10 Overlooked Video Games That Were WAY Ahead Of Their Time
Gaming's unknown influencers.
The most influential games ever made were often built on the shoulders their predecessors. Games that had the same idea but lacked one or two vital details that later attempts implemented to make the whole thing resonate with the public.
Genius is never appreciated in its time, as they say, and as such, great games fall under the radar for a wide range of reasons. Their genre could be unappreciated by the general public at the time of release. They could have a quirk or two that holds it back from gaining that necessary foothold. Or, and this one tends to be the case most often, their publishers just screw them over one way or another.
These 10 games all had something special to offer and may have even gained cult followings at the time or since, but when it came to mass appeal just fell short, despite being lightyears ahead of their time.
10. Future Tactics: The Uprising
RTS games have always struggled to get mainstream appeal. Sure, Fire Emblem has managed to get it down pretty okay these days, but just two generations ago, even Halo couldn't make people care about the humble RTS. Granted, Halo Wars' issue was being far too complex a game to be adequately controlled via a tiny little Xbox controller. A problem that Future Tactics: The Uprising didn't really deal with.
Future Tactics is a bone-simple RTS game, which makes it perfect for the confines of a tiny PS2 controller. You have a small number of units you control one at a time, and the goal is to eliminate the aliens that serve as the title's antagonists.
The best thing about Future Tactics is how it plays with destructible environments. Everyone's attacks blow EVERYTHING to smithereens, putting craters in the ground, blasting hills to nothing, all that good stuff. This makes for more interesting back and forth with the enemies, as no cover lasts that long, so you must always be moving and engaging with the enemy.
Unfortunately, poor sales, and a lack of interest in RTS console games doomed this hidden gem, but that doesn't change the fact that this game was ahead of the curb in a lot of ways.