What Games Are Overrated to You? Underrated?

[p_b]

halo 3 and fallout 3 are over rated

Care to elaborate?

[Astrocade]

Care to elaborate?

I can.

They play like every other generic FPS on the market. Some are better than others, but basically they're all the same games with different characters. They kind of blur together to me. But then again, I'm not a huge FPS fan in the first place, so I can't understand the fascination with Call of Duty, Medal of Honor, Wolfenstein, Halo, Fallout, Bioshock, etc etc. I'm not saying that they're bad games, but to the average gamer that could give two squats about FPS, they're all over hyped, overrated clones.

More overrated games:

Madden. What in the world is so fascinating about sports titles that people will kill their children in order to get a copy on opening day, then play the shit out of it for a week and then they can't even give the game away ten days after release because no one wants it. Why, compared to any other genre of gaming, are you guaranteed that the used bin is going to have a 3 to 1 ratio of Madden games compared to every other game?

I like Rpg's in general, but Earthbound, Super Mario 64, Secret of Mana, and the entire Final Fantasy catalog is vastly overrated.

Shenmue sucks donkey dick! (Someone had to say it...)

GTA series. Oooh, I get to fly a helicopter, shoot people and kill hookers. And there's swearing, too? That's never been done before! These games are the summation of a 12 year old boys wet dreams (no offense to anyone that likes them).

Manhunt series. See above.

Rock Band/Guitar Hero. I can't get into either one. I've seen grown men openly weep while they play plastic guitar solos on their PS2 set to Poison songs. If ever there was a video game hell, Guitar Hero would be the ninth circle and Rock Band would be the tenth. These don't even qualify as video games to me, nor do I treat them as such. When someone says they've been gaming all night and it turns out that they were playing one of these games, I instantly dismiss them as unworthy.

Metroid. Everything after Super Metroid blows to me.

Castlevania series (post NES era). I love the original trilogy, and everything from the 16 bit era, but from Castlevania 64 until now I've been sorely unimpressed.

Online gaming in general. Do you really like having nine year old kids call you a faggot and talk shit about your mother? Then online gaming is for you! Which brings me to...

Warcraft. If I could insert a picture of me not giving a shit about the World of Warcraft, I would. Since I can't, let me just say IT'S A FUCKING GAME. IT'S NOT THE GREATEST GAME EVER, NOR IS IT EVEN ONE OF THE BETTER ONES. IT'S A MMORPG THAT PEOPLE INVEST WAAAAAY TOO MUCH TIME, MONEY AND EFFORT INTO. If you have fun, great. But get up and take a bathroom break every couple of hours, you reek of nerd.

Metal Gear. I've never played a Metal Gear game I liked. I hear Snake Eater is pretty good, and coincidentally it's the only one I haven't played. The rest are completely overrated to me, from the original NES game to the newest.

Goldeneye. It was fun when I was fifteen. Then I turned fifteen and a half. Now I can't even play the damn thing. The graphics and game play make me simultaneously nauseous and angry.

Underrated titles:

From Russia With Love. What's not to like about this game? It's got great graphics, gameplay, and for everyone who talks about how great Goldeneye's multiplayer was, they obviously have never played FRWL. Plus, SEAN FRIGGING CONNERY as James Bond? Take that, sissy boy Brosnan.

GUN. I can't believe how much this game is not talked about. Where's a proper sequel guys?

Evil Dead: Fistful of Boomstick was pretty fun. To me, it's the only Evil Dead game worth playing.

Shinobi series. Not all the games were great, but as a whole the series has more ups than downs. You hear about Ninja Gaiden this or Strider that, but Shinobi was every bit as good, if not better.

Zombies ate my Neighbors. 'Nuff said.

[carlcarlson]

big 'ol rant

Wow. Do you even like video games? And Fallout 3 is a fps? Super Mario 64 is an rpg?

Anyway, to stay on topic, I really dug Snow Bros and Guerilla War for the NES. Neither one of those seems to ever be mentioned, even though similar games like Contra and Bubble Bobble are almost always included in top XX lists.

I found Halo to be overrated at first, but my third attempt to play the original was very enjoyable. I even played through it again. The second one, however, I found to be horrible. I didn't like switching between the two characters at all, and the big tank enemies got old fast. I haven't tried the third yet, but I hope it's more like the first one.

[sebastiankirchoff]

Overrated:

Halo Series: Enough Said

GTA Series: Enough Said

The Sims: God, I fucking hate this game. No matter how much I pamper and take care of my characters, they go off and complain and do stupid shit. Seriously, if some God pampered you and took care of your every need, would you complain to them? The game bores me to tears, even though I tried my best to like it. The only enjoyment I got from this game was killing off my characters, and even that took way longer than it needed to be. Anybody else agree with me?

I can't think of any underrated ones right now.

[Astrocade]

Wow. Do you even like video games? And Fallout 3 is a fps? Super Mario 64 is an rpg?



I love video games. There's hundreds of thousands of games out there, not just the ones I listed. Unfortunately the ones I listed are popular, so I guess you can say I don't like most popular video games.

And yes, Fallout 3 is a FPS- at least it was the last time I played it. And I meant Super Mario RPG, but come to think of it Super Mario 64 is also overrated.

[carlcarlson]

And yes, Fallout 3 is a FPS- at least it was the last time I played it.

Oh, my fault, I thought Fallout 3 was an rpg.

[Astrocade]

Oh, my fault, I thought Fallout 3 was an rpg.

People have been debating this since before the game came out. You can call it an RPG all you want, but when it's in first person perspective and you run around shooting things 98% of the game, well, how is that not a FPS?

First Person + Shooter = First Person Shooter.

[carlcarlson]

People have been debating this since before the game came out. You can call it an RPG all you want, but when it's in first person perspective and you run around shooting things 98% of the game, well, how is that not a FPS?

First Person + Shooter = First Person Shooter.

So Morrowind is also a FPS I guess, minus the guns. And so is Oblivion. Hmm, and Deus Ex, Mirror's Edge... shall I continue? I guess God of War is a platformer since you jump a lot throughout the game.

I think you just enjoy disagreeing with people because you think it makes you smarter than them.


ANYWAY, again to stay on topic, I'll throw out another underrated game: Final Fantasy XII. I know it sold very well so it's definitely not unknown, but the popular opinion seems to be that it took steps in the wrong direction. Personally it's my favorite in the series. I think they can definitely improve the Gambit system, and the leveling was also lacking, but the openness and the combat were very refreshing. The real star of the game was the hunters guild. They provided a consistent challenge throughout the game, no matter how much you tried to grind.

[Astrocade]

I think you just enjoy disagreeing with people because you think it makes you smarter than them.

Funny, I was thinking the same thing about you.

Look, the general consensus about Fallout 3 is that it's a FPS with RPG elements. You obviously don't feel the same way, and that's great.

And please tell me that you're not suggesting God Of War is also an RPG? :frustrated:

[Game Freak]

Overrated : Halo series, Call of Duty series,

Underrated: Team ICO, Roll Away, Out of this World, Disney-movie-based SNES games (i.e. Lion King, Aladdin, Pinocchio, Toy Story.)
Underrated (edit) - Dungeons of Daggorath, The Haunting, Dinoland Pinball

[carlcarlson]

Funny, I was thinking the same thing about you.

