Non-Stop

Non-Stop released in American theatres about two weeks ago by the time of this writing and I saw it last Saturday. It's an action/suspense thriller that's set on an international flight 40,000 feet in the air. To be clear, this is not a shoot-em-up sort of movie where everything explodes and yadda yadda. In fact, there's not much with which to fuel explosions at all since almost the entire film is shot aboard the plane.

The plot is actually very straight forward. Liam Nesson plays an Air Marshall who boards the flight like it's any other day. It isn't long before he starts to receive some highly sketchy text messages from an unknown person who threatens to kill a passenger every twenty minutes until $150 million is wired to some account of his. Nesson, whose character is named Bill Marks, takes this very seriously right off the bat, though his colleagues think he's just overreacting. In classic Jack Bauer form, he defies the commands of his superiors in order to stop the terrorist at any cost.

Liam Neeson is often typecast as the troubled cop-type character with a broken family and in this he's no different. Bill Marks has recently lost a daughter, his wife is God knows where (I don't recall it actually mentioning much of her), he's been discharged from the police force and on top of all that, he's a struggling alcoholic. One of the twists of the film comes about when the media gets hold of the developing crisis and starts slandering Marks to make him look like a delusional drunk who's hijacking the plane either for his own selfish benefit or just because he's gone mad. Despite it being his usual role, Neeson plays it well and makes it seem like a new character.

The other cast members are also pretty strong. In the airport scene before boarding the flight, the film briefly has a few shots of each character that's going to be important at some point in the flight. Julianne Moore plays a somewhat OCD woman named Jen Summers who, at first, I thought would be more of a throwaway character (just to get another big name) but she ends up being instrumental in the plot.

An interesting face to see was Cory Stoll who you may recognize as Peter Russo from House of Cards. He plays pretty much the same character except instead of a politician with a shitty attitude, he's a cop with a shitty attitude. Along with him are mostly C-level actors like Scoot McNairy, Michelle Dockery and Nate Parker who all play important roles that are each defined from each other.

But the real question is, does the movie deliver? Why, yes, it most certainly does. Non-Stop really is a non-stop ride from start to finish. It's paced in the opening scenes but once it gets going, it's full throttle suspense through and through. One possibly weird way to summarize this film would be if you combined the novel Airframe by Michael Crichton with the movie Scream. Drama and intrigue on a commercial jet where everyone is a suspect and keeps you guessing at the true killer until the very end. I'm usually fairly adept at figuring out the twist of a movie before it hits (Shutter Island was obvious), but I can honestly say here that I didn't see it coming until it came and it's not like the film just pulled some unguessable deus ex machina out of thin air, it makes sense. What looks like a simple heist from the outside may actually run a lot deeper.
After hunting the elusive killer down, uncovering several accomplices and having to work against the uncooperative passengers, police force and media, it all comes down to a final harrowing climax which is where most of the movie's action comes from. There are a couple of other combat scenes scattered about to keep you on your toes, one very exciting one in particular that involves the impossibly close quarters of the lavatory, but all flashiness is saved for the end. This contrast serves to make the final scenes that much more intense and by then your pulse will be way above usual.

There are of course some things that bring it down. The main issue I have with the movie is that by the end of the film, there were several plot points that seemed sketchy. Not that they were conflicting or that there were plot holes, rather there were a few mysteries that were simply never explained. You wouldn't likely notice it thanks to the editing and the fact that you're generally too concerned with what's happening to think about it, but further reflection warranted some areas that needed clarification. This is one of those few times that I really wish the villain had gone off on some gaudy speech explaining how he did everything. I suppose it's more realistic that the villain doesn't, but it's lazy writing if you ask me. The film was obviously not intended for the Michael Bay audience and expects us to not be stupid so it's not excusable to make that sort of error.
Overall, Non-Stop was a film that had some flaws but watching it, you'd be way too wrapped up in the heat of the moment to care. Definitely the thrill-ride that it promises and highly worth the watch.

9.25/10 - Very thrilling, keeps you guessing.

The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug

I gave The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey a fairly disparaging review this time last year. Most notably, I griped over it's excessive usage of CG (in stark contrast to the Lord of the Rings trilogy) and it's goofy, kid-friendliness. Despite this, I maintained an expectation for The Desolation of Smaug, hoping beyond hope that it would be something of an improvement over the first film. Thankfully, it was.

