Missed Gems This Gen

Madworld

The Darkness 2

Everything that's good and doesn't have a huge ass marketing budget. 

Lucianu

This since nothing comes to mind in particular.

I'm hesitent to recommend, or take recommendations from, most people on this board for two reasons.

1. You clowns told me Killzone 2 was good. It isn't.

2. You also told me FFXIII was a a sh!tstain on the fabric of humanity and I love it.

That said, these are the ones I'd recommend, and why:

The Darkness (PS3/360): Great story and one of the best endings this gen. Really a great game that's overlooked. Too bad it was never ported to PC.

Spec Ops: The Line (PS3/360/PC): One of the best stories probably ever in gaming, and a decent third person game to boot. Be careful, it's short. It may also killl your love for military FPS games.

Bastion (360/PC): One of the best indie games this gen. Fantastic music, great graphics, and a wonderful plot. The combat is pretty good, too. Oh, and the narrator's voice is sexy.

Prey (360/PC): A shooter with a lot of heart and some very unique weapons. It's old, but worth a run if you have the time.

Eternal Sonata (360/PS3): A very unique JRPG with a fun combat system and great music. It also has Beat. And Beat is f*cking awesome. The PS3 version has additional content.

The Outfit (360): A really early game for the 360 developed by Relic. Fun characters and gameplay. It's also pretty unique. Check your bargin bin.

Quake IV (360/PC): This game has a really great campaign, like most Raven games, and the shooting is satisfying. It's old, though. Get it for PC if you can. the 360 version has some performance issues.

Lost Odyssey (360): One of the best JRPGs this gen. Mistwalker is awesome like that. Good writing, a great cast, and an excellent combat system. If you like JRPGs, you have to find a way to play it.

Sleeping Dogs (360/PS3/PC)  : One of the best games from last year and a fantastic and unique open-world game. Everyone should play it.

Devil May Cry 4 (360/PS/PC): People give this game a lot of flack for repetition, but under that repetition is one of the best combat systems ever made in a hack n' slash game. It's also got some of the best boss fights this gen and is extremely funny.

Final Fantasy XIII (PS3/360): Surprisngly good. Fun combat, excellent visual design, and great music. Your mileage will vary on the characters (I like them), and the linearity, but it's actually a really good game overall.

RAGE (PS3/360/PC): The shooting is among the best this gen and it's got beautiful art design. Plus the world is pretty cool. It's got issues, but it's an enjoyable romp.

I would add stuff like Demon's Souls and Braid and Hotline Miami, but I feel like everyone should have played those by now.

Bastion

DarkLink77

Quake IV

DarkLink77

Cryostasis - brilliant icy atmosphere and a excellent story. 

World in Conflict - before Ubisoft destroyed Massive Entertainment they made one of the best and most unique RTT/RTS games ever. 

oh and of course, this:

one of the best games i played this gen, and probably dismissed by most because 1- it's a handheld title, 2- it's a visual novel, 3- the name sounds silly and the characters on the box look even sillier.

what's even worse are those that played it and stopped at their first ending, completely missing the point of the game.

i urge anyone that claims to like good stories to play it.

[QUOTE="DarkLink77"]

Bastion

drinkerofjuice

Quake IV

DarkLink77

Such a bro. Guess you disagree on all the rest, though. :P DarkLink77

But Final Fantasy XIII? Yeah no, I can't get on board with that one :P

[QUOTE="Master_ShakeXXX"]

Nier. Get to playing it already you ass clowns.

speedfreak48t5p

Nier is about as much of a RPG as the later Mass Effect games are.

MotorStorm Pacific Rift

Darkness 2

TombRaider Underworld

Black Ops 2

Rayman Origins

Just Cuase 2

Vanquish

SuperNovaftw

Lara Croft and The Guardian of Light. 

There's nothing I would call a "gem" that has been really missed. Everything gets love from some direction these days, deserved or not.

Tiny Bang Story is the closest thing, I guess. It's a very pleasant little game that only me and some guy at RPS seem to be aware of.

Of course there are dozens of really cool browser games that get close to zero recognition, but those aren't part of any particular generation.

I'm hesitent to recommend, or take recommendations from, most people on this board....

DarkLink77

Feel the same way.  Whenever I see the a bunch of users here refer to a game as terrible, it actually increases my expectations for that game. =P

A few missed gems of my own:

A Boy and His Blob (Wii)
Rayman Origins (360, 3DS, PC, PS3, PSV, Wii)
Zero Escape: 9 Hours, 9 Persons, 9 Doors (DS)
Zero Escape: Virtues Last Reward (3DS, PSV)

[QUOTE="DarkLink77"] Such a bro. Guess you disagree on all the rest, though. :P drinkerofjuice

But Final Fantasy XIII? Yeah no, I can't get on board with that one :P

The Outfit (360): A really early game for the 360 developed by Relic. Fun characters and gameplay. It's also pretty unique. Check your bargin bin.

DarkLink77

Under Seige (PS3): A downloadable RTS/RTT game with an intuitive control scheme that works great for consoles. It has a ton of depth, lengthy campaign, gorgeous visuals, full multiplayer suite, and a map/campaign editor similar to those found in Blizzards RTS games.

