Taking a look back at some gaming gems that didn't get their fair turn in the sun. How many do you remember?
BY JAMES BELL: Gaming in 2003 was the best. I won’t hear anyone say otherwise, it just was. Gorging on a gaming diet of Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker, Halo 2, Fable, and Devil May Cry 2 on my consoles, and “Hey Ya” by OutKast playing on my hi-fi. Bliss.
Whether you were gaming back then or not, you may have missed one of the most underrated games of 2003: Freedom Fighters. Developed by IO Interactive, the studio behind Hitman, Freedom Fighters deserves a lot more recognition for its interesting setting and fun gameplay that holds up to this day.
Oh man, I remember playing this on Gamecube. I picked it up at random used from Gamestop and I couldn't put it down, from start to finish. I'm sure if I went back to it now, the nostalgia wouldn't hold up. I'd like to see it reimagined for sure!
I loved this game on gamecube. It actually got a steam release and boy did it....not age well lol.
Changing the controls using an emulator make this just about playable, if I remember correctly aiming properly requires you to hold the stick down which is awful.
I tried the game about 2 years ago on Xbox, and yeah, the controls were un-playable for me. I can't remember why the controls were so bad, but I stopped after about 15 minutes, it was just terrible. Also the intro story was so darned goofy and contrived, we go from calm NYC to full scale invasion within 60 seconds.
An emulator may fix that, perhaps I'll try it on PCSX2 or Dolphin.
Yeah very weak story. I enjoyed the game as a kid but going back to it a few years ago was quite the eye opener. However there is fun to be had in the split screen multiplayer. 2-4 player hold the flag objective where you can recruit up to 8 NPCs each. Unique in that way. Got a few fun plays out of that and laughing at the jank is part of it.
Freedom Fighters is a timeless classic that needs to be updated. Since its release nearly twenty years ago, “Freedom Fighters” has been able to win over the affections of gamers.
Weird how a side project ps2 game had some of the most capable orderable companion ai ever made. Like their behavior is nothing groundbreaking, but if you tell them to cover an area, or attack an area, they do a damn fine job of being about as capable as you in shooting and cover
Some games of yesteryear were just ahead of their time. So Half-Glass Gaming takes a moment to wax poetically about some favorites from a bygone era and whip up a list of games we would love to see remakes of.
Had a lot of fun with Scarface. That was around the peak of GTA clones. The amount of them has decreased substantially.
Beyond Good and Evil would be fantastic
Simpsons Hit and Run, expanded with new areas from the newer seasons and with all the hubs joining on from one another to make one massive open world game
Bugs Bunny Lost in Time / Bugs Bunny and Taz: Time Busters
Sheep, Dog n Wolf (Sheep Raider)
Toy Story 2
Legend of Dragoon
Some of my "out there" picks anyway...
Ape Escape series
B.L.A.C.K.
Path of Neo
Max Payne trilogy (or at least 1&2) BY ANYONE OTHER THAN GROVESTREET GAME FFS!
Oasis
Rise of the Argonauts
Killzone 2
F.E.A.R.
Just off the top of my head
Yup max Payne 1 by Grove St games would be the mobile version they did which dropped the difficulty to none existant just in 4k unfortunately.
I would’ve added stalker but were thankfully getting a sequel soon. This would be my list
FEAR
Max Payne 1 & 2
Blood
Freedom Fighters
Syphon Filter
Dino Crisis
PC has Mods, Xbox Series X has (4K?)/60fps. For consoles this would probably come down to deeper visual quality and quality of life improvements in one package, like the treatment Mass Effect trilogy got.
I want it specifically on Switch though.. now later this year I plan on getting a Series X and I'll enjoy it there as well. My main problem is the fact that Bethesda has re-released Skyrim on nearly every console for 3 generations yet they haven't done anything with Fallout 3 or New Vegas. Those are just as popular as Skyrim so why haven't they been Remastered for all the current or even last gen consoles yet? I feel like us Fallout fans are getting the short end of the stick here.
Nox is amazing. If you're a fan of Diablo, you need to check it out like immediately
I'll have to check some of these out.
Thought this would include games from this or last gen but nonetheless great list I played all the games except Nox will have to try it some time.
Freedom Fighters got abandoned pretty much. A brilliant game though
I played and beat Nox and Vampires: The Masquerade. IMO Vampires is the best game on the list. It really needs a sequel or at least a spiritual successor.
I played Homeworld but wasn't very good at it. I hit a level I just couldn't beat no matter how many times I tried.
I never played freedom fighters.