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[randomlyrossy]

Thought this was going to be a thread about the hidden gems in the Crash Bandicoot PS1 games, colour me disappointed :lol

 

[GhaleonQ]

*beep, boop* GHALEONQ GENERATING STANDARD IRRITATING ANSWER BECAUSE HE CAN'T LET IT GO. *whirr*

http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=376513

 

[Night_Trekker]

The second (third in Japan) in a great series of first person adventure games. On your way to the moon, your commercial flight crashes, killing almost everyone on board and apparently separating you from your fiancée. As you explore the lunar facilities and surface, you're confronted by the spirits of the other people on the flight as well as others who have died on the moon. Some are angry and actively hostile, some are frightened or mournful, but all are dangerous (they can literally scare you to death) due to a strange fog covering some parts of the lunar facility. I order to continue in your search, you must figure out what's keeping each of them from moving on and then help them.

Echo Night Beyond uses the same engine as King's Field: The Ancient City, but there is no combat. The atmosphere is amazingly spooky and unique and the minimal soundtrack is great. I can't recommend it highly enough.

Anyone who enjoys ENB would probably also enjoy the PS1 original, Echo Night (which has a similar theme but which takes place aboard an abandoned cruise ship). These games do some impressive things with storytelling I've never seen other games attempt.

 

[Gorgon]

http://stevewalsh2.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/BoxArt/Albion.jpg

Fantastic game. I woudn't call it overlooked, though. At the time it was pretty well known, I think.

 

[Wutdaheckman]

Nox.

 

[blame space]

oh the time I've put into this game...

 

[Bernbaum]

Wii:
Deadly Creatures; you play as a tarantula or scorpion. You fight enemies like in Devil May Cry or God of War. There are strangely gross QTE finishers for combat. Has Ratchet-esque dimension-bending segments.
Endless Ocean; underappreciated Nintendo gem, a truly relaxing and rewarding game.
Ghost Squad; if you want a deep rail shooter, this is not it. This is over the top, insane Sega fun. Lasts 20 minutes, you'll replay it 50 times.
Klonoa; a gorgeous remake of a game that's been rightfully called one of the best platformers of all tiem
Kororinpa; rolling ball puzzle tilting game, awesome.
Order Up; a mix between a time management game and a cooking game, this is so much better than Cooking Mama. If you have any interest in an arcadey cooking game, this is it.

Got it a year ago. We're still playing it.

 

[Guv_Bubbs]

Tombi

It was in a PS1 Demo and people loved it. But it sold like shit. It's really expensive now

 

[Quixzlizx]

Heavy Weapon (PSN/XBLA) is one of my favorite shooters ever, but I don't really see too many people on GAF talking about it. It also has up to 4-player local/online multiplayer.

 

[Like the hat?]

my most played DS game

 

[Llyranor]

The days of hidden gems aren't over. I'll bet there are less than 5 people who've tried out this series around GAF. Repost:

The Airborne Assault series is the absolute best real-time representation of high-level (operational level) strategy and tactics in gaming, and I will accept any challenges to the contrary. The basis of this argument is on both the implementation of command and control/chains of command, and on the presence of time as a crucial element in planning strategy in the form of order delays. You aren't playing a godlike entity with full absolute control of your units, you're a high-level commander.

It is niche PC games like this that will ensure that, despite growing somewhat away from mainstream PC gaming in the last few years - I will always be a PC gamer.

The series currently has two titles, Highway to the Reich (Operation Market-Garden) and Conquest of the Aegean (Operation Marita/Mercury = German invasion of Greece/Crete). Later this year: Battles from the Bulge.

Why is COTA a good WW2 game? It's not Hollywood-style, and it doesn't just implement the WW2 setting just for big explosions and drama. Instead, it uses the setting as a strength of the game, crafting historically accurate scenarios and putting you in the shoes of the general of a particular battle. It's of an operational scale (thus smaller than HoI2), which I think allows for tigher design. COTA covers the battles of Greece, Crete, and a hypothetical invasion of Malta.

It's an operational wargame. It's real-time with pause, but plays nothing like a RTS. It tries to be as accurate as possible, avoiding as much gaming conventions as it can - a pseudo-simulation of sorts. How does it do this? I'll present some points posted by someone else on another forum (MarkShot) who does it much better than me, and I absolutely agree with him.

