Blend Games: Top 5 Games That Need Hype

By William Usher: 2008-09-16 10:52:21

When don’t you hear about Star Wars: Force Unleashed, Gran Turismo 5, Fallout 3, KillZone 2 or BioShock for the PS3? Well, you never stop hearing or reading about those games. They are pretty much everywhere. But on the flip-side, there’s a lot of games that just seem to fly completely under the radar...so much so, that you may have even forgotten that they exist. No worries, Blend Games is on duty to ensure that gamers who want to be informed about the under-hyped games will at least know where to look. So without further delay, you can check out our five picks that are flying low on the hype-radar.

No. 5
Fracture
Here’s a game that redefines terrain-advantage, by actually giving players the power to manipulate and change the terrain. It’s a tall order for entertainment and multiplayer balance, but the guys and gals at Day 1 Studios seem to know what they’re doing with this under-rated third-person shooter. Despite its originality and the smooth-as-butter graphics and animations, Fracture has seamlessly slipped by the hype radar. Then again, LucasArts is always going to put anything Star Wars before their other projects. Time, however, is running out for Fracture to pick up the steam it needs to really make an impact on consumers. Maybe as its release draws near, people will find that crushing opponents with a bowling ball of debris is a lot more fun than they thought.

No. 4
Motorstorm: Pacific Rift
Some of you might say that this is probably one of the games on this list that doesn’t deserve to be here, but I’m sure you’re quite wrong. Unless, of course, you would have preferred this space to be filled with Little Big Planet. Nevertheless, for Motorstorm to be a first-party exclusive it sure doesn’t act like it. This game has lots of potential, and the developers seemed to have added much of what the game needed to be an instant classic. Additional multiplayer functionality (including split-screen and online play), more destructible environments, more tracks and a lot more vehicles to choose from makes it seem like a great racing sim. Yet the press seemed to have trolled over this game like a bad case of Chinese milk, or a business venture with Merrill Lynch. Anyway, Motorstorm: Pacific Rift definitely deserves more hype, especially considering that Gran Turismo: Prologue received more coverage than it needed.

No.3
SOCOM: U.S. Navy SEALs Confrontation
This game isn’t so much under-hyped as it is completely ignored. I’m not sure why this game acts like someone’s quiet nephew who sits in a corner picking his nose, despite the fact that he’s carrying a large M16 and an accompanying mortar launcher. Technically, there’s nothing wrong with what’s on display with SOCOM: Confrontation, Sony apparently has no interest in making this game well known. With a variety of multiplayer maps, modes and support for up to 32 players, you would think this game might garner slightly more attention then what it has. That’s not to mention the destructible environments, team-oriented gameplay and dynamic shootouts. Maybe if there were models in octopus-like armor, fighting genome soldiers, it would be covered in the news more often.

No. 2
Legendary
With the exception of the number one spot, this game is completely underappreciated by the gaming media. Every so often we’ll hear or see, or read something about this game and then it fades away. One of the things that make Legendary so cool, is that it has a very unique feel to its presentation; the monsters and epic creatures add a visceral scope to the overall gameplay. Yet despite its originality and its approaching release date, the game takes second- shelf precedence to the perpetually delayed likes of Final Fantasy XIII and KillZone 2.

No. 1
Borderlands
I don’t think there’s any game currently aimed to land on gaming shelves that is quite as ambitious or as unknown, as 2K Games’ Borderlands. This game will literally redefine the measure of RPG-shooters. This isn’t just filled with nearly half-a-million different weapon customizations, or 10,000 different vehicle parts, this game houses a four-player co-op mode that can be played either online or offline. That’s not to mention the random map shifts, character upgrades and an interweaving story arch. This game, without a shadow of a doubt, deserves a lot more hype than what it’s receiving. This is especially considering that 2009 is just around the corner, and the only game we keep hearing about is KillZone 2. Don’t be surprised if Blend Games starts traveling down the road to hype Borderlands, because this game definitely deserves it.

If you agree that any of these five games need to be covered more in our gaming news, feel free to drop a vote in below. Here at Blend Games we’ll be sure to mix in the results of your votes with the output of our news.

Games that need hype

Which game do you believe deserves more hype?