The most underrated video games of this generation

GGG: "The current generation of consoles has harvested a bumper crop of incredible games. From the cultural phenomenon of Grand Theft Auto IV to the cinematic luxury of the latest Metal Gear Solid, the number of high-profile releases has truly been staggering. It's therefore unsurprising that many worthy games have slipped through the cracks.

Some of these games were recieved well by critics, but were completely overlooked by the buying public. Others sold fairly well, but were unfairly dismissed by the games press. Whichever the reason, they all should have been bigger hits."

[Poseidon]

heavenly sword, infamous, demons souls, dark sector, call of juarez bound in blood valkria chronicals, folklore, warhawk and echochrome.

[Penno]

Demon Souls isn't underrated -- everyone who plays it loves it!

[handheldwars]

Yeah, and neither is Infamous. Prototype is extremely underrated though, imo.

[MariaHelFutura]

Prototype is a very bad remake of Hulk: Ultimate Destruction, nothing more.

[Poseidon]

just saying demons souls should get more attention, because the game is too damn good not too. my goty 2009, along with uc2

[mikeslemonade]

Portal, Mirrors Edge, Mass Effect 1, Prototype, and Fight Night Round 3.

[Commander_TK]

that the 6th generation is still running due to the PS2 still being in production

[RedDead]

DS is my Goty aswell. New Ip's usually don't get as much attention as sequels in anyway. Unless they have unbelievable graphics .

Prototype was fun I thought, it just got really boring after a while. You had crazy super human powers and the mini games were still boring

[Megaton]

How is Portal underrated? It has become a massively celebrated gaming icon. How many times have you heard someone say "the cake is a lie" since 2007? Still Alive has become one of the most famous game songs of all time. I've yet to meet a person who isn't excited for Portal 2.

Agree with Mirror's Edge and Mass Effect 1 to a certain extent, but Portal?

[MariaHelFutura]

Motorstorm:PR

[Poseidon]

forgot about that one, the motorstorm series is very underrated, give me an agree if you agree, and a dissagree if you dissagree )everyone) ;)

[FiftyFourPointTwo]

NO MORE HEROES. Both the first and the second. Seriously, the cast of characters especially the assassins, the music, the humor, the mood of the game etc. Suda made a gigantic mistake to make the franchise's debut on the Wii.

[Seferoth75]

Yeah cause it coming to PS3 and 360 and then selling less taught him a huge lesson as well. Niche games like that never sell well. You also must not know NMH outsold all his other games even those on PS2 with its much bigger install base.

While HD development is so high Heavnely sword devs call it a bomb at 1.4 million. NMH has over 500k and Suda threw a party to celebrate his most successful game and does not even acknowledge the PS3/360 gimped port.

Just another clueless Sony fan talking about things they know nothing about. You want to talk poor sales stick to all the quality AAA games on PS3 not the mediocre rail shooters on Wii that still outsell PS3 exclusives with higher ratings and better marketing.

[Colonel-Killzone]

Infamous and Demon-Souls are not underrated have you seen the review scores for them ? If anything Demon-Souls just should have sold way more then it already has done atm. It is truly a Rare Gem this generation.

[SephireX]

How is infamous underrated? It got great reviews right across the board. I've yet to hear anyone say they don't like infamous. Its one of the best open world games I've ever played.

[Tachyon_Nova]

Agree with most of your list. The saboteur was a really underrated game as well.

[ian72]

I agree, Saboteur is a very good game.

[magicwalnuts]

The Saboteur was a really underrated game, it was totally awesome. I agree with most of the games on this list Chronicles of Riddick: Assault on Dark Athena was one of if not my favorite game of 2009, but I also think Wolfenstein should be on here. Nobody gives enough credit to fun vanilla FPS's with cool guns.

[KozmoOchez]

The Saboteur silently put GTA to shame IMO. And no other game made me feel as bad@$$ as i did in Saboteur when i infiltrated nazi areas and blew up all their stuff

[Johandevries]

Absolutely agree.

