Top 10 Underrated Games

With so many games coming out these days

It can be pretty easy to miss out on great titles just because they either get buried under the big blockbuster games or you just can't spare the time or cash to get into a new thing. A lot of times, games are forgotten because they suffer from condemning reviews that were unjustly served towards a game that was a true gem. I took the time to figure out what I think are the best examples of games that either didn't get the respect they should've or faded away and deserve to be remembered.
I give you top 10 underrated games.

10. Spiderman 2

I remember when the first Spiderman game came out. Suffice it to say, it sucked dick. The exploration was hugely limited, it had an obnoxiously linear gameplay which just didn't fit, the combat was a joke and overall the game was a laughable failure.

But then this game comes along in 2004. The graphics were stunning, the control and gameplay fantastic and free-roaming and the open world was massive. When I first played this, I wasn't very used to open world games, so I didn't have much to compare it to, but even so, it's a damn big city you get to play in that's finely detailed with secrets and hideouts.

There was never a time in this game where you had nothing to do. This game had an infinite number of side-quests which that sounds actually better than it is because it's just about a dozen different kinds of "save someone" quests over and over again. Despite that, it doesn't get tiring and even if you don't look for a person in need, there are plenty of times where you happen to randomly stumble upon a crime in progress and get to send some thugs into next year.

Speaking of the combat, it's nothing short of awesome in this game. The player has dozens and dozens of stylized techniques at their disposal and their 'arsenal' increases as the game goes on.

It's not that this game did poorly critically, the reason it's on this list is because I never knew a single person besides me who had it. That's too bad since it's one of my personal favorite games and it's such a "this one time" kind of game and I found I had no one with whom I could share my adventures as the web-slinger.

There's so much more I could say about this game but we've got nine to go so without further adiu...

9. 007: Everything or Nothing

I'll start by saying this is on here for the exact same reason as Spiderman 2. I never met anyone who played this anywhere. Like Spiderman 2, it did pretty well critically and received largely positive reviews. For whatever reason, people then proceeded to forget it ever existed at all. It's unfortunate and surprising because I always felt this game had such a unique feel to it. For starters, it's an over-the-shoulder shooter which may deter a lot of gamers but I assure you, it works really well. The control is intuitive, responsive and makes sense.

You won't find much in the realm of multiplayer, unfortunately, but this game's single player story makes up for it enormously. It's a pretty long game, can't remember how long exactly but I do recall that it took a while to complete. It's full of gadgets, vehicle battles, shootouts and a whole host of other fun shit. I would say that next to Goldeneye, this is the best 007 game ever made. Seriously, I would recommend this to any shooter fan. Just give it a try and I guarantee that you won't be disappointed.

8. Bulletstorm

The best way to describe this game is just to say, it's a fucking blast. All encompassing, maximum badassery, Bulletstorm prided itself on being the man out of all of the kids shooters and it's advertising campaign was making fun of the FPS games like Call of Duty and asked if you wanted a real game.
It received mostly positive reviews but it's on here simply because no one fucking played it. Why, I have no idea. This game is 100% balls to the wall, ass kicking that deserves fans and, I may even be so bold as to say, a followup.

I'm sorry, I must've missed training exercise that went over this exact situation.

The play-style is distinguished. It centers largely around trying to get the most stylish kills possible and there are probably hundreds of ways to go about ending your countless foes piteous lives. Kicking is an attack rarely featured in first-person shooters but works well in this game, as does the light whip which sends enemies into slow-motion as they hurtle towards you.
Although the multiplayer is very limited, it's still pretty fun and besides, there's more than enough single player to make up for it.
So yeah, badass game. Check it out.

E3 winner of the most uses of the term "limp-dick".

7. Chibi Robo

Why I was the only person I know who has even heard of this game, I have no idea. Sure it's not exactly a "hardcore gamer's" sort of game but that in no way should mean that it should go totally unnoticed.

