Unhyped Video Games You Should Play

The Games

10. Parasite Eve, Square Enix, PS. It’s Resident Evil meets Final Fantasy in this sci-fi cinematic RPG. You play Aya Brea, a NYPD cop whose mitachondria cells are slow to ‘awaken’. An opera singer and actress, Melissa is the main baddie who’s turning everyone into human barbecues and wishes a race of pure mitachondria to rule the world. But Aya is immune to the ‘awakening’ and is the only one who can stop the transmogrification. The rendered movies are outstanding and the storyline is engaging. You wander the streets and buildings of New York seeking out Melissa and other clues to your past Resident Evil style, but you battle mutated monsters and people with a battle system that lets you attack with a time meter, but move around in real-time, in order to avoid enemies. You gain experience and level up and acquire weapons and increase attributes like an RPG. But you figure out the storyline like Resident Evil. See the connection? Parasite Eve isn’t a rare game, most used shops probably carry it. If you enjoy movie-like progression in your video game, or if you’re a mitachondria freak, then Parasaite Eve is for you.

9. Dead or Alive Beach Volleyball, Tecmo, Xbox. There’s nothing wrong with oogling polygonal chicks in bikinis, right? I mean, right? Well, the ladies from Dead or Alive are gathering on Jack’s island to partake in 2-on-2 (keep THOSE kinds of jokes to yourself) volleyball tournaments. Now, from the outset, you may think there’s no depth to this game and you’d be wrong. Besides the addicting volleyball play, you can also gamble with a slot and a blackjack game and have your girls chill at the pool playing in various mini-games like jumping onto floaties across the pool to get the best time. Or you can rest in your room admiring all the gear you’ve bought or received from the others. To get a partner to play with you, you have to woo them with gifts (and vice versa if they want you) and to keep them, you must keep winning; otherwise, they leave you. The gameplay is absolutely fun. I have no problem wiling away the hours against the computer or a friend. Sure it’s just 2-on-2 and the basic controls run simple, but there’s a bit of strategy and some satisfaction in spiking a ball in someone’s face and knocking them down.

8. Gitaroo-Man, Koei, PS2. Who? What? Gitaroo? You play U-1 who learns he is the heir to the Gitaroo-Man title, who is a superhero that goes around defeating evil in the universe. U-1 possesses the last gitaroo that the Gravillians, an evil alien race, need to secure the top spot in the universe. You will make U-1 fall in love, defeat bad guys, and learn about himself through songs and guitar solos. But how you ask? That’s what makes this game fun. The left analog stick controls a slider that you have to keep ‘on the line’ and the circle (along with the left analog) plays riffs. The line will rise and fall and riffs will pop up at different times, so you better pay attention to where you play. Sounds easy, but even on the default setting, Gitaroo-Man will give a nice challenge to even seasoned rhythm game players. There are different styles of songs, all of which are catchy (especially the ballad you play to woo the girl). There’s rock, drum and bass, techno, and--duh--Japanese pop songs. The game isn’t that long, but you will be impressed for the 5-6 hours you’ll probably spend playing this game. It’s Gitaroorific.

7. Gun Valkryie, Sega, Xbox. Okay, I admit the story’s kind of strange. A comet has awakened something in the future world and the doctor who discovered the comet has used the core to create some goofy suits. Now he’s disappeared and the entire world is threatened because someone wants to use the core for dastardly purposes and you must save the Doctor and the world. As you play the game, the story become clearer and easier to understand and about halfway through the game, you go “Ah-ha! This game has a reason for existing!” From then on, you’ll become engaged in the story and the two characters you get to play. Besides that, the graphics are simply gorgeous. Even though doom is upon the world, everything is vibrant and the levels are ingeniously laid out. Most of the levels are linear, but they just make sense. Oh, did I mention you can fly? And hover? And super-jump? Those suits are neato, eh?

6. Phantasmagoria, Sierra, PC. Everyone remembers Sierra, right? They put out a million games a year from 1990 on, with genres ranging from strategy to role-playing to shooters. Sierra’s games were the equivalent of B-movies: low-budget, cheesy, and something to pass the time. But in 1995, they decided to hit the Interactive Horror market with Phantasmagoria. With a $2 million budget, Sierra crafted a nice little game. Using full motion video captured actors with rendered backgrounds, you played the wife of a photographer who bought a haunted house. Over the course of a few days, the husband starts to go crazy, and you have to figure out why and stop him before you get hurt. What makes this game good is the story and the puzzles. Unfortunately, there is a hint system and that can make this game super-easy, but you don’t need it since the puzzles make sense and getting stuck doesn’t make you lose vast amounts of time trying to figure it out. You can probably finish this game in under 3 hours, but if you enjoy supernatural horror games, this one’s for you. This isn’t a hard game to find... eBay or Half.com is your best choice. Besides, how cool is the word ‘Phantasmagoria’?

5. Lumines, Ubisoft, PSP. I know what you’re thinking: why should I play another freaking Tetris rip-off? Well, this isn’t a Tetris rip-off and I don’t have mind reading powers. It is a puzzle game, but it’s fast, addicting, and nerve-wracking. There are tons of stuff to unlock, excellent music, and did I mention that it’s addicting? Basically, you drop 2-by-2 squares that contain two colors in different patterns onto the screen. Your goal is to create blocks of the same color, which will disappear when the line passes through the screen. The more blocks you create before the line comes through again, the more points and combo points you get. Each level has a different theme and a different song (ranging from rock to techno), which sets the pace of the line. The graphics are slick and the music sounds great, especially when you use headphones or a home theatre system. There’s a two-player mode (versus human or computer) and a puzzle mode (create given patterns--like a cross or a giraffe--in certain time limits), and wireless mode. If you like puzzle games, I guarantee you will be addicted. Addicted like caffeine, which you’ll need to stay up to play this game.

4. Quantum Redshift, Microsoft, Xbox. One of the early games for the Xbox, this futuristic racing game can easily rival current games in both graphics and gameplay. You play a racer that races fusion-fuel craft on different worlds. Sure you have a backstory, but who really cares in a racing game? Different planets are homeworlds to different players who know the landscape better than anyone. There’s a water world (no Kevin Costner jokes), a desert world, a lush jungle world, and an industrial world…all of which look spectacular. Since the vehicles are futuristic, you can bet your rear that you’ll be racing at tremendous speeds. And that’s without the turbo on. But to make the playing field even, you have opportunities to gather jewels which increase your ships shields and turbo capabilities. Why shields, you wonder? To protect you from the bombs, the missles, and EMPs of course. I admit, I bought this game on a whim because, as a racing fan, I felt neglected in the early days of the Xbox. Besides Halo, this is the only other game I will NOT loan out. So don’t ask me.

3. Seaman, Sega, Dreamcast. The name might scare you. The narration by Leonard Nimoy might scare you. And the lack of instruction might scare you. But once you start playing this game, you wonder if you’ll ever stop. You get an egg and are told to take care of it and make sure it hatches. Then, you are to take care of it like a pet. A pet Seaman. You control the temperature of the tank, when he gets feed, and the light. There are gauges to help you determine when and what you need to do, but besides that, you’re good to go. I suppose I must mention that you must communicate with Seaman with the microphone. Oh yes, you have to talk to your video game sea monkey. He will ask you questions and you can ask him questions. Sure there’s a rudimentary A.I. that recognizes certain words, but the first time you ask him about his past will be the day you will stare in awe as he explains to you his dreams. The more you talk to him, the more he will respond to you. He’ll get grouchy if you neglect him, and he’ll be happy when you nurture him. Just like a child. And if you have a child, you will see that Seaman grows up in the same stages as a kid. It’s strange and exhilarating at the same time. If you still have your Dreamcast, you can find this game anywhere that still sells DC games (especially used game stores), or online. And let me warn you, he will ask you what sex is.

2. Bust A Groove, Square Enix, PS . No, I didn't mean Bust-A-Move. It’s not a Parappa the Rapper sequel. It’s a cool dancing game for the PlayStation. You don’t use a pad, just your controller. You breakdance your way through stages, similar to a fighting game, in order to prove your prowess on the dance floor. Choose a character and get funky. As the music plays, button and directional configurations flash on the screen and hitting them correctly and in rhythm gets your guy/girl moving smoothly to the music. Hitting combos keeps him/her going and messing up makes you start over with the moves (the song keeps going). Since it’s sort of a battle, you and your opponent are dancing at the same time. If you start scoring combos, you’ll get a ‘me’ meter that will give you the spotlight the better you do. If you get this spotlight completely, you get the camera and you can freestyle for some insane points. It is challenging, but fun to see your character flow. Bust A Groove isn’t an easy game to find, but if you do, it’s worth the price. It is just plain entertaining. And besides, in breakdancing, it’s all about ‘me’.

1. Darkwatch, Capcom, Xbox/PS2 . I will admit that when you first play this FPS game, it feels like Halo. And for that reason, I think this game didn’t get a fair shake. You play Jericho, a cowboy in the Old West who’s slowly turning into a vampire. You have a chance to stop the turn and this is your quest in the game. Also, you have the opportunity to align yourself with Good or Evil, which determines certain paths in the game. The graphics are crisp and the controls, although similar in configuration to Halo, run the game perfectly. You have the basic Old West weapons, but you also have some supernatural powers you learn through out the game and you have ‘Bloodlust’, which is like night-vision in that you can see bad guys better and weapons that may be hidden. One negative is that the game is short…around 5 hours. There’s some replay value in the single player game, but you’ll want to check out the multiplayer as soon as you can. This game is only 6 months old, but is underrated and was undermarketed. Easily, a fine addition to your First Person Shooter library.

Thompson’s Two Cents

There you have it. My list of 10 games that you should play if you haven’t already. I tried to include games you can still get for systems that are still alive. (Leave the Dreamcast out of this). By no means are these the only games I recommend…

Hmmm, do I feel a sequel to this article coming?