Skulls of the Shogun (360/PC): Recently released turn-based strategy game on XBLA and PC. I know it's a missed gem for most because it just came out and I can barely find a damn multiplayer game :P. The game throws out the traditional grid/hexagonal tiles found in most TBS games in favor of a free-form movement system. It utilizes the simple rock-paper-scissors unit balance but interesting mechanics like spirit walls and demon forms give game a unique tactical feel of it's own. Plus, the dialogue writing it actually pretty hilarious. Oh and it has cross-platform a-synch multplayer between 360, PC, Windows Phone, and Windows Tablets (and still barely anyone to play with lol).

Ah, well. I forgive you. How 'bout dat Quake IV, though? Let Raven make the campaign and id make the MP for Quake V and I'm there.DarkLink77

[QUOTE="SuperNovaftw"]

Darkness 2

TombRaider Underworld

Black Ops 2

Rayman Origins

Just Cuase 2

Vanquish

mems_1224

[QUOTE="DarkLink77"] Ah, well. I forgive you. How 'bout dat Quake IV, though? Let Raven make the campaign and id make the MP for Quake V and I'm there.drinkerofjuice

Warioland Shake It was really good.
And Ghost Trick.

You 'gamers' didn't buy either of those. What did you buy instead? Nothing that was as good, can tell you that much.

brutal legend even if you don't like metal its still a fun game 

the darkness 2

Deadly Premonition

The Darkness

The Saboteur

CanYouDiglt

I haven't had the pleasure of playing Deadly Premonition yet but I wholeheartedly agree with the other two.

Chicken Shoot 
now that is what i call a true gem 

Alan Wake Max Payne 3 Just Cause 2faizan_faizan

who missed out on Max Payne 3? i think it sold pretty well

Alpha Protocol. So much hilarious dialogue. And choices that are significant.

Spec Ops: The Line (PS3/360/PC): One of the best stories probably ever in gaming, and a decent third person game to boot. Be careful, it's short. It may also killl your love for military FPS games.

DarkLink77

So glad there was one person to mention this game.

compared this to Rayman Origins you might as well consider Rayman Call of Duty.

This is not the only Hidden Gem the Wii has, it's full of them, So many great games on that System got Hit Hard because of the HD Systems.

The few I have are the game above and...

I would also add

1. Muramasa The Demon Blade
2. Endless Ocean 1 and 2
3. Zack and Wiki: Quest for Barbaro's Treasure
4. Little King's Story
5. Rune Factory Frontier
6. Rune Factory Tides of Destiny (PS3 as well)
7. Fragile Dreams: Farewell to the Moon
8. Lost in Shadow
9. Ivy the Kiwi
10. Broken Sword: Shadow of the Templars (also on PC)

and plenty of others I believe, but alas they are not on my library as of yet.

[QUOTE="faizan_faizan"]Alan Wake Max Payne 3 Just Cause 2AcidThunder

who missed out on Max Payne 3? i think it sold pretty well

Battlefield 1943. What an amazing multiplayer game!

[QUOTE="AcidThunder"]

[QUOTE="faizan_faizan"]Alan Wake Max Payne 3 Just Cause 2faizan_faizan

who missed out on Max Payne 3? i think it sold pretty well

yeah underwhelming but it still sold around 3 million so a lot of people played it

5 pages in I'm sure most of my picks have been mentioned. I'm not calling these games AAA, but I am saying each and everyone I highly enjoyed and think lots of gamers would too if they gave it a chance

Alice: Madness Returns

Shadows of the Damned
Darksiders 1/2, Darkness 1/2
Super Meat Boy
Rayman Origins
Bulletstorm
Alan Wake
Bayonetta
Dark Sector
Mirror's Edge
Shadow Complex
Wet
X-Men Origins: Wolverine
Spiderman: Web of Shadows
Crackdown 1/2
Afro Samurai
Singularity
Spierman: Friend or Foe
Stranglehold
Stuntman: Ignition
Bourne Conspiracy 
Timeshift 

5 pages in I'm sure most of my picks have been mentioned. I'm not calling these games AAA, but I am saying each and everyone I highly enjoyed and think lots of gamers would too if they gave it a chance

Alice: Madness Returns

Shadows of the Damned
Darksiders 1/2, Darkness 1/2
Super Meat Boy
Rayman Origins
Bulletstorm
Alan Wake
Bayonetta
Dark Sector
Mirror's Edge
Shadow Complex
Wet
X-Men Origins: Wolverine
Spiderman: Web of Shadows
Crackdown 1/2
Afro Samurai
Singularity
Spierman: Friend or Foe
Stranglehold
Stuntman: Ignition
Bourne Conspiracy 
Timeshift 

immortality20

as much as I love this game, it's gained too much attetion to just be called a "Hidden" gem.

[QUOTE="DarkLink77"]

Bastion

drinkerofjuice

Quake IV

DarkLink77

Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts is most definetly one of them.Salt_The_Fries

Silent Hill: Homecoming

Got destroyed by reviews but it was pretty good IMO. Had a few true OMG moments and once you figure out that the only weapon you need is the knife and stop trying to swing heavy weapons combat is a breeze. The last hour of that game is crayzay and shouldn't be missed by any survival horror fan. You can probably find it for like $10 these days...

Shattered memories is amoung the top 10 best games this gen, and there's maybe a handful of people here who played it.