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The Greatest Game that no one ever played

GyllilianGyllilian Registered User regular
edited November 2011 in Games and Technology
I'm curious if there was a game out there that people played that they absolutely loved, spent hours and hours upon but nobody else had ever played or even heard of (not a blockbuster title).

For me this game was Way of the Samurai on the PS2. Way back in 2002 it was a simple game where you played as a samurai entering a mountain pass and there was a branching storyline where your actions determined the outcome of the conflicts between two warring Samurai clans, the local village, and the Meiji government.

I loved the open ended narrative that allowed for multiple endings (a series of still pictures rather than animation, it was a budgeted title). But my favorite aspect was the attention to detail when it came to the brief role playing sequences. There would be an event going on, such as a group of samurai from a local clan shaking down a restaurant for protection money. You have the option of ignoring the conflict and going on your way, telling the samurai thugs that they have to leave (causing a fight between your character and all three thugs), personally challenge their leader, or egging on the thugs.

And within these options there are variations of how you could accomplish these goals. If they were accosting the restaurant owner and you pull out your sword the game recognizes this and the thugs take it as a challenge, same if you kicked one of the thugs. Imagine if you were doing a roleplaying sequence in Knights of the Old Republic and you responded to someone threatening you by saying nothing and just whipping out the lightsaber (which would be awesome, I think). The game even recognizes when you have your sword drawn so NPCs run in fear from you and people react angrily to you for your lack of responsibility with the sword. Didn't Elder Scrolls just barely add that kind of recognition in Skyrim?

I'm really big on options for solving problems/roleplaying so games like Oblivion, Fallout, and possibly Deus Ex are my bread and butter. What is your greatest game on one ever played?

Gyllilian on
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Posts

  • RainbowDespairRainbowDespair Registered User regular
    edited November 2011
    Pretty much any good Wii game that wasn't released by Nintendo would probably fall under this category. :)

    Specifically, I loved Trauma Team for the Wii but from what I've heard, it bombed big time. A little surprising since the earlier Trauma Center games sold respectably.

    EDIT: I read that the Bit.Trip.Collection for the Wii didn't even sell 1k in its first month. The individual games are good and the collection adds new stuff so it's a shame the collection did so poorly.

    RainbowDespair on
  • KlykaKlyka DO you have any SPARE BATTERIES?Registered User regular
    edited November 2011
    Giants: Citizen Kabuto.

    Amazing game with incredible multiplayer.

    Klyka on
    SC2 EU ID Klyka.110
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  • mere_immortalmere_immortal So tasty!Registered User regular
    Not exactly unknown, but Blur was criminally fucked over by Activision.

    Split/Second was pretty overlooked too I remember, both brilliant games.

    Didn't help that they both got released around the same time along with Modnation Racers too.

    Steam: mere_immortal - PSN: mere_immortal - XBL: lego pencil - Wii U: mimmortal - 3DS: 1521-7234-1642 - Bordgamegeek: mere_immortal
  • MeizMeiz Registered User regular
    Racing Destruction set for the Commodore 64 comes to mind. Also, I had access to a lot of imports for the super famicom, so a lot of those. An example would be Super Maruko Chan on the multitap. The party games were something else. There were also bomberman games that never came here, ones that had mounts. Gundam dodgeball...

  • iRevertiRevert Tactical Martha Stewart Registered User regular
    edited November 2011
    Warzone 2100
    3070-3.jpg
    Criminally underrated game. Many people did play it but for the most part it got swept under the rug and for years we fought to get it released as freeware but finally it got released out for us again.

    bponattack.gif
    Goes from your top down RTS to a fully controllable 3D camera view, Unit customization...Massive tech trees so online games got crazy we used to have 5-6 hour long games with good players that would just escalate and escalate till WW3 basically broke out which would be amazing. 3 remote bases set up and they each get swarmed with 80 units a piece...sooo good. There were so many units on screen at a time for that time period it was just crazy. It had just so many great features for its time. Check it out as its freeware now!

    http://wz2100.net/

    iRevert on
  • Skull2185Skull2185 Registered User regular
    Blur was equal parts awesome and fucking bullshit

    Loved it though :P

    Everyone has a price. Throw enough gold around and someone will risk disintegration.
  • KlykaKlyka DO you have any SPARE BATTERIES?Registered User regular
    iRevert wrote:
    Warzone 2100
    3070-3.jpg
    Criminally underrated game. Many people did play it but for the most part it got swept under the rug and for years we fought to get it released as freeware but finally it got released out for us again.

    bponattack.gif
    Goes from your top down RTS to a fully controllable 3D camera view, Unit customization...So many units on screen at a time for that time period it was just crazy. It had just so many great features for its time. Check it out as its freeware now!

    http://wz2100.net/

    My friend and me played that on the PS1! It was awesome!