Look, the general consensus about Fallout 3 is that it's a FPS with RPG elements. You obviously don't feel the same way, and that's great.

And please tell me that you're not suggesting God Of War is also an RPG? :frustrated:

Suggesting God of War is anything but an action adventure game would be asinine right? But see, I used your logic to do that!

Fallout 3 is an RPG, first and foremost. It can be played from a first person perspective, and it does involve guns. That doesn't make it a fps. I'll agree that it can be played with fps tendencies, but you're pretty much missing the whole point if you do so.

Anyway, this isn't the thread to discuss this. Feel free to make one in modern gaming if you would like to continue arguing.

[Astrocade]

Suggesting God of War is anything but an action adventure game would be asinine right? But see, I used your logic to do that!

Fallout 3 is an RPG, first and foremost. It can be played from a first person perspective, and it does involve guns. That doesn't make it a fps. I'll agree that it can be played with fps tendencies, but you're pretty much missing the whole point if you do so.

Anyway, this isn't the thread to discuss this. Feel free to make one in modern gaming if you would like to continue arguing.

I love it when people start arguments on forums and then say "this isn't the place to argue". ROFL

You can tell yourself a game is whatever you want it to be. It's not asinine to suggest that God of War is anything more than an action adventure game, just pretentious. I'm looking at the cover to God Of War right now. It describes it as an "epic adventure" and "One of the most spectacular action titles to grace the PS2." But I guess that you're more qualified to determine what the game is than the people that created it. :bullshit:

I'm playing Super Mario Brothers 3. I'm no longer going to think of it as a standard platformer. Thanks to you, I realize the folly of my thinking. Mario is a character, so you're playing the role of Mario. He levels up every time he gets a mushroom or leaf. Oh, and there's secrets and puzzles. Yep, I was stupid to never think of this game as an RPG. Hell, the "turn based" fighting of hitting Bowser with a block and then retreating as he launches a counterattack is standard RPG fare. This is closer to Final Fantasy VII than any Sonic game...

[carlcarlson]

I love it when people start arguments on forums and then say "this isn't the place to argue". ROFL

You can tell yourself a game is whatever you want it to be. It's not asinine to suggest that God of War is anything more than an action adventure game, just pretentious. I'm looking at the cover to God Of War right now. It describes it as an "epic adventure" and "One of the most spectacular action titles to grace the PS2." But I guess that you're more qualified to determine what the game is than the people that created it. :bullshit:

I'm playing Super Mario Brothers 3. I'm no longer going to think of it as a standard platformer. Thanks to you, I realize the folly of my thinking. Mario is a character, so you're playing the role of Mario. He levels up every time he gets a mushroom or leaf. Oh, and there's secrets and puzzles. Yep, I was stupid to never think of this game as an RPG. Hell, the "turn based" fighting of hitting Bowser with a block and then retreating as he launches a counterattack is standard RPG fare. This is closer to Final Fantasy VII than any Sonic game...

You seem to have missed my point, though I'm not surprised. I know that God of War is an action adventure game, but I applied your dumbass logic and suggested that it was instead a platformer because there is jumping in it. See how that works?

Let's use your logic again shall we? Here is a quote from Pete Hines, producer on Fallout 3. You ready? "Fallout 3 is true to the Fallout series; it's an RPG." Now a quote from you, because it's fitting. "But I guess that you're more qualified to determine what the game is than the people that created it."

http://play.tm/interview/17696/peter-hines-chats-about-fallout-3/ to read the whole interview.

[Astrocade]

You seem to have missed my point, though I'm not surprised. I know that God of War is an action adventure game, but I applied your dumbass logic and suggested that it was instead a platformer because there is jumping in it. See how that works?

Let's use your logic again shall we? Here is a quote from Pete Hines, producer on Fallout 3. You ready? "Fallout 3 is true to the Fallout series; it's an RPG." Now a quote from you, because it's fitting. "But I guess that you're more qualified to determine what the game is than the people that created it."

http://play.tm/interview/17696/peter-hines-chats-about-fallout-3/ to read the whole interview.

Using my dumbass logic, I've pulled up a few quotes by various developers and creators of Fallout 3 that seem to convey that this is indeed a FPS as much as it is an RPG.

From an interview with Executive producer Todd Howard:


Criticism: “Fallout 3″ is just mediocre when judged as a first person shooter.

Howard: Agreed.


Peter Hines interview:


The VATS method of attack is a throwback to the combat system in previous Fallout games. However, does the presentation of an FPS give a confusing message to the player expecting RPG action? Pete Hines thinks not, telling me, “We don’t believe in beating people over the head with the term ‘RPG’. It’s like you have something to prove, or you need to show your 20-sided dice to get in the door. The idea is that you pick up and play the game however you want to. And if you want to be a power gamer and a number cruncher you can, whether you play in VATS or in real-time those numbers are still meaningful.”

Interview with the Bethesda development team:


3dz: OK, let’s talk about the balance between role-playing and action elements in Fallout 3. It seems that RPG elements are a bit hardcore, while the action feels more like a FPS. Is this intended?

BT: Well, we want people to feel like they can play the game however they like. If you’d rather play it like a story-driven FPS and not get into the stats and role-playing, feel free. If you really want to power game and get into the stats and numbers and how best to buff out your character, or spend all your time in dialog, or however you want to roleplay, you can do that too. We don’t think it’s up to us to tell you how you should play the game. We want to give you that freedom and let you go, and do, whatever you want, however you want.

From Bethesda's FAQ Page:


Players can attack in either 3rd or 1st person perspective, leading some to suggest the term 'TPS' (third person shooter) would be at least as appropriate as FPS, while others consider that to be overly pedantic.

So yeah, it's a little silly to jump up and scream "It's an RPG! End of story!" Bethesda clearly went after two markets here, and to say that Fallout 3 is strictly an RPG is just a narrow view. It's almost as if you're ashamed of playing something that could be classed as a FPS. Like you feel superior in intelligence compared to the average FPS fan and so you want to believe that only by calling it an RPG can you still carry off your delusions of grandeur. I can already tell that you have an inferiority complex by the way you've childishly attacked my intelligence without provocation, so what's your beef? Me, the world, other gamers, yourself? What?

[carlcarlson]

So yeah, it's a little silly to jump up and scream "It's an RPG! End of story!" Bethesda clearly went after two markets here, and to say that Fallout 3 is strictly an RPG is just a narrow view. It's almost as if you're ashamed of playing something that could be classed as a FPS. Like you feel superior in intelligence compared to the average FPS fan and so you want to believe that only by calling it an RPG can you still carry off your delusions of grandeur. I can already tell that you have an inferiority complex by the way you've childishly attacked my intelligence without provocation, so what's your beef? Me, the world, other gamers, yourself? What?

My beef is obviously you calling Fallout 3 an fps. And if you think those quotes point to Fallout 3 being a FPS then I think questioning your intelligence is definitely called for. It seems you have shifted your position though to admitting it is an rpg with fps elements. Look a few posts up, I already said that. We're in agreement then, we can call it a day!

And am I ashamed of being an FPS gamer? No sir, probably more than 80% of my gaming this past year has been with either Orange Box or Call of Duty 4 and "5". Rpgs are my genre of choice, but when time is tight FPSs can bring much quicker satisfaction. Having said that, my experiences online would actually point to the average fps gamer being somewhat dim, but I think you would probably agree with me on that one.

