Short, unique, linear games.

LewieP

I want to play some really short, linear games. The most important thing is that they are unique. I want to think "Wow, that's an experience unlike pretty much any other game I have played before".

It would be nice if they were pretty too.


Can be PC, Wii/GC, Xbox/360, PS2 or DS.

I am open to pretty much any genre.

G&T Assemble.

ruzkin

Well, I'll just get in before everyone else in the world and say Ico for PS2.

LewieP

Played and loved ICO + SOTC.

Rez too (as that would be an obvious choice too)

The_Scarab

Condemned 2, and the first one if you can find it.

Both really, really awesome games. Completely linear. Perfect rentals. You can beat them in a night, get in some pizza, few beers and be scared shitless.

Essentially, the gaming equivalent of something like Se7en meets House on Haunted Hill. Great fun.

Local H Jay

I'll say Portal, but everyone and their granma has played that by now.
Hey, how about Rain Slick? I like it, dunno how long it is.

Xenogears of Bore

Dragon Warrior VII fits all those requirements.

Except the short part, and the linear part.

Also being the seventh game in the series it's not terribly unique.

HtR-Laser

If you can find it, Cubivore. Such spirit.

LewieP

HtR-Laser wrote: »

If you can find it, Cubivore. Such spirit.

USA only sadly, one of my most wanted early gamecube games too.

LockedOnTarget

To get the obvious out of the way: The Metal Gear Solid series.

Daedalus

Psychonauts.

LewieP

LockedOnTarget wrote: »

To get the obvious out of the way: The Metal Gear Solid series.

I've played 1 and 2 and they are really not for me, I couldn't get past the controls, and I really dislike cut scene heavy games. I can see the attraction, they just are not for me.

Daedalus wrote: »

Psychonauts.

Perfect suggestion, I have already played it to completion though.

There aren't enough games.

Dírhael

The World Ends With You [DS] also fits I think. I'm currently playing it and for the most part it's unlike anything else I've played.

You could also take a look at Aquaria for the PC. While the gameplay may sometimes remind you of games like Metroid etc., the complete experience is very unique and unlike anything else. It's also doesn't hurt that it's absolutely gorgeous and has fantastic music (these two points applies to TWEWY as well). Also, the voice actress does a great job which helps a lot for the immersion.

Khavall

No More Heroes

And Killer7



And for pure storytelling awesome, and some of the most powerful scenes in gaming, Call of Duty 4

StopAndSwish

Max Payne 1 & 2. Not very unique, but absolutely fantastic action. I liked the noir-ness, but your taste may vary.

Skexis

Max Payne 1 & 2 are good for PC if you've never played them before. I wouldn't recommend console versions, as I heard some bad things.

Hm. Advent Rising and The Suffering are two of my personal favorites that meet your criteria. You might not be as impressed with them as I was, but I felt like the quality of the gameplay and the atmosphere, respectively, was pretty slick.

Edit: beat'd

Fort1tude

Noitu Love 2 - Devolution

This 2D beatem up has a very unique combat system using the mouse and keyboard, graphics are pixilated but the artwork is unique and vibrant. Its short, I beat it in an hour, but you unlock other characters to play the game as, each with their own unique style of fighting.





Download the demo at http://www.konjak.org/g_noitu2.html

EDIT: I would like to add that the combat in this game is fast and chaotic in the later levels. Play it on hard mode from the start if you want a challenge.

Locklock

Here's some older games that I remember and love:

Freedom Fighters: Squad based action game where you lead a rebellion against a Soviet occupied USA. Awesome game, and really polished.

Time Splitters: TS is a console FPS with some brilliantly written comedy scenes. It's a FPS that doesn't take itself very seriously and it's all the better because of it. Future Perfect is the most recent and one of the best.

Second Sight: By the same team as Time Splitters, Second Sight is a more serious action game about a guy with psychic powers. Excellent story and you get to throw dudes over cliff edges with your mind.

Shooter Mcgavin

I picked up Viewtiful Joe 2 for 5 US dollars (800 Engrish pounds). It's dang, well, awesome.

Gunstar

I would say Gun on the 360. I guess it's not unique, but it's short and fun and doesn't slow down the whole time you're playing it (unless you want to do side missions.) I beat it in one sitting twice now.

RE4, Gears of War - kind of on the long side, but doable in a marathon mode. Also not a waste of money since there's a lot to come back to (in my opinion.)

Fort1tude

Gunstar wrote: »

I would say Gun on the 360. I guess it's not unique, but it's short and fun and doesn't slow down the whole time you're playing it (unless you want to do side missions.) I beat it in one sitting twice now.

RE4, Gears of War - kind of on the long side, but doable in a marathon mode. Also not a waste of money since there's a lot to come back to (in my opinion.)

Ive always heard mixed things about gun. Is it the type of game that if not completely sandbox like GTA, does it at least have sections of the game where I dont have a time limit and can just explore the town and horsejack people or start barfights?

TheSonicRetard

Ys VI: Ark of Napistim

RainbowDespair

Triggerheart Exelica on XBLA. It's way short, seeing as how it's an arcade shmup port, and it's pretty unique in that it's part shmup, part puzzle game as you try to figure out when to use your gun and when to use your grappling hook attack (grab flying enemies, swing them around, then hurl them in a massive explosion of death) for maximum points.

