the secret of mana series is fantastic, SoM3 has the best artwork in a tile-based rpg i have ever seen 

it will eternally piss me off that Seiken Densetsu (SoM) 3 never got translated. thankfully, that's what ROM's and ROM translation groups are for. =) 

on e3 the english version of gothic 2 was announced... I'd recommend you (and anyone else) to get that when it comes out. 

You can find Seiken Densetsu 3 translated into english under the name Secret of Mana 2 if you go rom searching. That or find me. 

Looks beautifull but the game isn't very good (unlike Secret of mana). 

what i think iyt that they allare cooll 

Turn-Based Strategy
-------------------
Age Of Wonders: Shadow Magic
- the whole series is superb
Warhammer 40k: Chaos Gate
- it was the best Warhammer 40k game until DoW

Wargames / Tactical Simulators
------------------------------
TacOps 4
- the ultimate toy for the armchair general

Independent / Freeware
----------------------
The Kingdom Of Loathing
- the best MMORPG, no fees and hilarious
Cube
- you folks already know
Burger Wars
- my vote for best FPS premise 

for reasons stated earlier.. 

I played it way back when it was released, but downloaded it some days ago, it's abandonware in the net (get the patch too). I think moo1.zip. I run it in dosbox (the program).

I hadn't remembered actually how much care has been put into all those custom menu engines, graphics, animations etc, and they all serve a purpose. Also the game itself doesn't have that many big flaws - everything just works.

It was released in 1994 I think.

I've never played II or III and what I've heard about them, won't bother.

It kinda was left in the shade of Civilization, so that's why I mention it in this underrated games topic... but I think those games are different and fill different niches.

You really have to think in moo, there are some decisions and not just always the obvious way to go and then micromanagement.
Designing ships is one funny part of the game, as is an exciting and decisive big battle where giant fleets clash together around some planet - you don't really know what kind of ships the computer throws at you until you meet them the first time. 

http://www.celephais.net/solstice/ 

Solstice.
I haven't thought about that game in years. It was indeed great.

Damn...memories. 

ABUSE

the awesome 'you're a prisoner escaping from an alien infested prison' sidescroller game. the mouse is used for aiming, and the keyboard for directional movement. very scary, and awesome weapons! i still play it sometimes 

I remember tha game, that was awesome fun. 

Throwing my hat in the ring for this gem of a game from Sierra. One of the first really expansive "3D" RPGs out there...you could have spent thousands of hours playing it if you wanted. The 3d graphics were obviously primitive and shitty, but it was enthralling anyway.

IIRC they had a professional writer onboard to do the story and dialogue, and it really shines through. The game never gets boring, and if you're into RPGs, I highly reccomend it. 

Betrayal is an outstanding game. Excellent pacing throughout. 

With that name I would expect it would have been Raymond E Feist, author of the legendary "Magician" and it's initially equally good but then increasingly tedious derivatives, as Krondor is the main kingdom in the aforesaid tome. 

BAT is taken from Feist's stories.

Not in any particular order:

1. Betrayal At Krondor
Just fun. Not sure if it was innovative for it's time, but despite the aged graphics it kept me engaged, although it did get frustrating. I suppose it was like the System Shock of traditional RPG.

2. Hitman series
Mostly stealth oriented but you could jump into action if you wanted to. The 2nd and 3rd offered a welcome but bit odd first-person mode. With various ways to go about accomplishing a mission from routes to offense it's a fun game but really only for the right crowd as it's stealth oriented.

3. I.G.I. 2
Sequel to Project IGI. Some might not agree with me here but, I knew where they missed the mark in IGI 1 and I thought they did much better in IGI 2. Just a very fun game all throughout. 

Hitman is a pretty sucky game if you just go around and murder everyone, as that is the easy way out. The hard part is getting a 'silent assassin' rating on every level, this is very hard, almost impossible at times, and it's very entertaining trying to accomplish this. I've liked all the Hitman games so far, but my favourite is #2. Especially the levels in malaysia. 

Agreed about IGI 2, it's one of my favourite games, ever, along with the IGI 1.

And I also know that many will disagree, especially those without the patience to play such a (stealth-based) game. 

TA - can't agree enough about that one. It still chugs on some modern pcs in the biggest of battles, but bizarrely it ran ok on my old p200 when playing on more modest settings. Absolutely beautiful interface, order queing and tech which seemed so advanced at the time (proper line of site for units, 3d terrain, polygon modelled units, debris which blew in the breeze etc. etc. etc.)

Vietcong - this is also pretty underrated. I think the reason for this is that people heard about how buggy it was and avoided it. Pterodon, the developers added coop in the Fist Alpha patch, which turned it into one of the most brilliant multiplayer experiences you can possibly have (if you are hardcore enough.) The enemy AI is really challenging and often quite believeable. Try playing coop Ambush with ingame teamspeak turned on, no respawn, no rejoin, vietnam AI and a properly organised squad. It's brilliant.

I couldn't think of a third game on my own, so I quickly scanned the replies. I agree with CZG about Abe's Exoddus. It's absolutely blinding. The first two Oddworld games contain some of the most beautiful artwork I've ever seen in a game (that isn't Japanese or made by Blizzard :) The platform/puzzle gameplay was also great fun, and not nearly as frustrating and repetetive as some IDIOTS made it out to be.

I agree with Nitin about Goldeneye being overrated - I found the multiplayer a touch shit and awkward after years of Quake 1/2 and Half-life.

Halo and Timesplitters also seem to be pretty overrated. What is it with console gamers thinking they have all the best FPS games? Idiots.

CZG, were Ico and Rez underrated or did they just underperform at retail? I thought they were both rated highly and masturbated upon by millions of fanboys on a daily basis. I've not played Ico because I don't have a ps2, but when I get the chance, I'll give it a whirl. I have Rez on the DC and it is indeed class.

TA was actually rated pretty highly by the PC mags when it came out, but it seems to be overlooked by most RTS gamers today, which is sad. The developers, Cavedog, were also one of the first to set up their own multiplayer gaming network - Boneyards. Then Cavedog vanished after working on a kind of crappy (from what I remember) looking FPS game, which was canned. 

Mafia.

I'm not sure how well this sold, but it got good reviews from a few places, and I really love it. It's a bit like GTA3, but the artwork and missions are really top notch, and the most important thing is that it's a fucking blast to play.

They also have well over 100 strikingly detailed old-time 1930-40 cars. It's quite stunning to actually be in the game universe...I think I might just replay it soon :D 

Fuck yes. Amen. Actually had believable characters with bit of an attachment. 

Didn't actually play it myself, but my mate was wanking over the period details and research that must have gone into the art (it was nice, yes.) Anyway, he showed me the game and it seemed pretty cool, but I think some of the excitement of driving from GTA was lacking since the cars all went about 50 tops. 

I thought the driving in Mafia was still fun chase wise, but yes slow. There was Free Ride and Free Ride extreme, one memorable car had a jet engine on it... that was fun blazing down long stretches. Got old quick though. 

btw does anyone know this old puzzle game from early nineties made by Callisto.
http://www.juegomania.org/pc/8660

It had also a map editor and we made maps for friends to play.. You could have all kinds of nice shooters and triggers and monsters and telepors and bombs and whatnots in it, shooters triggering other shooters. I remember a friend made a level that was very unpredictable with so many effects building up after each other..
Too bad I lost the custom levels when I formatted the old hd of the 386 back then...

I also liked the nice clean and inspired graphics.