Anyway, I call a truce. I'm cranky because we're getting slammed at work, and I went overboard on a minor disagreement. I apologize. And I agree, Zombies Ate My Neighbors is a kickass game.

[Astrocade]

My beef is obviously you calling Fallout 3 an fps. And if you think those quotes point to Fallout 3 being a FPS then I think questioning your intelligence is definitely called for. It seems you have shifted your position though to admitting it is an rpg with fps elements. Look a few posts up, I already said that. We're in agreement then, we can call it a day!

And am I ashamed of being an FPS gamer? No sir, probably more than 80% of my gaming this past year has been with either Orange Box or Call of Duty 4 and "5". Rpgs are my genre of choice, but when time is tight FPSs can bring much quicker satisfaction. Having said that, my experiences online would actually point to the average fps gamer being somewhat dim, but I think you would probably agree with me on that one.

Anyway, I call a truce. I'm cranky because we're getting slammed at work, and I went overboard on a minor disagreement. I apologize. And I agree, Zombies Ate My Neighbors is a kickass game.


I picked up and played Fallout 3 out of the box as a FPS. I realize you could play it as an RPG if you wanted to, but I think that my quotes illustrate that the designers intended it to be an RPG only if you wanted to go that route. At its core, it is still a FPS with RPG elements to me.

But I agree to a truce- I know all about shitty work environments. And I also agree with your assessment of Guerilla War and Snow Bros. Very playable and rarely mentioned.

[Nebagram]

You can get a bow and arrow in Oblivion. You shoot these, and you can play the game from a first-person perspective. Does this make it an FPS?

Hell, Morrowind had crossbows...

(I'm in the 'Fallout 3 is first and foremost an RPG' camp if you hadn't guessed ;-)

[Astrocade]

You can get a bow and arrow in Oblivion. You shoot these, and you can play the game from a first-person perspective. Does this make it an FPS?

Hell, Morrowind had crossbows...

(I'm in the 'Fallout 3 is first and foremost an RPG' camp if you hadn't guessed ;-)

Send me that stack of GamesTM and I'll agree with whatever you say.

[~日本~Densha~]

Overrated:

Fallout 3


I mean whats so great about it. ok at the begining I also thought "Hey great game" but after some hours of playing I realized that it is nothing special. It is the same like every other boring RPG from Europe or US. IT is allways the same.
Thats why I don't like RPG from the west. Because you just run arround in a too big world but infact nearly every corner looks similar. Then just leveling up and beating monster and collecting items..thats it. And it is allways the same.
And Story? Mostly none or just so simple that is ridiculous.

And beside that the world of Fallout 3 reminds me a lot of Hellgate London..even the monster looks sometimes quite the same. After over 15 Hours playing it I stoped because it was f...ing boring. I can't see something special in all those non japanese RPG's.

Thats why I prefer japanese Rpg with a great touching story, big emotions and real characters not just "Made them yourself no personality characters" from European or US RPG's.
Thats my opinion.

[Graham Mitchell]

From Densha's public profile:
"Biography:
I love videogames mostly all stuff from Japan. I love Japan. I hope I can live there in the future."

Gee, he's not biased or anything.

A lot of the problems you're citing with Fallout 3 are subjective. You don't like it, that's cool. But the whole world doesn't look the same and if you invest some time, you'll find that the story is very rich and multifaceted--but it's not a detailed narrative with intense character development and heavy-handed cinematic story-telling. It's more of a detailed description of an alternate world with an alternate history. You don't care for it, and that's cool. I admit that Japanese RPG designers are chasing after a totally different idea than those in the West, but just because it's not Japanese doesn't make it "nothing special". It is special to some people.

[~日本~Densha~]

It is nothing special and thats my opinion.
If someone things that it is special then please tell me whats so GREAT about it...and whats so unique about it compare to other games. Infact there is nothing and this has nothing to do with my taste this is a fact.
I am sure many like this games because they enjoy this end time setting and the great graphics but also other games got great graphic so what ?
Please tell me whats so different to other games from the west in this genre?
If it is Two World, Hellgate London, Elders Scroll or Fallout 3 infact they are all the same. Sure different settings (not in the case of Fallout 3 because it looks quite similar to hellgate london even the enemies does) and other times in history but thats all infact. These are the only differences between all these west oriented rpg/action Rpg games.
Common don't tell me that there is a great stroy behind fallout 3. Wow..your father is gone and you search for him and later you can deside which side you choose. If you want to blew up everything or not. Wow what a great story line.

It is not that I played this game just 4 hours and then I said "It sucks".
I am played it arround 15 to 20 hours or maybe more but not less.
And there is no story. Just unimportant blabbering with some npc's about their plans and if you want to join them or to find a new place to live for them.
Common how awsome ==" this was ironic~~
All the games I wrote are the same in this was.
To big worlds..everytime just running arround until you don't even now where you are and why in hells name you do this. Doing quests then get new skills, kill enemies, level up and thats it. In all this cases.

And sure I am a big Japan fan but not only.
There are a lot great Games from the West but not RPG's or Action RPG's.
I really like Mirror's Edge,Uncharted,Gears of War or Bioshock which really was awsome and some kind of cinematic. And I really love point and click adventures because there is really story telling important and most of them are also quite funny.

But I really tried a lot of these western rpg's and everytime after spending hours over hours on playing them and was dissapointed. Because of the fact that there was nothing behind it. It is the same like online rpgs. Just walking arround, collecting Items, lv up, kill monser, skills...gain better weapons, earn money..wow how innovative.

I really played a very long time Ragnarok but then I ask my self "why do you do this?" After some time you loose the point in playing those games because it doesn't satisfy you.

Thats why I love japanese RPG's after I finish a game I really feel that I really did something. I was living a story with awsome cinematic changes and great and deep characters and this satisfy my self.

Sure I don't say that it is a bad thing if you like those games like Fallout 3.
I am just telling you my opinion and this is my own right to do this.
Because this thread is called "What Games are overrated to YOU?" or am I wrong?

So this is my opinion and I don't say that everyone should have the same thinking. It is just mine.

[ToddofDoom]

It is nothing special and thats my opinion.
If someone things that it is special then please tell me whats so GREAT about it...and whats so unique about it compare to other games. Infact there is nothing and this has nothing to do with my taste this is a fact.
I am sure many like this games because they enjoy this end time setting and the great graphics but also other games got great graphic so what ?
Please tell me whats so different to other games from the west in this genre?
If it is Two World, Hellgate London, Elders Scroll or Fallout 3 infact they are all the same. Sure different settings (not in the case of Fallout 3 because it looks quite similar to hellgate london even the enemies does) and other times in history but thats all infact. These are the only differences between all these west oriented rpg/action Rpg games.
Common don't tell me that there is a great stroy behind fallout 3. Wow..your father is gone and you search for him and later you can deside which side you choose. If you want to blew up everything or not. Wow what a great story line.

