Some Hidden Gems of Gaming – Article

Games you may have missed… We feel it’s important to ensure our readers don’t miss out on any gaming gems and that they are alerted to those titles that, as gamers, they really should own—or at the very least play. This article will serve to highlight those particular releases that brought something different to the realm of gaming and that, perhaps, didn’t get the overall media hype they deserved or slipped unnoticed onto retail shelves due to other high-profile releases. If you missed them, you may well wonder why. So here are those ‘hidden gems’ of gaming that slid beneath the quality radar, but should still be tasted belatedly rather than not at all:

Band Brothers/Daigasso Band Brothers
There’ll be a few ‘import’ titles in this article seeing as gamers who don’t import will obviously have missed them. Daigasso Band Brothers is a rhythm game on the Nintendo DS platform. As with most games in this genre, it’s a case of hitting certain buttons or other on-screen prompts in time to the music. Although this game is a Japanese release, there’s nothing to stop the non-Japanese gamer from enjoying its delights. Menus are easily accessible and the game itself requires no prior knowledge of the Japanese language in order to play it. If you’re a fan of these sorts of games, you could do much worse than Daigasso Band Brothers.
Full Review of Daigasso Band Brothers here.

Batman Begins
It’s refreshing to see a publishing and development team so intent on accomplishing a true gaming extension of the inspiration material. To this end, EA and Warner Interactive should be suitably proud of Batman Begins for its successes, and even its near misses—for there are a few. But, perhaps more importantly, they should rest assured that Batman Begins contains no detracting failures within a package that, like its Hollywood big brother, admirably revives and redefines the Batman franchise. Batman Begins was released in mid 2005 on Xbox, PlayStation 2, GameCube, PlayStation Portable, and Game Boy Advance.
Full Review of Batman Begins here.

Beyond Good & Evil
This game is a strange one, as gamers all know it exists, purely by word of mouth. It was released around the same time as one of the Splinter Cell titles and therefore failed to grab the advertising limelight, unlike its stealthy Ubisoft counterpart. It’s a title with great characterisation and depth, not to mention a compelling storyline that showcases some fantastic graphics and sound. In the game you play as female protagonist Jade, out to save her people from a huge conspiracy and the domination of an alien species. The game was released across various formats, including Xbox, PC, PlayStation 2, and GameCube back in late 2003 and is well worth a purchase.
Full Review of Beyond Good & Evil here.

Black
Some gamers may see Black as an FPS wet dream and an exaggerated foray into mindless destruction without evolving motivation. But, as a gaming experience, it’s not mindless; no, it’s cleverly crafted to realise its goals without ever stretching beyond its ambition, which is to be a fun-filled representation of all that is good (and has been so neglected in recent shooter iterations). It is rousing and highly charged fun from the moment you embark on the first mission, and it never ceases to be so. Black is, quite simply, a white-knuckle FPS orgasm. Game released on PS2 and Xbox in early 2006.
Full Review of Black here.

Doshin the Giant
Another odd little title from the land of the rising sun. If the premise of a giant yellow god named Doshin isn’t strange enough for you, this title will have the average gamer scratching their head and thinking “what the!” more often than not. At its very core Doshin the Giant is a God game. Doshin is both servant and God to the natives of Barudo Island. The aim of the game is to get the villagers to build monuments to you. What made this title so awesome on its release were the real-time environmental changes that you could perform as Doshin, such as flatten ground and change the geography of your island. A lot of games do this now, but at the time it was a pretty big deal. Doshin isn’t the best game in the world, but it isn’t on this listing because it is, it’s here because it’s worth a look and you may well have missed it. It was originally released on the Nintendo GameCube in 2002.
Full Review of Doshin the Giant here.

Eternal Darkness: Sanity’s Requiem
A survival horror title on the GameCube platform may seem a little strange, but this title was truly amazing; it didn’t do so well in terms of retail sales, which is a real shame because it was a fairly innovative addition to the survival horror genre. The game utilised a really cool sanity effect that would see your character suffer hallucinations and other nastiness the further into madness they went (quite Lovecraftian). It also had a storyline that covered about 2000 years and enabled the player to use characters from each era. If you’ve got a GameCube kicking around and you’d like something with a little more bite than Pokemon and Mario, look no further. This brilliant title was released mid 2002.

Gregory Horror Show
This is a PlayStation 2 title you may have missed; it was released way back in 2003 and features some of the weirdest gameplay moments ever. You find yourself at Gregory House, an odd little hotel with some very strange inhabitants, but what you don’t realise is that Gregory House is a Hotel for lost souls. It is your task as the protagonist to steal the souls of the guests, all of which can be found dotted throughout the hotel in bottles. The story is deeper than this though, with the souls already previously stolen, so you’re doing a good deed whilst helping yourself and thus gaining your freedom from Gregory House. Plus, you’re helped during the game by none other than Death himself. It’s weird, quirky, and one heck of a game. To top it off, Gregory Horror Show was a budget title on release, so it can now be picked up for a mere pittance.
Full Review of Gregory Horror Show here.