In many so called "strategy" games, the player may formulate a strategy in pursuit of victory. However, when it comes to executing the strategy, it is largely incumbent on the player to execute each small detail in order to realize the strategy. So, the "strategy" is actually something the player imposes upon the gaming system, as opposed to the player actually interacting with the system at the strategic level. At worst, this leaves the player so mired with the details that the big picture is lost or at best, the player can track the big picture but finds much of their involvement happening at a lower level than the one for which they acquired the game for in the first place.

So, what is it that is different about Panther's engine that allows strategy to be both the main focus of the player and main interaction with the game?

(1) Panther has introduced a flexible multi-level chain of command structure into the game. The player may interact with units/sub-units at any level within the chain of command. Thus, it is very adaptable to individual style and needs. One can both micro/macro manage within even a single gaming session. A critical road block can be created by tasking individual companies while some place else an entire brigade can be given very open ended orders to make an attack.

Some games have a natural level at which the player should interact with the game. As long as scenarios and forces are constructed around that natural limit, they play very well. Panther's engine is much more open ended. The ability to command at any level makes the game highly scalable. In many games, if you double the forces, the complexity for the player will quadruple (exponential scaling). In Panther's engine, the scaling is more of a logarithmic function. So, doubling the forces may increase the complexity for the player by a factor of 1.2 or so.

(Okay, keep this scaling in mind as I will come back to it soon.)

(2) Along with this being able to take command at any level, Panther has provided a very powerful (or as they prefer to say "capable") AI. In most games, the AI is something that serves as your opponent. In the Combat Mission series, Battle Front identified two different AIs. First there is the Tactical AI, which resolved combat between individual elements (units) in the game system. Second, there is the Strategic AI which formulates a high-level plan for the battle against the player. If we look at Panther's engine, we will also find both of these AIs. However, in the Panther engine the Strategic AI also functions on behalf of the player to produce plans in the execution of orders given by the player. It is this which allows the player to command at any level. The player need not concern him or herself with a myriad of typical details like choosing the best route, coordinating the movement of many units with proper overwatch and security, developing a proper attack formation, deploying different type of assets to their maximum advantage, etc...

---

So, when we add the two above features together we get a highly scalable system that allows the player's main involvement to be with defining and monitoring strategy. In some games, you may be able to command large scale battles. However, this is often achieved by abstracting the forces involved in the battle. With Panther's engine, large scale doesn't mean highly abstracted. In fact, while playing HTTR you will find all the low level elemental units like infantry companies, anti-tank platoons, mortars platoons, ... individually represented and involved. So, even though you are directing a battle involving tens of thousands men and giving order to brigades, it is fought before your eyes at a much finer level of granularity. All the inherent messiness and give and take of battle is not abstracted away by some hidden numerical system. It is all there for your immersion and analysis despite your involvement at a much higher level.

(3) I think there is one other aspect of Panther's engine that significantly contributes to the strategic nature of the game. This is order delays. Anyone who is serving or has served will tell you that no plans/orders are immediately executed. They require time to plan, communicate, organize, and execute. You will also be told that command and control delays during WWII were much greater than they are today. There were no GPS satellites, computers, integrated battle management, etc... Panther has implemented such command and control delays into the gaming engine. While playing, you are free to issue orders and reissue orders at any point in time. However, if you choose to play with order delays (this is optional, but is selected by most players), then you will not be issuing orders and revising them every simulated hour. You are going to analyze and then, formulate a plan. Then, you will issue orders. Then, you are going to, with as much patience as you can muster, sit back and let things run their course. Even when things are not going well, you will not immediately jump in and tweak this or that. You will make a commitment as the commander to stand by your decisions until a major overhaul is needed.

Believe me, this all feels very real life. The requirement to create the best plan on incomplete/inaccurate information and then sit back and let things just happen, adds a lot to the fact that this is about strategy. You will work out a strategy and then set it in motion. You are not going to keep nudging things in the right direction based on some tables published by players who have reverse engineered the gaming system. I have never served in the military, but I have managed large scale software projects and this game truely captures the feel and challenges of leadership/management.

Summary:
1) The Order of Battle actually matters. Multi-level chain of command means you can macro- or micro-manage as much as you want. The beauty of it is that the more you micro, the more HQ becomes overwhelmed, learning to longer order delays, so you quickly learn to deleguate.
2) AI is very capable of carrying out your macro orders. In setting your orders, you set out different parameters, and the AI carries them out competently. There are a general view of what order settings you can have available on the left:

3) Order delays means that this CAN'T be a twitch fest, even if you wanted it to be. Every order you implement (because you control battalions and regiments and above, and not single squads or units) takes TIME to be carried out. It takes time for your units to organize themselves and prepare. What this means is that you have to plan out ahead, and anticipate the enemy's plan as well, taking into account various possibilities as well. You can't overcome setbacks by clicking wildly. From a gameplay perspective, that makes it very challenging.

