What "B-grade" Xbox games (non-hits) do you love regardless?

[Archaic]

So no, Halo 2 doesn't count. I'm talking about titles that have their little flaws (and so never ranked in the 90th percentile in reviews) but are still very fun for you.

Mine are:
Red Dead Revolver
X-men Legends
Alias (I know, more of a "D-grade" title, but I loved the show)
Psi-Ops
Kingdom Under Fire: The Crusaders
Full Spectrum Warrior (reviews for this were all over the map -Gamespot gave it a 7.7!- but I've never had a better Xbox LIVE experience)

[jetsetradio21]

Shenmue 2

Had the first one on Dreamcast and imported the sequel from Europe. Unfortunately my disc was flawed and it wouldn't load up disc 2 :(

[dafoomie]

I wouldn't call KUF or FSW non-hits, those were both excellent games. They got a couple low-ish reviews because people didn't know what to make of them at first, in FSW's case, because its not the game the reviewer want it to be.

[mykevermin]

All Sega games:

Shenmue 2
Jet Set Radio Future
Panzer Dragoon Orta

[argyle]

I'll agree with your Red Dead Revolver, I loved that game. One of the best of the year imo.

[oddjob93]

Panzer Dragoon & both Otogi's, I hope we see the next iteration(s) on MS's next system.

[Archaic]

Yeah, perhaps FSW doesn't fit in the category of "B-grade", given its good reviews on most sites and strong sales. But to my knowledge KUF has never escaped scores in the 80's, and its sales have been poor.

[Derwood43]

Star Wars Jedi Knights: Jedi Academy
My wife loves The Sims: Bustin' Out

[Archaic]

I've wavered over Jedi Academy for a long, long time. How's the LIVE play?

[wubb]

Here are a few of mine:

I-Ninja (love this game)
Alias
Gladius (hard to explain why, but it was addicting for me)
Grabbed by the Ghoulies
Indiana Jones and the Emperor's Tomb


There are several others, but they are perhaps too strong to consider B-level (like JSRF, Metal Arms, Beyond Good + Evil, Suffering)

[pimp tyranny]

a lot of those games are good.

i enjoyed XIII a lot, even though it got average reviews.

[tomcat]

Panzer Dragoon & both Otogi's, I hope we see the next iteration(s) on MS's next system.

I love Otogi too! Wow first person I meet that played Otogi. Can't wait to pick up Otogi 2. Any Deals?

[organicow]

Beyond Good & Evil
Grabbed by the Ghoulies
Panzer Dragoon Orta

[doubledown]

I'm enjoying Test Drive: Eve of Destruction a bit

X-Men Legends is good (although not sure if it's a "B" grade game)

Not sure what else since most games I play are sports....

[mcwilliams132]

I-Ninja
Otogi
Armed & Dangerous

I have some 40+ games but can't think of all of them now...I'm in a stupid conference call.

Update:

Metal Arms
Crimson Sea

[CapAmerica]

Alias
I-Ninja
Beyond Good & Evil
Godzilla: Destroy All Monsters Melee
Godzilla: Save the Earth

I played I-Ninja, Beyond Good & Evil & Godzilla: Destroy All Monsters Melee on the Cube, but I love then all the same.

[trogon]

It seems everyone is listing good games that for whatever reason never sold well. What I think would be more interesting is to find out which poorly reviewed games people like anyway.

I'm not ashamed to say that I thoroughly enjoyed my time spent with Run Like Hell. I loved its story and atmosphere enough to overlook it's repetitive gameplay.

Recently I played through Alter Echo and thought that it was an underrated game as well.

Then again, I liked Enter the Matrix (except for the driving levels), so obviously I can be considered a glass half-full gamer.

[mtxbass1]

Kung Fu Chaos for me.

[schultzed]

Metal Arms (if it counts)
I-Ninja is a great game!

