The top 5. 0 underappreciated PSOne games Sonys original Play. Station was launched in Japan in 1. It took a pastime that was seen as exclusive to geeks and children, and turned it into a true mainstream phenomenon. Play. Station made gaming cool, and it brought with it a huge catalogue of games, introducing us to all time classics like Final Fantasy VII, Metal Gear Solid, Wipeout,Resident Evil and many, many more. However, for all the critically and publicly acclaimed titles the unit had, it also had a whole selection of underappreciated releases. Some of these are titles that may not be for everybody, but still offer superb entertainment to many, and others are simply great, but failed to shine due to poor advertising or low sales. These facts dont change the quality of these titles, and here were going to take a look at our own top 5. Of course, being a list of underappreciated games, these are titles that range from obscure, cult classics to games that just didnt sell, despite being good releases in their own right, so dont expect to see acclaimed titles like the aforementioned Metal Gear or Final Fantasy VII here. Lets not waste any more time and get to it. One. One is a fast paced shooter in which you play an amnesiac with a gun arm on a mission to find out his identity. He attempts to discover the answer across six levels, and is constantly pursued by the police and military. One is an early example of the 2. D title, and as the player runs through the various 3. D rendered worlds, the camera zooms around automatically, giving the game a more cinematic feel. Action is thick and fast, and boss battles are challenging, often requiring special tactics to defeat. One received pretty high scores on its release back in 1. Aggregate review scores As of October 31, 2012. Game GameRankings Metacritic Blood Omen Legacy of Kain PS1 83. PC 82. 00 Legacy of Kain Soul Reaver. Rampage World Tour. If youre an old school gamer who was around in the 8. Rampage. Starring three B movie monsters George the giant gorilla, Lizzie the dinosaur and Ralph the giant werewolf, the game simply tasked players with one goal, and that was destruction of various cities. Rampage World Tour on the Play. Station is a more up to date take on the classic, with better visuals, new locations spread around the world, and new power ups. The core gameplay, however, remains the same, and allows players to smash buildings, eat civilians and mash enemy tanks. Its simple, yes, but still as fun as it was back in the 8. Picture Crystal Dynamics Often considered the best in the Legacy Of Kain series, Soul Reaver was an instant classic. Adopting a nightmarish gothic style to tell. Final Resistance. Clearly inspired by a certain Arnie powered killer robot, c 1. Final Resistance is a third person shooter that sees players take on the role of cyborg soldier, Riley Vaughan, as he attempts to fight invading aliens who want the planet for the abundance of carbon. Okay, so the story is a bit of old guff, but the actual game is very good, and takes place in various ruined cities and war torn environs. Riley can utilise a range of weapons, including a powerful sniper scope, and he has to complete various other tasks alongside killing invaders to proceed on his mission. Visually impressive for the PS1, c 1. Final Resistance came out of the respected SCE Studio Cambridge, which would go on to become Guerrilla Games, of Killzone fame, making this an early example of things to come. LSD Dream Emulator. Without a doubt the most bizarre game on this list, and possibly of all time, LSD Dream Emulator is as messed up, and drug induced as it sounds. Based upon the creator Hiroko Nishikawas own dream journals, the game lets you explore totally random and weird worlds, and was sadly, only released in Japan. As with most dreams, these worlds make little sense, and by touching any object, be it a person, creature or even a wall, youll jump from one dream scape into another. Hitting people and certain objects makes your dreams stranger and stranger, and there are actually some genuinely scary moments to be witnessed. Dreams are measured in four categories upper, downer, dynamic and static, and after a set time you wake up, able to carry on with another, new dream, advancing the games day count by one. Eventually you can replay your dreams, unless you run into a a man wearing a grey hat and trench coat, who can take this ability away. It may not look all that attractive, in fact its downright primitive and ugly, but thats not the point here. Theres not even any real goal, all you do is simply wander around tripped out worlds, over and over. For some reason, this is very addictive. In Cold Blood. In Cold Blood is a third person adventure with some action elements. Players take on the role of MI6 agent, John Cord, who infiltrates the fictional Russian state of Volgia. Unfortunately, hes captured and tortured, and this leads to him losing his memory. So yes, youve guessed it, its your job to help him escape and to ultimately remember