Non-hyped games you played that turned out awesome

What are some of the games that you played that you really didn't know much about that turned out to be awesome? I would have to say:

1. Thief- played the Demo from a PC GAMER disc around 10 years ago and thought it was cool. Heard nothing about the game before that. Got the game and it turned out to be a freakin masterpiece. In my top 3 games of all time.

2. System shock 2- About 10 years ago also, I did read where it was an amazing game but after playing it....I didn't realize it would be one of the most innovative, immerse, down right brilliant games that it was. No game surpasses the quality of SS2....(in my top 2) except.......

3. Half life- what can I say about the greatest game to ever grace the dusty shelves of my closet. The only thing I knew about this game before playing it was the title was cool and the box art was wicked. After playing, well it goes without saying. Nothing tops it.

Others-

Return to castle Wolfenstein-awesome single player and more fun multi-player than any other game (along with Enemy territory)

Tron 2.0-Dont laugh, good game........

Star wars Jedi outcast-first star wars game. Very pleased.

UFO Afterlight - I enjoyed this game a huge amount. Brought me back to the days of X-COM Apocalypse, that one did. I can't believe that Gamespot only gave it a 6.6 on the review. This game is about a 9.0 for me.

Psychonauts - I am one of the few people who love platformers on PC. This is a great game.

Serious Sam 2 - This is another game that got an undeserved bad review. I enjoyed it even more than the first Serious Sam. We need more crazy fast-paced shooters with hundreds of enemies on screen at once.

I guess STALKER was low hype, I come to GS to get game suggestions, so all of my games are hyped a little. I don't want to waste my money, so I only buy games rated 8.0 and above, unless there are other reasons for my purchase.

The Witcher:

Never heard anything about it before release and read some bad reviews for it. Decided to take the risk and buy it anyway. Despite some flaws I still enjoyed it a lot and don't regret having bought it.

Mafia:

Bought it when it released and it exceeded my expectations. Looking forward to the sequel now.

Universe at War: Earth Assault - Fantastic little RTS gem with three unique races (love the Hierarchy!) and some great units.

Act of War: Direct Action - Superb modern/near-future RTS about... Russians, Americans, Terrorist and Special Forces and a unique take on resources. Still, great fun and more enjoyable than the similar (and more widely regarded) C&C: Generals.

Star Trek Armada I and II - Being a Star Trek fan, a Science-Fiction nut and a massive RTS fan, I found these two of few truely enjoyable Star Trek games. (The others being Bridge Commander, Starfleet Command and Elite Force I/II)

Homeworld I, Cataclysm and II - Although lots of RTS fans know of them, they were never truely hyped to a great degree, IMO and it's a shame. Homeworld is the best RTS I've ever played, and Cataclysm and 2 were massive fun. HW2 still having some amazing visuals by today's standards.

Galactic Civilizations 2 - Granted, I'm not a massive fan of TBS, but these games are amazing and should get far more attention then current. The same goes for the other title, Sins of a Solar Empire.

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Star Trek Armada I and II - Being a Star Trek fan, a Science-Fiction nut and a massive RTS fan, I found these two of few truely enjoyable Star Trek games. (The others being Bridge Commander, Starfleet Command and Elite Force I/II)

Homeworld I, Cataclysm and II - Although lots of RTS fans know of them, they were never truely hyped to a great degree, IMO and it's a shame. Homeworld is the best RTS I've ever played, and Cataclysm and 2 were massive fun. HW2 still having some amazing visuals by today's standards.

Galactic Civilizations 2 - Granted, I'm not a massive fan of TBS, but these games are amazing and should get far more attention then current. The same goes for the other title, Sins of a Solar Empire.

Doom_HellKnight

Those games were great, especially homeworld and gc which are amongst my all-time favorites games.

Blade of Darkness, Hexen, Deus Ex, Shadow Warrior, Duke 3d, Unreal Tournament, Disciples 2,GTA3

Too many to count. PC has tons of great games with absolutely no hype. That's also why console gamers say that PC gaming is dying. They are used to hype games to death and more than often are disappointed with the result.RK-Mara

I cant agree more.

Somethimes i ask myself "why do we care about what 12 year old console noobs think?"

Too many to count. PC has tons of great games with absolutely no hype. That's also why console gamers say that PC gaming is dying. They are used to hype games to death and more than often are disappointed with the result.RK-Mara

i totally agree ..... there are so many good games which almost majority of the gamers have never even heard of

Half-Life wasn't hyped?

For me, I played the original Counterstrike when it was in its infancy and thought it was great. Little did I know it would turn inot the most popular online FPS ever.

The Ship most definitely. It didn't have much hype, but the gameplay is just a blast! It is really an innovation. There is still nothing like it in the market. It is a game of hunt and murder. You must hunt a player specified to you, but be careful as someone is also hunting you!

www.theshiponline.com

http://www.steampowered.com/v/index.php?area=app&AppId=2400&cc=FI

You need to check this!

Pretty much every simulation game ever. IL-2 series, Silent Hunter series, Flight Simulator series, etc...grassdream

Ah yes, IL-2. When I get a new joystick, it's definitely a game I want to play again.

Agree, TRON 2.0 is an awesome game.thusaha

Amen. I came in this thread just to post this game.

Half-Life wasn't hyped?

For me, I played the original Counterstrike when it was in its infancy and thought it was great. Little did I know it would turn inot the most popular online FPS ever.