I think I would have liked Otogi better if I had played it before Ninja Gaiden and Rygar (they were both much better IMHO)

[oracrest]

Im gonna have to go with BREAKDOWN. although it inspired fits of rage that I haven't had since the days of NES due to it's unbalanced difficulty, there were some scripted parts in it that really made it worth it for me. And you have to respect that it was trying to innovate the genre of first person games. I recomend it to anyone, although don't play it with the mindset that it's any other shooter. It's probably the slowest moving FPS out there. It tries to be realistic as possible (including having to bend down to pick up ammo clips). If anything, it's more of a beat em up game. mainly hand to hand fighting, and not so much guns.

I hope they make a sequel!

[doubledown]

I also liked Soldier of Fortune for some good early XBOX LIVE play

[imamario02]

Time Splitters 2 baby, i think this is on par with halo... no bashing please....

[hiccupleftovers]

Panzer Dragoon Orta
Both Otogis
Jet Set Radio Future
Star Wars: Jedi Knight: Jedi Outcast/Academy
Beyond Good and Evil (Not really a "B" level game but more of an A- type of game. Truly wonderful.)
XIII (I don't know why but a lot of reviewers gave this game pretty good scores, it has an original story (not sci-fi shooter), but was vastly overlooked. I've beaten it twice and absolutely love it. I guess it was just overlooked like Beyond Good and Evil.)
Armed and Dangerous
Soldier of Fortune2: Double Helix.

[crowbb]

Metal Dungeon. For some reason I really enjoyed it. I am one of the few that has plodded through every single level of that thing. If I recall correctly there were 100 but you had to go through all 100 ten times to do everything for a total of 1000.

[The Gifuto]

Metal Dungeon. For some reason I really enjoyed it. I am one of the few that has plodded through every single level of that thing. If I recall correctly there were 100 but you had to go through all 100 ten times to do everything for a total of 1000.

So, was there actually a Super-Broader class then? I played it for about 15 levels and that was it.

[thealternakid]

you know i am suprised that no one has said voodoo vince yet, that game held my attention more than any other single player microsoft exclusive

[HaloGuardian]

Metal Arms
Kung Fu Chaos

[crowbb]

If there was a Super-Broader class I never got it. Just loaded my game and my guys are all the usual classes ranging in levels from 314-639

Metal Dungeon. For some reason I really enjoyed it. I am one of the few that has plodded through every single level of that thing. If I recall correctly there were 100 but you had to go through all 100 ten times to do everything for a total of 1000.

So, was there actually a Super-Broader class then? I played it for about 15 levels and that was it.

[Kaijufan]

Star Wars: Jedi Knight: Jedi Outcast/Academy
Godzilla: Destory All Monsers Melee/Save the Earth

[PenguinMaster]

I like Red Dead Revolver, Psi-Ops, Dead to Rights, XIII, and Beyond Good & Evil a lot.

I've liked all the recent Bond games.

Also, Indiana Jones & the Emperor's Tomb is my 5th favorite game but it got a lot of abysmal reviews.

[XboxMaster]

Phantom Crash takes the cake in my book.

[The_Way_of _Peace]

Otogi 1. Graphics were so awesome
Dragons Lair 3d- Nice throwback to the old arcade game. Very Very fun but i can not find it anywhere

[dinovelvet]

Second Sight - great game for $20, nice story and characters, with good gameplay to boot.

Blade II - Got it for $10 at Best Buy, very enjoyable while it lasted, I loved that nightclub level where you could jump into the middle of the dancefloor and activate your "blood rage" and slice up about 100 vampires on the spot.

Syberia - Interesting and very different kind of game than you normally see on the Xbox. Although some parts of it were annoying, I had to look up a couple of puzzle solutions.

Rocky - Just really fun to play. C'mon, you fight Mr.T! How can anyone resist? I actually paid $50 for this. :lol:

Indiana Jones & The Emperor's tomb : Dropped another $50 on this one. Really good third person adventure. The combat was awesome. I eventually stopped using guns altogether just so I could do some more fightin' and whippin'

Looking at other people's picks, I enjoyed The Suffering too, but hated Alias, the control scheme was weak, poor camera angles, the split-screen alert thing just didn't work.

