Today I'll be making the defence for games the rest of the world hated, or even worse, simply ignored. I'm not saying they're all works of art by any means, but they certainly didn't deserve such exaggerated hatred. We all have our guilty pleasures I guess, and while you may not agree with all my rantings here, you certainly owe it to yourself to give these bad boys a second chance never the less. Good games are hard to come by, and these ones may have slipped under your radar.
Vietcong (PC)
Released way back in a time when WWII games were all the craze, Vietcong was the first 'Nam-centric first person shooter, attempting to show us something a little different to all that endless Nazi massacring. The gaming press scoffed however, and Vietcong was proclaimed as a mediocre exercise in monotony - a game, they claimed, that would soon be overshadowed by all the future Vietnam themed games that were subsequently announced.
 | | How come this ancient game looks way better than Men of Valor then? |
|
Now that we're in the future though, and they're all actually released, it's quite clear that cranking out a solid Vietnam shooter is a lot harder than it looks. Men of Valor, Conflict: Vietnam, ShellShock: Nam '67 - you name it, they were all met with varying levels of disappointment. And yet with all the dust now settled, there still remains Vietcong - the one which in retrospect, was actually pretty darn good.
Weapons felt weighty and realistic, environments were detailed and lush, and the atmosphere was pitched absolutely perfectly in that hazy '60s vibe. The models and animation were naff, sure, but it played great and that's what counts. The ultra bad arse realistic mode and online co-op support sealed the deal, and in fact I played this in a clan for a while, getting some of the best online matches of my life out of it. For tense Vietnam first person action, nothing can really touch it.
Unreal II (PC)
 | | Who needs Dead Or Alive Xtreme Beach Volleyball? |
|
To chat about Unreal II is somewhat hard, as I can barely remember the majority of it. That's really its biggest problem; its just not a memorable game. We all expected brilliance, and were instead left pondering "meh". Subsequently, the inevitable hordes backlashed against this one as you'd expect them to, when really it never deserved it. It's not a bad game by any means, and for the short time it lasts, it's actually rather cool.
I really dug the whole inter-level on ship segments especially, flavouring the game with a Millennium Falcon-like group experience. The fantastic set-pieces and alien blasting action also had a small tinge of Halo to them, something that definitely suited the then Halo-less PC rather nicely. Plus those blue muzzle flashes just flat out rocked. All in all it was a technically proficient intergalactic sci-fi FPS with some very nicely realised characters that you really cared for. And let's not forget the excellent and very free XMP multiplayer add-on, brilliant as it was.
Never the less I must concede, even I could never defend the atrocious voice acting on the main character.
Beyond Good & Evil (All Systems)
Not so much underrated, this one, more under
appreciated - it just never took off as it should have done. In fact, I think it's safe to say it flopped. Certainly one of my fave games of last year however, and I would gladly take a shot in the mouth if it meant a sequel would get made as soon as humanly possible.
 | | Just gazing upon one screenshot makes me want to play it all over again |
|
In a time when games are all about realism, death, mayhem and destruction, BG&E is like an oasis. It heaps beauty onto your screen like no other, with a huge dash of originality, and let's be honest, pure fucking weirdness at the same time. It's that kind of bizarre crazy confidence which makes it stand out - it reminds me of the old classic Little Big Adventure in that regard. A beautiful, touching adult fairy tale.
The way the game constantly reinvents itself every couple of hours and turns into something completely different is what also makes it interesting. One minute you're sneaking around evil alien factories like some kinda cartoony version of Splinter Cell, then before you know it you're suddenly blazing around a race course trying to win money. And yet it's also a beat 'em up, a platformer and a fantastic 3D shoot 'em up at the same time. Plus let's not forget, for the majority of the game you're also taking photos of critters like something out of Pokemon.
The game goes from weird, to cutesy, to funny, to sad, to dark, to epic...often all within five minutes of each other. If you ignored this one, you're missing out on one of the most original and unique games of recent times...and don't you dare switch it off before the final post-credits twist at the end.
Spearhead (PC)
 | | The British finally got their moment to shine. Shame the rest of the world ignored it |
|
The first Medal of Honor expansion pack on the PC, and one that was shunned by 90% of the community almost immediately. The multiplayer side of the game was somewhat "EA'd" up many felt, subsequently brought more in-line with the fast paced style of Battlefield 1942 as opposed to the more realistic and captivating style of the original, but I must say in single player mode, Spearhead was sheer genius.
The parachute sequence that kicks the campaign off still sends shivers down my spine, the night time Normandy missions are incredibly atmospheric and gorgeous, and the Battle of the Bulge sequence took a jolly good stab at bringing the horrific mortar shell-soaked terror of Bastogne to our monitors for the first time.
Breakthrough, released later, was also a nice little add-on, but thankfully faired better in the reviews and word of mouth than the red-headed step child known as Spearhead.
Driv3r (PS2 & Xbox)
 | | Not exactly brilliant, but hardly the end of the world either |
|
Sure, this one was horribly disappointing compared to what we'd all hoped it'd would be, I won't argue there - even more so in the aftermath of San Andreas. The on-foot missions in fact, are sheer crud. Never the less, if you can put aside the never ending hype, the actual driving sections are rather good fun - ramming cars and watching 'em go flying all over the place is a riot in fact.
