Army of Two
I could talk for hours about why online co-op will never be an adequate replacement for split-screen multiplayer, but Army of Two is a game that does the talking for me. On its own, AoT is a standard and uninspired shooter romp, but if you bring in a wingman and a couple of beers it is an indescribable experience. It was inevitably crushed under the weight of its own hype however, resulting in it disappearing much sooner than was deserved.
Halo 3: ODST
Deny it as the fans may, ODST was designed solely to fill the gap between Halo 3 and Reach. Though this may be true, it doesn’t make ODST any less of a game. Hyped up as a step up for narrative within the series, many fans felt there was little left for them afterwards on account of the lack of traditional multiplayer modes. That said, Firefight was a stroke of genius, and the campaign itself is, arguably, one of the best in the entire franchise. It was thus that mixed opinions of fans forced ODST into bargain bins sooner than it deserved.
DJ Hero
Peripheral based music games are a contentious issue these days, but there was a time when they could seemingly do no wrong. DJ Hero then came at just the wrong time, a time when consumers had really put their foot down about the idea of buying yet another oddly shaped controller. It was a shame it was timed so poorly though, as DJ Hero was a lot of fun and carried on the disc a host of creative and engaging mixes. It just goes to show that timing is everything, as this gem disappeared before it ever had time to really shine.
Shenmue 2
The original Shenmue was an underrated classic that battled against the odds of financial sense to become one of the best games ever. The sequel didn’t even get an initial release in North America, and the European version that subsequently hit the Dreamcast in 2001 didn’t have any English voices recorded for it because of this. An Xbox remake was released in 2002/3 though, granting the US first time access to a brilliantly realised sequel. Sadly, by this time, interest in continuing the series had dried up and, as many players wouldn’t have played the first game, the majesty of Shenmue’s continuing saga was lost on the masses. It resulted in this one prematurely hitting the bottom of the bargain bin.
