Underdogs of 2014

Retr0gamer

So which games released this year do you feel deserved more exposure/sales than the got and were unfairly dismissed?

Final Fantasy XIII-3

The game is going for a tenner in gamestop which indicates how poorly the game sold which is a shame because it's a contender for best RPG of the year. The Final Fantasy 13 name is commercial poison after the first game in the series which is a shame because FF13-3 couldn't be further from that game. The story is awful but really this game like classic FF is about the mechanics and systems and breaking them to your advantage. It's totally non linear and while the world us small it's well fleshed out and interesting. it's also secretly a pseudo spiritual successor to The excellent Valkyrie Profile and made by a lot of the same team. Even the time limit isn't too bad, a lot of the fun in the game comes from learning how to break the time limit so it doesn't become a problem.

Shin Megami Tensei 4

The other contender for RPG of the year. It's an excellent addition to the series that spawned Persona and has by far and away the best demon fusion system of any of the SMT games. It's so intuitive and streamlined and will hopefully be carried forward into Persona 5. It's also one of the most accessible games in the series being quite a bit easier despite a tough opening, the soundtrack is absolutely incredible as well. Unfortunately the game was released as a digital only title and also came out in Europe well over a year after the U.S. release and all the hype had died down. If you are a fan of RPGs then you owe it to yourself to play this wonderful game.

Wolfenstein New Order

Really this game is far better than it has any right to be. It's very reminiscent of old school PC FOS games with health packs and armour and even though it has regenerating health it only regenerates a tiny amount meaning you can't hide behind a wall and come back good as new. The shooting mechanics are over the top and lots of fun. The story is utterly daft yet really well written with great characters. The universe is well fleshed out with the same feeling of oppression you got from Half Life 2. For such a violent game it manages to show a lot of subtlety and restraint as well in its storytelling.

Sonderkommando

Wolfenstien is fantastic currently playing it on xbone, spent many an hour playing that and doom on pc back in the day.

Pac1Man

Can FF XIII-3 be played in isolation or will you be utterly lost having not played #1 & #2? I have #1 looking at me for the last few months but the general consensus has been putting me off starting it.

calex71

Soon as I saw the thread title I thought Wolfenstein.

I've recommended it to several people and they dismissed it out of hand, their loss.

It gets everything right. Balances difficulty perfectly.Rarely did death feel cheap, it was usually totally down to you rushing or not looking around. The story and sound was well above the standard of many others in it's field.

Honourable mention for Mudered : Soul Suspect. Now it was a massively flawed game in many ways, but I really enjoyed it for being something a bit different to me, and sadly it was a swansong for the studio.

Retr0gamer

Pac1Man wrote: »

Can FF XIII-3 be played in isolation or will you be utterly lost having not played #1 & #2? I have #1 looking at me for the last few months but the general consensus has been putting me off starting it.

The story is utter ****e, even if you had plaged ff13 and 13-2 you'd still be hopelessly lost. It's a game you enjoy for the gameplay and mechanics and that's where it excels.

johnny_ultimate

I don't know if underdogs is the word I'd use to describe three sequels in decades-old, very successful franchises

CptMackey

Wolfenstein . What a game . Loved every bit of it. My game of the year and no mp which was a god send . First game on my ps4 that made the purchase worth it

richymcdermott

Demo was class when i played it , not surprising since its made by the guys who did resonace of fate , have to get ff13-3 soon

Sieghardt

Tears to Tiara 2 is a really wonderful SRPG that I really hoped would get localized but I never thought would. It's a real shame not many people bought it even at a cheap price tag. I highly recommend it, it has a unique, very dark story with some unexpected twists and turns. It has a really slow start but the payoff if you stick with it is amazing

The_Valeyard

Was FTL this year? Great game.

Retr0gamer

Sieghardt wrote: »

Tears to Tiara 2 is a really wonderful SRPG that I really hoped would get localized but I never thought would. It's a real shame not many people bought it even at a cheap price tag. I highly recommend it, it has a unique, very dark story with some unexpected twists and turns. It has a really slow start but the payoff if you stick with it is amazing

I heard it and the original are amazing. Got discounted heavily very early on playasia so must have sold like ****.

Seems Bayonetta 2 sold awful as well. More people need to play that game!