It is not that I played this game just 4 hours and then I said "It sucks".
I am played it arround 15 to 20 hours or maybe more but not less.
And there is no story. Just unimportant blabbering with some npc's about their plans and if you want to join them or to find a new place to live for them.
Common how awsome ==" this was ironic~~
All the games I wrote are the same in this was.
To big worlds..everytime just running arround until you don't even now where you are and why in hells name you do this. Doing quests then get new skills, kill enemies, level up and thats it. In all this cases.

And sure I am a big Japan fan but not only.
There are a lot great Games from the West but not RPG's or Action RPG's.
I really like Mirror's Edge,Uncharted,Gears of War or Bioshock which really was awsome and some kind of cinematic. And I really love point and click adventures because there is really story telling important and most of them are also quite funny.

But I really tried a lot of these western rpg's and everytime after spending hours over hours on playing them and was dissapointed. Because of the fact that there was nothing behind it. It is the same like online rpgs. Just walking arround, collecting Items, lv up, kill monser, skills...gain better weapons, earn money..wow how innovative.

I really played a very long time Ragnarok but then I ask my self "why do you do this?" After some time you loose the point in playing those games because it doesn't satisfy you.

Thats why I love japanese RPG's after I finish a game I really feel that I really did something. I was living a story with awsome cinematic changes and great and deep characters and this satisfy my self.

Sure I don't say that it is a bad thing if you like those games like Fallout 3.
I am just telling you my opinion and this is my own right to do this.
Because this thread is called "What Games are overrated to YOU?" or am I wrong?

So this is my opinion and I don't say that everyone should have the same thinking. It is just mine.

What is so great about Elder Scrolls games? Freedom. The freedom to play your character how you want, go where you want, and do what you want. I find details about the games interesting too. The books, for example which contain lots of stories about the game's world. I haven't played Hellgate or Fallout 3, so I can't defend those titles.

What if I told you all Japanese style RPGs were the same? Same railroad story*, same four to seven archatype characters, and the same basics of the story "You must save the world from evil/darkness/sin/clowns."

*A railroad story is a term pen and paper role-players use to describe a game where everytime they try to do something that ignores the main story something the game master does blocks them from doing so. (The game master in this case being the video game's designers)

If the formula in "Western" RPGs is "kill monsters to collect items and level up" the formula in "Japanese" RPGs is "go to temple/cave/dungeon/town and kill boss to gain access to next temple/cave/dungeon/town." If you remove the story from the Japanese RPGs they play just as similiarly as the Western RPGs.

If you took a Japanese RPG and played it on pen and paper (or with random stock graphics) and changed the details (Character names, place names and locations, and plot device names) and changed slight elements of the story my bet is you wouldn't be able to tell which one you were playing.

I enjoy good games from everywhere. I do not share your sense of accomplishment when beating a Japanese RPG. I find them more like reading a book. They take a lot of time, but anyone with a little dedication can do it.

I think the debate between a series like Elder Scrolls and more traditional RPGs is one of freedom versus story. The more freedom the player has, the less control the designer is going to have over the story (or characters or whatever). The more control the designer has over the story, the less freedom the player is going to have during gameplay.

If you like story you will like Japanese RPGs. If you like freedom and control you'll like Western RPGs. If you like freedom and story you will like them both.

I do not think that disliking a genre is the same as thinking a title is "overrated". There is nothing wrong with disliking a genre. We all probably have a genre we dislike, but labeling a game or series as "overrated" just because you don't like the genre is not fair.

I don't mean to single you out, I feel the same way about people who say things like "Madden is overrated. I don't even like sports games". If you don't like a genre how do you know which ones are overrated? If a game is the best in its genre and you still hate it...how is it overrated?

Densha, you would probably be a great candidate to tell us which Japanese RPG titles are overrated or underrated. I'd like to hear your thoughts on that.

[ToddofDoom]

My list:

Overrated:

Final Fantasy Tactics series: To me there better tactical RPGs out there. Disgaea series stands out (I love how the Disgaea games don't take themselves too seriously). I liked Vandal Hearts II much more than I liked Final Fantasy Tactics. The Shining Force series also stands above the Final Fantasy Tactics series, which is still pretty good I admit. The story and gameplay is fun, but there are better Tactical RPGs out there. I don't understand why so many people prefer this game to other titles (I suspect because it has "Final Fantasy" in the title)

Diablo: I've always hated this series. It isn't a good third person RPG. It isn't a good dungeon crawler. It's just "click, click, click". Button mashers do not work well on a mouse. Some of the classes in the expansion of Diablo 2 made it playable, but it still wasn't very much fun. I don't understand why so many people were crazy about this series.

Guitar Hero/Rock Band: I do not get these games. The guitar controller and the music act as a novelty so you don't notice you are just pushing buttons when the game tells you to. It's like Space Channel 5 or PaRappa the Rappa without the rhythm part or like Simon (the little toy with the colors) without the memory part. I don't understand why people like the game or why it is even considered a game. You are just pushing the buttons when the machine tells you to. That isn't a game, that's working in a factory.

Underrated:

NHL '97 (Playstation): This was a great simple hockey game. Playing against a friend in two player mode required a sense of timing and finese that seem lost in modern hockey titles.

NCAA Football 98 (Playstation): This is the best football title that EA sports has ever released. It is fun and doesn't get caught up in "realism" yet still keeps from playing too arcadey. It was the first college football title with dynasty mode and it had every NCAA team (in D-I or Bowl Subdivison or whatever they called it at the time).

Guardian Heroes (Saturn): I always loved the style of Guardian Heroes and thought that it was an overlooked title. If titles like this had gotten better exposure the Saturn might have lasted longer.

Crystal Warriors (Genesis): This is a great little tactical RPG for the Genesis and is often ignored. It is dwarfed by the more popular Shining Force titles.

Capcom Disney Titles (NES): Ducktales, Chip 'n Dale, and Darkwing Duck all got great platformers for the NES. Ducktales and Chip 'n Dale even got sequels. Even that Talespin game wasn't bad. In my opinion these were some of the best titles for the NES and they have been largerly ignored by history. You always hear people talk about Contra and Blaster Master, but never about these games.

Team Buddies (Playstation): I think the fact that it is hard to find and was released late in the Playstation's life time has hurt this title. I cannot express the fun that you have when you and three of your friends are playing against each other. I just wouldn't recommend paying a ton of money for the title. The single player missions aren't that great, just the multiplayer mayhem.

Ramma 1/2: Hard Battle (SNES): I would recommend getting Ramma 1/2 Hard Battle if only for the music. One of the best video game scores ever.

[hellfire]

pokemon is highly over rated

[~日本~Densha~]

First of all. I just want to say that I am not against any game from the start.
Like I wrote in my text "I give every game a chance" but it is sadly a fact that I allways got dissapointed by playing all those west-Rpg's. It was not on purpose. I really wanted to play these games because I also was interested in them but I really played every of these games (Hell Gate Londen,Fall Out 3,Elder Scrolls, Fable,Two Worlds, The Witcher (by the way. The witcher was the best of all these ones)) for more then 10 hours. Most of them I spend arround 20-30 hours playing them..so really a lot of time. But they really bored me after some time. Because I missed the flow..the dynamic Story telling. Sure there are books, or papers or data files in all those games where you can find out some background infos about the world you are wandering arround but thats not story telling for me. Infact this is more like reading a book for me...but not a fantasy book more like a pen and paper book.

