alfredofroylan
Member
Well 2012 is almost over, and its time to remember both the good and the bad
but some games arent remembered at all, they can be niche, poorly advertised titles or just games that were released at the wrong time or the wrong place. So lets remember those good games that deserve more love, and who knows; you can find them quite cheap these days and they could be a great gift this season.
For this list therere some considerations:
*The games listed here have less than 500k units sold worldwide, sometimes thats difficult to know because of the data available and the lack of reliable digital numbers.
*Yes I know that scores from Metacritics and Gamerankings doesnt mean that a game is actually good but theyre used as a reference for every title.
*Games recently released arent considered.
*Yes I know how much GAF loves to scream BOMBA all the time, but some of these games are niche or low profile titles, so its natural that some of them didnt make big numbers.
*Remember its ok to not like things, and if you have a suggestion please post it. Itd be great to know about it.
The Darkness II
Metacritics: 77, 80 and 79 Gamerankings: 81, 77, 76
The original Darkness was a game based on the Top Cow comic of the same name, the game was released in 2007 and ended up being a great cult classic that blended FPS action with horror elements, a good storyline, characters and great supernatural powers, at the end the game sold a little more than a million copies. Sadly the sequel didnt fare that well, at its first month it didnt chart at the top 10 of the NPD and sales quickly dried, still is a great alternative to modern FPS and its a blast to play.
Asuras Wrath
Metacritics: 71, 71 Gamerankings: 72, 70
Probably one of the most polarized games of the year, Asuras Wrath could be a masterpiece or an abomination on peoples mind. Basically is a mix of action game, on-rail section and QTE fest that brings a visually stunning experience, however playing and watching the game could be 2 different experiences, so gameplay can be tricky (or just plain frustrating) while the cut scenes can be gorgeous and filled with fast action sequences. Thankfully theres a demo on the Xbox Live and PSN so its really recommended to check it out first before jumping into this title.
Syndicate
Metacritics: 69, 70, 75 Gamerankings: 74, 74, 68
Sadly this title didnt receive enough promotion or budget to be a AAA title, but the interesting story about a dystopian future where corporations rule the world is really good, also thiss one of the few games that tries to make things different in the online front with a great cooperative mode for four players that offers 9 different missions and objectives that requires real cooperation between the players. Even if the campaign fell flat sometimes the multiplayer is good enough to check this title.
Wipeout 2048
Metacritics: 79 Gameranking: 80
The last game from Studio Liverpool, one of the most talented studios in the entire world said goodbye with their classic futuristic racer for the PSVita. In japan the game didnt even chart at the top 20, in USA didnt chart in the NPD and in UK it debuted at place 4, and disappeared from the list the next week. Which is a shame; the game is fantastic and yes even with the loading times its worth every penny, the game has dropped price twice since their release and still is easy to find in stores.
Binary Domain
Metacritics: 68, 74, 72 Gamerankings: 74, 74, 63
The third person shooter formula is so well established that every new game in the entry is judged really harsh, Binary Domain bet is just for fun with an interesting system of commands based on voice or buttons players can give orders to the squad and being judged by their performance, and yes it isnt a game for everyone so people can just shake their heads in grief or laugh at it. It was also one of the worst selling games in NA with just 20k in its debut
Starhawk
Metacritics: 77 Gamerankings: 79
Warhawk was one of the first original PS3 games to get recognition; this third person shooter had an interesting setting, great vehicles and fun multiplayer experience. So a sequel was one of the most frequent petitions from Playstation fans, finally the sequel was released this year, with little to no advertising; it didnt chart on the May NPD list, in the UK it wasnt even in the top 10 for all formats and in Japan sold almost 13k on its debut before disappearing from the lists. To this day people still blame the lack of advertising for the demise of this title, maybe the franchise wasnt strong enough or it was released at the wrong time, Lightbox studios one of the co-developers of the title switched to iOS games last October.
Gravity Rush
Matecritics: 83 Gamerankings: 81
Being a new franchise in a relatively new system is hard, thankfully this title is starting to get the recognition that deserves, GR is a great game with beautiful cel-shading graphics that offers a huge world to explore in this action/platform title with an amazing and clever use of gavity shift powers; the game crossed the 100k mark in Japan and even if the numbers arent as good in NA and Europe the title still holds as one of the Must have games for the Vita.