I've a feeling Alien Isolation also had similar poor sales, it was discounted heavily on play asia again and they were selling the Pre-order edition to boot. Definitely one of the more unique games this year in a sea of play it safe sequels that deserves much better.

Wolfenstien without a doubt..great game

kunst nugget

Retr0gamer wrote: »

I heard it and the original are amazing. Got discounted heavily very early on playasia so must have sold like ****.

Seems Bayonetta 2 sold awful as well. More people need to play that game!

I've a feeling Alien Isolation also had similar poor sales, it was discounted heavily on play asia again and they were selling the Pre-order edition to boot. Definitely one of the more unique games this year in a sea of play it safe sequels that deserves much better.

Playing Alien Isolation at the moment and absolutely loving it. I don't any other horror game that I've played has been as good for tension. I've heard people complaining about pacing issues but halfway through, I haven't experienced any yet. The AI for the Alien is fantastic and it means you never feel safe.

Stone Deaf 4evr

Shadow of Mordor seems to be another one that many had dismissed as a "middle earth assassins creed with batman combat" but anyone who has played it raves about it. Got it for cheap in the sales so l'm looking forward to spending a few night over christmas with it.

Retr0gamer

I pretty much found Shadow of Mordor to be 'Batman Combat: the Game' and I hate Batman's combat. Definitely did not like it at all.

super_furry

The "Press X to pick up ammo" part of Wolfenstein really infuriated me more than it should have. Such a small thing but it would have been so much more enjoyable as a game to me if there was auto ammo pick-up.

johnny_ultimate

Hohokum - I'm wearing even myself out trying to spread the word of this magnificent game. Its vibrant artstyle and chillwave soundtrack combine elegantly with a minimalist approach to instruction, controls and storytelling. It's the most enjoyable and evocative game I played all year, each level feeling like an elaborate new world hiding its own delightful secrets.

Towerfall Ascension - A number of seriously smart design choices - the need to constantly collect arrows, the hugely exploitable dodge function - make this one of the most nuanced yet accessible and exciting local multiplayer games I've ever played.

Sportsfriends - Gather four people with Move controllers to play Johann Sebastian Joust, and you will be converted. Helps that the other games are great too.

The Sailor's Dream - Given how some more prominent titles are celebrated for merely not being utterly incompetent in terms of storytelling, Simogo deserve more attention than they're getting for their radical narrative experiments that push gaming form in fresh new directions. Sailor's Dream is another fantastic title from the studio - a potent mix of visuals, music, text and voice that truly is unlike anything else I've played.

Jazzpunk - Can't count the amount of times I burst out laughing during this game. Probably the funniest video game I've ever played.

Desert Golfing - Fiendishly addictive minimalist golfing game that also doubles as a scathing yet affectionate satire on contemporary game design.

Threes - The most perfect puzzle game I've played since Tetris: a devilish balance between luck and skill, aided by painstakingly crafted art and music. Everytime I saw somebody playing shameless clone 2048, I wanted to tell them to play the proper game instead :pac:

Agricola

Got Wolfenstein in the post and can't wait to try it out. Have been slowly getting to like Alien Isolation but it's so tense and slow moving that Im really looking forward to cleansing the palette with some manic shooting!

Sephiroth_dude

Sieghardt wrote: »

Tears to Tiara 2 is a really wonderful SRPG that I really hoped would get localized but I never thought would. It's a real shame not many people bought it even at a cheap price tag. I highly recommend it, it has a unique, very dark story with some unexpected twists and turns. It has a really slow start but the payoff if you stick with it is amazing

I Adore the game, I must get back into it,fc 4 distracted me

richymcdermott

Danganronpa is the one that comes to mind despite it sold well enough to meet nis america to release the sequel I still its not enough for people to experience with the series meeting a thrilling story that keeps you guessing with a mix of persona and phoenix wright , I feel everyone should experience it.

Retr0gamer

Some more iOS games I really enjoyed be see no one talking about:

Framed

A very innovative puzzle title with quite big production values and loads of style. You move and manipulate comic panels around the screen so that the protagonist who moves on their can make it safely to the next page. Apparently it's Hideo Kojima's favourite game of the year.

The Rhythm of the Fighters

A pretty daft idea, SNK turned King of the Fighters into a rhythm action game but it's a damn fun rhythm action game. The game is now free and the free version provides quite a generous amount of content with the rest as DLC.

