Underrated Games

[zokudu]

My title may be a bit misleading but I was just curious if there were any games you've played that god a bad reputation but you actually enjoyed despite the negative press?

I recently played Mirrors Edge and loved (almost) every second if it. The concept was really cool the art was neat even if the story was mediocre. I could see where it got a bad rep on consoles however due to needing to turn a good amount on the fly which I can never manage to do on a console. But on the PC it was an enjoyable experience.

 

[Dankk]

Indigo Prophecy. I found it very cinematic (in a good way), story-driven, and engaging. Most other people seem to agree that it's mediocre and corny though.

Edit: I really want to play Heavy Rain. Too bad it's a damn console game.

 

[snewdle]

Overlord II. Funny, witty, and thoroughly entertaining IMO.

 

[Zhaoan]

Majesty and Majesty 2. Innovative playstyle, I wish there were more games like it.

 

[shortylickens]

Most of what I like, other people do not.

 

[classy]

Unreal: Return to Na Pali

 

[Rhezuss]

Divinity II
Risen
Drakensang
...
Life

 

[Childs]

Medal of Honor 2010. Its funny, but what people criticized it's single player campaign for they praised the same things in COD: Black Ops, and it was must worse in BO. Multiplayer could use some more maps in the retail box, but the games feel like you are actually in a war, whereas BO is like playing Quake. I dunno, bad time to release a shooter I guess.

 

[pontifex]

Modern Warfare 2

 

[StinkyPinky]

Yeah Drakensang was a really fun game. I think people hated it because it had a sloooow start. The first few hours are tedious but after that it is a fun game.

 

[yepp]

The Chronicles of Riddick: Escape From Butcher Bay - best FPS of 2004 in my opinion, got over shadowed by inferior games like Doom 3, FarCry and Half Life 2.

Neverwinter Nights 2 - not as polished as Dragon Age or Witcher but loads my depth.

Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines - got average reviews, awesome game if you can see past the bugs.

Dark Messiah of Might and Magic - is another game with so so reviews i enjoyed.

 

[BladeVenom]

Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines, had a reputation for being buggy, got mediocre reviews, and was completely overlooked by most gamers when it came out because it came out the same time as Half-life 2. I really liked the game, and it has had several patches, many community made since then. It had atmosphere, a great soundtrack, interesting story and characters, and far more original and entertaining endings than most games have.

Ghost Maser, it was mostly ignored, but was a fun, clever, and original puzzle type game.

 

[Craig234]

Indigo Prophecy. I found it very cinematic (in a good way), story-driven, and engaging. Most other people seem to agree that it's mediocre and corny though.

Edit: I really want to play Heavy Rain. Too bad it's a damn console game.

Just got Heavy Rain in the mail today (Amazon $35).

 

[Craig234]

One is the single player campaign of the original Neverwinter Nights. I'd say nearly everyone criticized it a lot, and I thought it was pretty good (only played Chapter 1).

 

[MentalIlness]

Prey

 

[power_hour]

Motor City Online

 

[tviceman]

Darkest of Days

It's a rough game by a first time developer, but it's the only game in existence where you get a shotgun and assault rifle to mow down civil war soldiers with.

 

[GoodRevrnd]

Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines, had a reputation for being buggy, got mediocre reviews, and was completely overlooked by most gamers when it came out because it came out the same time as Half-life 2. I really liked the game, and it has had several patches, many community made since then. It had atmosphere, a great soundtrack, interesting story and characters, and far more original and entertaining endings than most games have.

This x 100. There's a relatively recent enhancement mod for it as well called Camarilla Edition that is quite good.

Also, Armed & Dangerous. Same team as Giants: Citizen Kabuto. And while it wasn't as fun, detailed, clever, innovative or interesting as Giants was, it is still one of the most fun run-and-gun/platformer/3rd person shooters I've ever played, and still very funny.

 

[minmaster]

rune (multiplayer)

 

[Zenoth]

Prey

Agreed.

I'd also like to add:

Star Wars: Empire at War (never got the attention it deserved)
Gratuitous Space Battles (mostly unspoken of, but it's great)
Quake IV (no idea why so many seem to dislike it, I really liked it)
Command & Conquer 3: Tiberium Wars ("EA", easy to bash on, but I liked it)
Red Alert 3 (same as above, I liked it nonetheless)
Dark Messiah of Might and Magic (absolutely underrated, I thought it was great)
Unreal Tournament 3 (easy to bash on, but I really like it, even if I limit myself to play it offline most of the time with modifications and custom maps)

 

[Craig234]

Motor City Online

I still have the collector's edition of Auto Assault unopened.

 

[quadomatic]

I agree with Indigo Prophecy and Mirror's Edge being underrated. Mirror's Edge was a very unique experience...as was Indigo Prophecy.

I didn't even play Indigo Prophecy way back when - I bought it in the middle of this last summer and finished it pretty quickly. It's stood the test of time decently well.

I'd like to add Metro 2033 to this list. I played it for about 3 hours now, since I bought it on the 75% off steam sale. It's really quite fun. I know people bash on linear gameplay sometimes, but that style can aid in telling a rich story. Gameplay is pretty hectic...sometimes you end up feeling powerless, holding a shotgun that only carries 2 shells at a time. It makes for a tough experience.

 

[Schadenfroh]

One is the single player campaign of the original Neverwinter Nights. I'd say nearly everyone criticized it a lot, and I thought it was pretty good (only played Chapter 1).

If you still have it, I can recommend some player made modules for it that will blow your mind away and surpass $60 RPG titles that are free (if you own a NWN license).

 

[power_hour]

I still have the collector's edition of Auto Assault unopened.

I bet your not the only one... Had high hopes for a 'Road Warrior' type MMO. Ah well...

 

[Barfo]

Flatout 2.