    SC2 EU ID Klyka.110
    lTDyp.jpg
  • KarozKaroz Registered User regular
    iRevert wrote:
    Warzone 2100

    Criminally underrated game. Many people did play it but for the most part it got swept under the rug and for years we fought to get it released as freeware but finally it got released out for us again.

    http://wz2100.net/

    So many good memories. :^:

  • KlykaKlyka DO you have any SPARE BATTERIES?Registered User regular
    I can't remember the name of the game, but it was an old PC shooter (third person I think) where you controlled infantry, tank or a helicopter. It had some epic orchestral song as it's intro music.

    SC2 EU ID Klyka.110
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  • mere_immortalmere_immortal So tasty!Registered User regular
    After playing the demo I remember asking friends at school if they played Warzone.

    "Oh that wrestling game?"

    : (

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  • SwashbucklerXXSwashbucklerXX Swashbucklin' Canuck Registered User regular
    Tass Times in Tonetown was an incredibly imaginative, fun graphical adventure game from 1986. We played it on the Apple IIgs and loved it to death, but I rarely hear anybody talk about it when they're recalling the good ol' 1980's adventure games.

    For a more recent example, I am depressed that The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky for PSP didn't sell well for XSEED Games. It's super-popular in Japan, and for good reason. It's a charming JRPG with an delightful cast and a fun adventure story. XSEED did an incredible job localizing it, to the point where every time you check an empty treasure chest that you'd already looted, you get a different sarcastic message... something that wasn't present in the Japanese version. There are so many people who whine about how we don't have those great JRPGs like we did in the PS1-PS2 era, but then when this game appeared nobody bought it. Boo, hiss.

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  • acidlacedpenguinacidlacedpenguin Institutionalized Safe in jail.Registered User regular
    edited November 2011
    Klyka wrote:
    I can't remember the name of the game, but it was an old PC shooter (third person I think) where you controlled infantry, tank or a helicopter. It had some epic orchestral song as it's intro music.

    maybe WARGASM! Greatest game name ever. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wargasm

    acidlacedpenguin on
    GT: Acidboogie PSNid: AcidLacedPenguiN
  • symbolsorsymbolsor Registered User regular
    edited November 2011
    Klyka wrote:
    I can't remember the name of the game, but it was an old PC shooter (third person I think) where you controlled infantry, tank or a helicopter. It had some epic orchestral song as it's intro music.

    Codename Eagle maybe? That game was awesome, I sat at my computer for hours playing the demo over and over.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EtUrwcRF0PA

    symbolsor on
  • ZombiemamboZombiemambo Registered User regular
    Wargames: Defcon 1 for the Playstation. It was an action RTS wherein you picked an individual unit to control during battle and you could switch around. Each had their strengths and weaknesses. I played this game for countless hours.

    I don't know if this next one is really a game nobody played, but I loved it and I know it didn't do very well: Future Cop L.A.P.D.. Not for the single player (which was fun), but for the multiplayer, which was basically Herzog Zwei.

    JKKaAGp.png
  • The WolfmanThe Wolfman Registered User regular
    Tass Times in Tonetown was an incredibly imaginative, fun graphical adventure game from 1986. We played it on the Apple IIgs and loved it to death, but I rarely hear anybody talk about it when they're recalling the good ol' 1980's adventure games.

    For a more recent example, I am depressed that The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky for PSP didn't sell well for XSEED Games. It's super-popular in Japan, and for good reason. It's a charming JRPG with an delightful cast and a fun adventure story. XSEED did an incredible job localizing it, to the point where every time you check an empty treasure chest that you'd already looted, you get a different sarcastic message... something that wasn't present in the Japanese version. There are so many people who whine about how we don't have those great JRPGs like we did in the PS1-PS2 era, but then when this game appeared nobody bought it. Boo, hiss.