[gtamike]

GTA4 was crap I would choose GTA San Andreas over it any day.

[Persistantthug]

GTA4 may have disappointed you since it didn't live up to what you wanted because you played the others and because of that, it didn't advance to your expectations,

But as a brand new user of the 3D GTA franchise (owned a Dreamcast and PC last gen), I can well say that the game was VERY good, fully deserving a 90'ish Metacritic score.
Very good graphics, good story, humorous characters, good play and driving mechanics, good music, and very good online modes, such as GTA RACING that's very reminiscent of ROAD RASH from Genesis days.

As a fresh new user with a brand new eye...GRAND THEFT AUTO 4 was one of the best games this gen.

[Seferoth75]

GTA4 was a step back from the series. Most of the disappointment comes from long time fans. Sure it was your first game so you have no clue how much was striped out that had been in previous games. It did not just disappoint them but many other gamers as well. I enjoyed China Town wars and Saints Row a hell of lot more.

[GrrrlGamerX]

By that rationale, Driver 3 could be the best game ever for somebody who never played a GTA-style sandbox game. You need to gauge a game's quality based on what came before.

[Persistantthug]

Your analogy of Driver doesn't quite follow through. I actually played the first Driver on the PS1....but if Driver 3 is good or bad, then I would be looking at it on its own merits....not as the previous games.

In my opinion, my fresh look and perspective is what it is, a NEW and FRESH perspective.
I had no bias, no wants, or desires for the game.....all I wanted was a good experience, and for all intents and purpose, that's exactly what GTA4 delivered....and with the online, it went beyond its "call of duty", so to speak.

Like I told the other guy, while the game may have disappointed you because you had expectations based on your previous dealings...that is your own biases.

There's no doubt GTA4 is a AAA quality game, and again, that's coming from a brand new, and fresh perspective.

[BattleAxe]

Stupid web site design.

[TheXgamerLive]

Thief III deadly shadows for PC and Xbox 1. Great great stealth action game, loved the story, graphics everything was great. Truly underrated and i can't wait until Thief IV comes out, it's been announced and ima bet Xbox 360 PC and PS3 will get it and i promise you will all love it.

[Penno]

Since when was Killzone 2 underrated? It did well commercially and got mostly top scores.

Gotta agree with Halo ODST though -- that game got savaged for the price tag alone.

[RedDead]

I rented Odst(no way was I paying that much) I finished it it one day on Legendary. It's really good I thought. The guns were much beter than H3 . And yeah what the hell? Everyone loves K2 including me.

[Prcko]

hev sword and infamous

[grumpysmurf]

Mercenaries 2? BWUAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAA!!!

[Alos88]

I found a wooden doll of the echochrome man at a charity shop, he's quite creepy at night though, just standing still in the corner like some mannequin.

[TenSteps]

did you try looking at him from a different perspective

[DelbertGrady]

Red Faction: Guerrilla.
Banjo: Nuts & Bolts.
Borderlands.

[NnT3291]

I agree with Borderlands. Most sites gave it an 8, I personally think It deserves more. I mean I cant think of any good FPS/RPG besides this game and Fallout 3.

[antz1104]

Borderlands was amazing and Red Faction Guerilla FTW! I still play both.

[jashmister]

wait.. WHAT people didn't like borderlands!? that game was amazing

[NnT3291]

The Darkness

[ThatCanadianGuy]

Great game.WAY underrated.

[callahan09]

I liked it when it first came out, but I went back to play it again a couple of months ago and for some reason just wasn't feeling it. The controls just felt all wrong and the graphics and presentation were really lacking. The game just didn't age well. We're still in the generation of its release and yet it already feels massively outdated to me, personally. Certainly not a timeless game. Some games are timeless, it doesn't matter how old they get they're still just as good as they ever were, but the Darkness is not one of them for me personally.