Why does no one play this around here? Well, you basically play on a 2D map and manipulate little squares around. You don't see lots of bells and whistles. Despite that, the look is clean, the interface itself is ace and very functional, and it performs really well. It's a big shame, really.

The games really put you in the commander's shoes. Immersion is a silly overused word, but I was immersed enough into the settings that I went out and bought some books on Market-Garden and the Greece/Crete operations to read more on them. That's what WW2 games should do - stimulate the player to learn more about the conflict.

In any case, the upcoming game in the (renamed) series is Command Ops: Battles from the Bulge. It'll actually have a demo, so maybe people will finally try it out.

One day, I'll make an actual real thread about the series rather than just reposting this over and over, maybe once the new game comes out/gets a demo.

I usually hugely favor turn-based over real-time when it comes to tactics/strategy game. In fact, I will always ALWAYS pick a turn-based tactics/strategy game over a real-time one given a choice - the sole exception being this series. The authenticity that the system brings to the depiction of operational-level strategy and tactics (any such emulation in a turn-based system would be fairly abstracted) is so significant to me that I will even forgo my turn-based bias.

 

[CrunchinJelly]

 

[Foliorum Viridum]

Second Sight is a fantastic game that I feel was always overlooked by both the critics and consumers. It has a wonderful story that makes the most of an interesting narrative structure, really fun gameplay mechanics that require full use of your telekinesis powers and a general charm that very few games manage to capture.

To me, and this isn't a bash against the game because I really like it too, Psi-Ops always seemed to take the spotlight away from Second Sight because of the fact it was a bit more action orientated, which is a real shame.

 

[bonesmccoy]

While pretty popular in the RTS market, I still don't think Sins of a Solar Empire gets the recognition it deserves. It is the most accessible yet intelligent RTS game I have played since, I dunno, Red Alert and Warcraft 2.

 

[Majukun]

Metal arms:Glitch in the system (gamecube,xbox,ps2)

one of the best TPS i've ever played,great variety,great gameplay,great longevity,great level desing

 

[Struct09]

Metal Arms is indeed an awesome game

 

[r4z4]

oh the time I've put into this game...

Came to post this, I looooved this game, could never find anyone to play multiplayer with though.

 

[mjc]

A really over looked game on the GBA, its a top down shooter/action game that has a lot of charm. Really fun too.

 

[PetriP-TNT]

Wolfensteins singleplayer mode was a really pleasent surprise! It combined the old Wolf-pattern of evil nazis ja hidden nazi golds with Fallout 3-esque roleplaying elements and surpassed all the expectations. The game is challenging, the scenarios are fun to play even though they are rather straightforward and it has a solid presentation.

Hidden gem total.

 

[Jocchan]

Fun fact: the boxart is a stock photo. They just photoshopped (badly) a gun in his hand. I once saw the same picture on the cover of a completely unrelated book, and who knows how many times that pic has been reused.

 

[olimpia84]

It probably hasn't aged well at all, but Body Harvest was a fun game with awesome levels (tons of glitches/bugs in the game though). You can think of it in some ways as the N64 alien version of GTA.

A true Wii gem, I still don't understand why people didn't give this game a chance.

IMO one of Rare's best games. Definitely one of the most underrated games out there.

Other 'honorable' mentions:
- Bikers Mice from Mars (SNES)
- Batman Returns (SNES)
- Aero the AcroBat II (SNES)
- Beach Spikers (Gamecube)

 

[Foliorum Viridum]

Fun fact: the boxart is a stock photo. They just photoshopped (badly) a gun in his hand. I once saw the same picture on the cover of a completely unrelated book, and who knows how many times that pic has been reused.

