hey everybody we've had quite a few
people asking us what our favorite games
are what our choices are for game of the
year we spend some time thinking about
it and decided that we didn't really
want to do a top 10 list because those
are really a matter of personal taste
and half the time they're just used to
rile up the fanboys anyway so we decided
to tackle the problem from a different
angle instead we're going to give a list
of interesting games you might not have
heard of or tried this way we can give
some quality under-the-radar games a
little more attention and give everyone
a good time while we're at it here are
some rules for how we're going to do
this one I'm not promising that all
these games are good I'm just saying
they're interesting maybe they have a
neat mechanic or some wacky story all I
can promise is that they're totally
unlike the typical games you see roll
off the shelves every week - we're going
to keep this limited to relatively
recent games because trying to examine
the entire spectrum of gaming history
just get overwhelming really quickly I
can't give you an exact date for when
recent starts but if I had to give a
timeframe probably somewhere in 2008 ish
yeah 3 if you see something we've missed
go post it in the comments we don't have
time to even include our entire list so
there are definitely a few deserving
games that are gonna be left out besides
you guys probably know some awesome ones
we haven't even heard of so go share the
goods alright let's get started let's
kick off with some strategy games we got
a bunch of those first up fate of the
world this is a turn-based strategy game
about getting humanity to survive until
2200 and it's as compelling as any game
about dominating the world
it's backed by some pretty good sign
isn't when you sit back and contemplate
what your in-game actions mean you're
certain to have some moving moments
nights in the nightmare this may be the
most bonkers game I've seen all year
it's a strategy shooter role-playing
game think Final Fantasy Tactics meets a
Gurkha makes as much sense as it sound
europa universalis victoria - and hearts
of iron hardcore historical strategy
geeks these are for you if you've ever
wanted to micromanage your economy down
to the individual level or wondered what
an accurate map of europe looked like in
the second week of july 1485 you must
play these games be warned though these
games are some of the hardest ever to
learn they do not do any hand-holding
heck they don't even give you any
victory conditions the goal is simply to
see if you can change history and
whatever way you find the most
interesting
Valkyria chronicles mostly XCOM and a
little bit of shooter with some of the
best cell shading i've ever seen
it's got a decent story and shockingly
gets the closest videogames may have
come to actually talking about
concentration camps the story's tone can
get a little inconsistent sometimes
bouncing between light-hearted anime
antics and horrors of war but the games
well worth a look all right enough
strategy let's talk RPGs the world ends
with you the best thing Square Enix has
put out in the last three years period
with its anime pop psychology and
surprisingly complex dual screen fight
system this whacky handheld title stands
out and proves the continuing vitality
of the JRPG also it needs to be said
awesome soundtrack
Kingsfield the ancient city and demon
souls now I thought Demon Souls was
really good and I'd recommend it to
anybody who likes a lot of challenge and
a really lonely but really rich setting
but I'm actually going to use this as an
excuse to shoehorn in a plug for an
older game by the same team if you like
hard action s carpi jeez
Kingsfield the ancient city was an
incredible entry that everybody panda
because it was so brutal and yeah it is
brutal but I find it fascinating because
it's brutal but fair if you actually pay
attention to your surroundings you can
anticipate all of the game's traps and
tricks something which to date I haven't
seen another game do so well so if you
like first-person RPGs dust off your ps2
for Kingsfield the ancient city and the
pick up demon souls too while you're at
it if nothing else they proved that
interesting difficulty can still sell
radiant historian you like Chrono
Trigger
well radiant historia isn't that good
but it comes a lot closer than I would
have expected one of the most
interesting takes on time travel and
choice I've seen in a handheld RPG and
it has a combat system that's far more
interesting than your standard run
forward smack them in the face get back
in line formula
desktop dungeons exploration is a
limited resource brilliant
alright moving on in the action category
we have super crate box an action
platformer that actually forces you to
switch up your strategy
in the fighting category we have final
fantasy decision
now I'll admit this one's a little tough
to get into we even dismissed it pretty
quickly the first time we tried it but
once this game clicks it can become an
obsession a couple simple elegant
controls with a unique fighting system
as innovative as that found in Super
Smash Brothers and all of that with a
layer of RPG element thrown in this may
be one of the deepest single-player
rabbit holes we've ever stumbled upon
now for the horror category it's
actually been a pretty lame year for her
but amnesia the Dark Descent is here to
pick up the slack it's not gonna party
Oh sis of the forum or anything but in a
year like this it stands out like a gym
they don't give you a weapon and most of
the time they don't even show you the
monster and it works in the adventure
category we have ghost train
you enjoy Phoenix right but wish that
there was more actual gameplay involved
ghost trick is the game for you
also professor layton this may be one of
the best for all ages series out there
if you haven't heard of it before think
Miyazaki film interspersed with brain
teasers it may try a little too hard to
justify having that many riddles but
really if you like a range of puzzles
and want a game that anyone can love the
Professor Layton series is the way to go
now for the flash game category most of
these games will only take you five
minutes to play so go give him oral
today I die the closest thing I've seen
to an interactive poem which is good
because that's what it's trying to be
every day the same dream can't seem to
get rid of that pesky cheerful mode this
is the game for you also check out one
chance which is sort of similar
company of myself this is what you would
get if you crossed a puzzle platformer
game when somebody's diary and forgot on
loneliness I don't even know what that
means in the bus friendship and
attachment portrayed by asteroids
gerawan
freedom bridge no I was depressing
passage a representation of life in less
than five minutes
all right now moving on from flash games
to the puzzle category we have Light and
Magic Clash of Heroes basically puzzle
quest using puzzle drop mechanics if
only the game had a better challenge
curve
Space Camp what did I just play was it
good I don't know but it was interesting
I'll um I love it hello Mila corner cute
creepy weird beautiful and multiplayer
it's rare that you care about atmosphere
in a puzzle game but this one gets it
just right and finally the MMO category
there's a lot of interesting stuff
happening in the MMO world what for
today we're just going to say dungeon
Fighter Streets of Rage the MMO set in a
fantasy universe with all of your
fighting game controls straight down to
the cancels also it's free you are
welcome
and an honorable mention goes to
minecraft which has been disqualified
because everyone's heard of it
for the two or three of you who haven't
yet tried minecraft dry minecraft you
are missing out and thus concludes our
first collection of games you might not
have tried but totally should
there's probably a thousand more the
desert meant actually I know there's a
thousand more than deserve mentioning
but that's all we got time for now this
was fun though I'm sure we'll do it
again until then share your own
favorites in the comments section and
happy gaming see you next week
you