[Eric Cartman]

+1

The Darkness was one of the few games that totally exceeded my expectations. Very underrated. That game was created with passion.

[Xander-RKoS]

Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: The Crystal Bearers and Little King's Story. The first has a great story, fun and interesting characters, and a fully immersive and interactive world. The latter is stupidly creative bundling many genres together, exploring interesting themes ranging from political issues to religious issues (cleverly disguised mind you), and amazingly addictive once you get your kingdom going.

[emil1]

uncharted 1

[w00sta]

gave up after the 5th ad

[fredfenster]

Gave up after the first.

[Acquiescence]

Best Silent Hill game in years.

Glad to see Mirror's Edge as the first entry too. That game ages like a fine wine.

[Mutant-Spud]

Chromehounds.
Baja: Edge Of Control
The Saboteur.
Metro: 2033.
Yes to Little King's Story and Banjo Kazooie: Nuts n Bolts too.
Prototype had a pretty good story but it was too long and too repetitive, The Club had it's moments but Mirrors Edge made me want to Barf.

[Boody-Bandit]

I think Darksiders is a little under rated.
It's one of my favorite games released in the past year.

[Workshyskiver]

Banjo Nuts and Bolts is one of my favourite Games this generation. It is massively under-rated.

[chrisgay]

Couldn't agree more with ODST- definitely the strongest Halo in terms of narrative, characters and definitely gameplay. It was actually a lower priced game in the UK- £30 instead of the usual £40.

[rambler]

Nier.

Really is a quality game. Criminally underrated by critics.

[Lavalamp]

I was just about to post this. You're absolutely right. Nier is a great game.

[JakemanPS31994]

People are so hard on this game! i love it! yah i miss the weapon wheal but the co-op and competitive is what makes this game my favorite game of 2008. plus the single player is smarter and longer than mw2 plus the multi-player isnt laggy.

[magicwalnuts]

Awesome game, reminded me a little bit of the old X-Com games except with stereotypical anime story where everything was explained in exposition, still good though, the setting was very cool.

[will_c_75]

Civ Revolutions plays fast but without all the constant clicking it is easy to lose a quick couple hours. Mini Ninjas was just fun, it was so many different styles of games.

[ACEMANWISE]

There doesn't seem to be a huge relationship between great games vs sales or game scores.

The mass market accounts for the majority of gamers. This crowd is casual and really doesn't go looking for the scores. Just what they see on TV and that's affordable.

Game reviewers go with the trend. They will appeal to their audience and rate games based on what they think their readers value. I've seen this generation rate single player games lower because it didn't include an online feature. I've seen online games rated lower because it was glitched upon release (Socom) but not because a game didn't include single player (Warhawk). I've seen games like Halo get rave reviews no matter how many genres or spinoffs they create yet see highly critical reviews of other titles that attempted to do the same thing. This is why I don't rely on reviews or sales to determine my gaming purchases. I play them first.

[RedDead]

Odst is the only spin off though. H wars deserved what it got, it averaged around a 7 didn't it. It's a solid game.

[ACEMANWISE]

It's the only game in the series that interests me. I like RTS games.

[Venoxn4g]

brutal legend, riddick, madworld, mirrors edge.. and if not of this list, then..okami, viewtiful joe, god hand, excitebots, sin & punishment 2, silent hill:shattered memories, red steel 2..

[UnSelf]

you my friend, deserve a bubble

[CrzyFooL]

ALPHA PROTOCOL!!

[blib]

Deadly Premonition;

IGN giving this game a 2.0 is exactly why video gamers have to sift through remake after remake looking for a game that does something innovative. While the graphics are Dreamcast era, the characters, story, gameplay, sound, and fun factor are all as good as I've played in a long time. Cross "The Ring (DC)" with "Rent a Hero (DC)", and add a story that will engross and surprise anyone with half an imagination, and you have the sleeper hit of the year In my opinion. I'd give it a 8 out of 10, and it would have got a 9 had the graphics and AI been a bit sharper.