    Well you answered your own question when you typed the word "PSP". :(

    I was dusting the game shelf the other day when I passed over Banjo Kazooie: Nuts and Bolts. It's almost criminal how badly that game tanked. But on the other hand, I can't exactly blame it because the writing was nearly on the wall. An atrocious demo, released into a market that by and large wanted Banjo Threeie, not "Bear and bird go racing with a bucket of legos". If you went out on a limb and gave it a chance, you were rewarded with a pretty awesome game. I'm not one for do-it-yourself customization, and even I had a blast. But I can't fault anybody who passed it. They say you can't judge a book by its cover, but this cover and sample paragraph made it look like junk. I don't blame people for looking at it and walking away.

    "The sausage of Green Earth explodes with flavor like the cannon of culinary delight."
  • KlykaKlyka DO you have any SPARE BATTERIES?Registered User regular
    Klyka wrote:
    I can't remember the name of the game, but it was an old PC shooter (third person I think) where you controlled infantry, tank or a helicopter. It had some epic orchestral song as it's intro music.

    maybe WARGASM! Greatest game name ever. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wargasm

    HOLY SHIT THIS!
    Basically the game took place INSIDE THE INTERNET where wars were now fought.
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XfLqqGFHHTA
    It had multiplayer and was basically Battlefield WAY before Battlefield existed!

    SC2 EU ID Klyka.110
    lTDyp.jpg
  • EchoEcho ski-bap ba-dapModerator mod
    edited November 2011
    symbolsor wrote:
    Codename Eagle maybe? That game was awesome, I sat at my computer for hours playing the demo over and over.

    This game engine turned into a small game called Battlefield.

    edit: actually, way more.
    Version 1.0
    Codename Eagle
    Battlefield 1942
    Battlefield Vietnam
    Rallisport Challenge

    Version 2.0
    Battlefield 2
    Battlefield 2142
    Battlefield Heroes
    Battlefield Online
    Battlefield Play4Free

    Echo on
  • MahnmutMahnmut Registered User regular
    Creatures 3 & Docking Station. Awesome virtual pet/artificial life/sandbox; you take care of these little creatures that have rudimentary genetics and think using tiny little neural nets. I get the impression that the series did best in the UK. Docking Station was an interesting idea -- something between a free expansion, a demo, and a standalone free game. They tried to finance it with what was in retrospect DLC, but I guess it didn't work out.

    Steam/LoL: Jericho89
  • Moridin889Moridin889 Registered User regular
    There was a game for the Playstation (Maybe PS2) that I really loved. It was a naval warfare game, but you got to build your own ships. I remember it distinctly because you could make one ship that was a rubber ducky, and put things like beam cannons on it (That shot out of the beak no less). Or a helipad, where smaller rubber duckies would fly out of and shoot missiles at people

  • KlykaKlyka DO you have any SPARE BATTERIES?Registered User regular
    Also this game

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iYtQGzV_kEk&feature=related

    was boss as fuck. The music is phenomenal.

    SC2 EU ID Klyka.110
    lTDyp.jpg
  • C2BC2B SwitzerlandRegistered User regular
    edited November 2011
    With INCREDIBLE Nostalgia Adventure googles. (These games may be worst of the worst but were the biggest thing to my 9 year old mind.)

    Fable

    fable-320.gif

    Imperium Romanum

    i64261252867466imperium.png

    Both of these games names were later reused for other, completly different games. Always wondered if they were just never a "real" IP.

    C2B on
  • KlykaKlyka DO you have any SPARE BATTERIES?Registered User regular
    Oh and another one I thought was great back then and I didn't even know who/what Cthulhu was at the time:

    99_PrisonerOfIce.jpg

    SC2 EU ID Klyka.110
    lTDyp.jpg
  • KaseiusKaseius Registered User regular
    I did an LP of Way of the Samurai, and it definitely was not the greatest game.

    It was kind of cool, though. I think that Raw Danger was the greatest game that no one played, etc

    www.youtube.com/user/kaseius -- Let's Plays
  • Dr. Phibbs McAtheyDr. Phibbs McAthey Registered User regular
    Mahnmut wrote:
    Creatures 3 & Docking Station. Awesome virtual pet/artificial life/sandbox; you take care of these little creatures that have rudimentary genetics and think using tiny little neural nets. I get the impression that the series did best in the UK. Docking Station was an interesting idea -- something between a free expansion, a demo, and a standalone free game. They tried to finance it with what was in retrospect DLC, but I guess it didn't work out.
    I played the hell out of the first Creatures and layer Creatures 3 and Docking Station. I think more than the creatures themselves, I adored the 2d worlds that wrapped around and had tons of bits and bobs to interact with. I found my disk for Creatures 3 a few weeks ago and have been considering giving it a whirl again.
    Another game that was criminally poorly reviewed and didn't do well was Chibi Robo on the Gamecube. Most of the reviews knocked it for being a game primarily about doing chores, which if you played for more than an hour or two you'd know was bullshit and that they had put in 2 hours tops into their reviews. It was a fantastic game with fun gameplay and a quirky, heartwarming story. One of my favorites to this day. The DS sequel wasn't quite as good but had lots of new features that would have been fun to see in a proper sequel, like vehicles and building placement.

