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TITANFALL releases today, and if you don't understand why I capitalize the title then you haven't been reading the Weekly News Round-Up. That's okay, I forgive you because this isn't about that. Since it's Tuesday and TITANFALL is a first-person shooter, I figured it would be a good time to give a shout out to some of the shooters that are not given enough respect for various reasons, in my humble opinion. This means that the only games that will appear on here are either underrated, overlooked or just treated unfairly in general.
What constitutes overlooked? Is it when the general population doesn't know what a game is? Is it when hardcore gamers aren't familiar with it? Is it when a game doesn't sell well?
When is a game underrated? Is it when critics don't like it? Is it when the gamers don't like it?
How do you judge this stuff? It's tricky business, and I won't pretend to be the authority on what these things are, but this is just how I see it. Some games I feel are overlooked in my experiences, same with underrated. Some games have just gotten a bad reputation for whatever reason.
No, you will not see Call of Duty on this list, though due to the backlash towards it at this point I considered it for a brief second. No, this list belongs to other series or individual games and I intend to justify, whether I'm right or not, why I think these games don't get enough respect either way. You also won't see much in the way of indie games because I reckon most indie games are overlooked to some extent.
Look, I'm almost at the list... I just have one more thing to say. Admittedly maybe a pick or two are less "shooter" than others, because I was torn on whether something like Mirror's Edge qualifies -- ended up deciding that no it doesn't because it basically penalizes you for shooting -- but still picked a couple wonky choices.
Okay, let's do this.
10: Duke Nukem Forever
Hear me out before you hit the X on the top right hand corner of the screen. Oh screw it, just hit it anyway because I probably deserve it for even defending this game. But damn it, I will defend it.. sorta.
You see, Duke Nukem Forever is not an amazing game. It's not even a worthy successor to the classic Duke 3D. How could it be? It was destined to be the way it ended up. It went through so many developer changes that I imagine new developers coming in would have a hard time even following the code. It took years and years to complete. All the changes it went through made it extremely difficult for it to be a good game. But you know what? It's not a bad game and it's because of the outrageous backlash that I included it on here. There are legitimately great games on this list, and while I admit I wouldn't rate this higher than a 7 (on a good day), I also wouldn't rate it lower than a 5. Probably a 6 or 6.5.
It's a decent old-schoolish shooter, with the Duke charm and comedy. If you don't find Duke (who is a satire/homage to action heroes) funny, then that's more on you than it is Duke. While the load times for the PS3 version were godawful, I still had fun with the game.
9: The Killzone Series
Some people may scoff this pick as well, and I say bring it on because lists are fun when they're unpredictable or controversial. The Killzone games have been rated pretty well for the most part and it's a Playstation exclusive... so why do I pick it?
When I turn on Shadow Fall, I see very few people playing the game. I understand that the PS4 is new and it probably wasn't a good time to release a multiplayer shooter, but the player base is small. It's not just Shadow Fall, though, because the other games have players but nothing to the extent of a Call of Duty. It's a shame because the Killzone series offers different gameplay but perhaps the heavy feel is what keeps it from reaching those heights in popularity. It's for this reason I think they're a little overlooked, even though they're a "big" Playstation exclusive.
8: ZombieU
The launch line-up was criticized for the Wii U, but there was an underrated gem buried in there from the beginning. While ZombieU might technically be more of a first-person brawler than a shooter, I wanted to include it because yes, it does have guns.
It's a hard survival horror game, and the multiplayer is fantastic (would be even better if it were online). I never spent as much time with the game as I would have liked, but it deserves more recognition than it got, especially since I saw a bunch of bad reviews when it first game out.
7: Star Wars: Republic Commando
There has been a million Star Wars games, and more are coming... but I think Republic Commando is one of the more underrated/overlooked ones. You see, it was actually a pretty solid shooter that felt a little like Halo, but you don't play as a Jedi or anything so nobody was interested. If you give it a chance, you'll agree (because I'll make you) that this is a Star Wars game that should get more recognition.
6: Singularity
A game that plays with science in neat ways, Singularity isn't the most amazing shooter I've ever played... but it's a damn good one. I feel like it got lost in the shuffle when it was released and that's a shame because it was a little bit different than the shooters that normally get popular. You'll see this included in a lot of these types of lists and there's a reason why.
darkwatch
5: Zeno Clash
While technically a first-person brawler more than a shooter (much like ZombieU and a pick that is coming up), Zeno Clash got some respect but didn't get enough. The story is weird and probably doesn't make a lot of sense, but it's interesting and the visual flair is something to behold. Zeno Clash takes place in one of the weirder worlds we've seen in the genre, and the art design is a large part of that.
I don't think first-person games are ideal for fighting mechanics, but Zeno Clash does it remarkably well given what I perceive is the limitations of the genre.
4: Dead Island
Dead Island is a flawed game. Seriously, it's one of the least polished big games I've played.
It also had an incredible, misleading trailer that made it look like it was going to be an emotional ride. Unfortunately, it ended up just being a fun first-person shooter/brawler with zombies. But despite the false promises and the bugs, it was a surprisingly entertaining game. Riptide could be better, but I was so annoyed that they didn't fix any of the problems that I ended up enjoying it less.
Still, Dead Island is a lot of fun with the right kind of people.
3: Darkwatch
Darkwatch is a game I rarely see talked about, but it was one of the best shooters on the PS2. It had a Gothic Western feel, and while it may seem silly, I really enjoyed how high you can jump in it. Yes, that matters to me because I liked being able to just jump through the air and blast everything around me.
It's one of those FPS games that are different than what we were getting, and I don't think people should sleep on it because it does everything right.
2: The Timesplitters Series
Timesplitters is one of the reasons I have a hard time making lists like this. At this point I don't know if Timesplitters is underrated or overlooked, but I just don't see enough people talking about the series.
It's a silly series about time traveling with memorable characters and more fast-paced multiplayer. Each game got better than the last and there was a lot of content in each of them.
We've been trying to get Timesplitters 4 for a long time, but at least there is a free-to-play multiplayer game being made by the fans who have gotten permission to use the character skins and whatnot. So we can look forward to that anyway.
1: The Darkness
This is kind of like the Timesplitters pick, where I don't know if it's truly underrated/overlooked or not. However, again, I feel like people sleep on this one as well. With The Darkness it's all about the story, and both games have a memorable, emotional story, which is weird considering how dark it is.
Seriously, give it a try and get invested in it... the first one has one of my favourite video game scenes of all time and the second is thrilling and strange, but with a lot of heart underneath it all.
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