To be honest, the horrible box is probably one of the reasons it didn't sell... :lol

 

[Neiteio]

Rocket is a fantastic 3D platformer that suffered as a result of an over-saturated market. The game stars a bizarre robot name Rocket who uses a built-in unicycle to get around. Throughout the game, Rocket also has the opportunity to ride around in a hotdog-shaped go-kart, a hovering paint cannon, a mechanical swordfish, a magic carpet, and a flying motorcycle. And, of course, no platformer would be complete without a mine cart section. Rocket has no arms and, instead, makes use of a grappling beam that can either be used to move objects around or to swing from poles, tree branches, and light fixtures. Rocket also gains new abilities as the game progresses, including a freeze ray that allows him to create platforms on water much like the ice flower from Super Mario Galaxy does. The game is notable for a surprisingly deep physics engine. Items will bounce and roll around when you throw them, objects will bob up and down in the water, and floating platforms will tilt and turn in accordance to your weight when you jump on them. The game is relatively sparse when it comes to enemies, and puts the focus on exploration and tricky platforming instead. This is not a bad thing, however, as the gameplay is extremely varied. One minute you'll be playing tic-tac-toe with a giant chicken, and the next you'll by throwing a sheep against a thorn bush to use as a makeshift platform. At one point, you'll have to jump into vats of paint to disguise yourself and, at another point, you'll get to build and ride your own roller coasters in an amusement park. Make no mistake about it either: Rocket isn't one of those games that only looks good on paper. The game's graphics and overall production values are comparable to what you'd expect from Nintendo or Rare. Consumers really missed the mark with Rocket but, thankfully, developer Sucker Punch would later see some much-deserved success with the Sly Cooper games on the PlayStation 2.

This sounds excellent. A hidden gem from what was perhaps my favorite era of gaming.

Any chance it'll be posted on the Virtual Console??

 

[Jocchan]

To be honest, the horrible box is probably one of the reasons it didn't sell... :lol

True :lol

 

[protonion]

DROD

The best puzzle game of all time.

 

[lyre]

If all of NeoGaf doesn't know about it by now; Demon's Souls.

The game has an official thread with over 22,000 replies and has sold 150,000 copies in NA since release; it's as much of a 'hidden gem' as the PSP Go is a sales-age success.

 

[Brewer]

Siren: Blood Curse

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qgiE74X7MYY - E308 Trailer

Every new PS3-owner should check it out, especially if you're a horror fan.
(You can download it from the PS-Store)

 

[Sciz]

I've seen this game mentioned on GAF twice, ever. Part classic Castlevania, part Metal Gear, part light gun shooter, all wrapped up in a wild west setting with a few ninjas and a really catchy soundtrack. Easily the most tragically overlooked game on the NES in this day and age.

 

[theultimo]

Before Treyarch become the porting right hand of Activision, they made one game with one of the most fun and hard to master melee controls.

The game is Die by the Sword.

Using the numberpad to control your every movement on your arm (remember, this was 1998), the game was fun and you could dismember any part of your enemies. Its on GOG for cheap, Its the only Treyarch product I miss..

 

[SapientWolf]

Probably my favorite puzzle game, and one of the few games I never got tired of playing. It's my "desert island" game. It had a pseudo-sequel called Bombastic on the PS2.

 

[TheExodu5]

This one will be tough to beat:

Also:

Torchlight (PC)!

It's a loot game, with an awesome art style. Works on all kind of computers (does NOT require shaders, so you can even play it with GF2/GF4 MX). Also, it has a netbook mode for the netbook computers. Go buy it!

Eh? Hardly a hidden gem. It's been in the Steam top sellers list since it came out.

 

[Seraphis Cain]

Charming, light-hearted RPG with strong Earthbound overtones.

Oh, and did I mention one of the best soundtracks EVER? Yeah.

Shame about the fairly sloppy translation. Blame Koei for that one.

 

[PepsimanVsJoe]

Monaco GP off the Sega Classics Collection is actually very good.

 

[Akuun]

Uniracers for SNES.

 

[Jocchan]

This one will be tough to beat:

So tough to beat that you can find it in the OP ;p

 

[Dascu]

Agreed with the mentions of Rogue Trooper. I played it on the Wii and it was pretty damn good. Anyone looking for a quality 3rd person shooter with a lot of gameplay variety should give it a try.

 

[Scythesurge]

How about Space Station Silicon Valley on N64? That game was seriously awesome but I feel like few others have played it!

 

[TheExodu5]

How about Space Station Silicon Valley on N64? That game was seriously awesome but I feel like few others have played it!

My cousin had that one. Fun game (albeit frustrating at times!).

So tough to beat that you can find it in the OP ;p

Missed that in the op. It should be known that it actually came out on PS2 and PC in 2006, and implemented a cover system before Gears of War did.

 

[jibblypop]

IMO one of Rare's best games. Definitely one of the most underrated games out there.

Damn right.

