Along with loving the movies, I’m also a keen gamer, although I think I tend to go for some games that aren’t all that widely recognised by the masses. Underrated here might mean what it means, or just that it’s not well known and it deserves to be more acknowledged in society.
So here are some of what I think are the best underrated or underloved games ever.
Monkey Island (Saga)
The Monkey Island games are part of a rarely seen genre that has all but died out. The adventure game involves controlling a character who must collect various items and use them to solve puzzles which are usually in the form of obstacles stopping them from proceeding in whatever quest they are involved in. A boss battle might involve talking the enemy down and tricking them into destroying themselves rather than a plain shoot out.
In Monkey Islands case it involves taking punches until you find a secret weapon to use against the evil ghost pirate LeChuck. Ghost pirate? That implies he became a pirate after he died. Not true though. He was always one of the most fearsome pirates in the Caribbean.
And yeah, the games were loosely based on Disney’s Pirates of the Caribbean ride, but the Pirates movie did steal a lot of ideas from MI. Although I heard that the Pirates movie has so many similarities because it was originally meant to be the Monkey Island movie, but producers decided the more well known Pirates ride was a more money making theme.
So yeah, the game. You play as Guybrush Threepwood, who wants to be a pirate, does trials to become one involving sword fighting, thievery and treasure huntery and makes an enemy of the baddest undead dude on the seas. Now there are five games in the series. The fourth is a bit of a low point, but the rest can’t be beat.
The humour is easily the best thing about these games, as well as the satisfaction when you solve a particularly difficult puzzle. The characters are lovable, interesting and memorable. Everyone has their favourites. If you’re into quotable lines, they are abundant.
Another good thing is that you can go at whatever pace you like. In these games it is next to impossible to die. You have to try pretty hard, and it can only happen in two places if I remember right. The only downside is sometimes it can get pretty frustrating if you can’t figure something out. But as I say, it makes it all the more satisfying when you manage it.
It seems to have a pretty good cult following, but it deserves so much more, it should have had that movie.
If you check this one out, or you already know about it, some others worth playing are ‘Day of The Tentacle’, ‘Sam and Max Hit the Road’, ‘Grim Fandango’, ‘Simon the Sorceror’ and ‘Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis’.
Crash Team Racing
Now anyone could tell you that this is one of many Mario Kart clones, but this… this one leaves it in the dust.
I’ve never been into racing games, not even Mario Kart particularly, but I can’t get enough of this game. It’s the one game I played enough to become unbeatable at. We used to play tournaments and no one could touch me. Even if they would play as the best characters like Penta Penguin and Ripper Roo and I played as the faggotty polar bear as he became affectionately known.
The reason for this is that IT WAS SO GOOD! The speed you can go outstrips Mario’s performance, with a number of ways to increase your boosts that can have you hurtling at more than full speed throughout entire tracks.
Theres a large number of tracks, all varying in styles, with different traps, pitfalls, short cuts making for an interesting race every time.
Then you’ve got the weapons. There’s nothing like flying through the air with Aku Aku’s ramming speed knocking others out of the sky while you shoot down others with your triple rocket launcher. Then smash open another box, pull out a seeker orb of doom and blow up anyone who survives.
Then once you’re in front leave behind you a trail of destruction with TNT, Nitro crates and poisonous potions.
Tactically placing things in narrow corridors and taking out larger numbers is always fun. Just watch the gap between first and second place grow to a lap and laugh maniacally.
At the time too it included all but two or three of the Crash Bandicoot series characters, which meant you were pretty likely to find a favourite. Who cares about Koala Kong anyway?
Now of course the first three Crash games are classics, and that is exactly why they aren’t in this list, but Crash Team Racing is probably my favourite of the series, with Crash 3 WARPED a close second.
Ape Escape 1-3
I don’t know many people who have played these games. I think they get palmed off as kid stuff.
My word. These games are awesome.
To start with you already have the premise of having to chase monkeys with a net.
They then crank up the wackiness by giving some of the monkeys guns and sending them through time. Chasing armed monkeys while a T Rex chases you? Genius.
In Ape Escape 2, the theme changes from time travel, but the craziness is still fully intact. The monkeys are getting space ships now, and one of them even thinks he is Boba Fett.
In AE 3, the monkeys decide that its time to start makin movies! Each level is themed on a film or genre, and as you progress you get the ability to transform yourself into a knight or ninja or superhero each with their own mad theme tunes.
The other layer to it is the gadgets. As with most platformers, there is a puzzle element to the game. And you usually solve it by using one of the wacky gadgets that you have unlocked, including remote control cars, a hula hoop that somehow makes you run faster, a punching glove on a spring and a handheld propelor.
I’m pretty sure that some of the skill in these games would be far too tough for the kiddies. Especially when you have to catch the monkeys in a time limit.
The second game introduces five boss monkeys, the Freaky Monkey Five. They are some of the wierdest characters I have ever seen in anything. Especially Yellow Monkey. I still don’t know if it’s male, female, both or what. Is it gay? Is it a big gay yellow cross dressing ballerina monkey? I think it is.
Spartan: Total Warrior
The guys who made this game were the same people who did that tv show where you were supposedly fighting as a general in a simulation of real historic battles that didn’t last very long because everyone realised it was just a computer game that was later released called Total War. Total War branched out to create Total Warrior, a game along the same lines that focused on an individual.
It seems that everyones favourite Spartan warrior in games is that Kratos from God of War. And fair enough, good game good game. But this one, I feel, had a bit more of a tactical element in it to Kratos hack and slash approach. I’m not saying I prefer it. But it’s great in its own way.
You get to fight alongside the Spartan army in some of it which is fun, but a lot of the time you will also be on your own, proving your worth as a one man army.
Special moves involve decapitating anyone who is in a two meter radius of you. I say anyone, your character is clever enough to know who is friend and who is foe. That takes some skill!
You get the obligatory mythic monster battles too, including Talos, the Minotaur and the undead among others.
The thing with this game though is, that you have to get bloody good at it to get on. Some of it is bloody hard. The one level that sticks in my mind is the one where you have to escort Archimedes through a city full of Roman centurions who want to kill him and you. He also seems to have a deathwish despite asking you to protect him. He’s not the type to wait behind until you clear the way. He prefers to run into the middle of the enemy and run around attracting their attention as best he can, while you muster all your skill and power to take them down as quick as you can.
So hard, but so satisfying when accomplished.
I’ve tried picking the game up recently, having not played it for some time and went into a later level. Being out of practise meant being dead.
It’s got a nice out of story mode though, where you can pick your army, and pick an enemy army and battle it out, obviously with Spartan Total Warrior dude leading the assault.
I don’t think I’m selling this one well, but trust me. It’s good fun. Unless you hate being frustrated while gaming.
I tend to think it’s part of the experience.
Originally Published 22 February 2010