  • Zilla360Zilla360 21st Century. |She/Her| Trans* Woman In Aviators Firing A Bazooka. ⚛️Registered User regular
    edited November 2011
    Hostile Waters: Antaeus Rising:
    1839951hostile.jpg

    To this day no other game has managed to mix gameplay styles like that.

    Zilla360 on
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  • SoundsPlushSoundsPlush yup, back. Registered User regular
    256px-Silicon_Valley_Artwork.jpg

    s7Imn5J.png
  • MaddocMaddoc I'm Bobbin Threadbare, are you my mother? Registered User regular
    Klyka wrote:
    Oh and another one I thought was great back then and I didn't even know who/what Cthulhu was at the time:

    99_PrisonerOfIce.jpg

    Oh man, same here, I loved this game.

    I only realized years later what it actually was. I guess it's a sequel to a game called Shadow of the Comet, another Cthulhu mythos based point and click. I've been meaning to hunt it down sometime to play it.

    Shadow_of_the_Comet_cover.jpg

  • eobeteobet 8-bit childhood SwedenRegistered User regular
    edited November 2011
    Alternate Reality: The City and The Dungeon for the Atari 8-bit line of computers (it's the first two and only released games in a series of seven planned installments, which all were supposed to be interconnected).

    They were released in 1985 and 1987, and (imo) still are the most advanced CRPGs ever released. They're non-linear sandbox games that feature, amongst a myriad of other things (which people were still discovering 20 years after release), NPCs with memories and personalities, NPC reactions based on what you wore, carried and your alignment, shopkeepers you could haggle with, rivaling guilds, disease carrying monsters with incubation times on the diseases and each disease carrying different symptoms, the ability to get drunk, starved, or bloated, tired (with blackouts as a result) and overencumbered (with slow movement as a result), weather simulation which included wind which could make your character cold (and prone to get a cold), magical weapons with their own personalities (if you were a good guy who stole a Sword of Demons, it would scream at you and summon more demons), and the list goes on and on and on... you could bribe zombies with corpses from other monsters you've killed for crying out loud!

    Oh, and get this: The games were really musicals, with lyrics presented in a karaoke like fashion!

    Also, it was released seven years before Wolfenstein 3D, yet features smooth scrolling texture mapped and mip-mapped 3D graphics. All in 128kb of memory.

    eobet on
    Heard the proposition that RIAA and MPAA should join forces and form "Music And Film Industry Association"?
  • SonorkSonork CanadaRegistered User regular
    edited November 2011
    Hybrid Heaven

    250pxhybridheaven.jpg

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hybrid_Heaven

    The start of this game was slow, confusing and boring and i'm sure most people who rented it were immediately turned off because of that. But once you got past the beginning it was a ton of fun. It has interesting turn based wrestling style combat that turned into a something awesome as you went through the game.

    Sonork on
  • Dr. Phibbs McAtheyDr. Phibbs McAthey Registered User regular
    Sonork wrote:
    Hybrid Heaven

    250pxhybridheaven.jpg

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hybrid_Heaven

    The start of this game was slow, confusing and boring and i'm sure most people who rented it were immediately turned off because of that. But once you got past the beginning it was a ton of fun. It has interesting turn based wrestling style combat that turned into a something awesome as you went through the game.

    I only ever got a chance to rent it once, but Hybrid Heaven definitely left an impression on me, in a good way.

  • CantidoCantido Registered User regular
    Klyka wrote:
    Giants: Citizen Kabuto.

    Amazing game with incredible multiplayer.

    Hi 5. I only played it's cousin, Sacrifice, and it's descendant Brutal Legend.

    Battlezone 1 and 2 however run circles around all three. It had mo-fuggin hover tanks every tank you build had it's own weapons, health, ammo, and pilot inside and was pilotable by the player, who could either charge into battle with a ton of tanks at their command, or jump out of the cockpit and into the comfort of a control tower to command in a traditional RTS perspective.

