Once you’re done with Mario and Modern Warfare, hunt down this baker’s dozen
of overlooked greats.
Even with all the fall 2009 releases that were delayed into 2010, it’s still been a heck of a year for games. Blockbusters everywhere! You couldn’t walk to the bus without tripping over one, it seems. And with all that obsessing over the big-name hits, a huge number of worthy also-rans have gone almost completely overlooked by gamers at large. Well, that just doesn’t sit right with us. Sure, we like the triple-A titles as much as the next batch of game-obsessed nerds, but we love the little guys, too. So, we’ve put together a baker’s dozen of overlooked or sleeper games that you might have missed amidst all the furor. At the very least, they’ll give you something to do before March hits and we’re drowning in goodness again.
Dev: WayForward | Pub: Majesco | Platform: Wii
Less a remake than a total overhaul of an inspired but uneven NES classic, WayForward’s take on A Boy and His Blob is visually stunning — and almost as difficult. By getting rid of the concept of limited lives and building in a generous checkpoint system, the developer was able to create a platformer that consists of hundreds of challenging little puzzles strung together in a package that manages not to frustrate despite its difficulty… well, except the bosses, which tend to inspire infuriated hair-pulling. A curious blend of storybook charm and old-school videogame challenge, it’s a true Wii gem.
Dev: Capybara | Platform: iPhone/PS3
Critter Crunch is basically Magical Drop mixed with Space Invaders and dressed up with a cute rendition of the food chain, which means it’s a fast-paced puzzler that arguably teaches kids about nature. (Red in tooth and claw and all that.) Really, though, it’s just a fun, addictive game that perfectly fits the iPhone platform (and isn’t too shabby on PSN, either). The object-matching puzzle genre is pretty well tapped out by now, but Critter Crunch is the most memorable entry to hit this crowded field in quite some time — and at $1.99 on iPhone and $6.99 on PSN, the price is just right.
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