Awesome/interesting games no one has heard of

[Purkake]

I'm sure everyone knows some great games that (practically) no one else has even heard of. It would be nice if you posted a screenshot and a short summary about why it's great. Also, the obscurer, the better.

 

Sanitarium(1998) - A point and click adventure game with a great atmosphere, really does the madness/insanity thing well.

 

 

Nexus: The Jupiter Incident(2004) - An unique space strategy game. You only have a couple of ships, but you control all the different weapons separately, divert power from engines to shields, send fighters to destroy the enemies shield generator etc. It also has a pause feature ala BG2 where you can give commands and look at the beautiful battles from all angles.

 

Edited August 10, 2009 by Purkake

[Morgoth]

I absolutely loved Sanitarium. God I wish there was a sequel.

 

One of these old but completely unknown games I actually liked was Robo Rumble. Ass hard, very tactical, but very satisfying when you succeeded at a mission.

 

Edited August 10, 2009 by Morgoth

[Purkake]

Another interesting one is Mind Rover. It's basically a simulation of building and programming a robot to fight other robots or navigate a maze or capture the enemy's flag. The programming is pretty easy to do with the graphical interface, but you can set up really complex behaviors.

 

Edited August 10, 2009 by Purkake

[Aram]

 

The Last Express.

 

This is one of the most unique gaming experiences you're likely to find, certainly one of the most unique adventure games. The game takes place entirely aboard a train, The Orient Express, in the year 1914. The train travels from France to Constantinople in real time, making regular stops appropriate to the map, with lapses in time happening only when the protagonist is unconscious. As the train runs along its rails in real time, so in fact does every character aboard it. The characters each have minds of their own. At lunch time they'll go for lunch, at dinner time for dinner. In between they'll leave their compartments occasionally to smoke or interact. Characters have conversations when they want and if you're not there to hear them when they happen, you simply don't hear them. Much of the game involves handling time strategically, waiting for your chance to sneak into compartments when they're out, sneaking to the front of the train when the conductor is announcing the latest stop. There is a very powerful feeling, as you play, that you are in fact aboard this train, that it's going to get where it wants whether you do anything or not.

 

The plot concerns a hopelessly uninformed American in Europe, wanted by the police, climbing aboard a train based on a telegram he received from an old friend begging him for help--clearly influenced by The Third Man, no doubt. When he arrives he finds his friend dead in his compartment. In order to get to the bottom of what's going on and who killed him, the American, Robert Cath, conceals the body and assumes his identity. The plot is very complicated--it's very clear that powerful forces, far more important than Cath, are involved, pitted against each other with Cath in the middle, very dangerously meddling in extremely volatile events.

 

This game is finely crafted, well polished, with some of the best voice acting and most beautiful screen art you'll ever find. You're the only (living) American on the train--the rest of the cast of varying nationalities, German, Austrian, Russian, French, and Slavic, their accents very real, and the only time most of them speak English is when they're speaking to you. The rest of the time they speak around you, thinking you can't understand, even though the Cath secretly speaks many languages so we get plenty of subtitles. The only time we don't get subtitles is when he overhears Slavic or Arabic, which he does not understand. The train interior is rendered in 3D with a very, very close attention to detail, based on real period correct Orient Express train cars. Characters are rendered in a sort of 2D, Rotoscopic Art Noveau, in which real models are used but then are painted over to resemble cartoons. The only part of this that feels at all dated is that the characters movements are shown in frames rather than real animation, but it's very easy to get used to this.

 

The game was created in, I think, '98, with a very high budget and very long development, by Jordan Mechner of Prince of Persia fame. The game was apparently one of the largest flops in gaming history which is a shame on many levels, its lack of success mostly attributed to Broderbunds completely inane marketing, which makes Mechner in my mind a sort of Orson Welles of the game industry. There are numerous ways one can still get the game, and it is well, well worth at least a playthrough.

