supermariobrah

@RadioactiveGazz: I thought this game was pretty fantastic at the time too. It was very cinematic while often being gloriously cheesy. Other games tried to use the twin stick game mechanic, Advent Rising being the one I most prominently remember and the Fight Night series which did it rather successfully. It is unfortunate that the combat in this game was so necessarily simple because I think it would have gotten a lot more attention otherwise.

@NTM: I was very excited when it looked like it was going to get the HD treatment, but recent news leads me to believe that it has been put on the back burner if not outright canceled. While I do like Killzone 2 and 3, both single and multiplayer, it seemed like a departure from where I thought the series was going to head. The last games lacked a certain sense of class and seemed to strive to be more like other games in the FPS genre instead of striving to be unique like the first installment did. The characters in K1 were far more interesting than Sev and the crew, and the varied mission types kept the game on point. I actually just bought Killzone 3 about two weeks ago, which in turn makes it pretty evident that I wasn't exactly running to the store when it came out after playing K2. Killzone: Liberation on PSP was also quite a good game and I felt it was more in line with the original so every fan should check it out. I would love to see what someone could do with the Killzone universe if it received some stellar writing and went back to introducing fresh ideas like the original.

There have been plenty of threads about underrated/overlooked games. What I would like to ask here are what overlooked games are not only great, but you feel they should be considered some of the best games out there. Whether they were poorly reviewed, not picked up by the public, or have sat in some dark corner of the gaming kingdom, what are these secret masterpieces and why do they deserve recognition? Here are some of mine:

1. Killzone(PS2)

Why it was overlooked:

It is hard to believe, but before the release of Killzone 2 on PS3 it didn't seem that the Killzone universe or possible franchise appeal was really a viable option. The original game released on PS2 was hardly critically acclaimed although the sales were admirable. Labeled as a "Halo killer", it's always foolish to say a game is going to kill a major franchise, it was released to what seemed to be a unanimous shrug. While the world it took place in was a griity war torn planet that had plenty of character, many complaints were made as the hype machine had driven a tank over expectations as the games ambitions often exceeded what the technology being used was capable of. Some poor draw distance, occasionally muddled graphics, and other issues made the game seem unpolished upon release. In a way, Killzone seemed to come and go without much interest at all.

Why it is a masterpiece:

For what faults it did have, Killzone is amazingly innovative and fascinatingly well done. The first thing to note is that the game contains four playable characters with different skills that allow you to tackle most of the games missions in truly varied ways. You could take the game on in stealthy fashion with the spy Lugar, find a nice middle ground as Templar, go balls out as Rico, and be an all around badass with Hakha. It was something I found that really changed my desire to replay the game, along with the very enjoyable story that followed these characters.

The next thing that makes me see Killzone as a masterpiece is how the developers tackled warfare in Killzone. The game is almost like a compilation of different types of warfare, which begin in the first mission fighting in the trenches. We are led immediately into a WWI scenario with the trench fighting, which leads right into urban warfare. We get to storm a beach reminiscent of D-Day in WWII, end up in a jungle that represents the Vietnam War, and eventually we find ourselves fighting in space as if its a nod to future warfare. For the developer to take these scenarios from all of the major wars of the last century was an awesome way to make Killzone something of a history lesson in terms of what type of battles were in fought over many eras of warfare.

2. Stubbs the Zombie in Rebel Without a Pulse (Xbox, PC)

Why it was overlooked:

This is one of those games that I have a really hard time understanding why it has mostly been forgotten and why it wasn't more celebrated when first released. It is not that the game didn't score well, although there is some disparity as it scored something like 8.1/10 from Gamespot only to score 4/10 from Eurogamer, but that it never seemed to find an audience. The fact that the game ran on the Halo engine seemed to get more attention than the game itself ever did.

Why it is a masterpiece:

Stubbs is one of those games that creates an unrelenting vision of its world and also brings great gameplay variation to the table as well. The city of Punchbowl is fashioned as the type of future imagined in the 50's, completed with robots and a gee golly attitude. Its world is very absolute in its quirky representation, something that has been heralded in later games such as Bioshock. The cars, the buidlings, and the people seemed to have stepped right out of the Twilight Zone. It has the same type of charm as something like Psychonauts, at least in my opinion. On top of great atmosphere, there is also a very pleasant tale of a many wrongfully murdered that comes back from the dead as a zombie to find the woman he loves in a crazy new future. It is funny and engaging through out, which brings us to the game play. Throwing entrails as bombs, detaching your hand which you then take control of to attack people and solve puzzles, and making undead armies to help you fight against the town are just some of the awesome things you do as Stubbs. Using a collection of powers you find through out the game is awesome, and although it had been used before in games like Metroid it somehow managed to make the game seem fresh and varied. Part third person adventure, part strategy game, and all awesome, Stubbs the Zombie should be looked back on as a unique masterpiece of a game but has instead seemed to have fallen into obscurity.

3. Driv3r

Why it was overlooked:

Alright, you may not be able to take me seriously anymore if you ever did at all. Dirv3r, the 3rd game in the Driver series(obviously), was released to such an amazing mix of absolute disdain and mediocre to horrible reviews that it is hard for any fan of the game to argue why it is even remotely good. It had glitches, some rough on foot sections, and driving controls that seemed to put off most people that played it. Other than a positive review from EGM I remember reading when it was released, I don't know of any other publication that saw it as anything more than "okay". Fans weren't any more accepting, and the game remains on many "worst games ever" lists to this day.

Why it is a masterpiece:

Driv3r should never have been seen as a GTA clone, but as an effort to blend hollywood style storytelling with a action game. While the story is basically Michael Mann's Heat with a focus on stolen cars, which was still something to behold at the time. Actors Micheal Madsen, Mickey Rourke, Ving Rhames, and Michelle Rodriguez lead the voice work for the game as one of the first celebrity driven casts ever. Now we see names like Brian Cox and Martin Sheen doing voice work, but when Driv3t came out this wasn't all that common unless you count some old school FMV PC games. They also employed Iggy Pop to develop the soundtrack with various artists, which is to this day the only game soundtrack I own. Driv3r is a awesome globe trotting crime saga that hit the mark in many ways. The varied cities and actual need to develop skill at playing the game to beat the missions isn't something found in many modern games. Was it frustrating at times? Yes. Was it perfect? No. Was it a great example of creating a game on an epic scope that was equal parts cool and compelling? I sure as hell thinks so and will defend Driv3r until I die.

I have seen it mentioned on the thread a few times, and it was a game I somehow managed to overlook in making the thread, but Pokemon Blue is a game I wish I could experience for the first time again.  It was the first RPG I played as a kid, and it blew my mind at the time.  Looking at it now, it looks like an incredibly simple game.  However, when I remember the game as being this beautiful world full of areas to explore and Pokemon to capture.  I remember beating the Elite 4 for the first time like I remember graduation from elementary school, it was simply that important at the time.  I didn't play another Pokemon game past the first generation, and I don't know why because I loved the original game.  I am wondering what it would be like to go back and play it now, oh nostalgia.