The first game I have chosen to talk about is from the SNES (SUPER NINTENDO ENTERTAINMENT SYSTEM) or Super Famicon, Sega Genesis, Atari Jaguar generation. This game has also shown up I believe on the Sega CD, or Saturn, but do not quote me on that, I know for sure it is on the PC and Sony Playstation as well, but still came out new as a fifth generation title. The game was Primal Rage, another game released by Midway, but never had a follow-up. This game was major to its target audience, and mixed MK humor and violence, with Jurassic Park meets Land of the Lost characters. Primal Rage was a game that many people found to be a hit or miss. Primal Rage consisted of several playable characters including: Vertigo, Sauron, Blizzard, Talon, Diablo, Chaos, and Armadon.
The Storyline: like many of the Midway fighting games, Primal Rage was known for its storyline where a meteor crashes to Earth, destroying much of what we know as humans to be society, and creating the new planet "URTH". The game has a stone age feel to it, as you battle giant dinosaur-like gods and one goddess (Vertigo) to the death in front of the adoring worshipers who cheer for your win.
The Gameplay: The handling is like most fighters, but flows well with in-game play. The game is fun to play, and never gets old. Like Mortal Kombat, you can punch in codes to make your character perform a "fatality" or a similar move on your oppoent after they have been beat, and sadd insult to injury. The game was unique for its time, only being similar to the game Rampage, but both games have their obvious differences. In conclusion, This game is one of those sort of games that have had contorversity thrown at it let and right. One thing that was quite interesting (SPOILER: DO NOT READ NEXT LINE IF YOU DO NOT WANT THE GAME SPOILED FOR YOU) was that Chaos would have his bodily functions be his special moves, and his finishing move was to urinate on the downed player and burn away the flesh and msucle to expose nothing but pieces of fleshy meat on a pile of bones.
picture from http://gc.advancedmn.com/images/media/primalrage1.jpg Picture of Sauron and Blizzard from Primal Rage fighting.The next game, or lack thereof is from the PSX. This game is called Thrill Kill, which you will never find, because it was banned before reaching the market. Censorship is saddening, but you have to appreciate this game...especially when games like Custer's Revenge came out, and were considered the downfall of all things moral. Thrill Kill is possibly the most violent game ever made, and although some would gawk and laugh saying it was only for the PSX (Or Playstation 1) it did live up to its hype, even shadowing over games like Postal 2, and the Grand Theft Auto series. This game had it all, even the characters were lucky to get an M rating. Characters that resemble homosexual cannibalistic serial killers, sado-masochistic harlots, and insane, manical doctors does not really fit the bill for kids, but who am I to say what is viewable to a child, or teenager? Luckily it was not the ESRB that banned this game, but the creators themselves seen it fit that this game was a bit "too-much" to realease to the general public....but that doesn't mean we have not played it! I have personally played this game...and after the shock goes away...it really at its roots is an inovative fighting game that does deserve credit! Yes, this game has some redeeming values, like allowing four players to battle it out on screen at the same time, and this was way before wrestling games have allowed such play. Imagine a fighting game system similar to Mortal Kombat, or Teken, and if you must, Street Fighter, but four players moving about at once...and done well! Anyhow, the game consists of eight players, ranging in different crimes to make unique characters...for example: The character Cleetus (an obvious rip-off of Jeffery Dahmer) is an homosexual, backwoods canibal who starts each fight with biting into the leg of a victim that got away from him on earth (see below for a brief synopsis about the storyline.) and the graphics and sounds are plain nasty.
What makes this game even more interesting is that many of the characters are fitted to the prejudices of real life. Another example is that Mammoth was a good guy that snapped and literally went "postal" on his fellow co-workers, so you can see why this game may have been a bit too much....although the storyline seems to tell an obverse side of the tale.
Storyline: Okay, so aside from more gore and violence than a Cattle Decapitation lyrics sheet, this game does seem to have a possibly good story underneath all that nasty stuff. The game starts out with Marukka, the God of Secrets (athough Marukaa is a girl, she is called a god.....don't ask, don't tell I suppose.) being bored one day in hell, and she then decides to pit eight dead souls against each other in combat, and the winner is allowed the ultimate prize....rebirth! So, how does she decide to spice this fight up? She picks eight of the most deranged souls to pit against each other....wow! Anyway, this game seems to be all about the endings, since each character has the sick, highly pessimistc, ultra-violence sort of life that would send Anthony Burgess into a vomiting fit...so, this really is where the game shines the most....if you can see that little sparkle of light through the blood, follow that to an above mediorce story, to make a mediorce game. The perverse souls in this game are really what makes you question if this game was all shock, and no deliver, but in my humble, un-biased opinon, I think this game from Paradox Developers, as violent as it was could have made a decent game. i also remember when they said games like Loaded and Re-loaded were too violent.