 

Edited August 10, 2009 by Aram

[Morgoth]

Looks interesting. This game isn't by any chance available on Steam? Oh well there are other ways....

[Purkake]

I've heard good things about The Last Express as well.

[Starwars]

The Last Express is an excellent game.

[Oner]

Anachronox by Tom Hall, Ion Storm

Septerra Core: Legacy of the Creator by Valkyrie Studios

 

Both are JRPG style games, notable for unique and interesting worlds (Anachronox - whacky sci-fi, Septerra - sci-fi/fantasy mix with biotechnology and magic), interesting stories, and most everything else that comes with JRPGs. Anachronox was heavily packed with humor and interesting characters, in contrast Septerra had a longer story and (exhausting) dungeon crawling with some unique combat mechanics.

 

Oni by Bungie

A TPS with manga style graphics, primarily focusing on hand-to-hand combat instead of guns with a nice story and atmosphere. Emphasis on nice, not awe inspiring.

 

Hostile Waters: Antaeus Rising by Rage Games

A Battlezone-like TPS/RTS hybrid, where you are the captain of the Creation Engine fitted ship Antaeus, last line of defense between the peaceful world and a cabal of old world dictators. Your ship is capable of scanning in, customizing and building high-tech vehicles from minerals (read: the smoking remains of your enemies) for your remote, or your veteran soldiers' personal use. Fun and pretty challenging missions throughout. The story does it's job, nothing earth shattering, but not bad either.

[Aram]

Looks interesting. This game isn't by any chance available on Steam? Oh well there are other ways....

Not on Steam. You can apparently play it on Gametap along with some other games that deserve to be in this thread. The best bet is probably ebay or Amazon if you actually want to pay for it.

Edited August 10, 2009 by Aram

[213374U]

KGB!

 

[Purkake]

Hostile Waters was fun.

 

Stratosphere: Conquest of the Skies - A mix of action and strategy as you outfit your flying island with spikes, cannons and generators to battle other flying islands.

 

 

XIII - I mostly remember this because of the awesome art style. It's basically a shooter, but it has some adventure elements and the story is presented in comic book style.

 

[Hurlshort]

I agree with the Sanitarium sentiments.

 

Winback - One of the first games to usea cover system, probably one of the best games I played on the N64.

 

[Aram]

 

This is a game called Nuclear War. Honestly, it's only worth playing a few times. Each game is split between making nukes and launching them at the other player's cities. The only strategy is in trying to take so few hits yourself that by the end you'll still have at least one small city left so that you'll technically "win." This is actually very difficult as once you deliver the killing blow to an enemy, all of his remaining nukes are automatically launched in retaliation, so 4 out of 5 games, you'll either lose or end in stalemate. If you actually do manage to "win," the end game screen features the character you chose standing in the middle of an apocalyptic wasteland, alone, doing a victory dance. Wacky, cartoonish, and clearly satirical.

 

Edited August 10, 2009 by Aram

[RPGmasterBoo]

Played all those games except for the last two. All great stuff, especially Sanitarium.

[Purkake]

http://img16.imageshack.us/img16/6896/nuclearwar02.png

 

This is a game called Nuclear War. Honestly, it's only worth playing a few times. Each game is split between making nukes and launching them at the other player's cities. The only strategy is in trying to take so few hits yourself that by the end you'll still have at least one small city left so that you'll technically "win." This is actually very difficult as once you deliver the killing blow to an enemy, all of his remaining nukes are automatically launched in retaliation, so 4 out of 5 games. If you actually do manage to "win," the end game screen features the character you chose standing in the middle of an apocalyptic wasteland, alone, doing a victory dance. Wacky, cartoonish, and clearly satirical.

 

http://img16.imageshack.us/img16/4658/nuclearwar04.png

 

I finally figured out which game Defcon copied

 

Played all those games except for the last two. All great stuff, especially Sanitarium.

 

You have played Mind Rover and Stratosphere?

