Best little-known video games

[McFace]

Are there any video games that you absolutely love that a lot of people don't know about?

Mine are Phantom Crash and JSRF.

[animated_shadow]

Monster hunter the original PS2 game. I have put more hours into it than any other it's so awesome. Also, worms 2, open warfare on the DS. A really fun little game to kill time with.

[CaptainSarathai]

I don't play a lot of the "indy" games, but I have a few that are less common or are generally just underrated.

1. Resonance of Fate: probably falls most directly into your "little known" game, as it was unfortunately released right around the same time as FF13. It also looks a great deal like FF13, but I like it a lot better. The world map is a hex grid, and has a light puzzle mechanic where you lay down 5-hex figures to fill it in and move your party. Your party consists of the same 3 characters, who you can obviously level up. The combat is what takes the cake though - it's turn based strategy and your whole party is armed with guns. You pick a line that your characters will move along, and a primary target. Your character then runs along this line while you control the jumping, the shooting (via a timed attack meter) and switch targets. Cover is a huge part of the game, as well as weapon effects and monster/character abilities. It's an awesome game overall, very rewarding if you're into something a little more in depth than "Phase shifts" or whatever FF13 calls their 'live combat' bulls-t.

2. Midnight Club: an oldie but a goodie. Released for the 360, and overshadowed by the racing giants 'Need for Speed' and 'Forza'. I love both of the latter games, each for their own reasons, but lately NFS has become more and more like Forza (and failed) and left a gap in the less sim-style racing department. Enter Midnight Club. You get all of the "I almost know about cars but totally don't" upgrades like generic suspension, engine, etc. You can still paint your cars, throw on ridiculous bodykits, and make them look as silly or stylish as you want. And the racing still takes place in traffic. No, they physics aren't real, the skill set isn't as demanding as a Sim, but seriously - if I want to sweat my palms off, managing the throttle and clutch, keeping an eye on tire wear and fuel consumption, I'd just go race my own damn car (315whp Solstice - aka Opel Sportster for you Europeans). Midnight Club has everything from the last great open-world Need for Speed game, right down to the campy voice acting.

3. The Lord of the Rings: Conquest - remember that awesome Starwars Battlefront game? Remember how the same company did a Lord of the Rings version? No? What- you've never heard of it?! Okay then, after this, you'll want to go buy it. Think of everything exactly as you remember it from Battlefront, and then switch it to swordfighting and LotR classes. And this isn't just a ripoff - it's a very well thought out game. Your attacks are similar to combos from Tekken or Streetfighter, but simplified (somewhat). Still, 'combos are king' and if you get onto a good online server, the fighting is intense. The classes aren't obvious rips either - the Warrior has a throwing axe, sword, and the most health. The Mage attacks with either a bolt of lightning or a ring of fire, can create a forcefield bubble to shield himself and allies from magic and missiles, and can heal his comrades. The Scout has the longest combo meter, can turn invisible, throw bombs, and can instakill anything with a well-placed backstab. Archers can zoom to kill with headshots, deliver a quick punch to clear people out the way, and have a choice of several different arrows each with unique effects. Health is only regained by killing opponents, and you build up a "special" meter by attacking and blocking effectively. At face value it's a button masher, but a truly talented player will find that it's a very rewarding dueling game.

4. SSX: Snowboarding game. Turns most people off right away. But hear me out - if you love fantasy racing games like Wipeout or F-Zero, SSX is the craziest thing that you'll ever play. It's fast, highly visual, and you gain speed by performing grinds and slides along rails. The mountains are hazardous and part of the allure of the game is the feeling that every second your hurtle towards sea-level, you are narrowly escaping death. If you were into early Tony Hawk skater games for the tricks and wonder where all the craziness went, it pretty much got siphoned into SSX. You can do tricks that put you so high into the air that you actually grab or jump over the spotter-helicopter. You can do boardslides along the Great Wall of China. Finally, the online "multiplayer" works on a 'ghost' system, where a replay of your run is saved for other players to compete against in realtime. This means that you can have a rivalry with your friends without having to sign in at the same time. The biggest draw of the game is, in fact, competing against friends and fellow boarders to claim top spot on each mountain. Truly online play is leaderboard style "pay into the prize pool" limited time events, and the competition is intense. The fastest line, or best route for trick-opportunities, is almost scientifically calculated. The tracks are full of splits, shortcuts, and alternate routes, so it takes a keen eye to determine which trail down is going to help you the most. I have yet to meet a player who isn't addicted to this game after one or two runs.