    3DS Friendcode 5413-1311-3767
  • Casually HardcoreCasually Hardcore Once an Asshole. Trying to be better. Registered User regular
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KdMuGcuPf-8


    Even had a freaking documentary with the game.

  • cj iwakuracj iwakura The Rhythm Regent Bears The Name FreedomRegistered User regular
    My game of choice has always been:

    Deception3box.JPG

    All the Deception games are twisted fun, but this is Tecmo madness at its finest.

    deception3-5.png

    wVEsyIc.png
  • StollsStolls Brave Corporate Logo Chicago, ILRegistered User regular
    Klyka wrote:
    Also this game

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iYtQGzV_kEk&feature=related

    was boss as fuck. The music is phenomenal.

    Shiiit, I remember this game. There was a port for the NES called Rescue: Embassy Mission or something like that. That was awesome, like a proto-SWAT/Rainbow Six.

    kstolls on Twitch, streaming weekends at 9pm CST!
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  • ZephiranZephiran Registered User regular
    For me, that game has to be either Baten Kaitos on the GC or Mischief Makers on the N64.

    Shake shake!

    Alright and in this next scene all the animals have AIDS.

    I got a little excited when I saw your ship.
  • KlykaKlyka DO you have any SPARE BATTERIES?Registered User regular
    Zephiran wrote:
    For me, that game has to be either Baten Kaitos on the GC or Mischief Makers on the N64.

    Shake shake!

    Baten Kaitos was holy shit amazing. The backgrounds were some of the most beautiful in any RPG.

    SC2 EU ID Klyka.110
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  • EvangirEvangir Registered User regular
    I'll just leave this here...

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-6VhyMzu12c

    Freespace 2 - One of the best games ever made. Sold less than 100,000 on release, if I recall correctly. Killed an entire genre. I'm required by law to post it in every underappreciated/underplayed game thread.

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  • BTPBTP Registered User regular
    Pretty much any good Wii game that wasn't released by Nintendo would probably fall under this category. :)

    YES! Sin and Punishment: Star Successor is the obvious one. Another Wii game that I have to keep shouting about is Trackmania. This is so completely ridiculous since it's been dropped to $10 months ago and is at least on par with Mario Kart Wii in every way.

    EDIT: I read that the Bit.Trip.Collection for the Wii didn't even sell 1k in its first month. The individual games are good and the collection adds new stuff so it's a shame the collection did so poorly.

    I don't think they made a lot of copies of it. In Canada, I didn't see it be sold anywhere except at EB Games but only through their website.

    But you want to know of a game that didn't even get that? A game that came out in the U.S. but not in Canada? TRACKMANIA! (except a little while ago on Amazon.....but only the french version.)

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  • StollsStolls Brave Corporate Logo Chicago, ILRegistered User regular
    For it's Project Eden, which hit PC and the PS2 a while back. Novel setting and some neat ideas: society has built upward into megastructures and you're part of a team that gets sent below city limits to investigate kidnappings, or somesuch. It has co-op, but as I recall you can't save during a co-op game so it's somewhat limited. AI partners will shoot at enemies but hold still unless you're controlling them or they're following you.

    Genius bit's in the puzzles, with each character specializing in something to get through various environments. It's really more of an adventure game where you occasionally shoot stuff. Good level design too, there's a good sense that you're going into places that've been abandoned for years. Also, quicksaving and quickloading are literally instantaneous; to date I have not seen a game that loads as fast. It's a small thing, I know, but still impressive.

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  • DarmakDarmak RAGE vympyvvhyc vyctyvyRegistered User regular
    Klyka wrote:
    iRevert wrote:
    Warzone 2100
    3070-3.jpg
    Criminally underrated game. Many people did play it but for the most part it got swept under the rug and for years we fought to get it released as freeware but finally it got released out for us again.

    bponattack.gif
    Goes from your top down RTS to a fully controllable 3D camera view, Unit customization...So many units on screen at a time for that time period it was just crazy. It had just so many great features for its time. Check it out as its freeware now!

    http://wz2100.net/

    My friend and me played that on the PS1! It was awesome!

    I still play this with some friends of mine every once in awhile. I also introduced this to a guy I work with (the portable version from portableapps.com) and he played it non-stop at work for months. I love the huge research trees and all of the options for designing your units, and I love that you used radar units to let your mortar and artillery units shoot farther.

    JtgVX0H.png
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