 

[Nemo]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wjg1YZKwFx8

 

[Servbot #42]

Before Treyarch become the porting right hand of Activision, they made one game with one of the most fun and hard to master melee controls.

The game is Die by the Sword.

Using the numberpad to control your every movement on your arm (remember, this was 1998), the game was fun and you could dismember any part of your enemies. Its on GOG for cheap, Its the only Treyarch product I miss..

I have that game! pretty cool sword control tough it's not 100% accurate. I always wanted to play Die by the Sword online with someone, maybe using Hamachi?

 

[shintoki]

Goof Troop(SNES): Probably still my favorite puzzle adventure game to date. I think I liked about it most was just how easy it was to reset a puzzle. Walk out of the zone, and walk back in. Done.

Conan(360): I think after DMC4, This has been the best action game for the gen so far. People throw it in as a quick GoW clone(Which it is), but where God of War fails on Gameplay. This succeeds quite well. Nice difficulty, variety, and so forth. There is also another but too this, Where God of War succeeds on production value. This fails.:lol Definitely a hidden gem if you are looking for a solid action game to hold you over till Bayonetta.

Shadowrun(360): Game got a really shitty rep thanks to MS, Console war fanatics, Nostalgia critics, and a certain gaffer. But I still think the core gameplay is the best of the generation. Only two other games to come out with comparable depth and balance have been L4D and TF2. Even they don't have the wonderful balance Shadowrun had. If only it was budget price on Steam...would have done so well then.

Donkey Konga Jungle Beat(GC): It maybe not be a hidden Gem on Gaf. But It's still my favorite platformer of the decade. So simple yet so fucking fun. You should be able to get the GC version with Bongas for 20$ still.

 

[bjork]

Dog's Life on PS2 - a kid's adventure game, but it's a good one to relax with. Real mellow. Plus you can poop and the poop has its own physics, you can poop at the top of a hill and the poop will roll all the way down.

Kya: Dark Lineage on PS2 - 3D platformer that a lot of people ignored due to the ridiculously dumb ads and some pretty horrible character designs, but damn if it isn't fun as hell to play.

 

[Tremis]

I've seen this game mentioned on GAF twice, ever. Part classic Castlevania, part Metal Gear, part light gun shooter, all wrapped up in a wild west setting with a really catchy soundtrack. Easily the most tragically overlooked game on the NES in this day and age.

I rented this game back in the day, and from what I remember, it was pretty cool.

edit: the music in this game rocks!

 

[mjc]

Conan(360): I think after DMC4, This has been the best action game for the gen so far. People throw it in as a quick GoW clone(Which it is), but where God of War fails on Gameplay. This succeeds quite well. Nice difficulty, variety, and so forth. There is also another but too this, Where God of War succeeds on production value. This fails.:lol Definitely a hidden gem if you are looking for a solid action game to hold you over till Bayonetta.

Shadowrun(360): Game got a really shitty rep thanks to MS, Console war fanatics, Nostalgia critics, and a certain gaffer. But I still think the core gameplay is the best of the generation. Only two other games to come out with comparable depth and balance have been L4D and TF2. Even they don't have the wonderful balance Shadowrun had. If only it was budget price on Steam...would have done so well then.

Conan was decent, but the gameplay got pretty repetitve towards the end. If they tweaked it just a bit more in a couple areas the game would have been pretty great. I agree with Shadowrun, I still think its one of the best online console shooters to have come out. They really shot themselves in the foot by releasing it at a full price point though.

 

[Night_Trekker]

I've seen this game mentioned on GAF twice, ever. Part classic Castlevania, part Metal Gear, part light gun shooter, all wrapped up in a wild west setting with a really catchy soundtrack. Easily the most tragically overlooked game on the NES in this day and age.

That sounds really cool. I'll look for it. It's probably not on the VC, is it? :|

 

[ChackanKun]

Guardian Heroes/Dragonforce/Christmas Nights - Saturn

Shadow of Memories - PS2

Almost every game was a hidden gem on the Saturn though...and I didn't list PC games because...heck, they are just too many lol

 

[LocoMrPollock]

To be honest, the horrible box is probably one of the reasons it didn't sell... :lol

It also came out around the same time as Psi-Ops which for some reason stole all its thunder. Even though Second Sight was the superior game.

Anyway, been playing Albion for an hour or so, and the dude that recommended it could've mentioned the incestuous furries.

 

[SupraDarky]

Demon's Crest on the SNES.

 

[Nachkebia]

Excellent thread! keep them coming!