I started out originally to write a top 10 list of games that should have been megahits, but whilst there are many worthy games out there (and I'm sure you all have your favourites, I could only really think of 5 or 6 games for the list. All these games are, in my own opinion, games which should have had a much longer shelf life, and should be made much more of an impact on the gaming public's consciousness. They are all, without exception, PC titles, as I am a relative latecomer to the world of console gaming (at least that between the original Sega Master System and the Playstation 2).

So, here's the top 5 games that I think should have been megahits, but weren't. At least one was a popular game in it's own right, and topped a lot of people's best-ever games charts, but recent discussions around the release of the sequel has shown that while a lot of people are aware of the game, very few have actually played it. Another still has a cult following, mostly in Germany who still play the associated email subgame. I even tried to buy the rights to the game when the original developer went under, as I thought the game could have a much wider appeal if released on multiple consoles and perhaps as an MMO.

So, on with the list!

5Heavy Metal: FAKK 2 » I reviewed Heavy Metal: FAKK 2 way back at Barrysworld, having been lucky enough to get a signed pre-release copy whilst attending QuakeCon 2000. On the surface, the game is a simple 3rd-person action adventure game based on the Quake 2 engine. It's when you get into it that, like a lof of other games on this list, you find that the storyline and attention to details put into the game add something that makes the game far more enjoyable to play, rather than just a hack/slash type game.

  

For a better look at the game, check out the review I wrote way back when, or go and download the demo.

Heavy Metal: FAKK 2
Developer: Ritual
Publisher: GodGames
Year: 2000

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41nsane » I've said it before, and I'll probably say it many times to come, I really think that 1nsane was a real missed opportunity when it comes to online games. A simplistic racing game at it's heart, it was when taken online that the real potential of this game started to be shown. The easy to learn, yet incredibly difficult to master racing game, with multiple terrain types, multiple vehicles and a host of different game types lent itself perfectly to pick up and play online gaming.

Unfortunately the decision to make this game a purely peer-to-peer online game stopped people from setting up dedicated servers that people could find and play on anytime they wanted, and relied on people hosting games themselves, something that was particularly difficult when this game was originally released, as broadband connections were certainly a rare exception, with ISDN being the best most people could muster when it came to connection speeds.

You can still download and try out the game if you want to give it a spin, but the multiplaye raspect no longer works (or at least didn't the last time I checked) as it relied on a short-lived custom Codemasters Multiplayer Network service (not the same as the current COG service).

1nsane
Developer: Invictus
Publisher: Codemasters
Year: 2000

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