[MDSW]

Cap'n - I do love #3 on your list!!

Mine would have to be a few silly PC games:

1. Lords of the Realm 2 - simple, complex, and outrageously fun. Build your economy, raise your army, keep your peasants happy and go destroy the Baron, the Countess, the Bishop and the Knight.

2. Darkstone - I think this old game simply outlasts and outshines ANY edition of Diablo. With 3 options of the story per level, you can play the game a dozen times and it will always be different. I just took a look at this game recently and it is amazing how well the graphics hold up on this.

3. Stronghold Crusader - Custom building your castle, raise your army and destroying your neighbor is great fun. What is neat about this is your option to keep your peasants in line through kindness or fear. I believe I have the second version and the 'extreme' version. Can also be played against your friends through Gamespy, etc.

[nacho cheese]

Star Fox 2 for the Super Nintendo.

[Blackheart]

3. Stronghold Crusader - Custom building your castle, raise your army and destroying your neighbor is great fun. What is neat about this is your option to keep your peasants in line through kindness or fear. I believe I have the second version and the 'extreme' version. Can also be played against your friends through Gamespy, etc.

Everything from Stronghold to Stronghold 2 for me. Simply awesome.

1 - Herzog Zwei.

2 - Pinata party.

3 - Crusader Kings which is right there with Europa Universalis and and Hearts of Iron. I admit that EU might be too main stream to put on this list but it's still a cult game.

4 - Any of the Romance of the Three Kingdoms.

5 - Warsong.

6 - Sim Hospital.

Star Fox 3D for the Super Nintendo.

@nacho cheese - I don't think that qualifies as an underrated game though, I mean that game was huge during it's time. I mean it won awards at the time and is on "Greatest games of all times" lists.

[CaptainSarathai]

Bethesda's "Pirates of the Carribean" [aka SeaWolf 2]
Yes, you heard that right - the guys who brought you the Elder Scrolls and Fallout actually did a game with Disney. It was the first PotC game to come out, and they pretty much just slapped the Disney label on the aforementioned SeaWolf or SeaDogs (can't recall which) and let 'er rip. It was awesome and I still play it heavily to this day, even if just for the naval combat.
It's an RPG, totally open world. You can run around on the different islands, buy things in the shops, take out loans, pick up quests, search for treasure, and hire crewmen. But best of all is the sailing and the battles. You have to keep an eye on the wind, and which direction your ship "runs" the best. On the world-map you really only worry about the tradewinds if you want to go fast, as you sail around "arcade style" like you do in Sid Myers. When you get to the world however (or, if you just want to sail in realtime) you have to deal with wind and sail-settings, as well as firing leeward if you're making a turn during battle. You can sail from 3rd person, or drop to the deck and sail in 1st person view and aim the cannons directly. You also get a fleet of up to 3 other ships, ranging from small cutters all the way to massive galleons and battleships. Boarding actions are quick and brutal regardless of your level, as you and your crew storm up to 3 levels of a ship and fight as you go. You have a pistol and your sword, the controls are simple but the actual fencing tactics are all spot on.
Moral is big in this game, you have to stop at port often to pick up new men as you suffer casualties or fire people for being Debby-downers. Ships sink, run out of ammo, take hugely expensive amounts of damage, and generally eat through your wallet in a hurry. The best way to make coin is actually to pick out the best trade routes and circle the map looking for fights (you start off as an enemy of the French and Pirates) and prey upon their shipping as you move from tradepost to tradepost.

Loads of fun, awesome graphics, and I don't know anyone who's ever finished the main story line. I know it's illegal and blah blah but you can usually torrent the game - I'm running it on an older Dell, and it runs smooth with decent loading times. There's a huge mod community for it now too, allowing you to get new ships, better looking models, change the appearance of your captain, and even renaming the islands to be historically accurate and changing the soundtrack to fit better with the action and the films.
I can't believe that I forgot this game, I just spent all night playing it. Definitely deserves a spot on the list!

[nacho cheese]

I'm sorry I meant to say Star Fox 2 that one was never released but I have a copy of it. Not to many people know there is one.

[Muse2k8]

Can't remember exactly what it's called... Rune Maker or something like that. Anyway it's pretty much a fantasy version of harvest moon

[animated_shadow]

Star wars bounty hunter for the GC. Pew pew!