Sure if you cut the story parts out of the japanese games and turn arround some things then it would be the "same" like western rpg's but thats exactly the point.
Because of the story telling, because of these japanese touch in telling stories and because of the emotions and funny parts because of all that I like them so much. Sure the core is allways ..or nearly a similar one but it is important what they create with it. Some stories stay plain but others touches you and you will allways remember them forever. I am sure everyone will remember Final Fantasy VII (the ones who played it) because this game was awsome. But I am sure that in 20 years no one will talk about fall out 3 anymore but final fantasy VII I am sure will always be there.

This is exactly the point. Sure it is a matter of taste and I just say that it is not mine but everyone should play what they like and whats the most fun for them to play.

Oh and by the way here are my underrated and overrated japanese RPG Games:

Overrated:
Final Fantasy XII
I think that this part lost all his typical Final Fantasy feeling. Sure the graphic was awsome but it didn't cought my attention. I missed the deep story line. It was to political and not much feeling in it. Fighting was a little bit hard sometimes and the battle system was not my fav one.

Dragon Quest VIII: Journey of the Cursed King
Also overrated. Maybe it is not that bad but I really wasn't able to like it that much in the end. After some time I wasn't interested in it anymore. Maybe it was the artwork/design of the game...I am not sure. So many says its great but in my case I didn't felt this point inside myself that it is something special.
Mabye I will give it a chance in the future again.

For example the ultimative prototype of a perfect japnese RPG in my case is Tales of the Abyss. This was and is one of the best RPG's I have ever played.
Great Story, Deep characters, touching moments, Awsome music, great cinematic flow..this was really perfect for me.

And underrated:

Shining Force EXA (Sure it is not a world changing game but I really liked it)

[ToddofDoom]

Because of the story telling, because of these japanese touch in telling stories and because of the emotions and funny parts because of all that I like them so much. Sure the core is allways ..or nearly a similar one but it is important what they create with it. Some stories stay plain but others touches you and you will allways remember them forever. I am sure everyone will remember Final Fantasy VII (the ones who played it) because this game was awsome. But I am sure that in 20 years no one will talk about fall out 3 anymore but final fantasy VII I am sure will always be there.



I understand. I've just always thought the joy in the Elder Scrolls series was ignoring the main quest and having your character stroll into town and just see where the game takes you. Kind of drifting through the game world. I don't really play the games for the main story.

I didn't mean "like reading a book" as an insult. It just feels like interaction with the story is minimal in those games. There's nothing wrong with that (after all when you play a game like Super Mario Brothers you can't really effect the plot that much). I like a lot of Japanese style RPGs too. They just remind me of books in the sense that when you are reading a book you have one of two options: "Keep reading, thus advancing the story" or "Quit reading the book, thus ending the story." That's how I feel when I play a game like Final Fantasy VII or IX. (I loved IX. IX is like the ignored step-child of that series.)

In my experience when most people talk about games from twenty years ago they generally stick to these three catagories:
1) Games they played twenty years ago. (Regardless of quality)
2) Titles that were popular twenty years ago. (Regardless of quality)
3) Games from twenty years ago that are in a series that they play now. (Regardless of quality)

[Graham Mitchell]

Densha, I'm not trying to single you out, I just want to give you some advice.

I know you're new here, but your saying some slightly pompous things. I'd quit while you're ahead so we don't all make assumptions about you.

Much to my chagrin, people will still be talking about the Killers in 20 years, but I don't go into a room of Killers fans and say "they suck, nobody will remember them, and I can't see why anyone wouldn't agree with me."

[JackElam'sEyes]

Overrated: Gears of War 2- I do enjoy the voice acting but the script is much too Hollywood & the game itself just feels a whole lot like the first one. Also thought the ending boss was a complete letdown.

Starcraft- I know I'll get my head bitten clean off for mentioning this title being overrated but I've always felt there were better RTS games out at the time. The single player bores me to tears but multiplayer is fun I admit.

Underrated-

Lampshade err..Nightshade- Yet another on this thread that agrees this title is criminally underrated. I wish more games could provide well crafted humor & witty dialogue.

Mega Man 6- I know the Mega Man series is far from underrated but I never hear anyone talk about this title anymore. It was always my favorite as a kid.

Ninja Gaiden III- Just like MM6 I never hear anyone talk about it...well good things anyway. Best music of the series in my opinion.

Robowarrior- This top view shooter was always a blast to play back in the day.

Viewtiful Joe 1 & 2- Played the demo when it first came out but never got around to buying it. Actually that specific demo disk was known to delete your memory card after playing the VJ demo. Unfortunately it did just that and I never received my free game from Sony that they had sent as an apology. Finally picked the two up for about 5 bucks at my local Gamestop. Loved the unique art style and controls. One of my favorite beat 'em up series ever.

Count my vote for Luigi's Mansion too. I still can't believe all the mediocre reviews it got back during launch. The game never gets old for me & the damn music is downright infectious. My rant is complete...

[dwarme]

i think chrono trigger was extremely overrated, and it doesn't warrant such a huge following. it was freaking easy as heck, was more linear than you'd like to think, and the side quests just feel like they were thrown in there for no reason. seriously, this is a pretty mediocre game at best.
the megaman series has been mutilated since the snes versions. the stupid plot of the x series is as bad as the controls are. megaman battle networks is the final nail to the coffin. i'm not just being nostalgic for thinking the nes megaman games are better, they were.

another overrated video game series is castlevania. the first one was pretty good, it was hard, the bosses were memorable, and fighting dracula back in the day sent shivers up your spine. after, i believe, super castlevania 4, the series tried to do something "new and fresh". they failed, miserably. symphony of the night is probably the easiest game ever. you get overly leveled, even if you know where to go and just fight the enemies on the way. the weapon system was a joke, you'd never ever use most of the weapons. some of them do have special effects to make up for their weak attack power, but most of them are not useful enough and are just there to experiment with after you've beaten the game. i also didn't like how the series, from that point on, had a sad tendency to be heavily leaning towards anime looking characters that only girls will squeal to see. it's like every nerdy girl's fantasy. however, as i look at things on an intellectual level, i see this as pointless drivel. i'm sorry, but i cannot say i liked this crap heap castlevania became. oh and simon's quest is garbage too.

lemme think of an underrated game now... Kartia: The Word of Fate, was a very interesting game. it was completely linear, and you could only control the battles, but as the story unravels you don't really care that you're not controlling it. the characters are colorful, the battle system uses a sort of rock, paper, scissors for the monsters you can summon, but generally you want your main characters to be the deciders of battle. you unlock really interesting weapons, use beautifully rendered magic to turn your foes to dust, and as your story continues, you unlock really cool looking and more powerful monsters to summon. this game totally deserves more recognition.

i don't think secret of mana is very underrated, but it is my favorite game, and i'd suggest it to anyone/everyone. it has nice looking graphics, a great musical score, and had epic weapons to level up, magic that makes even the toughest boss whimper, some really cool looking enemies(you'll never forget your first rabite, sorry), and lastly, it had a very good plot. it is a little cliche, like most rpgs it revolves around eight things that have to be sealed(think crystals, orbs, ect) called mana seeds, but near the end you'll be crapping your pants as the plot twists. two and a half thumbs up

[ToddofDoom]

lemme think of an underrated game now... Kartia: The Word of Fate, was a very interesting game. it was completely linear, and you could only control the battles, but as the story unravels you don't really care that you're not controlling it. the characters are colorful, the battle system uses a sort of rock, paper, scissors for the monsters you can summon, but generally you want your main characters to be the deciders of battle. you unlock really interesting weapons, use beautifully rendered magic to turn your foes to dust, and as your story continues, you unlock really cool looking and more powerful monsters to summon. this game totally deserves more recognition.