I'd argue the mission which mimicked the movie Speed was a great idea, skilfully pulled off. Similarly the part where you're shooting out the back of a van with a grenade launcher is pure bliss for a physics junkie like me too. The fact you can then rewind the game and watch these tiny nuggets of coolness again in instant replay mode is a spark of genius.
There's some genuinely sweet moments to be seen in Driv3r, even if they're often drowning among overbearingly shit bits. If you can avoid the on-foot segments as much as possible and not get caught up in the now ever-so-popular Driv3r bashing, this really ain't as bad as they say, and far from the "worst game of all-time" label many put on it.
Neocron (PC)
 | | Why is everything lopsided in the future I wonder? |
|
Neo is very much a love it or hate it kinda game. For many, it's a way of life, where logging on and levelling up is just another part of your day to day existence like brushing your teeth or eating dinner (of course, the average Neocron addict is happy to forsake such things if it means an extra five minutes of play before bed). To the rest of the world though, it's either a joke of a game, or they've never even heard of it.
It's biggest problem was a major lack of advertising and any sort of drive to push up subscriptions at launch, and as a result it's remained as something of an underground cult hit, rather than an epic success on the scale of EverQuest or Ultima Online. A huge shame too, considering the wide reaching appeal of a Blade Runner style MMORPG like this, one that has many unique and brilliant traits to its name. Such selling points include its rich atmosphere, real-time first person combat, multi-passenger vehicles, interweaving professions, extensive guild content, and an ever expanding storyline.
The Neocron 2 update is now available as well, and you can read a TPS Report on that right
here.
Hidden & Dangerous II (PC)
 | | A WWII shooter that's somewhat different to all the others? Surely that's impossible |
|
The bastard offspring of Medal of Honor and Operation Flashpoint. All the atmosphere, beauty and cinematic brilliance of the former, with the realism, tension and advanced tactical warfare of the latter. There were vehicles, epic maps, multi-hour long missions, fabulous physics and my most favoured aspect of all, pure and unadulterated freedom.
You could really approach the missions any way you wanted, whether it be splitting the men up and sending 'em in covertly miles down the road, or a full on charge through the front door with guns blazing. The multiplayer was also fab, bringing the feel of America's Army to a WWII setting, yet the game was never as popular as any of its peers for some reason. I guess the masses are much more easily wowed by the loud chaos of Call of Duty than the much more subtle, realistic brilliance of H&DII.
Obi-Wan (Xbox)
Star Wars games are generally underrated right across the aboard in my opinion, it takes something as monstrously good as Knights of the Old Republic to defy critical slaughter. I could list the Starfighter series up here too, which were harmless enough fun for what they were, but it's Obi-Wan which tends to receive the most vile insults and flak of the bunch.
 | | The only Star Wars game to boast the upside-down Force Fart technique |
|
Okay, so the game's only for Star Wars nuts at the end of the day, with very little to offer anyone else, but for the true believers out there who want a good old "saber sim", this is a great little light-hearted alternative to the Jedi Knight games. The various lightsaber attacks and Force powers Obi-Wan has at his disposal are all mapped well to the controller, subsequently easy enough to bust out as and when they're needed in the heat of battle. You can cut down enemies, push 'em over ledges, grab guns from their hands, deflect laser bolts, perform epic Force jumps, and even slow down time ala Max Payne. It's smooth, addictive, and most importantly of all, incredibly satisfying.
I think the main area where it falls down is that it gives you all these powers straight up, so there's really nothing new to learn and explore throughout the course of the game - once you've played one level you've really played 'em all. Still, this was much better than the more popular Phantom Menace game at the time, which lacked any kind of depth whatsoever and, ugh, featured Jar Jar Binks.
DX2 - Invisible War (PC & Xbox)
A game I already wrote an entire
article on why you need to give it another chance. Hopefully the kiddy's relentless whining won't affect whether or not we see a Deus Ex 3 at some point down the line. There's so much more potential in this universe ripe for the plucking.
Mafia (PC)
 | | One of the coolest levels of any game ever made |
|
And just like Vietcong, I'm talking about the original PC version of course, not the recent console downsamples. Mafia actually did alright in the reviews, and was reasonably well liked by gamers too. The reason I call it underrated is 'cos even this somewhat positive feedback was no where
vaguely near the kind of love and adulation it truly deserved - this is one of the all-time video gaming greats in my opinion. Without doubt a game that could step up toe-to-toe with the GTA series, and one in fact, that I actually preferred due to the much improved setting and story.
It's the awesome characters, each of which could be a distant cousin of those in GoodFellas. It's the cinematic style which oozes from each and every pore, whether it be the hours of flashbacks and voiceovers, or the overly kinetic camera work. It's walking into a hotel, whacking someone, then escaping across rooftops before the whole place goes up in flames. It's escorting the boss' daughter home late at night and saving her from muggers down a dark alley. It's gate crashing mob funerals and blowing the shit out of all the guests. It's stealing cars at 2am and rigging the big race the next day. It's listening to your best mate persuade you to pull a bank job, then watching it all go horribly wrong. It's seeing your past catch up to you, making you pay for crimes long since forgotten. All these things are timeless, magical movie-like moments, and elevate the game into God-like status for me.
And yet sadly, two years on, it's now all but ignored, like a beautiful dream that was forgotten the morning after. I'll never understand that.