As I said in my previous review, one of the strongest things that this movie has going for it is it's cast. I'm more fond of Bilbo now than I was watching the first one and besides being just as quirky and clever, his character is fleshed out more in this installment. He carries with him the One Ring that he thieved off of Gollum in the first movie and frequently uses it's invisibility. However, this power comes at a price and we see that the Ring's evil is already rubbing off as Bilbo casts the occasional dark stare and becomes intermittently aggressive during combat. It's not a subplot that leads anywhere, but it remains ever ominous.

The rest of the cast is strong as well. One of the most surprising appearences to see in this film was that of Evangeline Lilly of Lost fame who plays a likable Wood Elf named Tauriel. Ian McKellen is as great as always as Gandalf The Grey and the company of dwarves are much more interesting this time around as they too are explored much more and offer more than simply comic-relief.

I found this film to be something of a series of highs and lows. One scene would be invigorating and exciting and the next would be much less so. I'm not simply referring to action scenes versus talking scenes. Talking scenes can be just as interesting if the subject is something of interest. However I found that oftentimes this was not the case. I don't much care of the going ons of a small, malnourished lake-town or a bowman named Bard, no matter how charming his children. I understand that the writers are really reaching for filler, trying to stretch a single book over three films but in the end, filler is filler and I found myself bored more than once in the theatre.

On the other spectrum, the action in this one is worlds better than it was in the first. Gone is the slapstick silliness that encompassed much of An Unexpected Journey. In Smaug, we have action that feels much more like the Lord of the Rings that we all know and love. Heads are sliced from their shoulders, Orcs are impaled by arrows and I actually saw blood in one scene. Don't get me wrong, I'm not just a blood-hound who's in it for gore, but I prefer my Middle Earth to be geared towards adults rather than trying to pander to a broader age-group. It's still not on par with the "realistic" war sequences and gritty sword fights that was just one of the many things that made the original trilogy so exemplary, but it's a start.

My main complaint against this film besides the whole...

Who the fuck decided to shoot this film in forty frames per second that is so fucking annoying and no one liked it the first time so why do it again you stubborn bastards I hope the idiot who came up with that shitty idea fucking burns to death fuck.

Yeah, besides that, would be that nothing anywhere in the film, perhaps save for the wide, mountainous landscape shots, looks real or natural. Even the aged and gnarled tendrils of the Elven woods look remarkably set-like. Everything appears as if it's trying very hard to look old, ancient and intricate without actually being old, ancient or intricate somehow. It's stuck halfway between something out of a storybook and a real landscape and filling the cracks with CG didn't help to make the result any less awkward. Fresh off of Valhalla Rising, the "natural" world of Middle Earth has never looked more artificial to me.

I think that this one is worth the watch much more so than the first. If you watched An Unexpected Journey and liked that, you'll like this. If you didn't like An Unexpected Journey, then you should probably see this anyway because it's an improvement and the final scenes (which I won't spoil) make it worth it in full.

7.75/10 - An improvement over the first.

Valhalla Rising

One might be tempted to put this film on a list of movies that are not nearly as popular as they should be. Valhalla Rising is an ethereal tale of 11th century superstition and barbarism. It's not a film that is heavy on plot so much as it is atmosphere and visual quality and only few sparse lines of dialogue accompany it.

The film plays out in six distinct parts so attempting to coherently explain "what it's about" is easier said than done. Truly the only way to do so would be to summarize it completely and I have no desire to ruin the movie for anyone. The reason it is so difficult to talk about is because Valhalla Rising isn't really "about" anything. It follows a nameless, mute, Norse warrior who's blind in one eye and is being held captive by people unknown for reasons unknown. Here, he is tied to a stake and pitted against other prisoners in unarmed fights to the death.

The Norse prisoner, who is occasionally referred to by other characters as One-Eye is played by Mads Mikkelsen whom you may recognize as the main antagonist of 007 Casino Royale. Interestingly, Mikkelsen was blind in the very same eye in that film as well.

"One-Eye" delivers the finishing blow to a fellow prisoner.

It isn't long before "One-Eye" is able to escape his captors thanks to a vision he had that led him to discovering an arrowhead on the bottom of a river. Soon after his escape, he runs into a band of Christian Crusaders, standing over a fresh pile of corpses and on their way to Jerusalem. They ask One-Eye to join them in their quest and he complacently goes along.

