Fun games to try (those considered hidden gems)

If it's not ZDoom, it goes here.
User avatar
Hellser
Global Moderator
Posts: 2705
Joined: Sun Jun 25, 2006 4:43 pm
Preferred Pronouns: He/Him
Operating System Version (Optional): Windows 11
Graphics Processor: ATI/AMD with Vulkan/Metal Support
Location: Citadel Station

Re: Fun games to try (those considered hidden gems)

Post by Hellser »

Open Transport Tycoon Deluxe.
User avatar
Reactor
Posts: 2091
Joined: Thu Feb 03, 2011 6:39 pm
Location: Island's Beauty, Hungary

Re: Fun games to try (those considered hidden gems)

Post by Reactor »

Image

Rail of War

Since giving a try to the horrible catastrophe of a game called War Train Normandie, I started to wonder: are there ANY good war train games at all? After a little search, I found this one.
Rail of War is a small, freeware game taking place somewhere within the United States in the middle of a raging war with an unknown enemy (perhaps the Nazis?). Almost each mission takes place on a different landscape and different environment.
The game is top-down view, and your job is to navigate your train thru enemy-infested lands while completing mission goals - for instance, picking up or dropping of carriages, or transferring carriages from point "A" to point "B". On your way, huge numbers of enemy units shall attack - jeeps, tanks, missile launchers, aeroplanes, pillboxes, bunkers, and much more, there's a nice wide variety of different types of hostile entities.
To defend yourself and your valuable cargo, you can purchase various weapons and accessories before each mission, or even purchase a new locomotive if you can cough up enough cash. There are so many to choose from, it'll make your head spin! Small cannons, medium cannon, large cannon, rail-rockets, bunker-buster bombs, and other yummy stuff. It's hard to decide what firearms are the best, you just need to figure these out. Some guns can't target aircrafts. Some others do double damage on bunkers and stationary targets, some others are fully automatic. As for the locomotives, each runs on different kind of power source - coal, oil, or electricity. You can also buy extra fuel tanks for your train, which will surely help you out on those long lonesome railways, where no station is in sight.
Stations are mandatory. On each station, you can refuel (for cash of course) and repair, but there are also extra additional powerups on side-tracks, which can give cash, repair your train, or replenish spent fuel. Watch your fuel level VERY carefully - if you run out, or you have no money to refuel, it's instant game over!
Managing your train is a key feature in this game. Each locomotive has its limits, so you can't just buy gazillions of gun carriages, even if you have the money, if the locomotive is too powerless to tow them! You must also take carriage pickups/drops during your mission when playing around with your weight.
When driving the train, watch out for sharp corners! If you have the habit of just rushing into one with full speed, well, this game will surely cure that habit for ya...after 4-5 derailings, you'll learn the optimal speed for taking those nasty corners!
Once finishing the game, you can purchase all available locomotives, and unlock a competitive "Rail Rage" mode.
The music and sounds are none too special,and the ending is also pretty shallow, but hell, for a freebie game, it's still a neat little piece! The graphics are quite nice, and the animations are also well made.

Rail of War however, is not free of bugs. Briefings are full of typos, and if a carriage blows up, there is simply no way to re-connect your train with the rest of the carriages. If you buy a new carriage, connecting it to your train is a chore, and during that time, you can't return fire on enemies either. The full-automatic weapons don't seem to function well, and the EMP is a worthless piece of crap, as it does absolutely nothing. I would have also made some differences between locomotives about their fuel usage, for instance, an electric-powered locomotive wouldn't need to refuel on stations (because of the power lines running above the rails), it would have been a nice feature of realism. I also missed some weapon of mass destruction, which'd clear the area of enemies, but alas, this game has none. Oh well...maybe next time.
User avatar
Nems
Posts: 689
Joined: Wed Jan 12, 2005 1:09 pm
Preferred Pronouns: He/Him
Operating System Version (Optional): Windows 10
Graphics Processor: nVidia with Vulkan support
Location: Your forum thread

Re: Fun games to try (those considered hidden gems)

Post by Nems »