Nights definitely fits the bill as well. The whole game can be beaten in under an hour and it is like nothing else out there - basically a flying Sonic the Hedgehog. The Wii sequel is pretty fun as well, although sadly adds a bunch of unskippable story filler.

And it's only short by JRPG standards, but Panzer Dragoon Saga is linear and very unique. Should be beatable in under 20 hours without much trouble.

Dírhael

I almost forgot to mention Panzer Dragoon Orta. It's short and sweet, and even if the gameplay isn't unique I would argue that the complete package is. It also has some of the best artwork/design of any game on a "modern" platform.

Gunstar

Orta was balls hard for me

RainbowDespair

Yeah, PDO definitely works. It's short and it's easily the deepest, highest quality game of its type out there.

randombattle

God Hand is a good one.

Cave Story is free and really unique.

CreativeNameHere

Sly Cooper, Beyond Good and Evil, Metal Gear AC!D1+2

TheSonicRetard

PDO is one of those games where it's deceptively long. The main game isn't very long, but it has ultimate replay. What with multiple paths per level, all of the side quest, an entire secondary game where you play as the bad guys, and the entire original Panzer Dragoon being included... that game is awesome.

aparrish

Some good indie PC games that fit the bill: Seiklus, Knytt (Stories) and Immortal Defense. The first two are stylish exploration-oriented platformers, and the third is a strange and interesting take on the tower defense genre with a great story.

urahonky

Fort1tude wrote: »

Gunstar wrote: »

I would say Gun on the 360. I guess it's not unique, but it's short and fun and doesn't slow down the whole time you're playing it (unless you want to do side missions.) I beat it in one sitting twice now.

RE4, Gears of War - kind of on the long side, but doable in a marathon mode. Also not a waste of money since there's a lot to come back to (in my opinion.)

Ive always heard mixed things about gun. Is it the type of game that if not completely sandbox like GTA, does it at least have sections of the game where I dont have a time limit and can just explore the town and horsejack people or start barfights?

Yes it does Fort. It's a good game.

Masonite

You can beat MDK within the span of a couple hours.

Masonite

Fort1tude wrote: »

Noitu Love 2 - Devolution

This 2D beatem up has a very unique combat system using the mouse and keyboard, graphics are pixilated but the artwork is unique and vibrant. Its short, I beat it in an hour, but you unlock other characters to play the game as, each with their own unique style of fighting.





Download the demo at http://www.konjak.org/g_noitu2.html

EDIT: I would like to add that the combat in this game is fast and chaotic in the later levels. Play it on hard mode from the start if you want a challenge.

This looks like it might be like Alien Hominid. Yes/no? I'll have to give it a try.

Antihippy

Metal Slug is pure concentrated fun in around... half an hour -one hour.

If you haven't checked that out, do it.

Tiemler

Fort1tude wrote: »

Ive always heard mixed things about gun. Is it the type of game that if not completely sandbox like GTA, does it at least have sections of the game where I dont have a time limit and can just explore the town and horsejack people or start barfights?

It does, but it's not very interesting to explore. You'll see most of the countryside doing the storyline and a few wanted poster side missions, anyway. The ending is fucking stupid, but the rest is good, and the story is paced well.

Also, I recommend checking out Dark Sector. To me, it felt like playing RE4 with an agile protagonist whose ass-kicking isn't limited to context attacks. Good mission design and boss battles, and an awesome signature weapon.

And whatever anyone tells you, King Kong isn't just for achievement whores. It's awesome, and not much longer than the movie.

Narian

The_Scarab wrote: »

Condemned 2, and the first one if you can find it.

Both really, really awesome games. Completely linear. Perfect rentals. You can beat them in a night, get in some pizza, few beers and be scared shitless.

Essentially, the gaming equivalent of something like Se7en meets House on Haunted Hill. Great fun.

The demo for Condemned 1 was fun. I think I'll try and rent these soon. :^:

urahonky

Narian wrote: »

The_Scarab wrote: »

Condemned 2, and the first one if you can find it.

Both really, really awesome games. Completely linear. Perfect rentals. You can beat them in a night, get in some pizza, few beers and be scared shitless.

Essentially, the gaming equivalent of something like Se7en meets House on Haunted Hill. Great fun.

The demo for Condemned 1 was fun. I think I'll try and rent these soon. :^:

You should. Condemned 1 and 2 are definitely up there in my top 5 360 game list.

Couscous

Burn the Rope
http://www.mazapan.se/games/BurnTheRope.php

Sagaxus

Psi-Ops: The Mindgate Conspiracy is fun. It's like Second Sight in that you have mind powers like telekinesis, but it's darker and the story isn't as good, but it makes up for that by allowing you to blow people's skulls up with your mind. And the training area is ten thousand times more fun than it should be. You might be able to find it in a bargain bin filled with relics for 5 dollars.

Zeromus

Gunstar wrote: »

Orta was balls hard for me

Glad I'm not the only one of this opinion.

GreasyKidsStuff

Get LostWinds from WiiWare, it's short, unique, and pretty enjoyable.

Khavall

Passage.

Don't have a link but. Passage.