I love that this film doesn't bother itself with anything it finds unnecessary. It gives you the bare minimum and lets the viewer sort everything out. We don't need a backstory on One-Eye and we don't need every mythological detail spelled out for us. The mystification of the film says more than words ever could.

Every single second of the 90 minute run-time of Valhalla Rising is beautiful. Shot entirely in the haunting mountains of Scotland, the film looks incredibly authentic and earthy which works wonders to illustrate the age of the Crusades and efficaciously defines the Norse theme. It's just one more example that the real thing is infinitely more effective than CG.

It's gritty, realistic and above all sparse employment of violence goes even further to set Valhalla Rising apart from your run-of-the-mill film. When violence happens, it happens and the movie doesn't linger or relish in it.

Valhalla Rising is a unique masterpiece of beautiful brutality. Of myth and war and religion. It slips between the real and the ethereal flawlessly and dramatically. This is exactly the way I would make a film if I were in the director's chair. It's very hard to talk about and must be seen to be understood. So see it.

10/10 - Perfection.

The Cabin in the Woods

The Cabin in the Woods is a movie that came out in 2011, got all kinds of critical attention and had a lot of people talking. Despite that, I didn't see it until last night when I found it on Netflix. Pretty much all of the rumors came to be true.

The Cabin in the Woods tells you everything you need to know right in the title. It's the classic Evil Dead inspired flick (In fact, I'm fairly certain that it's the exact same cabin). A bunch of kids go out into the woods and die. Despite how clear cut it's deceptively simple title may sound, The Cabin in the Woods is anything but your run-of-the-mill horror film.

It's hard to talk about this movie without giving it away, which is why this review is so brief. It's gotten a lot of positive rave reviews from critics and it made an insane $66.5 billion off of it's $30 million budget. What I can say is that this praise is not unfounded. The Cabin in the Woods seeks to turn the entire horror genre on it's head and takes wild turns while boasting enough dark humor to keep any twisted mind satisfied. While the movie plays on classic horror cliches, it's so incredibly different that it comes off like nothing I've ever seen before. Mandatory for any horror fan, you'll certainly never watch a horror movie the same way again.

10/10 - Mandatory

The Great Gatsby

- Most anticipated film of 2013 -

Obviously, I've been looking forward to this movie for awhile now. I named it as one of my most anticipated films for 2013 and I've been counting down the months until it's release since I learned of it's existence when it was announced a few years ago. The Great Gatsby is one of my favorite books so naturally, I really wanted it to be an amazing film.

That being said, you've probably figured out already that I went in with too high expectations. Not quite as high as when I had gone in to see Prometheus around the same time last year, but I still was expecting it to be one of the standout films of 2013.

It's never a healthy choice to do that because you'll always be disappointed.

From what I've seen, this movie has garnered a lot of mixed reviews. I'm not about to bitch about it and tell you that I didn't like it because I did, but it wasn't everything I'd wanted or thought it would be.

So, it didn't meet my high expectations. Whatever. It was still a good movie.

One of the best things I can say for it is that it was well casted. Every actor was spot-on and perfect especially Leonardo DiCaprio as the man himself, Gatsby. I had doubts about weather or not DiCaprio was the right guy to portray Gatsby when I went in, but after seing just a second of his screen time, he won me over and I realized that he couldn't have been more perfect in the role. Even Toby Maguire, who, historically, is an actor I'm not a fan of, did really well in this movie and, honestly, I think it's his best role.

As far as the adaptation aspect goes, it was flawless. Just about every line in the movie is a direct quote from the book and the writers didn't try to fuck with us by needlessly changing things around, a common practice that I believe I have ranted about before.

Well, that all sounds quite good, so what is it about this movie that I didn't like?

For starters, there's the gratuitous usage of CG. Pretty much every landscape shot in the film is fake and obviously so. For a movie that really didn't need it, it sure had a plethora of visual effects that I found to be really distracting throughout the film.

Besides that, there's the application of modern pop music as opposed to what the characters would be listening to in reality, swing. Why that was done, I have no idea. It almost feels like the filmmakers were trying to pander to a larger audience by sensationalizing it like that but it just felt really out of place, especially in a film where the music plays such a key role.