I'd consider the entire S.T.A.L.K.E.R. franchise to be that. I recently got back into it thanks to the Call of Chernobyl mod for Call of Pripyat and hoo boy is it a rollercoaster ride. Very few things are scripted. Most of your encounters with enemies, mutants, and loot are random and the AI is pretty damn good (outdoors, at least; it kind of derps indoors at times). Aside from the bugs and crashes the series is known for (Call of Chernobyl is pretty damn stable though), I'd recommend the series to anyone who's tired of linearity and wants a solid post-apocalyptic experience.
User avatar
Shadelight
Posts: 5113
Joined: Fri May 20, 2005 11:16 am
Location: Labrynna

Re: Fun games to try (those considered hidden gems)

Post by Shadelight »

https://www.gog.com/game/defenders_quest
I really enjoyed this one.
Accensus
Posts: 2383
Joined: Thu Feb 11, 2016 9:59 am

Re: Fun games to try (those considered hidden gems)

Post by Accensus »

There's this game called The Quest. Used to be for PPC and iOS, then got ported over for Windows a year ago or something and made it into Steam a bit after that, if my memory serves me right. I have spent so much time playing it it's nearly ridiculous. Really a great game with lots and lots of shit to do. Endless fun! Shame the editor is kinda crap and needs a total upgrade since they also improved the graphics and stuff.

The guys also ported it to Android, which is fucking awesome, but I can't download it, because my phone sucks and the OS version doesn't support the game.
User avatar
Nash
 
 
Posts: 17434
Joined: Mon Oct 27, 2003 12:07 am
Location: Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Contact:

Re: Fun games to try (those considered hidden gems)

Post by Nash »

The Quest has a ton of ripped graphics (some of the weapons are blatantly Hexen's), at least they still are on my iOS version. Looks like they replaced all the offending content for the Steam version.
Accensus
Posts: 2383
Joined: Thu Feb 11, 2016 9:59 am

Re: Fun games to try (those considered hidden gems)

Post by Accensus »

Yeah, I remember seeing Diablo chest plates and ancient armors in one of the vendors' background image, lol. They redrew everything from scratch.
cs89
Posts: 89
Joined: Wed Jan 05, 2011 3:42 am

Re: Fun games to try (those considered hidden gems)

Post by cs89 »

I have played a freeware game which was similiar to Chaos Engine, but it was easier than that mentioned game.
The game is released with "Meteor" title, which developed by JBPlay. The single player campaign was about the chosen soldier has to liquidate an imaginary terrorist group's members and reveal what terrible plans they prepare for. It is not necessary to think of real terrorist group's (like Al-Kaida) assassinition events.
The controls are unusal onto first try: you have to move with the usual movement keys (a'la a lot of FPS games with WASD move set), but to aim you have to hold down the right mouse button and then click the left mouse button to shoot with so many guns. With enough practice, the player will get acclimatized for this action game.
The sequel with "Meteor 2" has similiar gameplay mechanic, with updated graphics and sounds.
Both games can be downloaded from this website: http://www.jbplay.com/games/
They are made for all Windows operating system, so they don't need advanced method to run.
Also the fans made some maps and mods for those games, for experimenting attitude people may be good pastime to try them. 8-)
User avatar
lizardcommando
Posts: 1489
Joined: Thu Sep 07, 2006 12:24 pm
Location: Boringland, California

Re: Fun games to try (those considered hidden gems)

Post by lizardcommando »

Meteor was a lot of fun. I tried making my own campaign for it, complete with new weapon sprites, tile sprites and player sprites. The editor was a little limited, but it had just enough to let you create some cool things. Meteor 2 was pretty cool too. I didn't get to mess around with the editors for that though.
User avatar
Oberron
Posts: 1048
Joined: Sun Aug 02, 2015 1:20 am
Graphics Processor: ATI/AMD (Modern GZDoom)
Location: Czech Republic
Contact:

Re: Fun games to try (those considered hidden gems)

Post by Oberron »

Thought I'd add this on my list:

The Ultimate Chuchu:

The so-called "ultimate girl" is really pissed off, her motorcycle gets stolen and she has to get it back.
I never got past the final levels, and this came out sometime in 2005 (originally completed in 2003). Man, I love the music and it's okay from what I heard.
Also, it's a game created in GameMaker (version 5 if I remember correctly).
User avatar
60dollartechdemo
Posts: 49
Joined: Wed Aug 24, 2016 11:31 pm
Location: New York

Re: Fun games to try (those considered hidden gems)

Post by 60dollartechdemo »

Freedom Planet's something I played recently and really enjoyed.

