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Hidden Gems


jjrox32

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I just finished Amnesia: The Dark Descent, and I absolutely loved it and would put it in my top 5 games. Great atmosphere, scary as hell, great story, and an original concept. And it was only $20 to top it off.

 

It's not that well known of a game, which got to me thinking. What are some hidden gems of games out there that not many people know about?

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Live A live. Only released on SNES and not outside Japan. Incredibly fun, and while it doesn't have an epic story, it's pretty obvious in the atmosphere, thats not what they're going for. Never got a remake and I never hear it mentioned.

 

Star Wars: Jedi Knight: Dark Forces II. Even when this game was new, no one really talked about it. I guess the first one must have been terrible. I cant really say much about the plot, it was years ago that I played it, and I never beat it then, recently found my CD and its held up pretty well, gameplay is still pretty good, although the FMV sequences have this weird thing where they fill in little pixels at a time in a scene. Also, it doesn't try to cash in on the success of the movies, the story takes place after the empire has fallen, and I don't ever recall hearing mention of the characters from the movie. New Villain, new hero, different settings, a few problems with it crashing, but overall a nice game and fun. Currently playing it after finding my copy, wanna beat it this time.

 

So since most TIFers are console gamers, and rarely travel into the online world for flash games (i'm assuming), i'ma throw a few of them out here.

 

Sonny. What to say about Sonny, you are a zombie that was brought back to life before you became a complete zombie, and still retain your mind and intelligence. It's a really great story, fun to play, and not afraid to be a little funny at the same time. For the original it's not too important you play it on armor games, it has the same content on all sites, but for Sonny 2 if you play it, it has a class specific to armor games that is locked on other sites, and I like the class. Sonny 2

 

Ge.Ne.Sis Not too much new here in the way of battle, you've seen the combat before, this one is very story intensive, and I loved every minute of it, my computer crashed before I finished it and I didn't get the chance to see the ending. There's only scripted battles, so no random battles to grind on.

 

Epic Battle Fantasy 3 If you didn't guess from the name, this game is a parody of the FF series it's its own story, and again fun to play. I recommend number 3, before then it didn't have much of a plot, you couldn't freely walk around, it was just battle after battle, while still fun you arnt missing much, it will recap the events at the beginning.

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OP, if you enjoyed Amnesia: The Dark Descent, I strongly suggest you check out the Penumbra series, Frictional Game's earlier releases. The system is pretty similar, with a different setting. The first part, Overture, includes combat, but I would suggest not using it at all, as it destroys the fear factor of the game. The second game, Black Plague, is much more similar to Amnesia, but you wouldn't understand what is going on if you didn't play the first part.

 

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Not really "hidden", but I don't see it discussed as much as I think a game as good as this one deserves: Dark Messiah of Might and Magic. It is a first person combat fantasy game developed with the source engine. As soon as you start you are sent to recover a magical artifact which could bring the destruction of the world if it fell in the wrong hands. The selling point is not the story, obviously, but the strong gameplay.

 

You can chose to play as a warrior, charging into enemies and cutting their heads off; or go the rogue way, using stealth to stab enemies who haven't noticed you in the back, or simply pickpocket them for keys and running away without being noticed at all; or you can go the mage way, cast fireballs and lightning rays, control enemies to fight for you, or telekinetickly smash everyone with a statue from a distance. And also there's archery, but it's not very good as an only style of combat, more of an aid to the others.

 

Note that none of the combat styles are exclusive to each other. Instead, the game works in a points system, in which you recieve skill points after completing parts of the quests, and you can spend those into skills that are associated with a style, but you can always be a mix of everything.

 

Most of the scenarios are set up in a manner that it's more rewarding if instead of charging, you use the enviroment to create traps such as making an almost broken statue fall on your enemies, kick enemies over ledges for a fun 50m freefall, impalling him on spikes, etc.

 

Enemies include necromancers, dark knights, goblins and orcs, and the more rare cyclopes and dragons.

 

Here is a pretty good video that shows the basics of the warrior gameplay:

 

 

 

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Another great game I never see even mentioned is Ecstatica, a 1994 MS-DOS action adventure, which in my opinion, alongside with alone in the dark, invented survival games. I'd say survival horror games, but ecstatica is not all that scary nowadays. (Although it did scare the [cabbage] out of me when I was 6 years old).

 

The setting is in Northern Europe in 928 AD. A traveler (the player) comes upon a town named Tirich hoping to find food and shelter. However' date=' the town appears to be invaded by demons. The traveler must help the townspeople and lift the curse from the town by freeing the young sorceress Ecstatica from being possessed.[/quote']

 

The gameplay basically consists of finding key items, using them to go through puzzles, defending yourself from monsters, and generally, surviving. The tank controlls and fixated camera angles, make it easy to get lost in a relatively big, open world. You want an inventory? [bleep] YOU. You have 2 hands. That means, you take 2 items at a time. Want to take more? [bleep] YOU. You leave something there, try to remember where it is, and go pick it back. It's best to write down where you leave stuff, because if not you will end up running through the map for hours looking for that god damn flower you needed for the potion.

 

The game is probably most known for using ellipsoids instead of polygons, which gave it an unique look. Really worth your time if you are into old school games.

 

Gameplay video here:

 

Well, that's it. This winded up being a long post, huh. Will think of more games to recommend and post if I remember.

