Ten most UNDERRATED games of all time

[Zarniwoop]

Yes, I'm irritating. But, since I started the overrated I may as well make a positive thread as well.

As before, all this list is after is the biggest discrepancies between how a game was received and how good you actually found it to be.

Here's my list:

1. Anarchy Online. This game was/is criminally overlooked. Its also the most wonderfully complex, involved game ever made from a character development perspective. Also, its free to play for the first 200 levels if you don't mind leveling slower on RK then you would in SL.

2. Hellgate: London. This game is actually pretty good fun after patch 1.2 as it resolves most if not all the crashes and lag issues (at least for me). This one should have been a huge winner if they'd had another year to finish it.

3. Might and Magic VI. This game re-ignited the non-action RPG genre in the late 90s (1998). There was nothing to play in this genre for a couple years prior to this being released. It is old now and hasn't aged well graphically. But, I still find it as wonderful a game as I've ever played. I may go home and reinstall.

4. Heroes of Might and Magic II and III. This doesn't even show up on best 100 games of all times lists anymore. If anything it should be a permanant member of the top 10 club.

5. Dungeon Keeper. Sold acceptably, but doesn't garner near enough attention as one of the finest examples of game design ever.

6. No One Lives Forever 1 and 2. Absolutely a travesty that this didn't sell enough to continue. This is still one of the greatest shooter series ever made and its better than just about anything outside of HL2 that's been made since. If you haven't played this and you like interesting shooters, this is your game.

7. Wizardry 8. Not the greatest RPG ever made, but better than anything Bioware has made in years. But, hideously ignored on release because they didn't have a publisher. I'm guessing most people still have never heard of this game. If you're an old-school RPG fan, you could do a lot worse.

8. Age of Mythology. The best of the Ensemble RTS' in my opinion.

9. System Shock 2. Better in every way but modern graphics when compared to Bioshock, but like Thief games, almost no one played it.

[Technomancer]

Ohh! This is a good thread too!

Heroes of Might and Magic II is the only one of the 2 I've played (been on the lookout for III), and it is so much fun it's wrong! That game should totally be on any list! Dungeonkeeper was fantastic too! If nothing else, it earns mad style points for being one of the first (if not "the") first to turn good guy / bad guy roles on it's head like that.

I'm not sure if this first one counts, but it seems to be more of a cult game than a mainstay of the franchise:

Final Fantasy Tactics. As far as I'm concerned, this is one of the best videogames ever made by anybody ever. I know that the people who like it REALLY like it, but I'm not under the impression it's really the flagship game that it deserves to be. To me, this game is to Tactics games what Starcraft is to Strategy games: THE defining game of the genre.

and the other is simply obscure because it's from an indie company:

The Exile/Avernum series. To me, these games are the "Final Fantasy"s of PC gaming (well, PC/Mac ). They can be a bit primitive on the graphics, but from a gameplay/story perspective, anyone who likes old-school turn-based RPGs should play these games!! Exile is admittedly quite primitive, but the Avernum remakes and sequels are of epic greatness. HUGE worlds, TONS of NPCs, TONS of stories, and Jeff's dry sense of humor just tickles my funny bone!

[kavlor]

Ive played Wizardry 8 and M&M 6 not played prequals to either of them.I didn't take straight away to Wizardry 8 and left it for maybe a a few years but got back to it and completed it.Playe maybe 2 or 3 further sequels to M&M currently playing

A game I thought was really great but did not seem that popular Battlezone 2(C&C type game),played it lots of times skirmish maps and campaign and even installed a mod or 2.Multiplayer was interesting in co-op mode as you could assign vehicles to team mates and make wps for them to go to.By the way you could play in 1st/3rd person perspective and get into any vehicle you made,It was a more immersive game because of it.

[Flax]

HMM 3 is well worth picking up.
Probably the game i've bought the most times.
IE "Hmm what should we do ? i know lets play a game of hmm3. i wonder if i know where my discs are."
i guess it would be kosher to torrent it after buying it maybe 4-5 times but gold edition is kinda free

[Zarniwoop]

If you get HOMM3 make sure you get HOMM3 complete. The expansion packs make it really sing.

[nurman]

indeed. combo artefacts are awesome!

[Flax]

yeah if a bit OP tho.
making power liches instead of skeletons anyone ?

[nurman]

Wizard's drink is even more OP. Full mana after every day + expert air magic + that teleport spell 0_o

[Dreadjudge]

Two words. Demon's Souls

[Siege Valgore]

HOMM2 and 3 were two of my favorite games growing up. I played those at the same time I was playing Diablo 1.