Theatrhythm Final Fantasy
Metacritics: 78 Gamerankings: 80
Well thiss a case of a game that was successful at a small scale. This rhythm title uses a huge portion of the Final Fantasy music to offer a nice little fun game divided in 3 parts. Field, Battle and Event, probably the best of them are the battles where characters must tap correctly to do damage to the enemies onscreen, overall is a really nice game that maybe was hurt by the lack of interest in this genre or the price.
Rhythm Thief & the Emperor's Treasure
Metacritics: 76 Gamerankings: 76
Much like Starhawk, maybe this game was a victim of the lack of interest to advertise it. Like Theatrhythm is a game that offers a nice selection of music based minigames and some really nice cut scenes. An iOS version is scheduled to be release this year.
Persona 4: Arena
Matecritics: 83, 86 Gamerankings: 85, 84
Well this game ended being one of the biggest surprises of the year, there isnt much to say about this title, its fast paced great fighting in the same way of Blazblue and Guilty Gear (the game was developed by Arc System Works) so even if the title ended being a niche fighting game in NA its worth to check it out.
The Last Story
Metacritics: 80 Gamerankings: 78
Pretty much like the last title, Last Story is a niche title that was a really nice surprised for many its one of the best Japanese RPGs of the generation, now its the most successful game in the story of XSEED, however it was released in what it looks like the last year of the Wii in our continent. The special edition is now a collector item, but the game is still possible to find in the regular version.
Little Big Planet Vita
Metacritics: 88 Gamerankings: 88
There isnt much to talk about this one. In Japan sold only 6k in its first week, in UK it debut at number 6 and disappeared quite quickly of the charts, meanwhile in America the title didnt chart in the September and October NPD. Still just like Gravity Rush this title will ended being a must have for new Vita owners.
Code of Princess
Metacritics: 73 Gamerankings: 73
Yes I know a lot of people feel dirty just grabbing this game, but its a really nice fun little action game. I understand that the character design is not for everyone but the gameplay and overall design of the game is fun and quite enjoyable. So look over the questionable art of this game theres a good game behind it.
For this list therere some considerations:
*The games listed here have less than 500k units sold worldwide, sometimes thats difficult to know because of the data available and the lack of reliable digital numbers.
*Yes I know that scores from Metacritics and Gamerankings doesnt mean that a game is actually good but theyre used as a reference for every title.
*Games recently released arent considered.
*Yes I know how much GAF loves to scream BOMBA all the time, but some of these games are niche or low profile titles, so its natural that some of them didnt make big numbers.
*Remember its ok to not like things, and if you have a suggestion please post it. Itd be great to know about it.
The Darkness II
Metacritics: 77, 80 and 79 Gamerankings: 81, 77, 76
The original Darkness was a game based on the Top Cow comic of the same name, the game was released in 2007 and ended up being a great cult classic that blended FPS action with horror elements, a good storyline, characters and great supernatural powers, at the end the game sold a little more than a million copies. Sadly the sequel didnt fare that well, at its first month it didnt chart at the top 10 of the NPD and sales quickly dried, still is a great alternative to modern FPS and its a blast to play.
Asuras Wrath
Metacritics: 71, 71 Gamerankings: 72, 70
Probably one of the most polarized games of the year, Asuras Wrath could be a masterpiece or an abomination on peoples mind. Basically is a mix of action game, on-rail section and QTE fest that brings a visually stunning experience, however playing and watching the game could be 2 different experiences, so gameplay can be tricky (or just plain frustrating) while the cut scenes can be gorgeous and filled with fast action sequences. Thankfully theres a demo on the Xbox Live and PSN so its really recommended to check it out first before jumping into this title.
Syndicate
Metacritics: 69, 70, 75 Gamerankings: 74, 74, 68
Sadly this title didnt receive enough promotion or budget to be a AAA title, but the interesting story about a dystopian future where corporations rule the world is really good, also thiss one of the few games that tries to make things different in the online front with a great cooperative mode for four players that offers 9 different missions and objectives that requires real cooperation between the players. Even if the campaign fell flat sometimes the multiplayer is good enough to check this title.