[dinovelvet]

Also, Indiana Jones & the Emperor's Tomb is my 5th favorite game but it got a lot of abysmal reviews.

I liked it too. OXM gave it a 9.0/10, I believe. I remember there were some glitches in the game like the music would go weird at some points, but the gameplay was solid. I hope they put out another Indy game.

[Gycot]

Enclave. So old school difficult that it made me throw my controller once or twice, but i still enjoyed every b-quality second of it.

[Drico]

Time Splitters 2 baby, i think this is on par with halo... no bashing please....

Nah, it's better than Halo.

[breakin2]

I liked Star Wars: Obi Wan. Honestly, I did.

[Ahadi]

theyve already been mentioned, but i really love run like hell and really liked obi wan.

[el bobo]

Deathrow

[Gycot]

ill agree on deathrow, me and some friends put hours into that game. it never got the respect it deserved, in my opinion. heres hopin' for a xbox live sequel

[guessed]

2-player Starsky & Hutch, with gun. Guilty pleasure, I know it sucks.

[dustyeff]

Deathrow owned. Best $8 game I ever bought.

[menewbe]

man i love deathrow..but the copy i got from ebay doesnt want to work anymore..i guess i gotta buy it again..

[bhfgamer]

Freedom Fighters is really cool. And I also really like Max Payne 2 and Otogi.

[captainfrizo]

Deathrow rules in multi-player.

[jimbodan]

Voodoo Vince, it's a very good platformer, one of my favorites!

[Ledhed]

Most of the Sega games, Breakdown, The Thing, Oddworld, and the ridiculously awesome Metal Arms.

[CrimsonGeist]

Stars Wars Rogue Squadron 3:Rebel Strike and Freedom Fighters.

[captainfrizo]

007 Nightfire is another good one.

[spyhunterk19]

I hate to say this, but I enjoyed Drake

[Ugamer_X]

Why are people mentioning Panzer Dragoon Orta?...That's one of the highest rated Xbox games.

Hunter: The Reckoning is one of my favorite Xbox games, it scored well in most reviews, but I liked it much more than any score I saw.

[mykevermin]

Why are people mentioning Panzer Dragoon Orta?...That's one of the highest rated Xbox games.

I don't think there were huge expectations for it selling well. I wasn't certain if the OP intended to have people list games that were poorly rated, or games that weren't expected to be blockbusters in terms of sales. I chose the latter obviously.

myke.

[CaptainObviousXl]

Star Wars Jedi Knights: Jedi Academy just cause im godly at it

[Ugamer_X]

Why are people mentioning Panzer Dragoon Orta?...That's one of the highest rated Xbox games.

I don't think there were huge expectations for it selling well. I wasn't certain if the OP intended to have people list games that were poorly rated, or games that weren't expected to be blockbusters in terms of sales. I chose the latter obviously.

myke.
Yeah, I see what you're saying...The title was a bit misleading now that I look at it.

[radjago]

I haven't seen Toe Jam & Earl III mentioned yet, even from the Sega fanboys. A lot of people bashed it and said it was a simple collect-a-thon. I loved it because it stuck to the basic gameplay formula of the first one: exploring randomly-generated worlds populated with whacky earthlings. And you have to give props to a game for including co-op, which made it much more fun.

Also, I enjoyed Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance, again for its co-op and simple gameplay, but I'm not sure it qualifies for B-title status.

[hiccupleftovers]

Oh man, I can't believe that I forgot about Deathrow. That game is great. I picked min up at Sam's Club and love it.

[Whambamm]

My guilty pleasures on the XBOX have consisted of:

Bloodrayne
Hunter: The Reckoning
The Suffering (got worse reviews than psi-ops, but I enjoyed the suffering much more)
GUNVALKYRIE (not that great, but I've had fun popping it in every now and then and play for an hour or so)
Second Sight (great story. I love the Timesplitter-esque graphics, I prefer it over Psi-Ops)

[lordxixor101]

I guess I'll say Shenmue II. I know it received some very good reviews, but it also received some lousy reviews (and didn't G4 name Shenmue I on of the worst games ever). I think this game was overlooked for several reasons, but definitely deserves a look.

