• 11 months ago
Welcome to WatchMojo and today we’re counting down our picks for 10 awesome pc games you probably forgot existed.
Transcript
00:00 Welcome to WatchMojo and today we're counting down our picks for 10 awesome PC games you
00:08 probably forgot about.
00:18 This superb 2006 title has all the markings of a classic RPG, albeit with linear level
00:23 design.
00:24 You complete objectives and earn skill points to build on your melee, magic or stealth abilities
00:29 - you can explore vast, fantastic locations and you get to battle hordes of overpowered
00:34 enemies.
00:35 Oh, and it's all based around the same gaming engine as Half-Life 2, which is a big plus.
00:44 But it's easy to see why this fantasy title was overlooked.
00:47 It's not quite Skyrim, World of Warcraft, Dishonored or Assassin's Creed - it's
00:51 kind of all those titles rolled into one.
00:53 Those who remember playing it will no doubt have loved the intuitive pop-up inventory
00:57 menus, the go-anywhere FPS-style gameplay and eerie atmosphere it had to offer.
01:08 Next up is a ghost game that manages to be challenging and creepy without taking itself
01:12 too seriously.
01:13 Imagine playing The Sims, but instead of controlling the gibberish-talking Sims themselves, you
01:17 assemble a group of ghosts and try to terrorise them and get them to leave the premises as
01:21 quickly as possible.
01:23 Sort of like the opposite of Ghostbusters.
01:27 The objective is to scare people out of a location as efficiently as possible.
01:31 You get to control a variety of different ghosts, upgrade their scaring abilities and
01:35 also do cool things like, I dunno, possess people, free restless spirits and exploit
01:40 people's phobias.
01:43 It's dark humour at its finest, and it's genuinely fun to play.
01:52 In a lot of ways, the Thief series was a victim of its own success.
02:01 Many gamers swerved the third instalment in the franchise, Deadly Shadows, because they
02:05 felt it didn't measure up to Thief 1 and 2 - what with the omission of classic weapons
02:09 like the blackjack and rope arrows, and the numerous bugs and lengthy loading screens.
02:13 But Thief Deadly Shadows is still a solid title, and it introduced some new, exciting
02:18 game elements, like the ability to explore the city more extensively and visit merchants
02:22 and complete side quests.
02:24 It has an interesting atmosphere and setting to it that's really fun to explore, and
02:28 it's definitely worth a look if you're a fan of the first two games or similar titles
02:32 like Assassin's Creed.
02:40 We've got another evil, puppet-master-like game next, and in Evil Genius you get to play
02:44 a Bond villain-like menace with their own secret lair.
02:48 In this game, you'll have to fend off attacks from spies and super-agents, all while managing
02:52 your droves of minions and your world domination screen.
03:00 You get to choose from three different evil geniuses, and you can also vary the difficulty
03:04 level in case you just want to have fun while taking over the world.
03:07 Sure, you get to indulge in all the bad guy cliches, but the base management aspect of
03:12 Evil Genius is super fun, and apprehending an intruder never gets old.
03:16 It's essentially Dungeon Keeper, but you take on the role of Dr Evil.
03:20 I mean, what's not to love about that?
03:33 It was easy to jump into this third-person shooter and feel totally overwhelmed by its
03:37 intricate hand-to-hand combat system, but once you got to grips with it, it made the
03:41 gameplay super satisfying.
03:43 Oni felt very much ahead of its time, with slick animations, a blend of genres, and a
03:48 convoluted government cover-up style plot that even Hideo Kojima would be proud of.
03:54 Oni's release was somewhat overshadowed by the Halo franchise, launched by the same
04:00 developer less than a year later.
04:01 But for those that appreciate games with a unique personality and a distinctive setting,
04:06 Oni is a must-play, and for many of us, it was possibly our first experience of a sophisticated
04:11 video game.
04:42 The terrifying atmosphere that this game creates is no joke.
04:48 Its design takes inspiration from movies like "Sounds of Lambs" and "Se7en", and
04:52 is every bit as gritty and unnerving.
05:01 You play as FBI agent Ethan Thomas, hot on the tail of a serial killer.
05:05 Along the way, you'll have to fend off psychopaths left, right and centre in extremely close-quarters
05:09 combat with whatever planks of wardrobe lead pipes you can find.
05:13 There's more nuanced sections of the game where you'll be doing some crime scene analysis,
05:16 but these are bookended by moments of pure horror and claustrophobia.
05:20 It's a hoot, and traumatising, and it served as a springboard for many of us to seek out
05:25 other horror titles.
05:31 Released by developer Bioware in 2005, "Jade Empire" got somewhat lost among its other
05:36 excellent releases, including "Star Wars Knight of the Old Republic" and "Mass
05:40 Effect".
05:41 They had all the trappings of a fun RPG, NPC side quests, an intricate combat system with
05:45 bullet-time-like manipulation, and the choice of different dialogue paths.
05:49 And it combined these qualities with third-person gameplay, and a refreshing setting inspired
05:53 by Chinese mythology.
05:55 Whether it's your cup of tea or not, there's no denying that "Jade Empire" felt different,
05:59 and yet it combined elements of super-successful, more mainstream games from the developer.
06:14 This is another solid game that champions the Half-Life 2 engine, and it's arguably
06:17 the only vampire game that properly fleshes out the concept of what it would really be
06:22 like to be a bloodsucker.
06:23 The game's plot is nuanced, having you play as a vampire in a world where vampires have
06:27 their own laws and have to watch their backs for vampire hunters in a human society.
06:37 This game has tons of locations to explore, loads of collectibles and weapons, a great
06:41 plot and some excellent multi-choice dialogues to be had with some real in-depth characters.
06:46 It feels like stepping into the world of the "Blade" series, and exploring its dark
06:50 and dingy alleyways and nightclubs, all while trying to avoid Blade himself.
07:02 This is a classic example of a hybrid FPS and RPG game.
07:06 It has the extensive inventory and plentiful exploration of an RPG, but with a strictly
07:11 linear level design.
07:13 And although it doesn't have NPC-triggered side quests, you do get to choose what kind
07:17 of military character you want to be at the start of the game, be it a member of the Marines,
07:21 Navy or OSA.
07:22 And then you get to upgrade your character with everything from hacking to telekinetic
07:25 abilities.
07:26 It feels a little bit like Dead Space, with plenty of horror elements, but really, it
07:30 feels much more sophisticated than that.
07:32 And even though it's getting on in years, there's just something about the visuals
07:35 that feel engaging and timeless.
08:00 If there's one game that can challenge the underwear-spoiling terror of the aforementioned
08:13 condemned criminal origins, it's Clive Barker's Undying.
08:17 The game sees you play as a paranormal investigator, visiting a ghostly estate in order to help
08:21 his friend rid his family of a curse.
08:23 It might not be as gritty and as photorealistic as Condemned is, but it makes up for it with
08:28 its spine-chilling sound effects and soundtrack, and settings which can only be described as
08:32 being ripped right out of a nightmare.
08:38 If this game was ever remade with modern graphics, I'm not sure I'd want to play it, in fear
08:45 of having a total mental breakdown.
08:52 So what do you think of our picks?
08:53 Did we miss any classic forgotten PC games?
08:56 Let us know in the comments below.
09:09 See you next time!
09:18 (upbeat music)