It's more or less a Sonic fan-game with the serial numbers filed off (so that it could be sold as a commercial product) but it's like the original 2D Sonic games, only exactly as a fun as I remembered them being when I was 8 (if that makes any sense). There's also elements of Rocket Knight Adventures, Megaman Zero and Treasure titles here and there. It's not quite a 16-bit Shovel Knight but it's very close.

Something they unfortunately decided to borrow from the newer Sonic games is a badly-voice acted, furry melodrama filled story - but there's a mode where you can just play the levels in order with almost no dialog or cutscenes (something I really wish was an option in so many other games).
User avatar
ETTiNGRiNDER
Posts: 766
Joined: Sat Jan 30, 2010 7:02 pm
Contact:

Re: Fun games to try (those considered hidden gems)

Post by ETTiNGRiNDER »

As a Heretic & Hexen series fan looking for more fantasy mayhem, I've found Enclave to be one of the next best things. The similarities show the most once you unlock the magic-user characters and in some elements of a few of the missions (I'd be surprised if the boss fight against Vatar wasn't making a purposeful nod to the Eidolon fight in Hexen II).


While the gameplay ranges a bit further afield (it's more melee-oriented and uses special moves that are almost reminiscent of a fighting game), Blade of Darkness (aka Severance: Blade of Darkness, Blade: Edge of Darkness depending on where you're from) also has a good dose of similar sorts of coolness.


(I chose videos with no commentary but for the BoD one you'll want to skip about 10 minutes in if you don't want to watch through the boring, and optional, tutorial section.)

I also commend the teams behind both of these games for their grasp of level design. I don't know how well it shows in the videos, but they both have maps that offer secrets, alternate routes, etc rather than just railroading you down a linear path all the time.
User avatar
Oberron
Posts: 1048
Joined: Sun Aug 02, 2015 1:20 am
Graphics Processor: ATI/AMD (Modern GZDoom)
Location: Czech Republic
Contact:

Re: Fun games to try (those considered hidden gems)

Post by Oberron »

Apologizes for bumping a little bit, but now I found it, and the link doesn't work: http://web.archive.org/web/201307280258 ... ate-chuchu
EDIT: I got it now.
User avatar
Freaklore1
Posts: 546
Joined: Wed Mar 19, 2014 1:41 pm

Re: Fun games to try (those considered hidden gems)

Post by Freaklore1 »

i would like to suggest 3 games from the Playstation 1,those 3 games are in a sense what Demon/Dark Souls would had been like if those had been made on the PS1,you can also find those games on PC or 3DO,so if you like adventures,swords and magic ,check those out.

The first one wich i have actually played is Crusaders of Might and Magic...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xz2T8Gulems

I remember this game very fondly,tough at a certain point in the game i stopped playing because it was getting too hard or i wasnt sure where to go next i think.
From what i heard the PC version of this game is different from it's PS1 counterpart,also i always tought that Drake the main character kinda reminded me of Bruce Campbell.

Edit:oh s**t,just discovered that Kevin Conroy did the voice of Drake.

And now here are the others 2 that i didnt get the chance to play yet wich are also similar.

Warriors of Might and Magic,i presume this one is related to the other one...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mYjm03pHMpM

Edit:Just discovered that there was a sequel to Warriors called Shifters on the PS2,also Warriors was also on Gameboy and on PS2 tough those versions are different from the PS1 version...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ysw1n_FC52A

And of course Xena:Warrior Princess...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=olXQ1S0832Y
User avatar
Freaklore1
Posts: 546
Joined: Wed Mar 19, 2014 1:41 pm

Re: Fun games to try (those considered hidden gems)

Post by Freaklore1 »

So after playing Warriors of Might and Magic,i dont think peoples should try this anymore,it's blend and feel rushed.

I still suggest Crusaders tough,that one is still quite good,the game does get hard at certain points but i did complete it,just one tip tough,you better have a lots of exploding gems and level those up quite high before confronting the final boss or else you wont be able to defeat him since you need to throw those projectiles at those black towers until 3 or 4 of them stop sending electricity to the object in the middle of the room.
Post Reply

Return to “Off-Topic”