IGN can go F*#$ itself!

[TheMutator]

i want that game

[coolbeans]

Okay list, GTA IV being on there is a head-scratcher but others belong. I would disagree with Brother in Arms: Hells Highway, being a huge fan of the series. While for any Bros. in Arms fan, you'll find the SP to be top-notch with a great music score, story, gameplay, etc. but the MP is really atrocious in so many ways. Not only is it limited to only a 1 life per round gametype, it has bad framerate, and everything feels clunkier than SP does for some reason (needed more time maybe). I find its 7-ish average to be spot on overall.

[gumgum99]

As far as Sonic games go, I'd say Sonic Unleashed was very underrated. The Werehog was not perfect, but it was far from broken. Also, it gave us some of the most beautiful, fun Sonic daytime stages in years, and is lightyears above the 2006 disaster on a technical level. The game still sold well though, so it doesn't matter.

There were a lot of Underrated games this generation thus far. I highly agree with Mirror's Edge. It really was a fun game from what I played from the demo, and one of the more rarer occasions where EA actually pt out a original IP on a relatively high budget; something you hardly see anymore from big third parties.

[TheMutator]

mehhh i still crying about Lost Odyssey a very underrated gem

[PlayerX]

Tales of Symphonia: Dawn of the New World
Little King's Story
No More Heroes
No More Heroes 2: Desperate Struggle
Madworld

[PlayerX]

And Dokapon Kingdom

[Azianphil88]

Heavenly Sword
Stranglehold
Siren Blood Curse

[sanshatak]

metro 2033 was a very underrated game for just a few glitches(much fewer than rdr)and bad stealth,a verry good game,awsom story,awesome graphics,good gameplay,best atmosphere,and really really original and unic.if it could fix these problems it would get now lower than 91 s

[csimpson]

Meh, I didn't think it was that fun to be honest.

[grumpysmurf]

Blur should definitely be on that list. Great, great arcade racer.

[Spenok]

Though there are some underrated games in this list, there are also some just flatout crappy games.

[hatchimatchi]

Resonance of Fate
Deadly Premonition
Folklore

[Anon7349]

Siren blood Curse
Valkyria Chronicles
Blazblue: Calamity Trigger
Persona 4
Madworld
NIER
STALKER
STALKER C.O.P.
No More Heroes 1/2
Darksector
Folklore
A boy and his blob
Resonance of Fate
Monster Hunter Tri
Mirror's Edge
Heavenly Sword
Lost Odyssey
Disgaea 3
Monster Hunter Freedom Unite
Agarest of War
Bayonetta

There are many others too, mostly on the wii and PC though where games don't get as much as attention compared to PS3/360 where they often overrate their games. Also lots of them are multiplats to PS3/360 that don't get as near as much hype just because they aren't exclusives.

[GrrrlGamerX]

Hmm, so what game was the most overrated this generation?

[EXID]

hmmm... wii sports?

[IKONACLYSM]

Lost Oddysey and Eternal Sonata awesome jrpg's

[Koromaro]

bubble to you sir for eternal sonata

[the_kutaragi_baka]

praticaly all games of PS 3.

[Strider_X9]

I need to pick up Eternal Sonata, alot of people have said it's a really good game. I also saw Nier for £15 in a local shop, I might get that to, as the story is meant to be excellent.

Is Motorstorm Pacific Race good anyone? I thought the first game was a laugh, it just lacked a few modes in single player.

[arakouftaian]

The gameplay is always changing its really scary the history and pace is great
a really great game.

[rlm42]

Fable 2.

[DATNEWYAWKER]

Dark Void
Uncharted: Drakes Fortune
Heavenly Sword

[GrrrlGamerX]

Good to see DJ Hero on this list. Sooo looking forward to the sequel.