Xavier_12

Universe at War: Earth Assault - Fantastic little RTS gem with three unique races (love the Hierarchy!) and some great units.

Act of War: Direct Action - Superb modern/near-future RTS about... Russians, Americans, Terrorist and Special Forces and a unique take on resources. Still, great fun and more enjoyable than the similar (and more widely regarded) C&C: Generals.

Star Trek Armada I and II - Being a Star Trek fan, a Science-Fiction nut and a massive RTS fan, I found these two of few truely enjoyable Star Trek games. (The others being Bridge Commander, Starfleet Command and Elite Force I/II)

Homeworld I, Cataclysm and II - Although lots of RTS fans know of them, they were never truely hyped to a great degree, IMO and it's a shame. Homeworld is the best RTS I've ever played, and Cataclysm and 2 were massive fun. HW2 still having some amazing visuals by today's standards.

Galactic Civilizations 2 - Granted, I'm not a massive fan of TBS, but these games are amazing and should get far more attention then current. The same goes for the other title, Sins of a Solar Empire.

Doom_HellKnight

i'm not sure about many of the games mentioned here.....alot of them were quite anticipated by genre fans even before release.

the way i look at it, there're really not many low-profile games in the industry that turn out to be much greater than they seem. the ones that even have the slightest potential would invariably draw the attention of media and fans alike. nowadays, if you are looking at a REALLY non-hyped game, the chances are good that the game is crap.

i'm not sure about many of the games mentioned here.....alot of them were quite anticipated by genre fans even before release.

the way i look at it, there're really not many low-profile games in the industry that turn out to be much greater than they seem. the ones that even have the slightest potential would invariably draw the attention of media and fans alike. nowadays, if you are looking at a REALLY non-hyped game, the chances are good that the game is crap.

Jinroh_basic

Pshyconauts.Great game great game.wackys

Definitely agree with that.

The Ship most definitely. It didn't have much hype, but the gameplay is just a blast! It is really an innovation. There is still nothing like it in the market. It is a game of hunt and murder. You must hunt a player specified to you, but be careful as someone is also hunting you.

www.theshiponline.com

http://www.steampowered.com/v/index.php?area=app&AppId=2400&cc=FI

You need to check this!

Herrasmies

Beyond Good and Evil. flipin_jackass

Blade of Darkness, Hexen, Deus Ex, Shadow Warrior, Duke 3d, Unreal Tournament, Disciples 2,GTA3

BLaZe462

I'm not sure if Deus Ex was hyped before realese, but afterwards it was, that was a great game.

Age of Mythology as well

Universe at War: Earth Assault - Fantastic little RTS gem with three unique races (love the Hierarchy!) and some great units.

Doom_HellKnight

Universe at War is really good but didn't get much love. If only Live was free from the beginning.

Half-Life 1

The Witcher.

Call of Duty 1.

Thief.

The Witcher.

biggest_loser

Totally agree. And i'll add Overlord, Fable and God of War(im not sure if it was hyped)

[QUOTE="biggest_loser"]

The Witcher.

TA127

Totally agree. And i'll add Overlord, Fable and God of War(im not sure if it was hyped)

Those games were hyped a lot. Especially Fable.

[QUOTE="TA127"][QUOTE="biggest_loser"]

The Witcher.

Lonelynight

Totally agree. And i'll add Overlord, Fable and God of War(im not sure if it was hyped)

Those games were hyped a lot. Especially Fable.

lol, Peter Molyneux - the man could sell you a used tissue.

lol, Peter Molyneux - the man could sell you a used tissue.

biggest_loser

UFO Afterlight - I enjoyed this game a huge amount. Brought me back to the days of X-COM Apocalypse, that one did. I can't believe that Gamespot only gave it a 6.6 on the review. This game is about a 9.0 for me.

Falconoffury

You should give UFO: Exterterrestrials a try. It's a TRUE X-Com clone. I'd highly recommend it to any X-Com fan (Although if you were just a fan of Apocalypse (worst in the series) then maybe not.

Audiosurf. better than most PC games out there. and apparently Audiosurf was developed by only one person (or otherwise an independant developer if I've heard correctly)bulletsword

/agree

i also really like star war: jedi knight 2 jedi outcast, stalker, psychonauts and also the witcher.

Silent Storm Gold (w/expansion) - no question an absolute great game that was significantly overlooked but critically praised

Desperados: Wanted Dead or Alive - a treat of a game and challenging strategy

Both games are squad-based but SS is a TBS type in teh X-com/Jagged Alliance mold. In fact, the new Jagged Alliance game is based on an upgrade SS engine. Deperados has more of a Commandos feel but but in a western setting. Both games are still definitely worth playing and the nature of the SS engine IMO will make it last for a long time graphically.

Slient Storm 2

One of the only turn based games that exists and I love that friggin game although it has technical issues.

SEANMCAD

what technical issues are you referring too? Other than the fact, at the time, it was definitely a hog on lower spec computers it worked fine for me. Man, it runs great on my new PC.

[QUOTE="wackys"]Pshyconauts.Great game great game.mracoon

Definitely agree with that.

I abolutely avoided this game because it just did not look like my type of game at all - no question. HOwever, I saw it free on gametap and thought I would just quickly check it out since I had come across some good buzz about it. Man, I was hooked for days on this game. Great game and a blast.