The contemporary dance music combined with the excessive CG made it really difficult for me to place myself in the movie and make myself believe that it was the 20's. That may sound like a petty complaint but it's all too necessary when you want to rope your audience into the film.

As a tradeoff to the damage done by the over-the-top CG, just about every second of the movie is a joy to look at. It's a very stylish and visual film, which I'm all about. It's hard not to enjoy the many booming party scenes that are simply exploding with energy. That's what I think this movie had in droves: energy. Everywhere you look there are extravagant colors and music and dancing and all sorts of wonders for the eye to behold. That's certainly a plus for this film and I can see that they were really trying to capture the life of the "Roaring 20's", but I wish they'd gone about it in a way that didn't involve awkwardly removing the viewer from the time-period.

Worth it?

So, all in all, yeah, it's definitely a good movie. Not as good as I'd hoped and it may not end up being one of the standout films this year but still definitely worth the watch. I still have a nagging feeling like there was something sadly absent from this movie; something dreadfully void. Maybe it's me still trying to cope with my inability to place myself in the time or maybe it's something else. If you do happen to see it, which I still recommend, try to pay attention for that because I seem to be at a loss for words.

8.5/10 - Memorable. Would watch multiple times.

Jeepers Creepers

I caught this flick on TV a few days ago. It'd gotten the prime time hotspot known as 4am, so it had to contend with constant erectile dysfunction pill advertisements over it's entire 2 hour slot. I had actually never seen it before even though it came out in 2001, so I decided sit through it.

Much to my surprise, Justin Long, y'know, that dude from Accepted, was the lead role. I actually like Justin Long, I think he's funny and all but to see him in a horror movie was interesting. He played his part well though so, no complaints there.

Besides him, the rest of the cast is pretty weak or otherwise unremarkable. But it's horror so quality acting isn't something anyone would likely bet on, so as long as their above horrible, it's alright.

The movie starts and we have our two characters, Long, whose name is Darry, and his sister, Trish, driving down a road in the middle of fucking nowhere, naturally. Pretty soon, some jerkoff in the sketchiest truck of all time decides he doesn't like them and tries to run the siblings off of the road. Seriously, he does this for no reason whatsoever.

If you can manage to put yourself in that situation, it's a pretty freaky scene. The thought of that happening is a nightmare of it's own.

They let the guy pass them and he drives off. Not too long after they see the same truck parked by an old church where a guy in dark clothing is throwing a bloody body into a big rusty pipe. The guy sees the shit out of them, jumps in his truck, runs them off of the road again and then drives off because apparently that's good enough.

Darry decides that they have to go and check out whatever that dude was up to so they drive on back to the church and start peering down the pipe. He hollers down and all but he can't see anything so he has Trish hold onto his feet as he crawls partway down. It's all fun and games until he sees rats and starts flailing around like an asshole. Naturally, Trish drops him and he falls into the evil lair which is more of a basement, only with stitched-up, dead bodies everywhere.

I'll admit, it's a pretty scary scene because the whole time, you're worried that the bad guy is going to come back and turn intestines into streamers.

Well, Trish and Darry realize they're in danger and flee the scene. They arrive at a diner and receive a phone-call where some woman tells them a bundle of bewildering warnings, including that if they hear the song Jeepers Creepers, bad things are going to happen.

So, the two get a police escort. All of the sudden, Jeepers Creepers comes on the radio.

And this is where the movie starts going downhill.

The creepy guy jumps on top of the cop car and pulls one of them out through the window and decapitates the other with a battle axe.

Where the shit did that come from?

Up until here, the movie had been pretty subtle, relying on suspense and it was working, I was into it. But no, the rest of the movie just gets dumber and dumber, failing to be suspenseful or scary in any way. It's just a cliche monster movie. By the way, the monster looks like he belongs in a fucking X-Men comic.

Anyway, from there on out the monster just chases them around and it gets more and more absurd... and I mean absurd in a bad way.

It turns out that the monster can never die because it eats people's body parts and replaces them with his own, which is an interesting idea but it doesn't really add anything to the movie, it's just a backstory. If you missed that tidbit of information, you'd just see the monster eating people, you wouldn't be confused. Also an interesting plot point that doesn't really matter, the whole Jeepers Creepers song being a bad omen. There's really no reason for it to even be there, it's hardly even used, much less explained.

