. Being able to "enter people's minds" is an idea that sounds like the game could be total shit. Of course we know Tim Schafer is a genius, but it's hard to sell the game and go... "but wait! it's really clever and good, honest!".

Another angle might be the storyline aspect: Kid runs away from home, has special powers and decides to join a camp that will train him to become a "Pyschonaut" -- an astronaut for people's minds. (My favourite angle.)

The last one is: "It's a fun platformer! Look! Wheeeeee!" (The gameplay itself doesn't look exactly earth-shatteringly original -- although I DO think it looks fun!)

How to cram all this down 10-17 year-old's throats in the age of twitch-em-ups is another problem altogether!

Eep!

[MrHoatzin]

Alice sold shitloads by having a name on the box. Schafer ought to do the same.

[loonyboi]

funny you should mention that ... i started playing it for the first time a couple of days ago, and it is indeed an excellent, excellent game.

I have it on my desk at work, right next to my (current) console debugs. I get lots of strange, "is that an atari jaguar!?" type comments.

its too bad Unity got cancelled, but ive been told he's still working on incredibly trippy/cool stuff.

Within two weeks of that game being canceled I sold my GameCube. It was the only reason I was hanging on to it.

[netmonkey]

Yup, it's hard to know how to sell it, I think. Being able to "enter people's minds" is an idea that sounds like the game could be total shit.

Mario never sells on the following things:

1) The princess has been kidnapped (like every freakin' 5 minutes she is! )

2) Mario is a plumber on mushrooms

3) He has a brother who looks just like him (you offer them ice cream, they both say yes )

I think by looking at the current bullshitomania, you can't sell the game on story. You have to sell it based on stupidity. (Like project: snowblind's comercial with the borg-like monologue. What the hell is that?! It's on their website as the newest trailer)

If psychonauts overall is really good (that is, there is something good beyond the story + character development part + creativity), then that might save it from certain DOOM....

[Erwin_Br]

Alice sold shitloads by having a name on the box. Schafer ought to do the same.

They'd be crazy not to. I think a lot of people who remember DOTT and Full Throttle (which is surprisingly many) are possibly unaware that Schafer has formed his own company and developed Psychonauts.

--Erwin

[Jake]

I think a lot of people who remember DOTT and Full Throttle (which is surprisingly many) are possibly unaware that Schafer has formed his own company and developed Psychonauts.

Can I alter your quote a tiny bit?

I think a lot of people who remember DOTT and Full Throttle (which is surprisingly many) are possibly unaware that a person named Tim Schafer exists, let alone wrote and designed those games. At least most of the silent mass who lovingly remember those games.

[Duncan]

Nothing much to say except I agree with Jake. I think Majesco/DoubleFine would be much better off with 'from the creator of Full Throttle and Day of the Tentacle' or something similar on the box. Except we've already seen the box, and they're not doing that, so... whatever.