Wipeout 2048
Metacritics: 79 Gameranking: 80
The last game from Studio Liverpool, one of the most talented studios in the entire world said goodbye with their classic futuristic racer for the PSVita. In japan the game didnt even chart at the top 20, in USA didnt chart in the NPD and in UK it debuted at place 4, and disappeared from the list the next week. Which is a shame; the game is fantastic and yes even with the loading times its worth every penny, the game has dropped price twice since their release and still is easy to find in stores.
Binary Domain
Metacritics: 68, 74, 72 Gamerankings: 74, 74, 63
The third person shooter formula is so well established that every new game in the entry is judged really harsh, Binary Domain bet is just for fun with an interesting system of commands based on voice or buttons players can give orders to the squad and being judged by their performance, and yes it isnt a game for everyone so people can just shake their heads in grief or laugh at it. It was also one of the worst selling games in NA with just 20k in its debut
Starhawk
Metacritics: 77 Gamerankings: 79
Warhawk was one of the first original PS3 games to get recognition; this third person shooter had an interesting setting, great vehicles and fun multiplayer experience. So a sequel was one of the most frequent petitions from Playstation fans, finally the sequel was released this year, with little to no advertising; it didnt chart on the May NPD list, in the UK it wasnt even in the top 10 for all formats and in Japan sold almost 13k on its debut before disappearing from the lists. To this day people still blame the lack of advertising for the demise of this title, maybe the franchise wasnt strong enough or it was released at the wrong time, Lightbox studios one of the co-developers of the title switched to iOS games last October.
Gravity Rush
Matecritics: 83 Gamerankings: 81
Being a new franchise in a relatively new system is hard, thankfully this title is starting to get the recognition that deserves, GR is a great game with beautiful cel-shading graphics that offers a huge world to explore in this action/platform title with an amazing and clever use of gavity shift powers; the game crossed the 100k mark in Japan and even if the numbers arent as good in NA and Europe the title still holds as one of the Must have games for the Vita.
Theatrhythm Final Fantasy
Metacritics: 78 Gamerankings: 80
Well thiss a case of a game that was successful at a small scale. This rhythm title uses a huge portion of the Final Fantasy music to offer a nice little fun game divided in 3 parts. Field, Battle and Event, probably the best of them are the battles where characters must tap correctly to do damage to the enemies onscreen, overall is a really nice game that maybe was hurt by the lack of interest in this genre or the price.
Rhythm Thief & the Emperor's Treasure
Metacritics: 76 Gamerankings: 76
Much like Starhawk, maybe this game was a victim of the lack of interest to advertise it. Like Theatrhythm is a game that offers a nice selection of music based minigames and some really nice cut scenes. An iOS version is scheduled to be release this year.
Persona 4: Arena
Matecritics: 83, 86 Gamerankings: 85, 84
Well this game ended being one of the biggest surprises of the year, there isnt much to say about this title, its fast paced great fighting in the same way of Blazblue and Guilty Gear (the game was developed by Arc System Works) so even if the title ended being a niche fighting game in NA its worth to check it out.
The Last Story
Metacritics: 80 Gamerankings: 78
Pretty much like the last title, Last Story is a niche title that was a really nice surprised for many its one of the best Japanese RPGs of the generation, now its the most successful game in the story of XSEED, however it was released in what it looks like the last year of the Wii in our continent. The special edition is now a collector item, but the game is still possible to find in the regular version.
Little Big Planet Vita
Metacritics: 88 Gamerankings: 88
There isnt much to talk about this one. In Japan sold only 6k in its first week, in UK it debut at number 6 and disappeared quite quickly of the charts, meanwhile in America the title didnt chart in the September and October NPD. Still just like Gravity Rush this title will ended being a must have for new Vita owners.
Code of Princess
Metacritics: 73 Gamerankings: 73
Yes I know a lot of people feel dirty just grabbing this game, but its a really nice fun little action game. I understand that the character design is not for everyone but the gameplay and overall design of the game is fun and quite enjoyable. So look over the questionable art of this game theres a good game behind it.
