A New Project: Why Aren't You Playing This?

I'm dedicating a new series to the games that I love, but never see anyone playing. And it's not just that I love them, but that they are so well-received by people who do play them that it baffles me why these games are so unknown.

These are games that are expertly crafted, amazing examples of what you can do in a genre (including making a whole new genre altogether).  Yet for some reason, if you bring them up to someone in a regular conversation, odds are they've never heard of it.  This isn't about being a "hardcore" gamer vs a "casual" gamer.  This is about sharing video games that have left you in awe, wanting to be able to talk to your friends about it, just to ask, "What's Bastion?"

I want to make a couple things clear: this is not indie games only.  In many cases, I find that some big studio games get just as neglected as overlooked indie titles.  And secondly, that this isn't just about me. If you have a game like this, I want you to tell me about it.  Send me your feelings about a game like this, or give me a title and I'll try to find it myself.  I want this to be a place where we can share these experiences that can fly under the radar all too easily.

I'd love feedback from you guys!  E-mail me at freddiemalcomb@gmail.com!  Even if the game is popular (we all know that guy that won't play it if it is too popular), send me your suggestions and share your experiences!

30 Days of Video Games Day 24

Day 24: Favorite Classic Game:

Hmmm... really great classic games...  there's a lot to say on this one.  Final Fantasy needs to have a mention here, if for no other reason than being the base of the (then) skyrocketing JRPG.

Aw man, you don't even know how much those imps are gonna get fucked up!

Actually, I'm not 100% on that either...

But I really can't hand it over to the original FF, because it wasn't until the re-make, with the added system of MP rather than simply allowing the player a certain number of spell uses, that I found it as playable as it could have been.  The same goes for Metroid, a game that I just could not navigate until they made Metroid: Zero Mission.  (Though as of this writing, I am tempted to give them a probably-deserved second-and-fifth shot respectively).

I already feel lost.

But I think I'm going to give this one to The Legend of Zelda.  I got it when they re-released NES classics on the Game Boy Advance, and I had all the time in the world to make my way through that huge world.  Which was important, because if you don't know where you're going, you're gonna get lost.  A lot.

Why did I put up with getting lost here and not as much in Metroid?  I really can't answer that with a great answer.  I suppose that I just do better with longitudinal and latitudinal rather than altitude.  If that was too confusing, I'm better with X and Z than X and Y.  If that was too complex, oh well too bad na-na-na-na.  But for some reason, getting lost in this game felt less overwhelming than in Metroid.  And that helped me get through one of the funnest old-school games I've ever played. 

Oh and I never beat Super Mario Bros. *SHAME*