It was a good - but ill paced Zelda clone. So I could see why the combination of its original release on the maligned GameCube and it's inclusion of an Overweight Boar-man as a main character lead to its underwhelming sales figures.
The endeavor; however, got me thinking about all the good games I've played over the years that didn't quite achieve the market success they should have so I complied a little list of the 10 best games you've probably never played.
10. Dungeon Keeper -
This interesting spin on the sim/tycoon genre allows players to take on the reigns of a malevolent evil overlord as they build up an underground fortress of evil. The humor and gameplay DID allow enough sales to warrant a sequel, and murmurs of an mmo (lol) but not nearly enough as the clever offbeat game deserved.
9.Alpha Centauri - This 4X game has long heldthe distinction of being PC gamer's highest reviewed game of all time back when that meant something. (Its score of 98% was Later matched by Half-Life 2 and Crysis) Despsite that, this unique spin-off sold far less than any other entry in the Civilization Series. So much for trying to be different....
8. Viva Pinata - Ah, Rare. The most enigmatic of AAA game developers. With such exquisite smash hits as Golden Eye and Donkey Kong Country, they also have some pretty epic flops like Jet Force Gemini and this little gem that was part of Microsoft's goal of targeting a more family friendly audience. Don't be fooled by the cutesy graphics or the questionable cartoon tie-in; VP is a pretty decent strategy game. Part SimCity part Pokemon, you balance finite resources to keep your pinata's happy and find ways to help them "evolve" into more advanced species. The underlying morbidity of sending off your pinata pets to "parties" is great as well. They just seem to happy to be going off to get their innards beaten out of them. Sure to be a cheapo copy sitting at your local gamestop, go ahead and give it (or its sequel) a try.7. Planescape: Torment - Perhaps it was be
cause it was released during the dismal days of the late 1990's when it looked like the RPG genre was on its last legs, or perhaps it was the less recognizable Planescape license or the darker theme's that universe presents, but this game never did as well as it's engine sharing cousin Baldur's Gate. It was also a big part of the reason why its developer, Black Isle Studios, ended up going belly up. (moment of silence) Players took the role of "The Nameless One" on a quest to discover why he was immortal. The gameplay was also a lot more brain-y than most RPGs (especially these days) as you could progress through most of the game with stealth and/or clever use of conversation instead of simply hacking your way through enemies.
6. Donkey Kong Jungle Beat - Okay... this was a weird on, I'll give you that. Released shortly after the introduction of the barrel bongo controllers used for the rhythm drumming game Donkey Konga, this was no musical game. Instead players would use the drum controllers to guide Donkey Kong through a Donkey Kong Country-esque platformer. The real suprise, though, was it totally worked. The levels were designed to flow along, sort of like a well composed piece of music, and banging the drums actually gave you a decent workout. The game was also re-released for the Wii a while ago, but I doubt that waggling the mote would give you the same satisfaction as a good bang. (yeah, I went there.)
5. NHL 11 - This one is a little different than the rest of the games on the list and I am showing a bit of Canadian Bias here but this one is a personal pet peeve. Since the vast improvements made the EA's annual hockey series in the '09 edition the NHL games have been BY FAR the best sports video games around, yet they struggle to break the 500,000 copies sold mark. The tired and brainless Madden series; however, has no trouble being snatched up by chili-cheese-dog addled yankee doodle dandies every year. So much so that there is actually a noticeable effect on worker absenteeism when it launches every year. What is wrong with you people!?!?
4. GUN - Long before Rockstar dreamed of venturing into the Old West with their smash hit re-imagining and grand-theft-autoing of the Red Dead series there was a sandbox western game called GUN. While it lacked the extreme mellow-drama of Redemption it was actually a damn good game, and I have no real clue as to why it never became a hit. A lot of the missions played a lot more like an Old West movie than the floaty scripting style of Rockstar games can allow too. While you can tell by the graphics that it was released during the console 'tweener phase, you should still be able to get some enjoyment out of it at a rock bottom bargain price if you look hard enough.
3. Commander Keen - The name "ID software" for most conjures up fond memories of blasting nazi zombies or martian hell beasts in their famous FPSs games, Doom and Wolfenstien 3D, but before that, they got their start with a little platforming series known as Commander Keen. Humorous and engaging Commander Keen easily matched the early Metroid games for gameplay, but languished in the PC freeware wasteland of the early 1990's.2. Blast Corps - Oh, look, it is another Rare game.
I must like them or something. Blast Corps was an interesting title, and would probably have done a bit better were it not a N64 exclusive. Part puzzler, part racing game, part smash-the-fuck-out-of-buildings, it sort of brought to life every little boy's hot wheels fantasies. The plot made no sense, but the gameplay was epic, challenging and varied. I would say it was the best N64 game not containing Mario or Zelda in the title.
1. Kirby's Epic Yarn - Okay, yes. This is an odd choice for number #1. This is the most recent game on the list and has sold a crapton more copies than any of the others.... but taking into account the Wii's ubiquitousness (ubiquitocity?) this quaint title's sales figures are nothing short of shocking. While any game should be happy to sell almost 2 million units world wide, this is less than 10% of the totals of the Wii's version of the "New Super Mario Bros." which, while an excellent game, was barely more than port with new levels of the DS game of the same name.Again and again it seems games are punished by the consumer for being a bit different. There are notable expections (Portal anyone?) but on the whole video games are no different than any other entertainment industry. CSI:Nebraska's of the world will always have higher ratings than the Firefly's. Just the way it is.
-Brandon