Hulk: Ultimate Destruction
Graphically and aurally, Ultimate Destruction is thoroughly impressive, yet its high-end aesthetics happily, and quite rightly, take a back seat for the sake of simply fabulous gameplay. Across the course of the game, and amid Hulk’s ever-expanding arsenal of attacks, nothing comes close to the immense satisfaction taken from leaping high into the air with a truck and launching it ferociously at an enemy directly beneath. The sense of breathless inertia is fantastic as Hulk lingers at the top of his jump and the truck thunders down towards its distant target. The game is crammed with these moments of player joy. Simple and effective, Ultimate Destruction encapsulates the very essence of quality gameplay. Excellent. Released in mid/late 2005 on the Xbox, PS2, and GameCube.
Full Review of Hulk: Ultimate Destruction here.

Ico
Okay, so most gamers know about Ico on the PlayStation 2; it has duly garnered a sort of cult status all its own (as have a few titles mentioned herein), but there may still be people new to gaming who’ve sadly missed out on its brilliance. The game has an almost ethereal quality to it with the main protagonist being a young boy who must rescue a princess and escape from their surroundings. The creatures in this, in fact, the graphics quality overall really need to be experienced, as does the wonderfully orchestrated soundtrack. It can truly be described as beautiful. The ‘sort of’ sequel ‘Shadow of the Colossus’ got a lot of media coverage and did (to some degree) manage to capture a similar sort of magic. Ico was released in late 2001/early 2002 dependent on locale.

Indigo Prophecy (aka Fahrenheit)
Although most gamers ‘in the know’ heard about and even bought this title when it was first released, it had a feel of the ‘Beyond Good & Evil invisibility’ about it. That is to say, it was a brilliant release to those quick on the uptake, but swiftly made its way to bargain bins galore. It’s such a shame when this happens, but that’s why we’re here. Indigo Prophecy featured a compelling action/thriller storyline and a whole new control mechanic that really added to the game’s overall playability. If you are looking for something different on your PS2/PC/Xbox, then Indigo Prophecy is a worthy investment. Released late in 2005.
Full Review of Fahrenheit here.

Legend of Kay
A wonderful cartoon story of good vs. evil, Legend of Kay is set in the world of Yen Ching, a peaceful place where all creatures believe in ‘the way’. Life is good and the rabbits, cats, pandas, and frogs all live in peaceful harmony, until complacency sets in and certain villages stray from the path of ‘the way’ and evil gorillas invade. This is a third-person platform game where you play as Kay, a ninja-styled cat out to save his people. It’s beautiful to look at and a lot of fun to play, but best of all it can be picked up cheap on the PS2 as it was released in early 2005. If you haven’t played it and enjoy fairly simple platform romps, you could do worse than Legend of Kay.
Full Review of Legend of Kay here.

Mad Maestro
Okay, so it’s another music game—there are quite a few here aren’t there? Mad Maestro! sees you take on the role of an orchestra conductor, but instead of the usual pop style found in many music rhythm titles, Mad Maestro! differs because it features classical music. Mad Maestro! doesn’t have much of a story to it but it instantly grabs you and you’ll soon find yourself wanting to keep playing. You play through various levels, starting with a small audience and working your way to the final big concerto in the town hall. You can get this game amazingly cheap now as it was released on the PS2 in early 2002.
Bullet Review of Mad Maestro here.

Medal of Honor: European Assault
Medal of Honor: European Assault is a fine example of FPS action. EA’s decision to distance the franchise from the stilting influence of closely confined conflict through the application of expansive battling proves its worth in a game of tension and prolonged immersion. The very success of Frontline spawned the resulting failure of Rising Sun; we can only hope that the solid gameplay evident through European Assault becomes a laurel for inspiration rather than reliance. Released mid 2005 on all home console platforms.
Full Review of Medal of Honor: European Assault here.

Osu! Tatakae! Ouendan!
Released on the Nintendo DS, here we are with yet another Japanese rhythm title. This one, as with Daigasso Band Brothers, is simple to navigate despite it being in Japanese. The title revolves around different stories, all of which contain someone who is having a problem and needs the help of three male cheerleaders—yes, ‘male’ cheerleaders. The title literally translates as: Go! Fight! Cheer Squad! And the gameplay involves the player tapping on-screen prompts in order for the cheer squad to move to the music and save the character from trouble or distraction. The stories accompanying the different scenarios are relayed in comic style on the DS’s top screen, whilst the cheer squad and prompts are shown on the lower touch screen. It’s a well-polished title and a must for lovers of the music game genre. Released in Japan mid 2005.
Full Review of Osu! Tatakae! Ouendan! here.

Uno
A card game? Who cares? Boring! On the contrary, dear gaming friends, Uno is a masterpiece of what gaming should be like on Xbox Live Arcade. It’s simple to pick up and play, fairly stress-free and, most importantly, it’s fun. The idea of the game is to get rid of all of your cards before your opponents do. Get down to one card, shout “UNO!” and hopefully place your last card before anyone else—it’s that simple. Uno has been around in its card form for many, many years, truly taking hold in the 1980s and being released in various forms since then. If you have an Xbox 360, but you haven’t downloaded this title yet, then wait no longer, it’s worth the expenditure and is even fun in single-player mode.
Full Review of Uno here.