 

You crazy man, crazy!

Edited August 10, 2009 by Purkake

[Majek]

Hmm half of these games were quite popular here.

 

Let's what i can come up with. oh

Future Cop: LAPD

It was originally supposed to be the last part in the Strike series. It's quite fun. and yes X1-Alpha looks like ED-209 but that's only a plus :D

 

MP briefing :D

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W2rPuRDtL_s

Edited August 10, 2009 by Majek

[Oner]

There was an old (somewhere between 2001-2003) world war 2 RPG parody, it had a yellow submarine at one point, does it ring any bells for anyone? It was supposed to be good, but when I bought it, it turned out to be another game with a similar title. :/

[RPGmasterBoo]

You have played Mind Rover and Stratosphere?

 

You crazy man, crazy!

 

Think I only got a brief play at Stratosphere, I recall some things about it. Damn it, I need my ring of memory +2.

 

When mentioning Defcon you must include the nice hacker simulation:

 

Uplink

 

Edited August 10, 2009 by RPGmasterBoo

[Purkake]

There was an old (somewhere between 2001-2003) world war 2 RPG parody, it had a yellow submarine at one point, does it ring any bells for anyone? It was supposed to be good, but when I bought it, it turned out to be another game with a similar title. :/

 

Try the Mobygames games browser to narrow it down or you can check the World War II concept page at Giant Bomb

 

@RPGmasterBoo Uplink was awesome. There's another game that should be similar, but with more stuff called Hacker Evolution. I haven't played it, but it looks cool.

Edited August 10, 2009 by Purkake

[Blarghagh]

I cry foul! I've heard of some of these, and even played them!

[Mera]

Spellcross (1997) - tactical turn-based strategy. Depicts conflict between humans (technology) and the "Other Side" (magic). Features also research, territory conquest, finance/army management...

 

[Oner]

Try the Mobygames games browser to narrow it down or you can check the World War II concept page at Giant Bomb

Thanks but no luck. Oh well.

[RPGmasterBoo]

Well it was well known but at the same time never got the attention it deserved:

 

Psychonauts

 

 

[Aram]

 

The Dark Eye.

 

Easily one of the weirdest games ever made. I guess it would most likely fall under Adventure game but there aren't actually any puzzles. It's point and click, first person--you just sort of click around looking for the hotspot that will advance the story, so really it's more of an interactive fiction, I guess? The story itself is equal odd. You go around this house in which certain objects will take you into the plots of three well known Edgar Allen Poe stories, in which you can choose to either take the perspective of the killer or the victim. A fourth, unique to the game, plot takes place in the "present" and it's just freakish as hell. Playing the game is like watching some bizarre Impressionist film or David Lynch's Eraserhead. The characters are some kind of terrifying claymation and the environments like a nightmare. The game, as a sidenote, features voicework by none other than William S. Burroughs. It's hard to call this a great game, or even a game, but it is absolutely a very unique experience you won't find anywhere else.

 

Oh wait yes you will.

 

You can also have a similarly trippy experience playing Bad Day on the Midway, created I think by the same developer.

 

This game is notable for having one of the greatest titles for anything, movie, book, song. Bad Day on the Midway. How can you not play that. Playing the game, I imagine, is probably a lot like doing acid. Again, you don't so much play as just explore. You explore a nightmarish carnival, meeting some freakishly disturbed people. As in Dark Eye you can switch perspectives at any time, by clicking on the eyes of any character you meet, thus completely changing which character will serve as the game's protaganist. Every time you play is different, as characters are in different places at different times, and each play through is not about finishing so much as learning all of the intertwining stories for each character. There's also a psycho murderer loose in the carnival. I can't even really explain this one.

Edited August 10, 2009 by Aram

[RPGmasterBoo]

A hybrid of every conceiveable genre, weird to the core:

 

Omikron: Nomad Soul

 

to this day I have no idea what it was really about