Picture from http://www.marcianitos.org/misc/juegosdpiques/thrillkill.png, and is one of the few pictures of actual gameplay from Thrill Kill....this picture seems to be of Belladonna in the maid outfit riding her opponent.....um, yeah....I really don't want to guess how apprpriate this is, but nevertheless, this game is quite bad when it comes to sexual themes and gore. This is probably one of the only few scenes that is NOT blood covered or worst.Okay, take a break from the gore....well sort of, and focus on another game called Blast Chamber. I don't know the developer of this game. I never owned it, but played it and beat it back in like 1996. A great game, underrated, and overshadowed by games that were similar, and made by larger publishers. Blast Chamber was one of those "beat-the-clock" games that made you have to move a cubical room around by pushing on the sides, and this would make things fall from the ceilings, and create new puzzles. The game did ahve some blood, but was not as graphic as the aboved mentioned games, and is perhaps mroe realistic, well, at times. You actually had to be careful of falling objects, even if they were suppose to help you, cause you could get squashed by a box, or falling spikes, etc. there are over 60 levels, and it pretty much plays out like a game that allows you to simply move to the next step. Not so innovative, but fun to play, and you just knew that if you did not make it through fast enough.....BOOM! Oh yeah, I failed to mention....there is a BOMB strapped onto your back the entire game, and if the timer runs out, you are fragged to hell. Two player elimination, and free-for-all made this game even more fun, and a great party game.
Storyline: really none....mainly you are playing THE GAME, and you have to finish it before you die....you mainly played for the game itself, and not for the storyline.
Gameplay: Excellent......if you like having some camera problems, but let's face it, this was a game for the SEGA SATURN, released with some vamped graphics to the PSX, so let's be honest...does the graphics and gameplay compare well? Not really, but it was feesable considereing you were playing this game fast, and you would not want to spend more than thirty seconds in a room. The speed of the character moved well, and might have been quite fast considereing lag from most PSX games. Aside from minor setbacks, you play this game for the fact it is an unknown classic, and deserves another game in the series....maybe next gen????
Picture fromhttp://www.vidgames.com/ps/screens/blastchamber3.jpg This is pretty much the whole game....run around in a cubical room, trying to escape to a much more difficult room. I think it is something that most gamers would like, but next generation consoles could have some fun playing with how to do this up even better.Okay, we are moving through this....ready for a kid-friendly game? Wait...Something kid-friendly on Malacast Editorial....this must have made an impact! Not really...it is just a unique game. Roll Away....Tetris meets the beach ball....by far the most unique game, and the most odd-ball game (yes, the pun WAS intended) made since Katamari Damacy. Roll Away pits you, a beach/soccer/base/volley/etc. ball against a cubical platform in the middle of the sky, and you are trying to get to the exit through collecting items. Sounds odd.....wait there's more! Roll Away was designed to be a half strategy, half beat-the-clock sort of game, and it worked out astoundingly well. There are at least sixty levels of play, and over fifty to sixty different types of balls (that's a lot of balls! This game really does have the most balls of any for the PSX) so the fun never ends! Levels increase in pressure, as objects like spikes, and other obstacles come in your way of victory. What is the point, if not the prize at the end of the this game?? Well, the would spoil it for you now wouldn't it? I guess a sense of accomplisment perhaps?
Storyline: You are a ball....you bounce....avoid spikes.....looks cute.....enough said
Gameplay: This game has some unique.....well any modes are unique I guess...but the two player is cool with time trial, and Copy Cat modes, it is a possible bored day game...when you have nothing better to do, are sick of the norm games, and just like bouncing some ball around. Roll Away is one of my personal favorites for the PSX because it shows you that you can rock out with your balls out, and have a damn good time with a simplistic, but fun game. This game may not be the prettiest, even to PSX standards, but it is a game for gamers who want something new.