his past and the events that lead to his capture. The game mixes in a lot of puzzle and stealth elements into the third person adventure, and the story is actually very interesting, keeping you ploughing along, despite some awkward action sequences. The high tech spy setting and decent visuals are paired with some solid voice acting, and whilst it isnt recommended for pure action fans, adventure buffs should seek it out. Crusader No Remorse. Also available on the Sega Saturn and PC, Crusader No Remorse is an isometric shooter that few people have ever played. It may have blatantly stolen its main character design from a certain Star Wars bounty hunter, but the gameplay here is great. Developed by Origin Systems, the game mixes shooting and puzzles within a rich and detailed world. As the crimson clad hero, the Silencer, you have to infiltrate various facilities, bypassing security systems, hacking computers and taking out guards to achieve your ends. To do this you have a range of weapons and abilities, and you can destroy a lot of the objects in the world. The controls are a little clunky, and take some getting used to, but the slower paced combat and flexible approach to completing your objectives is great. Rapid ReloadGunners Heaven. A blatant clone of Treasures Mega Drive classic, Gunstar Heroes even the characters are treasure hunters, Rapid Reload is, nonetheless, a great side scrolling shooter packed with action and some memorable boss battles. Like Gunstar Heroes, the game features different ammo types, including a flame thrower and homing shot, and characters also have a grappling hook to help them navigate the six levels. Rapid Reload was originally part of the first wave of Play. Station titles released, and although it didnt push the platform technically, it was, and sill is a great early outing, and the gameplay holds up today. Sibelius 7 Free Download Full Version Windows 8 there. Fighting Force. Fighting Force isa 3. D scrolling beat em up in the same style as Segas Street of Rage, and earlier classics like Final Fight and Renegade. In fact, it was originally planned as a Street of Rage title, but was later re branded. It features four different characters, which their own strengths and weaknesses, and alongside the usual melee combat, players can utilise weapons, guns, and the environment, and different paths through the game can be chosen. The game arrived to fairly average reviews on release, limiting its potential, and despite a sequel on the Dreamcast which was fairly poor, it quickly vanished. The original is still held in high regard by fans, though, and its one of the first 3. D beat em ups of its type, which makes it well worth a punt. Wargames Defcon 1. Although the only thing similar to the 1. Blood Omen Legacy of Kain. Blood Omen Legacy of Kain is an action adventure game developed by Silicon Knights and published by Crystal Dynamics, with distribution involvement from Activision and BMG Interactive. It was released for the Play. Station in 1. 99. Microsoft Windowsport was developed by Semi Logic Entertainments and released jointly by Crystal Dynamics and Activision in 1. The game is the first title in the Legacy of Kain series. In Blood Omen, the player follows Kain, a slain nobleman newly resurrected as a vampire. Seeking revenge against his murderers and a cure to his vampiric curse, Kain is tasked with traversing the fictional land of Nosgoth and slaughtering the Circle of Nine, a corrupt oligarchy of godlike sorcerers, but slowly begins to forsake humanity and view his transformation as a blessing. Silicon Knights designed Blood Omen as a game which adults would want to play, intending to evolve the action role playing genre and bring artistic cinema to video game consoles. Reviewers praised its scope and storytelling, but criticized its lengthy loading times. After its release, a dispute arose concerning ownership of its intellectual property rights, after which Crystal Dynamics retained permission to continue the series with their 1. Legacy of Kain Soul Reaver. GameplayeditBlood Omen is a two dimensionalaction adventure game. The player controls the protagonist, Kain, from a top down perspective. Gameplay is divided between outdoor traversal and dungeon crawls, entailing hack and slash combat, puzzle solving, and navigating hazards. To advance the story, Kain must locate and defeat the members of the Circle of Ninewho act as boss enemiesand return their tokens to the Pillars of Nosgoth. Humans, animals, and a variety of fantasy creatures inhabit the game world, whom the player can typically elect to kill outright, or alternatively wound in order to feed on their blood. As a vampire, Kain is required to consume the red blood of living creatures to replenish his health meter, which gradually drains over time, and diminishes more quickly if he sustains damage. When he casts spells or shapeshifts, he expends magic energythis recovers in time, and can be replenished by drinking the blue blood of ghostly enemies. Conversely, undead