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I've thought about buying the Penumbra games. How do they stand up against Amnesia story and atmosphere wise?

 

Frictional Games have been getting better with every game, gameplay wise. Well, Penumbra: Requiem, I'd leave it out of the calculation, but for me:

 

Graphics, ambient, and gameplay wise:

 

Amnesia > Penumbra: Black Plague > Penumbra: Overture

 

The only debatable point between Amnesia and Penumbra is the setting, which is left to personal preference.

 

Still, they are all worth checking out.

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Alright I'll grab them when I have $20 of spare cash. I can't wait for Frictionals next game, there was just something really really captivating about Amnesia. Even towards the end when the horror dropped off a tad the story, atmosphere and disturbing elements picked it up again.

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There was one game for gamecube that was actually pretty good, that one being 'yugioh: the falsebound kingdom'. Game is strategy-based, and is more like final fantasy than the actual card game. If it had multiplayer, then this game would've been better known...

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Ah, mentioning the gamecube made me remember of Eternal Darkness. Another "Not so hidden, but still rather obscure" game. The game presents strong lovecraftian horror, but with a twist: Sanity meters. That is, if a zombie (or other monster) sees you, your character loses sanity, which you can regain by performing a finishing blow on the monster. When your sanity starts dropping, you will start experiencing (un)sanity effects, which will get stronger as your meter lowers. Some of this effects go from mild things such as painting turning into hellish depictions, walls bleeding, hearing noises, to more extreme stuff as your character's head falling off randomly (which enables an option to recite the famous monologue in Hamlet), the game turning off the video or audio, bugs walking on the screen, and even the game deleting the save data.

 

Pretty much, this game alone makes getting a Gamecube worth it.

 

Here's a video of some sanity effects:

 

 

And here's a video of the autopsies of the monsters, with some great voice acting:

 

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I almost forgot that game, until I took a look at the top of my self-built closet which I use as my entertainment system. Another obscure favourite: marvel nemesis- rise of the imperfects. Game has an amazing story, a solid 3d multiplayer, but was mainly ignored.

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I dunno if IWBTG counts. But that's the only thing I can think of at the moment.

Oh, also Gang Garrison 2. That is ridiculously fun.

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Hotel Dusk is pretty great for a point and click DS game.

And in a similar vein, 9 Hours, 9 Persons, 9 Doors. If you can find a copy on their next print run of the game, mind. Amazing little game.

I was going to eat hot dogs for dinner tonight. I think I will settle for cereal.

 

OPEN WIDE HERE COMES THE HELICOPTER.

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I haven't heard of most of these games. :(

 

I felt that sega dreamcast was a very under appreciated game system. One of my favorite games was Ooga Booga - sounds stupid I know but I had tons of fun playing with friends.

It was such a ridiculous game.

 

If they even sell it anymore (or the sega dreamcast) I figure it's probably a couple of dollars since you'll only find a second hand copy of it.

I miss the days of my Sega Dreamcast :(

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I haven't heard of most of these games. :(

 

I felt that sega dreamcast was a very under appreciated game system. One of my favorite games was Ooga Booga - sounds stupid I know but I had tons of fun playing with friends.

It was such a ridiculous game.

 

If they even sell it anymore (or the sega dreamcast) I figure it's probably a couple of dollars since you'll only find a second hand copy of it.

I miss the days of my Sega Dreamcast :(

 

Dreamcast was amazing, and it have even more amazing games. Shenmue, Crazy Taxi, Sonic Adventure, Space Channel, Samba de Amigo are a few to name.

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Knights in the Nightmare is a great game for the Nintendo DS.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dCd80xcFfAo

 

It's a compeltely insane game. You maneuver the "wisp" which is the main character with the stylus, and avoid damage by dodging the bullets enemies send flying across the screen. While doing that you must select your own fighters and charge their attacks to attack the enemies, while being wary of the occasional enemy that can kill your characters.

Also, you can fuse knights and items and such between battles, which adds a whole new level of intricacy to the game, especially in Hard and Nightmare difficulties, where this is basically required to make it through the game.

 

Oh, and this game is full of permadeath. Every knight will die when they use up their vitality, or if you're sloppy when dealing with certain monsters. And there are six or so endings, and two possible storylines. Plus three difficulty levels.

 

 

Also, the graphics and soundtrack are just awesome.

The only difference between Hitler and the man next door who comes home and beats his kids every day is circumstance. The intent is the same-- to harm others.

[hide=Tifers say the darndest things]

I told her there was a secret method to doing it - and there is - but my once nimble and agile fingers were unable to perform because I was under the influence.

I would laugh, not hate. I'm a male. :(

Since when was Ireland an island...? :wall:

I actually have a hobby of licking public toilet seats.

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Beyond Good and Evil, Metal Arms: Glitch in the System and Jet Set Radio Future were three awesome Xbox games that are pretty obscure and awesome, just off the top of my head. Dark Messiah Might and Magic, too, but that's been mentioned already.

 

Metal Arms easily had one of the most enjoyable multiplayer modes I've played since Goldeneye.

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I dunno if IWBTG counts. But that's the only thing I can think of at the moment.

Everyone knows IWBTG.

....I dont know who you know. But I barely know anyone who knows it.

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8,180

WONGTONG IS THE BEST AND IS MORE SUPERIOR THAN ME

#1 Wongtong stalker.

Im looking for some No Limit soldiers!

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