Surprisingly, as much as I disliked this movie, I came to find out that it's insanely popular. It garnered largely positive reviews and broke the record for highest grossing Labor-Day weekend films. It now sits at the number 5 spot just behind none other than Jeepers Creepers 2.

So that's Jeepers Creepers. A movie that started off great and then got dumb as shit and kept me up until 6am. It's not scary, it's just cliche. Oh, and don't expect an ending because it doesn't have one.

Run in terror.

4.5/10 - Some redeeming qualities but lame overall.

Scooby-Doo on Zombie Island

Scooby-Doo on Zombie Island was the first and best direct-to-video, feature-length Scooby-Doo adaptations. After a five year hiatus from the canceling of A Pup Named Scooby-Doo, 1998 saw this film which may be responsible for starting the reemergence of Scooby-Doo that has continued with numerous films and TV series's, Scooby-Doo: Mystery Incorporated being the latest and greatest since Where Are You!

References kids don't understand. This show summed up

I've fancied myself a Scooby-Doo fan since I was a child. Although the original show, Scooby-Doo, Where Are You! predates me by a sizable margin, I watched it more than I watched Dragonball Z and I largely blame it for my horror obsession later in life. To this day, I still enjoy the show, whenever I can catch it on Boomerang, for it's deep roots in horror and it's humor (although I've found anything outside of the pilot series to be less redeeming). Despite that, the spin-off movies were great by my recollection, so I decided to revisit Zombie Island.

The movie starts with a classic chase through a gothic castle involving a Creature from the Black Lagoon lookalike. But as it turns out, it's just Daphne recalling the story during a talk-show. The characters are obviously more grown up now and we're quickly informed that the team has long-since split up. Daphne now hosts a show assisted and directed by Freddie, Velma runs a horror book shop and Shaggy and Scooby are baggage checkers at an airport.

Remember: This was pre-9/11

Daphne, bored of the hoaxes and costumes, desperately wants to find genuine, haunted houses. Fred decides to reunite the team and they set off unmasking ghosties "like old times".

Just when the gang is convinced they'll never find a legitimate story, they're invited to a bayou island that's hauntings are apparently the real deal. From then on, it's like a classic, light-hearted horror movie. They're told many times that the island is dangerous and that often people disappear, along with a few cryptic tales about the island's history but that only excites them further.

As the classic horror movie plot development goes, things start to get weird pretty soon but get creepier and creepier until you have an egregious pirate zombie attacking you. During this act, Fred and Velma busy themselves by trying to unravel the mystery but there's an underlying notion that maybe this case isn't some guy in costumes but something more...

The movie does occasionally sport some moments that are a little too childish, some of the acting is sub-par and this movie's enjoyment is probably limited to fans of the show but I think what's good about the movie overrides that.

Besides the fact that it's animated well, (interestingly done so by a Japanese studio called Mook Animation. I think just a tad of anime style carried over), it's humour and charm combined with a horror plot that's better than some legitimate movies I've seen, which boasts surprising twists actually make this a pretty rewarding watch. It's hard to rate this movie fairly just because I love Scooby-Doo, so it's a little biased, but I think it's veritably good. It's kind of hard to find, but if you ever do, give it a watch.

7.5/10 - Try it, you'll like it.

End of Watch

End of Watch is a movie that came out last year that stars Donnie Darko and Mark Walhberg's sidekick from Shooter who play the characters Taylor and Zavala, respectively. The film is told through the lens of Taylor's camera, who is chronicling a log about his work as a cop in the dangerous ass-end of LA. The entire movie is shot that way, through his cameras, which is interesting and gives the movie a unique flair, but it doesn't really add anything to the film and it could've been traded for the conventional method without any issue.
Being a cop drama, it's pretty gritty and riddled with language (actually it's the seventh most profane movie of all time). I guess the swearing was a bit over-the-top, but the violence is necessary and realistic. It's impressive that this film was even pulled off, given it's budget of a mere $7 million. I've seen movies that are way worse in every way that have several times that budget.