Chibi Robo is an adorable little game that centers around a six-inch tall robot who is never referred to as anything other than Chibi Robo. The main focus of the game is to clean this one family's house of dirt, trash and whatever else in order to make them happy. That seems like it'd be boring, but Chibi Robo doesn't fail to entertain as you constantly unlock upgrades allowing you to reach places you've never reached before. Clambering all over furniture in order to get to a high bookshelf is a puzzle in of itself.

Besides that, every character in the game has something wrong in their life and it's your job to help them solve their problems to make everyone truly happy. Not to mention, each of these characters is memorable and unique, one of my favorites being your floating counterpart Telly who has just as interesting a voice as he does appearence.

So all in all, Chibi Robo is a charming little game that actually manages to be quite memorable in both it's highly stylized world and unique concept.

6. Yoshi's Story

Speaking of highly stylized...

I was recently looking over an article published by Game Informer about the upcoming Wii U Yoshi game. In it they listed other memorable Yoshi games of the past to play while you wait. To my surprise, this game was not mentioned. Yoshi's story garnered generally poor reviews when it debuted in 1997 scoring as low as 4.8/10 on some reviewal sites and in fact, one of the very few reviewers to give it a positive number was Game Informer who awarded it an 8.5/10.

How someone could earnestly dislike this game is beyond me. Like Chibi Robo, it's not exactly a challenging game. It's focused more on being a cute little adventure that's highly playable and fun.

The game is so unique in style that it blows my mind that anyone could forget it existed without the aid of a decade and a half (oh wait...). Every level is distinguished and I love the way it looks as though it were constructed by hand. For instance in the screenshot above the entire level appears to be made out of cardboard and in the screenshot below the entire sky is denim and the clouds look like they're stitched together.

The whole concept of the game centers around collecting as much fruit as you can until the boarder around the screen fills up with what you've eaten and you win. Because of this treasure hunt sort of style, each level plays non-linearly and has many branches off into different parts of the world. It's extensive level design and like I said before, no two are alike. The game only takes six levels to complete but it has 24 courses total, four levels per each of the six stages. It only takes one level victory to complete a stage which is an implement that I am inclined to dislike. I sort of wish that you were required to play all 24, but instead going through the full game requires replaying the story line at least four times. Despite that, it does succeed in offering experiences that are distinct among players.

5. Starfox Assault

I don't find myself a big Starfox fan considering that the games can be kind of hard to come by in America and I just never got into it much. That's not to say there's anything wrong with the games, from what I've played of them, they're great. One of the few Starfox games that I did play extensively was Starfox Assault.

Starfox Assault received mixed reviews and like many other entries on this list, went generally unnoticed by most gamers when it released in 2005. That's a real pity because it's a true gem of action games. Weather you're fighting with Arwings, Landmasters or just on foot, the battles are sure to please as they're intense and gripping.

The only major complaint against this game I could voice is the fact that it's as short as it is at a mere nine levels but the best thing about this game isn't in the campaign, it's in the multiplayer. With up to four players, the vs. combat in this game is a blast. A great game to play with friends

I'd say that it's well worth your time to look into it, even if you're not a Nintendo fan. As one reviewer, Kevin Gifford put it, "The game is aimed less at the Mario Club and more toward the hardcore crowd." Check it out.

4. Poke'mon Colosseum

I guess I'll say the bottom line first. If you like Poke'mon, you will like this game. Simple as that. This is honestly, one of my all-time favorite Poke'mon games because it's so different from the rest. It's one of the few to be on a platform console rather than a handheld. I've always wished they did more like this because I generally don't bother myself with any handheld games beyond my Gameboy.

People may dislike this game due to the fact that you can't capture wild Poke'mon which is a staple of the normal Poke'mon games. I'll admit, I'm not fond of that change either, but I love this game regardless and it's method of stealing Poke'mon from other trainers is cool. The rest of what sets this game apart lies in it's visual style whereas most are bird's-eye shots, this game is all over.

But the place this game really excels are in the battles. I've heard people complain that the fighting animations are repetitive but they're a hell of a lot cooler than anything from the handheld installments.

I'm not trying to bash the handheld games as they're all fantastic, I'm just saying that this game deserves more recognition than it got. Great game.

3. Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi 3

I would go so far as to say that the entire Budokai Tenkaichi series is underrated, but the installment that went way above and beyond what is needed to be a respected game is Budokai Tenkaichi 3. With 161 playable characters, this game has one of the largest rosters in any fighting game and each is equipped with plenty of unique special moves that are true to the show. The cel-shaded graphics translate the animation into the third dimension so well.

As for the fighting? Oh, my fuck. It is so fast and so intense that this game is actually daunting to already hardened fighting game veterans. In fact, IGN said "The sheer speed and complexity of the controls may turn some people off" and "The game [is] remarkably easy to learn, but nearly impossible to master."

Y'see, I'm one of those guys who mastered it. My friends and I will stage tournaments in this game and just fucking go at it. We're at the point in the game where we're absurdly good and absurdly fast and that's what makes this game so amazing.

It's actually much like the show in that respect because you have to train to get better. When you pick up the game, you're comparatively weak next to the masters. That's not to say the game isn't fun, playing with others at your level is still a blast, but it takes awhile to get really good and it's incredible because every time you're sure there's no way to get better or faster, through training you do (just like the show!).

I would say, and I know that almost everyone will disagree with me on this, that this game is my all-time favorite fighting game. Not to say it's the best, but when it comes to fast-paced and intense combat, there's no competition.

2. Kirby Air Ride

This is the game that just barely didn't make the cut when I published the article about my top racing games. It debuted in 2003 and received largely poor scores and was even called "a throwaway game" by one reviewer. I would say that this game is the exact opposite. The are levels crazy in design, the vehicles are all unique and interesting and it's just an all around competitive blast. Playing this with friends generally results in standing up, yelling at the tv and cheering when you win what tend to be remarkably close races.
This game has three modes. There's the standard racing mode titled Air Ride. The second is an overhead, single-screen racing game called Top-Ride which comes off as sort of a mini-game but can be just as engaging as the normal play and effectively changes up gameplay.

Finally, the third mode is called City-Trial. This is the mode that received the highest percentage of positive feedback and is what makes this game great. You and up to three other players, roam about an enclosed city map, scrounging for power-ups and/or stealing them from your opponents. Once the time is up, you're all transported to a competitive game where you vie for first place. These games range from races to battles to objective-based mini-games and force you to rely on your power ups which you'd better hope you got enough of. Running around the city is so much fun and gives you plenty of opportunities to be a massive douchebag to your friends (killing them just before he game ends will cause them to drop many of their power ups and force them onto the default vehicle).

I could probably talk about City Trial for a long time and go into extensive detail, but I'll spare you and just say it's great and it's the best thing about this game. Try it some time.

1. Spongebob Squarepants: Battle for Bikini Bottom

If anyone ever made a list of surprisingly good games, this would have to be number 1. Spongebob Squarepants: Battle for Bikini Bottom, despite being a mouthful, is a charming action/adventure game that is actually engaging and consistently entertaining through and through. The game didn't get the attention it deserved likely because it was a licensed game which is not very surprising, albeit, disappointing. 

It gives you control over three different characters: Spongebob, Patrick and Sandy. Each of them have their own set of imaginative moves, intuitive control patterns and are all voiced by the original actors, like every character featured in this game with very few exceptions. The level designs are all based off of locations from the show and are impressively distinct of each other, each one being fresh and original and brimming with creative puzzles that may actually force you to think.

What makes this game so impressive is that it's so well done compared to what you'd expect coming from a video-game adaptation of a children's cartoon. It happens to include one of my favorite OSTs in gaming.

That shit could be in a Hollywood blockbuster. Every song is just as good too, I just picked that one sort of randomly (try the Poseidome theme).

The game has a silly plot about a robot takeover of Bikini Bottom which is an interesting concept and is effectively made goofy through the comical humour this game is riddled with. The enemies are quirky and the boss battles are exciting and anything but repetitive.

The main complaint that someone could make against this game is that it doesn't appeal much to non-fans, which isn't surprising but unless you, for whatever idiotic reason, flat out hate the show, I'd recommend giving this game a try. It's great.