Venatus Obscurum - Obscure Games Discussion!

[Juno]

I'm not sure how obscure this is but I don't see it brought up very often, which makes me sad since I thought it was a really good game! Siren: Blood Curse is easily one of the best stealth-horror games out there - these days, it's very common to rely on cheap jumpscares to make an otherwise dull horror game more exciting but this is one of those rare gems that is just so creepy with its ambience, enemy design and plot that it doesn't need any of that to give you nightmares.

The story was also excellent and is part of what made it such a memorable game for me, since I love a good story-driven game. Honestly, I don't even like horror games but the plot was compelling enough, with characters I cared about enough that made me want to keep going despite the constant fear and dread that the game was apparently very good at instilling.

 

[JJ Styles]

Shogo: Mobile Armor Division

I've talked about this beforehand, heck even on the very OLD and unbumped thread that this topic originally came from. Basically Shogo is one of those 90's esque First Person Shooter games with some obvious anime & manga influences with the use of some Mechas as part of the story and gameplay. While its still a first person shooter, its one of those FPS games that offered something different at the time. Other than piloting some mechs, it was one of the earlier FPS games that had a "Critical hit" system, where attacking a foe would occasionally heal the player and deal more damage to said foe, and the enemies also being capable of doing such.

Shogo has a rather interesting story at the time, given its anime+manga influences along with some branching paths and mission variety, a rarity of features that were rare in most first person shooters at the time.

Though i kinda theorize the reason why Shogo, which is a rather excellent game for its time (and still is), didn't get the attention that it should have had? It was released within the same timeframe and period as that of the original Half-Life.

As for its developer, Monolith Productions should be no stranger to those who enjoy the FPS genre. Monolith is responsible for some great games such as Blood, No One Lives Forever, Alien vs Predator 2, and of course F.E.A.R: First Encounter Assault Recon, and a nonFPS entree in Middle Earth: Shadow of Mordor.

AND DOUBLE ENTRY! and something that not too many people may expect as well:

WinBack, developed by none other than Koei's Omega Force studio. The same studio that made the Dynasty Warriors and all other "Warriors" line of games made a cover-based 3rd person shooter before it was cool.

The game has you play as secret agent Jean-Luc Cougar and the gameplay revolves around a cover system that was an innovation for its time. You take cover behind walls, corners, and other objects before you popped out and shot your foes. At that time, cover based shooting in a 3rd person shooting game wasn't exactly a thing, and we have WinBack to thank for giving that. In fact, WinBack's cover mechanic was later used in later games such as in MGS2: Sons of Liberty's shooting mechanics, and Kill Switch, which in turn helped influence the Gears of War gameplay.

I remember having played this game via a friend's place and at that time, circa 2000s, a year or two after this game's release, i wasn't really aware of game developers at the time. I do found it weird upon learning that WinBack was actually developed by Omega Force, and being published by Koei, the same combo that gave us the Warriors series of games.

 

[Quto]

Been here, done this topic ages ago, and made 1 or 2 videos but never posted them because life.... STILL; for the hell of it.

ONI; a game released on PC and PS2; as far as my knowledge runs.
This was one of those obscure titles that fused Martial arts and FPS combat, blended with anime and anime cut scenes; or rather a anime cut scene opening.
As weird as the combination sounds.....It actually works! It's takes SOME adjustment, but the Melee works and feels right after some practice, the weapon use is a bit off, but it still works well.
It was also one of those games that would have done INCREDIBLY well with some multi-player, which WAS planned. Though the mode never saw the light of day and the game is shelved into obscurity.

You can still pick up a PS2 or PC copy or if you have no morals, Pirate the thing. There is still a small modding community; trying to create the multiplayer and breathe new life back into this.

Billy Hatcher and the Giant Egg;
This obscure title has a tiny cult following and I'm in it; it's a fun game about a kid in a chicken costume, going around an island of chickens, hatching eggs containing different creatures to give you special abilities to overcome puzzles and fight off the crows invading the island.
It was made by the creators of the Sonic the Hedgehog, after the Dreamcast crash sadly; but it's kinda fun to pick up and play, the world and levels are colorful and the music is just so upbeat that it feels like little big planet without the sackboy or sackgirl or sack-thing.
While I wouldn't recommend the multiplayer, it's still worth picking up to check out.... or Rent if possible, if there's a way to RENT old vid games anymore after the death of Blockbuster or video rental stores..... and Red Box carries games for newer consoles than the gamecube.
... Unless you live in Europe or England, there exists a PC version of this title

 

[divitorobert]

1. In 1986, Nintendo released a special Disk System peripheral for the NES in Japan. Among its features was a microphone in the controller, which certain games used, including an updated version of the original Zelda. You could only destroy a certain enemy by shouting into the mic.
2. In Fallout 2, there's a hidden room in Junktown, in the Cafe Of Broken Dreams, where you can find Dogmeat, the Vault Dweller from the first game's faithful hound.