Niche and underrated games-thread

[philipofmacedon]

Hexen 2 (PC)

One of my most favorite games of all time. Some of the puzzles could be a bit obtuse and backtracking in the hubs could be a pain, but it was still a great game, one that deserves more acclaim. Deathmatch was a blast.

Also of mention was the Siege mod for H2 put out by one of the Raven programmers. Entirely a labor of love, it generated a dedicated community of a hundred or so who played for years. Each game was a contest between two teams. The defenders were tasked with holding a castle and preventing the crown from being captured, while the attackers hacked away at the castle defenses in pursuit of this prize. Six character classes provided a variety of roles on the battlefield.

Also of interest was how Siege was inspired by John Boorman's classic film, Excalibur. When the attackers breached the main courtyard and began attacking the castle tower, Excalibur would rise from a pool of water and clips of Wagner would play, just like in the movie. When a defender took the sword, O Fortuna, from Carmina Burana would begin playing, which also gained mass exposure in Boorman's film.

I wish someone would setup a dedicated server for Siege. I'd play it every day.

[jfrost]

Also re: "brits" calling it beat 'em ups (I'm Swedish btw ;P) it's a strange heritage.. but hey that's what you do, you beat 'em up.

Sorry, man, I didn't check your location. I apologize. I should've assumed it was an European thing :)

[anosou]

Also re: "brits" calling it beat 'em ups (I'm Swedish btw ;P) it's a strange heritage.. but hey that's what you do, you beat 'em up.

Sorry, man, I didn't check your location. I apologize. I should've assumed it was an European thing

Hahaha no need to apologize That just means my english is decent enough! But yeah, european thing.. I'm moving over to "Fighting" nowadays though, promise!

[Niode]

I tend to call games like SoR or Golden Axe Beat 'em ups and Street Fighter clones as Fighters. I think it's important to have the distinction.

Most people I know call em beat 'em ups. Or just plain 'fayters' (I'm from Yorkshire in the UK "n thats ar wi tork upear")

Also: Thrasher Skate & Destroy.

I loved that game it was far superior to the Tony Hawks games. It was hard as nails too. Skate and it's sequel is very similar to it in the way that the trick system is extremely satisfying to use.

I think Skate took a lot of ideas from Thrasher. Like the security guards chasing you and the ability to hurt yourself.

[deathred]

...T&C Surf Designs (NES)...

Oh man I love that game! I still have the original cartridge too. And sadly, it's up for sale.

I used to play that with my brother for hours man. I still remember the frustration. hehe.

I also wanted to mention another game for the NES:

Crash and the Boyz Street Challenge.

[Snickerd00dle]

beyond good and evil never got the credit it deserved, it doesnt matter how much we look back and say it was good, it will always be criminally underrated, its so good

[AwesomeMonstar]

Hexen 2 (PC)

One of my most favorite games of all time. Some of the puzzles could be a bit obtuse and backtracking in the hubs could be a pain, but it was still a great game, one that deserves more acclaim. Deathmatch was a blast.

Also of mention was the Siege mod for H2 put out by one of the Raven programmers. Entirely a labor of love, it generated a dedicated community of a hundred or so who played for years. Each game was a contest between two teams. The defenders were tasked with holding a castle and preventing the crown from being captured, while the attackers hacked away at the castle defenses in pursuit of this prize. Six character classes provided a variety of roles on the battlefield.

Also of interest was how Siege was inspired by John Boorman's classic film, Excalibur. When the attackers breached the main courtyard and began attacking the castle tower, Excalibur would rise from a pool of water and clips of Wagner would play, just like in the movie. When a defender took the sword, O Fortuna, from Carmina Burana would begin playing, which also gained mass exposure in Boorman's film.

I wish someone would setup a dedicated server for Siege. I'd play it every day.

yes yes yes. Everything you said is so yes. Weapons were badass, characters were badass, items were badass. To tell you the truth, if anything got me into 3d shooters, it was probably hexen 2. One of the first games i bought with my own money i think.

[Haoie]

Horror fans must get Hellnight, AKA Dark Messiah, PS1.

It's an import only. But 1 of the best for the system, for sure. And completely unlike anything [besides maybe Monster Maze].

[jfrost]

Also re: "brits" calling it beat 'em ups (I'm Swedish btw ;P) it's a strange heritage.. but hey that's what you do, you beat 'em up.

Sorry, man, I didn't check your location. I apologize. I should've assumed it was an European thing

Hahaha no need to apologize That just means my english is decent enough! But yeah, european thing.. I'm moving over to "Fighting" nowadays though, promise!

English is not my first language either, so don't trust my judgement

[Ack]

Horror fans must get Hellnight, AKA Dark Messiah, PS1.

It's an import only. But 1 of the best for the system, for sure. And completely unlike anything [besides maybe Monster Maze].

I've been looking for this game for five years now, still haven't found it.

And speaking of Hexen 2, I was a huge fan of Heretic. I really wish that game had gotten more attention back in the day, but most folks I run into nowadays give me a blank stare whenever I mention it.

As for games I think everybody should play G.I. Joe on the NES. A nice run and gun which allows you to pick a team of three soldiers for each level. All your choices possess different traits, such as increased health, improved jumping height, and a faster rate of fire. I felt it was awesome.