You could also trade special items in Kartia if you had a friend that played it. There was also a two-player mode that was fun for a couple games every now and then.

A lot of those old Atlus games were pretty good.

[tubeway]

Most underrated game: My favorite game.
Most overrated game: Your favorite game.

[sebastiankirchoff]

Underrated: Reservoir Dogs (PS2)- A pretty faithful video game version of the movie that I felt deserved better reviews than it got. The only problem was the driving stages, which are a bitch to beat, but the shooting stages are fun and I feel its a decent game at least.

[BetaWolf47]

Most overrated game has to be Streets of Rage 2. Why so many people consider this "Best beatemup ever!!!" is beyond me.

[garagesaleking!!]

I hated gears of war 2, i think its very overrated.

Not really underrated, but the ea nhl games are insanely fun and lack the following of other ea sports games, i am no die hard nhl fan and love all the ea nhl games.

[Sonicwolf]

I found Twilight Princess to be a bit overrated. I just found that it was another Ocarina wannabe with some gimmick ala dog mode. Zelda isnt as special as it used to be.

[Chainsaw_Charlie]

Overrated

Final Fantasy 7(ps1)

It's NOT that's a bad game but gets way too much over necessary fanboyish hype when it clearly isnt even the best FF (8 or 9) released on the PS1 much less the best Square Enix game (DW 7) for the system.

Underrated

Secret of Stars(snes)

Tecmo didnt release many rpgs and this little gem is great

Spike Mcfang(snes)
Paladins Quest(snes)
Robotrek(snes)
Ar Tonelico 1,2 (ps2)
Saiyuki Journey west(Ps1)
Hotel Dusk room 215(DS)
Wild Arms XF(psp)

[youruglyclone]

overrated

little big planet.

Hear me out, essentially it's a toolbox or if you want to go a little further a platformer SDK. I've give it the credit it's deserves, the community did make some good stuff. but it's a platformer with crappy jump physics. I guess the only reason I feel it was overrated was the overwhelming abundance of good will (for a while I compared the coverage to my friends as "obama-ish") it got from the gaming press. If this wasn't a 60 dollar retail title, I wouldn't have been inclined to deem the game overrated.

[mobiusclimber]

I didn't mean "like reading a book" as an insult. It just feels like interaction with the story is minimal in those games. There's nothing wrong with that (after all when you play a game like Super Mario Brothers you can't really effect the plot that much). I like a lot of Japanese style RPGs too. They just remind me of books in the sense that when you are reading a book you have one of two options: "Keep reading, thus advancing the story" or "Quit reading the book, thus ending the story." That's how I feel when I play a game like Final Fantasy VII or IX. (I loved IX. IX is like the ignored step-child of that series.)

Final Fantasy VII, as well as many of the better "Japanese style" RPGs have tons of sidequests and hidden things scattered throughout the game world. So it's not like reading a book. I've never suddenly found extra pages I had no idea were there when I read a book.

I also have to say that I never found there to BE much interaction with the story in a game like Oblivion, but maybe I just didn't play it long enough (it seriously bored me to tears). For instance, I'd spend hours farting around, then stumble across a house that, as soon as I got there, was attacked and set fire to. They waited for me to get there. Basically what I'm saying is that games now do a lot of superficial things to make you feel like you have an impact, and I gues ssome of them really do change the story, but for the most part, it's just taking away some of the structure w/o actually giving you any freedom. The only time I ever saw the world destroyed was in Breath of Fire II when I refused to fight the main boss at the end.

[garagesaleking!!]

LittlebigPlanet seemed to hit it and quit it, I will admit it was fun, then became extremely boring, then i went back and played a few times and was mildly amused, I literally never hard another thing about it after it was released.

[Chemdawg]

im gonna get a lot of hate for this but hell im gonna say it. I think Halo is way over rated.

[Sonicwolf]

im gonna get a lot of hate for this but hell im gonna say it. I think Halo is way over rated.

I agree wholeheartedly. I found it just to be an average FPS. Not worth the manic and obsessive behaviour surrounding it and it's fans.

[mobiusclimber]

I'm going to cast my vote for Chrono Trigger as being highly overrated. It's a good game, don't get me wrong, but there are long stretches of the game that are just terrible. The beginning is highly cliched, the first time period you go to is really lame, and there is some awful Working Design-ish humor sprinkled throughout. The nuns joking about how you look tasty, or whatever, really pulled me out of the game, as an example. I've also heard people talk about how great the graphics are, but I just don't see it. Breath of Fire II, Tales of Phantasia, Star Ocean... these games have great graphics. CT? Not so much.

Ok now for under-rated... I'd like to bring up Breath of Fire II because every time I hear people talk about SNES RPGs, they almost never bring up this game. I'll admit there's some things wrong w/ the game: it's overly linear, they steal ideas from lots of other games, and most of the story is spent fetch-questing. But none of those things matter! The characters are all well-thought-out and larger than life. Every character has their own special attack in battles, and special ability outside of battle. The game has a million things going on at once, from hunting and fishing, to town building and mini-games. The story packs an emotional punch and your actions actually have an influence on what happens (even tho the story doesn't really change, except for a quicker ending). I could go on and on. It's a great game, and one that people seem to forget about.

But one game that almost EVERYONE forgot about, including when it came out, is The Twisted Tales of Spike McFang. Its a colorful, action-packed adventure game with large, detailed graphics and a terrific battle system. It really should have a hit.

[hellfire]

Most overrated game has to be Streets of Rage 2. Why so many people consider this "Best beatemup ever!!!" is beyond me.

I just bought the game recently, I had fun with it for about the first hour. Then it got waaaaaaaaaaay boring

[garagesaleking!!]

halo may be a little overhyped but i dont think there is anything else like it, and its my favorite fps.

[NoobSaibot]

HALO...

Kill aliens. A typical shooter. Story is boring. Online play = Nothing special. win.


Oh yea and Twisted Metal 2 is underrated. And so is 3-D World Runner (NES). Actually wrote a little about it on here: http://www.dustykartridge.com/2009/07/dusting-off-3-d-world-runner-nes.html

[Rob64]

Overrated:

(Insert title of any shoot em up here for the newer gen consoles): Don't get me wrong, games like Gears of War, Halo are pretty to look at for their art. Wolfenstein 3D and Goldeneye are classic shoot em up games that are good. But to say that shoot em up games of this generation are the best games is not something I agree with. There is hardly ever any difference between one shoot em up game from the other. I remember during Microsoft's E3 conference this year, when they were going through a lengthy list of shoot em up games, it just got boring to where we could predict what it was. Also, the only difference that seems to exist between one game from another is the perspective (1st or 3rd) and your target (humans or zombies). It just seems the same to me and is very unappealing as a gamer and consumer to see a lack in variety.

