The 10 Craziest/Coolest Games You've Never Played
The offbeat and beautiful PS2 game Okami was widely hailed as the best videogame of 2006. And nobody bought it. Such injustices are hardly rare. Below are 10 creative, ingenious titles that deserved much greater audiences than they found.
1. The Neverhood (PC, 1996)
An adventure game featuring stop-motion clay animation, The Neverhood was one of the first games published by Dreamworks Studios. Whether the rookie publisher dropped the ball in marketing the title or buyers simply had no interest, The Neverhood was unjustly overlooked. It did, however, spawn a sequel on Playstation, Skullmonkeys, though it met a similar fate. Want to pick up this inventive, hilarious game now? Be prepared to pay up to $100 on Ebay.
2. Rez (PS2, 2002)
Set inside the consciousness of a female god ruling over a computer network (still following?), Rez turned the tired shooter genre on its ear. And yet, few noticed. The game rewarded players for timing their shots to the techno music pulsing throughout the frantic, on-rails flight. Each of the game's five levels became progressively more bizarre, until the final stage took the player through a videogame tour of evolution. No big sales, no sequel, no justice.
3. Electroplankton (Nintendo DS, 2005)
Okay, so it's not really a game, but an interactive experience unlike any other on the DS or any platform. Developed by visual artist Toshio Iwai, Electroplankton demonstrated it's possible to become wrapped in a title that doesn't involve shooting, driving, punching or other gaming cliches. By tapping on the ten different forms of plankton, the player could create music, record voice samples and distort them, and a host of other unique experiences.
4. Ragdoll Kung Fu
(PC, 2005)
A fighter starring string puppets. That's the set-up for this humorous, simple, and addictive game developed on a whim by a designer who wanted a game adaptation for a cheapo kung fu video he made with friends. The result became a cult hit distributed through the Steam PC download service, and was released for sale at retail a year later. Still, most gamers have never heard of the title, and don't know what they're missing.
5. Dotstream
(Game Boy Advance, 2006)
Released in Nintendo's first wave of "bit Generations" titles for the GBA, Dotstream featured graphics that could have jumped off an Atari 2600. But that was the point. Each bit Generations title proved that a great game relies not on graphics but on fun gameplay. Dotstream embodied this ideal, and the few gamers who picked it up (available at retail in Japan, and via import shops everywhere else) were reminded that no amount of processing power can beat simple fun.
6. Voodoo Vince
(Xbox, 2003)
On its surface, it appears to be a typical adventure game, but since the hero is a voodoo doll, the player must poke, stab and crush the hero himself to defeat enemies. It's another example of creative developers taking a worn-out genre and reinvigorating it. Gorgeous graphics and clever humor added to the twisted gameplay, yet buyers stayed away. Anyone who complains of the lack of originality in games and doesn't own Voodoo Vince should be ashamed.
7. Peter Gabriel's Eve
(PC, 1997)
Part Myst and part music mixing software, Peter Gabriel's Eve immersed the player in a fantastical world where Gabriel himself appeared as Adam to guide you through the four worlds of Mud, Garden, Profit and Paradise. Along the way, clicking on visual clues unlocked video and audio snippets of art, which could be pieced together into unique compositions. Perhaps too perplexing in spots, the game nonetheless was a rewarding playground for creative thinkers.
8. Odama
(Gamecube, 2006)
Finally the game arrived for everyone waiting for a hybrid of the military strategy and pinball genres. The fact that no one asked for such a marriage was probably whey the game sold poorly, but Odama was the rare game worth picking up at the end of the Gamecube's life. How could you command units while hitting flippers, you ask? By shouting into the included microphone that attached to the controller, of course. Must be played to be believed.
9. Mister Mosquito
(PS2, 2002)
This title put the player in the role of everyone's least favorite insect in an attempt to steal blood from a the members of a bickering Japanese family. Each of your victims went about his or her daily activities while you swarmed around them trying not to be noticed, looking for the glowing sweet spots on their bodies. But even the voyeur factor (swooping down on the teenage daughter as she lounged naked in a bubblebath) couldn't get the game much love.
10. Psychonauts
(PS2 and Xbox, 2005)
A year before the brilliant Okami earned critical kudos but commercial indifference, the endlessly inventive Psychonauts paved the same trail. Great writing, story and voice-acting combined with inventive gameplay couldn't earn Psychonauts the sales it deserved, and its developer had to petition Microsoft to program backward compatibility for the title into the Xbox 360 in an attempt to eek out a few more sales. Buy it. Play it. Now.
SUBMIT THIS ARTICLE TO...
|
Gadgets & Tech
Real Tron Lightcycle + Other Concepts
10 Ways Videogames are Good for You
Crazy Stun Guns & Safety Gadgets
10 Strange Weapons in History
10 Best Audio Podcasts
Science & Nature
10 Biggest Explosions
Nicotine
Birds and the Bees
Cigarettes
Black Holes
People
U.S. Senator Barack Obama
10 Dumbest George Bush Quotes
Stephen Colbert
Steve Jobs, Apple CEO
Entertainment
10 Real-Life Super Heroes
Will Ferrell in The Landlord
Best Simpsons Quotes on Religion
The Final Harry Potter Book
Men and Women
The Male Body vs Female Body
The Male Brain vs Female Brain
SEX
10About Archive
The Digital Beat
LCD HDTVs:
- Samsung LN-32A550 32"
- Samsung LN-32A650 32"
- Samsung LN-37A550 37"
- Samsung LN-40A450 40"
- Samsung LN-40A530 40"
- Samsung LN-40A550P 40"
- Samsung LN-40A650A 40"
- Samsung LN-40A750R 40"
- Samsung LN-46A530 46"
- Samsung LN-46A550P 46"
- Samsung LN-46A650A 46"
- Samsung LN-46A750R 46"
- Samsung LN-52A530 52"
- Samsung LN-52A550P 52"
- Samsung LN-52A650A 52"
- Samsung LN-52A750R 52"
- Sharp Aquos LC52SE94U 52"
- Sharp Aquos LC65D93U 65"
- Sony KDL-46XBR5 46" Bravia
- Sony KDL-46W4100 46" Bravia
- Sony KDL-46Z4100 46" Bravia LCD
- Sony KDL-52W3000 52" Bravia
- Sony KDL-52W4100 52" LCD
- Sony KDL-52XBR5 52" Bravia
- Toshiba REGZA 47HL167 47"
- Toshiba REGZA 52LX177 52"
- Toshiba REGZA 52RV530U 52"
- MORE LCD HDTVS
PLASMA HDTVs:
- Panasonic TH-42PZ85U 42"
- Panasonic TH-42PZ800U 42"
- Panasonic TH-46PZ85U 46"
- Panasonic Viera TH-46PZ800U 46"
- Panasonic TH-50PX75U 50"
- Panasonic TH-50PZ750U 50"
- Panasonic TH-50PZ85U 50"
- Panasonic TH-50PZ800U 50"
- Panasonic TH-50PZ850U 50"
- Panasonic TH-65PZ750U 65"
- Pioneer PDP5010FD 50"
- Pioneer PDP5080HD 50"
- Pioneer PDP6010FD 60"
- Pioneer PDP6020FD 60"
- Pioneer PDP6070HD 60"
- Samsung FP-T5894 50"
- Samsung FP-T6374 63"
- Samsung PN-42A450 42"
- Samsung PN-50A450 50"
- Samsung PN-50A550 50"
- Samsung PN-50A650 50"
- Samsung PN-58A550 58"
- Samsung PN-58A650 58"
- MORE PLASMA HDTVS
