Last Gen has been over for a while and the current gen is here and well under way. But its good to look back and remember some of the great games from last gen and some of the sleeper hits and undervalued games, that some of us may have just missed out on.
So there’s part 1 of my 10 most underrated games of last gen. (This list is in no particular order).
1. Mirrors Edge (PS3, Xbox 360 and PC) – Mirror’s Edge is a mixed hybrid of a first person parkour/free running, action platformer. It sounds like a terrible combination but in reality it works for the most part very well. The game is visually stunning, its beautiful with lots of colour, from vibrant red and lots of other bright colour. The game was frustrating at times especially during the combat which was a bit clunky and didn’t quite work. Mirror’s Edge is at its best when you just take it as a time trial game. Mastering the perfect run took a lot of time and effort as you had to learn from your mistakes and look for the ways to shave off a few precious seconds off your run.
2. Valkyria Chronicles (PS3 and PC) – Easily one of the PS3s greatest exclusives and one of the best JRPGs to grace consoles in a very long time in a genre which has been on the decline for a few years. So it’s a shame that the game went unnoticed, it sold fairly decent and got 2 sequels but the main reason it sold that good was because of the great word of mouth on lots of gaming sites and has such a passionate fan base that it later got ported to PC. Presentation of the game is beautiful and well crafted, the characters and art style is charming and the gameplay is fun and addictive.
3. Bayonetta (PS3 and Xbox 360) –Although the game looks rough around the edges Bayonetta has all the right curves in the right places. I’ve never seen such a game or character with such sex appeal and sexual confidence I’m not usually very fond of said games but luckily Bayonetta has easily some of the best hack n slash gameplay of last gen, its fast, fluid and combat is very deep, challenging and fun. The game brings new fresh idea to the table and mixes it up well with its slapstick humour.
4. Sleeping Dogs (PS3, Xbox 360 and PC) – Sleeping Dogs showed and proved its more than a mere Grand Theft Auto clone, when it took to the violent streets of Hong Kong last gen. The game had its own style and personality, plus it vastly improved on a few areas of GTA 4. The game focused much more on its story, and it got deep and personal at times, the story even made you question your own loyalties and what you would do in certain situations. Matching the great story events is the gameplay, straight out of a blockbuster Ku Fung movie.
5. Spec Ops: The Line (PS3, Xbox 360 and PC) – Although heavily criticised for being another generic military shooter, with a terrible online multi-player component. Spec Ops: The Line redeeming quality is without a doubt its strong narrative, story telling and it’s themes. Spec Ops surprised many because of the different direction in which the game went. The game inspired and influenced off the book by Joseph Conrad, called Heart of Darkness Spec Ops really drove home the gritty, horrible side of what war is a like. With events in the game open up for discussion and interpretation, plus 4 different endings, it goes to show that while mostly generic, its possible to innovative and bring something deep and different to the military shooter sub-genre.
This is part 1 of my 10 most underrated games, you will have to check back next week for part 2. Comment below 5 of your underrated games of last gen.
5 comments
Spec Ops is my jam! It’s in my top 3 favourite games that belong to a genre I don’t really like that much.
I’ve been meaning to grab Spec Ops since it came out but is just one of those games I haven’t got around to yet, mainly as I have a huge backlog to catch up on 😛 I loved the demo though! Remind me to grab it on Steam when there’s another sale! haha
Only other game on this last I played was Sleeping Dogs. I did enjoy it but was hoping it would be more like the true crime games back in the PS2 days, I believe it was originally a true crime game?
Man, I haven’t played any of the games on this list, I’m a disgrace. I almost played Bayonetta, but decided to go with Darksiders instead (a decision I do not regret). However, I do plan on playing the Definitive Edition of Sleeping Dogs very soon. It looks awesome: a free-roam game exploring a big city with kung-fu focused combat. Everybody loves kung-fu fighting.
Mirror’s Edge regaled a time for me like you said in another article when there was no such thing as re-play value, but I didn’t mind that at all. It was an entirely new concept in it’s own right and paved the way for many other franchises to dare to incorporate such loose but enjoyable mechanics into gameplay. I played it like I did Sonic the Hedgehog and recommend anyone to do the same.
Very truth Will, I agree with that . Sonic 1 and Mirror’s Edge can be played in very similar ways. I have high hopes for Mirror’s Edge catalyst, hopefully the game is big and with different ways and routes to explore.
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