Grumpypants

Valiant Hearts for me, I think the rest got about the right amount of recognition they deserved but in a year where Ubisoft took hit after hit this was over looked by many but a stunning game in so many ways.

Gonzo

game of the year for me is without a doubt Wolfenstein. New Order.

such a refreshing change after the terrible disappointments of Destiny and WatchDogs.

Retr0gamer

Armoured Hunter Gunhound Ex

Great japanese indie game that finally got a release on steam. Plays very like SNES classic Cybernator. It looks great as well. Definitely worth your time if you want a game that was lays like a classic 2D game from the 16/32 bit era and not some indie that pretends to be authentic.

dreamers75

Retr0gamer wrote: »

I pretty much found Shadow of Mordor to be 'Batman Combat: the Game' and I hate Batman's combat. Definitely did not like it at all.

Batmans combat and Mordor is miles ahead of other types of games like (Bayonetta DMC Darksiders etc) you can see the blow coming and avoid or counter. Found Batman/Mordor to have refreshed genre with combat systems that actually work rather than spamming buttons and being hit by unavoidable hits.

Mordor is an Underdog for me.

Insurgency also gets a mention.

Retr0gamer

dreamers75 wrote: »

Batmans combat and Mordor is miles ahead of other types of games like (Bayonetta DMC Darksiders etc)

Ah here, just no! Even DMC is in another league to crappy batman button mashing.

johnny_ultimate

I like the Batman games, but saying the combat is better in them than Bayonetta or DMC is IMO like saying a Big Mac is better than a filet mignon :pac:

If you're spamming buttons and getting hit by 'unavoidable' attacks in Bayonetta, incidentally, you're playing it wrong

Retr0gamer

Batman gets a pass for me because it's not all crappy combat. There's lots of variety and the stealth is excellent. But a whole game built around that combat like Shadows of Mordor is a game built specifically for me to hate.

dreamers75

johnny_ultimate wrote: »

I like the Batman games, but saying the combat is better in them than Bayonetta or DMC is IMO like saying a Big Mac is better than a filet mignon :pac:

If you're spamming buttons and getting hit by 'unavoidable' attacks in Bayonetta, incidentally, you're playing it wrong

Cmon now many of the later guys in it have attacks that cannot be blocked or avoided they are simply there to take health from you, DMC and Darksiders has the same issue.

Batman and Mordor altho simplfied it they made it dodgeable/avoidable.

I love all the games above but the 3 named have not really done anything to the genre in terms of combat, Batman and Mordor at least try.

Its bascially moved from Double Dragon to DMC to Mordor :pac:

Retr0gamer

Darksiders is just God of war combat which isn't that good. DMC has good combat until the crap colour coded enemies appear that ruin the combo system, however something like DMC 3 is far better. As for Bayonetta, blame the game instead of your own cackhandedness isn't valid since if you are good and aren't just mashing buttons you shouldn't be getting hit.

Saying the combat in Bayonetta is bad is just plain wrong I'm afraid. It's the perfect refinement of the combo based combat started with devil may cry. It's dodging skills and combo system give the game a great risk vs reward factor that encourages you to get flashier in how you play. I'd also put metal gear revengeance up there as well with its patry system that changes the dynamic of the combat since the best form of defense is pure offense.

Now Batman did do something new but all it really did was reduce combat to a rhythm game and made most things automatic. Mordor on the other hand just copied batman and brought its own broken elements into the mix.

dreamers75

Retr0gamer wrote: »

own broken elements into the mix.

The broken elements are after 6 hours learn XXXYABAXXXYAYAYAYA as a move that you may need but never once use.

Bayonetta suffers from it too, rather then give the player a move that they will never remember just give them a more powerful move that they already have.

The combat is not wrong in those games its not fluid and rewarding players with overly complicated moves 12 hours into a game is stupid, just give them stronger moves. Fairly sure noone uses any of the XXXXABABAABYAAA moves because they have a system which usually involves get the fekker in the air and combo him to death.

In Bm and Mordor you can suit the game to your style and focus on the dude you need too, rather than learning a move that only kills one type of guy. you can parry counter and focus your attacks on one person rather than whooshie moves that knock everyone away.

In summary BM and Mordor have forwarded a stale genre which relies on control and upgrade systems that the ps2 had.

not really underdog related :pac: