Underrated games to chew on (or play)

Well, not chew on, because it might damage your teeth. Don't say I didn't warn you.

But, over the years I've played some great games. Then I decided to soak it up a little more and checked out the reviews, but they turned out to get shafted by the "pros" of video gaming. Really, these "pros" (reviewers) are no different than anybody that plays games and can form a complete sentence, a lot of the time. There's no excuse to give GTA 4 perfect 10/10 reviews almost across the board. Reviewers seem easily impressed, but a lot of the time they have unreasonable expectations for a game and review it based on what they think it should contain rather than what it actually is. It's lame. Srsly.

If you're looking for something new to play and want a review from somebody that actually plays the games and reviews them for what they are, here's a couple of games to chew on (or play):

Shadowrun (Xbox 360/Windows Vista)
Ctrl+Alt+Del did a comic about games being released on Vista, saying that doing so will all but alienate a huge chunk of PC gamers, so I think this title had a ball and chain around it's ankle the second it dropped. Cross-platform compatibility was huge for a multiplayer title but they butchered it by only making it Vista compatible. There apparently is a way to run it on XP, but that probably won't help considering nobody is going to go out buying a Vista-only game when they don't have Vista. Only a hardcore fan would download a crack to play it on XP, so you might get maybe 500 sales based on that.

I own the game for 360 and can say that it's a great game for what it is.

The main points of emphasis during reviews were negative points for not being anything like Shadowrun for the Sega Genesis, not having a single-player story mode, and apparently there were a few gripes about the game's graphics.

However, if you read any of the reviews, they'll come across one point - the gameplay is excellent. Well.. isn't that the point of playing a video game? This one boggled my mind and seriously became an anomaly among gaming when it came to reviews. "It has great gameplay, but we're going to give it a shitty grade." Erm.. ok?

The gameplay is excellent. I frequently refer to it as the most strategic and balanced first-person shooter I've ever seen. Not because it has lots of guns or because everyone starts with the same weapon, but because there's so many ways to play and there's no one "best" strategy.

For those of you unfamiliar with the game, it's a first-person shooter done in the style of Counter-Strike, where there are a set number of rounds and you use money to buy your equipment. Shadowrun features the use of Magic and Technologies to help you win battles, namely being able to ressurect dead teammates, summon a minion to help you fight, teleport through walls, run faster, aim better, etc.

It's really a unique take on the FPS genre.. too bad the game flopped and Fasa got shut down because there's a ton of potential here for sequels. But, again, the lack of success this game received was largely due to unjust, horrible reviews and stupid marketing decisions.

The gameplay is deep, original and addicting. Pick this title up if you're a fan of First-Person Shooter games. Much to the dismay of the reviewers, this game's online community is solid, and it shouldn't take long to find a match. There's bots, too, if you don't have online capabilities. The reviewers would have led you to believe that you can't play it by yourself, though, based on how little they actually tell you about the game.

Thief: Deadly Shadows (Xbox/PC)
When the first Thief game came out it was all the rage - people were marvelling about it's advancements in lighting technology, AI, originality in weaponry and gadgets.. it was a solid game and recieved well.

Thief: Deadly Shadows is the third installment in the series, and while it hasn't really evolved in terms of gameplay, it has added some new stuff and will satisfy anybody that played and enjoyed the first Thief game. It does seem a little dated by now but it was released over 4 years ago.

The concept of Thief is to.. well, steal stuff. But, the fun is not in stealing stuff, but rather moving your way through each level to achieve the goal (usually stealing a peice of loot that's important to the group of people asking you to steal it). There is a wide array of enemies, environments and challenges that loom ahead.

The kicker to this game is that it's a stealth game, where you must rely on limited resources and limited power to accomplish your goals. Your main weapon in the game is a dagger that takes several swipes to kill somebody, so a 1 on 1 fight with a guard will be a fair fight most of the time. Other items you can use are water arrows (to put out fires [light sources]), moss arows (to cover loud surfaces that you might need to walk over, as to not attract the enemy's attention, or you can hit somebody in the face with them and choke them.. haha), proximity mines, and several other cool items.

The other new aspect that Deadly Shadows introduced was a free-roaming world, which opened up new stuff to steal, new interactions and the ability to ally with factions around town to help you fight enemies. Really, it was just a step forward from the older Thief games which were, essentially Level 1, Level 2 and so on until the game was over.

Actually, I finished playing through this game for the first time just a few months ago and it's still a fun game. It's not going to be a wild FPS with tons of big guns, or magic or anything.. it's just a solid stealth game that really got looked over by a LOT of people. If you played the first Thief or enjoy any other stealth game such as Hitman or Splinter Cell, check this game out. You might need to find a used copy at your local game store or on the internet, but if you find it for 10 bucks, buy it. You won't be disappointed if crafty stealth games are your cup of tea.



So remember kids, review the games and play them for what they are, not what they aren't. Or else I might name you in my next entry! BEWARE!