Final Fantasy: I know it's a big franchise and I do enjoy looking at the art and cutscenes from the game, but the game doesn't seem much fun to me. It's good but not as great as what some may think.

Underrated:

Glover (N64): Anyone that enjoys Super Mario 64 will enjoy this. The game has the same platform gaming type of structure around it. Not easy but not too hard either. It is quite original too with the characters and story and whatnot.

Caveman Ughlynpics (Commodore 64): Anyone that enjoys classic caveman cartoonie type of funny will like this game. My dad and uncle were exactly the people that would like it and they can't get enough of it. Find videos of it on youtube to see what I mean. It is a good game too.

[sonic-boom]

I think Final Fantasy 7 and Halo are overrated.
Luigi's Mansion is not exactly underrated but it's close.

[Gameguy]

Underrated: Bebe's Kids for SNES.

I'm serious about this one. I played the game the other day for the first time on my system, though it's not really a good game it's far from worst-game-ever like most people say about it. The worst parts of it are how slow you walk, and the slightly awkward controls. Once you get used to them it's not that bad, I'm guessing that most people who played this game did so on an emulator which is why it was so difficult for them.

The game is a licensed game and sticks closely to the source material, the levels I actually recognized from the movie and they had some variety to them. They weren't all the same style, most were standard beat 'em up style but some were different like the souvenir shop level where you had to break the glassware or the haunted house level which was sort of like a maze. I think I died at the souvenir shop level the first time I played it, but after I started the game again I got the hang of it and made it to the basement of the amusement park where you fight mutants and robots. It's not as hard as the reviewers on youtube make it look. I didn't beat the game, but I like it enough to play it again at some point and try to finish it. I should mention that I didn't like the movie that much, I'm not into the game because I'm a fan of the movie.

I've played much worse games than this one over the years; Dragon's Lair, Total Recall, Action 52 for the NES and Sword of Sodomy/Sword of Sodan for the Genesis come to mind. If I really thought it over I could probably list a whole bunch more. This really isn't as bad a game as most people make it out to be, it's definitely playable.

[kale]

Overrated:

The FPS genre in general - Halo, Half-Life, Call of Duty Counter-Strike, etc. I like running around and shooting things as much as the next person, but come on. It's essentially... the same thing. Also, the fact that there's a large demographic of people for whom gaming is only FPS worries me a bit for the future.

Final Fantasy X and up - I'm actually a pretty big fan of the FF series, but after X it just got annoying. I mean, X-2?? What? They finally decide to do a true sequel and they pick X of all games?

Mortal Kombat series - I like fighters a whole lot, so much in fact that I'm currently looking to spend tons of money on a Neo Geo AES, but I feel like this series in particularly overrated. It made a name for itself on late night news during the early 90s because of its over-the-top gore factor, and it's been irrelevant ever since.

.hack series - Just no.

Black and White series - SUCH a disappointment. After hearing about the concept, I expected awesomeness.


Underrated:

Within the FF series, both Tactics and FFIX are extremely underrated in my mind. FFIX is simply one of the most delightful games I've ever played, hands down. And Tactics, while not the world's best strategy RPG, had an intriguing plot and was addictive.

Okami - this game is a work of art, but all I'm hearing about

Blast Corps (N64) - I remember reading a tiny little bit about it in a Nintendo Power preview. That was the last I ever heard of anyone discussing it.

Earthbound/Mother series - it's not so underrated any longer, but it certainly has been for most of its life. Also, there's the fact that despite a strong cult following, Nintendo still won't release any of the series outside of Japan (besides the 1995 SNES "Earthbound")

[Platinum]

Overrated

- Any RPG ever made.

-Tetris

-GTA games

-Halo games

-God of War games

-Gears of War games

-Guitar Hero and any game similar in concept

-Sonic the Hedgehog

Underrated

-Duke Nukem

-Metal Gear and Snakes Revenge for NES

-Metroid series

[Lo0kY]

most you will find here is RPGs. I'm a RPG whore so what wanna fight about it? :p

Over rated:

Any of the GTA games
Final Fantasy 7 (PS1)
Gears of War 1 and 2 (X360)
Chrono Trigger (SNES)
Gran Turismo (PS1/2/3)
World of Warcraft (PC)

Over rated:

Final Fantasy 4/5 (2 US - SNES/PSX/GBA)
Illusion of Gaia (SNES)
Lufia 1 and 2 (SNES)
Secret of Mana (SNES)
Mega Man X 1/2/3 (SNES)
Super Castlevania 4 (SNES)
Super Double Dragon (SNES)

[NCN]

Overrated:
---------
Final Fantasy VII (SNES)
Chrono Trigger (SNES)
Secret of Mana (SNES)
Gears of War (360)
Marvel vs Capcom 2 (Yeah, I said it)
Metal Gear Solid (PSX)
God of War series
Guitar Hero series
GTA series
Pokemon series
Halo series
DDR

UNDERRATED:
------------
Condemned (360)
Breath of Fire II (SNES)
The 7th Saga (SNES)
Secret of Evermore (SNES, my all time favorite game)
ActRaiser (SNES)
The Ultima series
Final Fantasy Mystic Quest (best soundtrack on the SNES, hands down)
Jumping Flash 1 & 2 (PSX)

...and I'm sure I have overlooked a ton in both categories.

[ReTrO-pLaYeR]

For the over-rated category (and, I know I'm going to get hate mail out of this) I am going to have to say the Zelda franchise. I could never really get into any of the games no matter how hard I tried- I suppose it's just not my thing. I also believe Super Mario 64 to be over-rated as well. I do love Mario platformers to death, but most of the levels are a bit bland and at some points I feel like I'm controlled a greased plumber and not the heroic Mario.

There are at least a million games that I think are underrated to death. For starters, I am going to have to go with NEC's Bonk series. People constantly complain about the controls and criticize it for being on the easy side. I find nothing wrong with the controls, and the levels are interesting enough to forgive the light difficulty. Gex games are also heavily under-rated, especially since stupid reviewers (Gamespot, I'm looking at you) whine about a "bad" camera...but you DO get three modes of camera control in part 2. Can't really complain there, and hey- most 3D platformers of the time didn't exactly have great cameras due to technical limits.

[Ackman]

Overrated:
---------
Okami so damn boring, annoying squeaking nosies all the time, crappy gameplay
RPG's usually 92% of RPGS but esp jprg eg FF games, I hate grinding, endless encounter battles, clunky systems, unintutive, long boring cutscenes, whinny girl man charas, timesink, too long etc etc
Silent Hill games, crappy gameplay, poor level design, very un-user friendly, repeats stages, clunky.
MGS games, esp 2, boring, crappy gameplay, poor stealth mechanics, SC CT for the win, irritating charas.
Soul Calibur 2 and 3, just boring, new charas are uninteresting, not as good or fresh as SC was meh
Shadow of Colossus, terrible controls, boring grindy levels, has aged poorly, really good story tho and I liked Ico.