opponents relinquish harmful black blood, and demons and mutants yield green blood which poisons Kain, causing his health to deplete at a swifter rate. Over the course of the main quest, Kain acquires many items and abilities, which facilitate increasingly nonlinear exploration. As he collects blood vials and rune pyramids, Kains maximum blood and energy capacity rises. By drinking from blood fountains, he receives strength upgrades, faster magic regeneration, and immunity to weather effects. Weapons include iron and fire elemental swords, a spiked mace, twin axes, and the Soul Reaver, a two handed flamberge. Suits of iron, bone, chaos, flesh, and wraith armor feature, and each combination of equipment has advantages and drawbacks. Spells, in the form of magical tarot cards, are used in both strategic and practical contexts, their functions ranging from summoning artificial light to mind control and the evocation of lightning storms. Shapeshifting enables Kain to assume the forms of a bat, allowing for immediate travel to checkpoints a wolf, with enhanced speed and the capacity to jump a cloud of mist, which enables him to pass through gates and cross water or a human, with which he can covertly interact with, or bypass, certain non player characters. There are 1. 00 secrets present in the game, logged if the player uncovers hidden areas, switches, and dungeons these encompass spirit forges, at which Kain may donate a significant portion of his blood in exchange for powerful battle artifacts. A day and night cycle passes progressivelyat night, Kains attacks become more potent, and during full moon phases, some sealed doors become accessible. SettingeditBlood Omen introduces the land of Nosgoth, a fantasy setting dominated by humans and vampires. The health of the world is inextricably connected to the Pillars of Nosgothnine supernatural edifices, each one protected and represented by a human guardian. These sorcerers collectively comprise the Circle of Nine, and if a member dies, a new guardian is culled to take their place by the Pillars. Hundreds of years prior to the events of the story, the Circle formed and sponsored the Sarafan, an order of monastic warriors devoted to eradicating the vampire race, and in the games prologue, the vampire Vorador reacts vengefully by killing six of the guardians and defeating Malek, the Sarafan leader. Though the Sarafan disband, vampires continue to be persecuted. In the intervening years, new guardians have been summoned, Nosgoths surviving vampires have retreated into hiding, and humanity has separated into two opposing factions the kingdom of Willendorf, inspired by Arthurian legend, and the Legions of the Nemesis, an all conquering army determined to bring an end to civilization. When the guardian of balance, Ariel, dies at the hands of a mysterious, malevolent entity, her lover Nupraptor the Mentalist turns his powers against his fellow Circle members, tainting the incumbent guardians with irrevocable madness and leaving the Pillars corrupt. To restore balance to Nosgoth, Kain must overcome the Legions and kill the insane sorcerers as each Circle member is purged and their token returned, their respective Pillar is cleansed, and when he heals all nine Pillars, replacement guardians can be born. CharacterseditKain voiced by Simon Templeman, an ambitious, cynical young nobleman murdered and reluctantly raised as a vampire, is the protagonist of Blood Omen. Conceived as an antihero whose nature reflects the storys moral ambiguity, Kain was partially modeled on the character of William Munny from the 1. Clint Eastwood film, Unforgiven. Mortanius the Necromancer Tony Jay, an ancient wizard, resurrects Kain in a Faustian bargain, and serves as his enigmatic benefactor throughout the game. The reclusive and decadent vampire Vorador Paul Lukather acts as a mentor and father figure to Kain, encouraging him to accept vampirism, whereas the specter of the deceased balance guardian, Ariel Anna Gunn, directs Kain in his quest to restore the land. The corrupt guardianssuch as Moebius the Time Streamer Richard Doyle, a devious manipulator of history, and Malek the Paladin Neil Ross, now an animated suit of armor eternally condemned to protect the Circle following his defeat against Voradorfeature as the storys antagonists. Other major characters include King Ottmar Ross, the ruler of Willendorf The Nemesis Jay, a once benign monarch known as William the Just, turned despot and tyrant and The Dark Entity Jay, an otherworldly being capable of demonic possession who seeks to topple the Circle and the Pillars. During a journey, the human nobleman Kain is ambushed and killed by a band of assassins. Mortanius offers him the chance to exact revengeKain assents, heedless of the cost, and awakes as a vampire. Once he kills his attackers, Mortanius tells him that, while they were the instruments of his death, they were not the ultimate cause. In search of the truth, and a cure to his vampiric curse, Kain travels to the Pillars of Nosgoth.