Picture from http://www.gamesetwatch.com/rollaway2.jpg Roll Away pretty much starts out with the beach ball, and moves up, but the object is to get the objects in time, and get through the exit...also if you get all the fruit....I don't know why it is fruit! Then you get to go to a bonus round to score more points...Ooooooooo!When I think of underrated games for any system, not even factoring in graphics, press, etc. I think of SEGA. Despite it;s epic downfall....the Roman Collapse of videogames, even worst than Atari's demise, SEGA had some of the most innovative games. SEGA's games for the Genesis were innovative, nicer than most other competitor's games at the time. SEGA had many games that went on to become great games, but I am sort of an odd guy, and like innovative ideas, even if they look like hell after production. SEGA's Boogerman videogame was one fo the gorssest/cutest games ever. Boogerman was also one of the "worst" games created in the eyes of many. See, I realize that these games are never taken seriously, even if they were pure gold, and are hardly created anymore, but Boogerman is the Gwar of videogames, something that was not suppose to be anything more than a hint at some play on words, but was an underappreciated game. Some may say Gwar sucks, fine....if you know who Gwar is....but underappreciation of something so vile, funny, and original as Boogerman: A Pick and Flick Adventure. This character was unique...and gross! Which, as a kid made him cool I suppose, but I went back later on in life, and noticed the adult-themed humor mixed into this game that almost made it come off like an excellent comic strip. I think that this game's time is dead...but it should be tried once to be appreciated for its pure stupidity and fun.
Controls: The downfall of this game is the controls, they handle sloppy.
Storyline: The story pretty much is about you, Boogerman, a.k.a. Snotty Ragsdale, and you are a burping, farting, booger-flicking anti-hero who is the sort of person who'd save you from evil...but you would not really want him near you cause he looks smelly. He has a heart of goal, and sort of like a "childish innocence" to himself, but his villians are pretty abstract, and throws off the focus of the game. I really don't have much to say on the game, instead that it was underrated, but should not be too overrated either. Acknowledgment to these games is needed, if not, they are lost forever in the abyss, and get no reconigtion that they should deserve.
Picture from http://www.juegomania.org/Boogerman:+A+Pick+and+Flick+Adventure/fotos/genesis/0/93_t/Foto+Boogerman:+A+Pick+and+Flick+Adventure.jpg Start screen for Boogerman: A Pick and Flick Adventure.....a real cult classic game that was highly underrated for its originality.This is quite fun huh? well, I guess one more should do it for this underrated videogame post....and thank you for reading....and I applogize if I have not given enough information...but hey, no problema right?
For this game, being it the last, I had to wonder to myself, what games should havve been done well so to make it ont become a gaming tradition. I think once again of a fighting game. This one, although underrated, was made into a series of several games. Clayfighter series, consisting of two sequels and one remake, was a fighting game that was funny to play, that you would laugh your head off, and lose most the fights because of the chracters. This game was developed by 3DO, which I guess died sometime in the early 2000's, but I don't know, and I don't really care, because I blame them for killing this game sereis to death with horrible remakes. Clay Fighter is pretty much Gumby meets Teken, and really exemplfies the 3-D Claymation found in such shows like Gumby. This game was very interesting. It really made you wonder if they could have made a Snowman look that evil...in fact, this game sort of gave off bad vibes when I was a kid, but I loved it. Although I did nothing but played videogames as a child as a side project from reading, I have reviewed this game mroe than once. Clay Fighter would be absolutely awesome on NEXT GENERATION CONSOLES, and I would play a new Clay Fighter on the Wii, as long as they brought back Tiny along with the whole ensemble of clay fighters.
Storyline: Clay Figures battle it out for Claydom....in Claymanic clay violent fights.....anything else?
Gameplay: handles about the same as most fighters....only inovation was the look, and the feel of the SNES controller.
This game is....good, the original I mean, it is the coolest game ever, and I think that you would love it too if you played it, even for a half hour. In a world of underrated ideas...this is by far the most underrated game in history, because it was given the chance several times, and it never bit, althoughhthe fanbase was demanding....it only died down because no games have been given a new game, or hope for one. Old school gamers who know these titles, would be happy to see our childhood brought back...unless our childhoods sucked...but no matter, Clay Fighter is by far one of the most unique fighting gmaes to ever be made, if not the most unique...where else can you fight a Snowman against a Circus Show Strong Man named Tiny? You can't top that! Well, thanks again, enjoy the pictures, and please keep supporting me...I will give you a cookie in return for some posts, and I will moon Joe Liberman for all you gamers out there who were pissed off about banned videogames. Oh, and maybe I will throw a hamhock at Hillary Clinton for you as well. TY again, and I hope you know these are just jokes....(not really, I would start a porkchop-flinging organization against Hillary Clinton, but the supply and demand to get THAT many porkchops would be hard to accomplish.) Thanks again, and have a great day!
Clay Fighters box for the Sega Genesis 
Picture fromhttp://www.zonesega.com/img/megadrive/Clay%20Fighter.jpg shows a battle between Mr. Frosty and Helga from the N64 version of Clayfighter 63 1/3 videogame
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