Diablo4485
04/21/2005, 05:36
One of my favorite things about being a gamer is the sense of community: people getting together, sharing their experiences, and testing their skills against one another's. It's in that spirit that I fire up this thread. I'm gonna list a few of my favorite lesser-known titles for various systems present and past and hope that you guys follow suit. :p Alrighty, here goes:
Sega Dreamcast
Worms Armageddon: This title was a multi-platform release, so if you don't have a Dreamcast and want to get in on it there's PS1 and N64 versions as well. However, this was by far the most polished version IMHO. A nice, quirky little turn-based strategy game featuring cartoon worms attacking each other with weapons ranging from standard (machine guns, grenades, mortars, air strikes) to just plain ridiculous (Super Sheep, Old Ladies, Ming Vases) on roughly ant farm-esque destructible levels. Funny and deceptively deep.
Power Stone 2: I thought that the original Power Stone was a bit clunky, but number 2 felt just right. A 3D beat-em-up/fighter from Capcom featuring a decent amount of fighters, each one with its own special charm. Each character has a super mode they can transform into, and a lot of the fight is dictated by level interaction, including avoiding traps and picking up and using various weapons. In fact, the weapon collecting may be the biggest part of the game. You start with a handful of weapons able to be found and taken to a workshop, where you can combine them into entirely new weapons that become unlocked upon completion. Bound to keep you busy for a while.
Cannon Spike: Another Capcom game, this one is an arcade-style beat-em-up featuring a few of Capcom's trademarked characters (Cammy from Street Figher and Mega Man from... uh, Mega Man) along with a bunch of fresh faces. The same beat-em-up conventions as usual are used, but to make up for it the game is very difficult. Worth a shot if you can manage to find it.
Sony Playstation 1
Einhander: A side-scrolling shooter in the same vein as R-Type, but with its own unique flavor. The motif is gritty, sorta Blade Runner-esque, but the action is fast and furious. You start with a standard gun and collect weapon upgrades from defeated enemies, with a few minibosses and an end boss for every level. Plus, in the wasteland stage you fight a mech that looks for all the world like a robot scorpion humping the ground. :p
Ape Escape: A relatively short but extremely fun and unique game. The plot is fairly simple and somewhat kiddy: experimentation on monkeys with "smart helmets" causes the apes to run rampant in the streets in opposition to their captors, and the only person who can capture them is a early-teenage boy with a butterfly net. :p This game makes the most creative use of the Dual Shock controller I've seen, using the left stick to control movement and the right stick to swing the net in any direction you choose. Plenty of amusing gadgets become available, and you need all of them to solve some of the later puzzles. I highly recommend both this game and its sequel on the PS2.
Playstation 2
Magic Pengel: Another somewhat kiddy game. On the surface this is just another monster battle game, but there's one key difference: you get to draw your creatures. Anything you draw is automatically rendered and animated in full 3D, and while the drawing system has some quirks it becomes much easier to work with it with just a little practice. Beyond drawing your guys, there isn't really much to say though. The plot's simplistic, the acting downright bad, and the battles themselves are pretty much glorified rock-paper-scissors matches, but if you like drawing there's definitely something to be said for the sensation you get when you witness one of your creations moving around and attacking things at your command. Fun, but probably just for a select audience.
Sega Dreamcast
Worms Armageddon: This title was a multi-platform release, so if you don't have a Dreamcast and want to get in on it there's PS1 and N64 versions as well. However, this was by far the most polished version IMHO. A nice, quirky little turn-based strategy game featuring cartoon worms attacking each other with weapons ranging from standard (machine guns, grenades, mortars, air strikes) to just plain ridiculous (Super Sheep, Old Ladies, Ming Vases) on roughly ant farm-esque destructible levels. Funny and deceptively deep.
Power Stone 2: I thought that the original Power Stone was a bit clunky, but number 2 felt just right. A 3D beat-em-up/fighter from Capcom featuring a decent amount of fighters, each one with its own special charm. Each character has a super mode they can transform into, and a lot of the fight is dictated by level interaction, including avoiding traps and picking up and using various weapons. In fact, the weapon collecting may be the biggest part of the game. You start with a handful of weapons able to be found and taken to a workshop, where you can combine them into entirely new weapons that become unlocked upon completion. Bound to keep you busy for a while.
Cannon Spike: Another Capcom game, this one is an arcade-style beat-em-up featuring a few of Capcom's trademarked characters (Cammy from Street Figher and Mega Man from... uh, Mega Man) along with a bunch of fresh faces. The same beat-em-up conventions as usual are used, but to make up for it the game is very difficult. Worth a shot if you can manage to find it.
Sony Playstation 1
Einhander: A side-scrolling shooter in the same vein as R-Type, but with its own unique flavor. The motif is gritty, sorta Blade Runner-esque, but the action is fast and furious. You start with a standard gun and collect weapon upgrades from defeated enemies, with a few minibosses and an end boss for every level. Plus, in the wasteland stage you fight a mech that looks for all the world like a robot scorpion humping the ground. :p
Ape Escape: A relatively short but extremely fun and unique game. The plot is fairly simple and somewhat kiddy: experimentation on monkeys with "smart helmets" causes the apes to run rampant in the streets in opposition to their captors, and the only person who can capture them is a early-teenage boy with a butterfly net. :p This game makes the most creative use of the Dual Shock controller I've seen, using the left stick to control movement and the right stick to swing the net in any direction you choose. Plenty of amusing gadgets become available, and you need all of them to solve some of the later puzzles. I highly recommend both this game and its sequel on the PS2.
Playstation 2
Magic Pengel: Another somewhat kiddy game. On the surface this is just another monster battle game, but there's one key difference: you get to draw your creatures. Anything you draw is automatically rendered and animated in full 3D, and while the drawing system has some quirks it becomes much easier to work with it with just a little practice. Beyond drawing your guys, there isn't really much to say though. The plot's simplistic, the acting downright bad, and the battles themselves are pretty much glorified rock-paper-scissors matches, but if you like drawing there's definitely something to be said for the sensation you get when you witness one of your creations moving around and attacking things at your command. Fun, but probably just for a select audience.