Ahem

None of that distracts from the story, though, which is heavily character driven. Speaking of which the acting is above top-notch; the characters are incredibly believable. You root for them the whole time and really want to see them through to the end. The only downside to that is that they're the only thing keeping the movie going. If it weren't for the protagonists, this would be just your run-of-the-mill cop drama.
It's a tragic and serious movie overall, but it shows that it can also be funny and lighthearted when it needs to be. Some of the transitions between those two moods are jarring but most of the time it works well.
Keeping this review brief, it's a good movie. Well written, well acted and it succeeds in seeming like something that could happen in real life. It also makes good use of Puscifer in it's soundtrack, so bonus points for that. If crime is your thing, this movie is a must.

8.5/10 - Memorable

Evil Dead

When I wrote my Most Anticipated Movies of 2013, this was one of the films on the list. I saw it the night after opening night which, not surprisingly, warranted a big turn out. The kind of people that go to see this film are generally the laid back crowd, which is my personal favorite kind of audience to see a movie with because it helps you get into the experience. (One of the guys actually arrived in full Bruce Campbell cosplay with a chainsaw arm and everything. If you're that guy and you ever read this review, props.) They all laughed at the subtle dark comedy, cheered at moments of badassery and was audibly repulsed during the gratuitous, gut-splattering, in-your-face, violence.

 Of which, of course, there was no shortage. Any audience willing to watch this film would endure an insane level of gore. For a movie that's rated R, it's pretty darn violent and it's clear that the filmmakers were pushing the rating as far as it would go. There were a few people who actually got up and left the theatre during the more extreme parts and I saw numerous people looking away or closing their eyes.

I think I see where this is going.

I only found out the night before seeing the film, that Sam Raimi was reprising his role as producer  along with Bruce Campbell, the star of the original film. I think that actually helped this movie a lot and kept it from completely copying the '81 version. Speaking of which, this movie is a great example of a proper remake. As I just said, it didn't copy and paste the original script but it also had plenty of respectful nods to it's predecessor, which any member of it's enormous cult following would catch.

The movie opens with a short scene of some demonically possessed woman being put to rest via burning at the stake followed promptly by shotgun to the face which I get the feeling is a treatment that was not doctor recommended. I almost wish that this scene wasn't included because it serves almost no purpose and makes the movie feel a little bit dumb, especially with that shotgun bit.

But anyway, after that, we're introduced to a bunch of twenty-somethings who all head out into the woods to chill in an old, slightly-dilapidated, cabin. They take some time laying down the groundwork of the film and we get some character backstories. Not long into the movie, we find out that the real reason they're roughing it in the cabin is to try and get one of their party members, Mia, off of her drug addiction. At first, it almost seems as though the movie is going to be pretty slow but then they find the original 'purging' site from the first scene in the basement and along with the various witchcraft items, The Book of the Dead.

So one of the guys takes it upon himself to "accidentally" perform the entire summoning ritual, effectively fucking over all of his friends.

"It's not my fault man, the directions weren't very clear."

Well, that's about where the shit hits the fan harder than a sack full of bricks and just never stops coming. I won't spoil anything after that, but I will say that the movie continues to get better and better as it goes on, with the entire last act being an exciting and memorable climax.

That all sounds pretty good (and it is) but unfortunately this movie is brought down by the, expected, poor actor quality as well as the occasional shoddily-written bit of dialogue. That's to be expected with movies of this caliber, but it's disappointing nonetheless. Besides that, it has some thinly veiled characters, several of whom are simply throwaway characters I didn't care about, it's pretty predictable up until the last act and it relies too heavily on it's gore-factor. I would be more disappointed in the heavy application of violence, but I knew what I was getting into and I was expecting a mindless bloodbath (as I've said before, it's all about the mindset), so in that respect it didn't bother me that much and, with a budget of $17 million, at least it looked good..

If you can get past that (and trust me, it's not hard) this movie is a blast that's a lot of fun. It's garnered some pretty low reviews from guys like Richard Roeper who has tried to fill the hole in cinema subculture left behind by the late Roger Ebert (rest in peace), but in my humble opinion, he didn't do this movie justice. It's made $26 million in the opening weekend topping G.I. Joe: Retaliation for the number one spot by a full $5 million (suck it). As I said in the paragraph above and so many times before, it's the mindset. You go into a movie like this with some friends and some popcorn and you have a good time and in that respect, this is a great, above average, horror movie. Check it out.

7.5/10 - A fun horror flick.

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.