Deus Ex, I think I fell of my dinosaur, it aged badly not that it was good to begin with, choices are really nice, but doesn't compare to Halflife now and at the time.
Halo, I liked 2 tho.
Super Mario Bros World, (I prefer NSMB or MB3)
The Warriors, good but overrated
GTA SA
GTA3
Ratchet and Clank PS2 series, Yes good games but not super fantastic

FF7
Wipeout Pulse
Mercenaries PS2, crap
Killer 7, interesting story but crappy gameplay, level design, how the hell do you make a game 2d in structure but 3d in looks but make it terrible to navigate around? What an achivement.
COD, esp the new ones.
God of War, yes good game but not uber fantastic, I tried to replay it and I couldn't and this was quite a while after I beat it.
Crysis, boring just not fun
Stalker, badly designed and boring
WOW
Hitman series
Bully, yeah not quite all that, quite good tho
Lego SW, IJ, BM whatever, It stinks, hey but it least it looks good and has co op? Yeah but it still stinks.
Guilty Gear series, boring and the animation flat out sucks, it doesn't look good if you only have 2 frames of animation, who cares about the rez and sparkly effects, it's decent tho, but I can't stand it when ppl talk about how good the animation is.

UNDERRATED:
------------
Shadow of Rome, Simply astounding! Bravo Capcom, bravo!
Tenchu
Urban Reign
Yakuza 2
Urban Chaos (same guys who did Batman AA, and it shows, really good game, not perfect tho but much, much better than Black.)
Bloody Roar Series
DKC 2
Nightslashers X
Star Wars Revenge Racer
Lugaru
Jak3
Ackman series
Flatout 2
Hammering Harry
Mobile Games, esp the Java platform, basically dead or busy dying now, but had some really good fine 2d action in it's day, better than a lot of DS games imho.
Soul of Darkness
Chuck Norris Taste the Pain
Rally Bike
Ninja Kid 2

Onimusha 4, superb all round.
Sonic 2, the best 2d game of all time imho
Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon PS2, not perfect but interesting at least.
HL series, esp 2.
DMC 2, yes it isn't fantastic, but it is decent to good this will keep you warm on a cold night.
RE2, still beats RE4 in some areas
Conkers Bad Fur Day
Red Ninja, (yes far from perfect but what it does well it does really well, could have been something truly great if they put more time into it, still decent to good game, last stage sucks tho.)
Manhunt
BG&E
Psychonauts
Hello Kitty Roller Rescue, decent fun game.
Oni


Games I previously thought were overated but I was wrong:
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
RE4, This game is everybit as good as everyone says it is and then some.
Ardy Lightfoot, actually a pretty good game, once you get used to it.
Boogerman, decent fun game, with some really nice animations/touches

[jms5118]

Halo = most overated series of all time.

[megamaniaman]

Most overrated Donkey Kong
Most underrated Donkey Kong 3

[Ackman]

I agree Donkey Kong was kinda meh to okay, I could never stand playing it for long, but Donkey Kong 3 held my interest for much longer and had a lot variety.

[Nintega Grafx-16]

Overrated: Final Fantasy VII
Underrated: Final Fantasy VII

[AWinterFuneral]

Straight up, Call Of Duty, extremely overrated. I don't know why but I have never gotten into these games and I don't think I ever could. All I hear is "CoD this" and "CoD that". I mean cmon, there isn't much to it, and to me it's boring. If a person is so obsessed with the military persona, then why not just join the military? That's just my opinion though. I'm sure i'm going to get some hatemail for this one.:2gunfire:

[Sabz5150]

Overrated: Every single military FPS. THE ENTIRE LOT OF THEM.

Underrated: The Guardian Legend.

[TheCaptainniatpac]

MARIO is super overrated.

[tentencanidae]

Final Fantasy XIII is stunning in the graphics department, but otherwise, it's a linear letdown. There is pretty much zero exploration. No level pumping, no trial and error, other than during certain boss fights. It's just a good looking game, that plays out like a movie.

That said, I am a HUGE Final Fantasy fan. I wish the characters and art could be used in a more open space environment, with some more randomized foes.

Other than that, Tekken 6. Here's why.

Tekken 6 is a great fighting game. Not quite up to my Street Fighter standards, but in my opinion, it's the best non-2D fighter. My reasoning for considering it a letdown, is because I found EVERYTHING in Tekken 5 Dark Resurrection to be superior. Graphics, loading time, button response... literally everything on my $19.99 PSN download, is better than it's newer, blu-ray, $60 successor. Like I said, it's just my opinion, and I'm not one of those guys that hates change. I just like change through progress.

[Koa Zo]

I think Shining Force III is pretty overrated. Not that it is a bad game, but it really isn't all that great either. Shining Force Resurrection on GBA or Shining Force CD on Sega CD were both just as good if not better than Shining Force III.

For underrated, more like under-appreciated, I have to point to Snoopy vs the Red Baron on PS2.
The game does the Peanuts franchise justice with true to form characters, storylines, and voice-overs. At first I felt that the flying was kinda slow and that bothered me, but I excused it since after all you are controlling a bi-plane!
Later on in the game as you upgrade your plane and get used to using the turbo jet, the flight is plenty fast enough.
I won't bother to go into it more here, as there are some spot-on favorable reviews to be found on the web if you're interested.
Anyhow, Snoopy vs the Red Baron carries on Namco's lineage of putting out really good flight games. The game bests the likes of (post N64)Starfox and Skygunner by a long shot.

Another game I feel is under-appreciated is Finny the Fish and the Seven Waters. That game has some issues, the worst of which being the obnoxious voice-acting. And my biggest complaint being that the game felt like it wrapped up suddenly and wasn't actually finished by the developers.
Finny is really challenging and has a unique and really fun battle technique. It is actually pretty difficult and not at all a kids game - same can be said for Snoopy vs Red Baron.

[RulerStabInTheEye27]

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[Andy]

Overrated:

Gears of War. I think the cover-based shooting mechanic is interesting but it got wearisome over the course of the game, and the game's grim-n-gritty style is unintentionally hilarious.

Diablo. Click, click, click, click, click, click, click, click...

The appeal of the entire MMORPG genre completely eludes me.

Bioshock. Take System Shock 2, dumb it down in every single way except prettier graphics and sounds, laugh your way to the bank.

Half-Life 2. I do like this game, but man those vehicular sections were monotonous to me. It's cool but I don't grok the "best game ever!!!" sentiment it inspires.

Underrated:

Brutal Legend. It's an RTS/Action hybrid in the vein of Herzog Zwei (speaking of underrated...), Sacrifice, Giants: Citizen Kabuto, but when it came out everyone flipped out because they didn't want to take a few minutes to learn how to play it as anything beyond a simple hack-and-slash game. It's not flawless - the open world missions are often dull and repetitive - but the core gameplay is satisfying to me and as a heavy metal music fan, the soundtrack is impeccable :)

Freedom Force/Freedom Force vs. the Third Reich. To me these are the best models of how to make superhero video games - party-based, tactical combat with a lot of environmental effects and gorgeous Jack Kirby-inspired presentation - but when they initially came out people couldn't stop griping about the lack of online multiplayer and then City of Heroes was released and stole all the remaining superhero game hype. The Marvel Ultimate Alliance games kind of took inspiration from them but it's not quite the same. I'd love to see Irrational get back to this series eventually but it seems they're all about Bioshock these days.

Outlaws. There aren't nearly enough western games for my tastes and this is a good one but it fell into obscurity pretty quickly, just like every other western game prior to Red Dead Redemption.

Tron 2.0. That Tron Legacy movie would have been better if they'd just adapted this game...