For any system, State of Emergency. This is constantly bashed on message boards as one of the worst games ever (and not even as a joke like when people say Halo 2 is the worst game ever). But, this is one of the most fun games for 20-30 minutes that I've played this generation. Story mode sucked, but the arcade mode ruled. Also, nothing beats the kill all clone mode. I'll pop it in with with friends that don't game often, and they absolutely love it. Then, I floor them with the fact that its considered one of the worst games for many people.

[Derwood43]

I've wavered over Jedi Academy for a long, long time. How's the LIVE play?

I love the Live play. My friends and I still get on there. Dueling is very fun, as well as free for all.

The single player game is fun as well. I enjoyed the story, I hope they make another one soon.

[mmn]

Blood Omen 2, Van Helsing, and Need for Speed : Hot Pursuit 2 come to mind, even though none of those are Xbox exclusives.

[dinovelvet]

For any system, State of Emergency. This is constantly bashed on message boards as one of the worst games ever (and not even as a joke like when people say Halo 2 is the worst game ever). But, this is one of the most fun games for 20-30 minutes that I've played this generation. Story mode sucked, but the arcade mode ruled. Also, nothing beats the kill all clone mode. I'll pop it in with with friends that don't game often, and they absolutely love it. Then, I floor them with the fact that its considered one of the worst games for many people.

Yeah, I got it at the $5 CC sale and its a pretty dumb game, yet fun. I remember the hype when it first game out, "Its from the makers of GTA 3 so its gonna be AWESOME!", and then people actually played it. I too would probably be pissed if I'd paid $50 for it, but for a cheapie title, its a good laugh.

[AGuth]

Jedi Academy and Morrowind GOTY

[SEGA128DC]

I'm surprised no one has mentioned the greatest single player beat'em-up, ever!...

Buffy the Vampire Slayer...

[gza331]

Crazy Taxi 3
Brute Force

[mmn]

I'm surprised no one has mentioned the greatest single player beat'em-up, ever!...

Buffy the Vampire Slayer...

If you want to consider that a lower tier game. It always got pretty decent ratings from every review I've read.

[BULL_Ship]

Indiana Jones was cool i mostly liked hiting people to the ground, pulling out the revolver, hearing the signature cocking of the action, and finally the crack of the shot into the enemy's chest as he struggles to get up.

[Engineer_J]

Super Monkey Ball 1 and 2, but also I liked the GBA version (played it first actually)

Hunter the Reckoning, wife plays it too

[SAGExSDX]

Kung Fu Chaos got low reviews but it is an excellent game. I'll also agree with someone who said Alter Echo was good. I played a good 2 hours of it and thought it was pretty good.

There are lots of good games on Xbox :D

[Graystone]

shenmue 2
Indiana jones and the emperors tomb
tenchu return from darkness (love the tenchu series)

[topplehat]

Armed and Dangerous
I-Ninja
Metal Arms
Beyond Good and Evil
Panzer Dragoon Orta
Jet Set Radio Future

The Xbox has a lot of great games that can be found really cheap.

[jer7583]

Breakdown-Loved every frustrating bit of it

Fallout:BOS- Yeah the game does suck, but it's about 85% suck and 15% Fallout game, and I loves me some Fallout (the fallout PC games are among my faves of all time) Plus it's decent co-op.

Psi-Ops also, and Bloodrayne, very underrated, fun game.

[flybrione]

Indiana Jones
Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Armed and Dangerous
XIII

[The_Way_of _Peace]

Dark Angel was a pretty good game. I was kinda mad it was not anything like the show, which was the best show ever, but it was still good for less than 20 bucks. However it was no Buffy

[Rozz]

I truly enjoyed Drake of the 99 Dragons. I paid $50 and got my moneys worth out of it.


Alright, couldent fool you there. I would have to say Oddworld, Jet Set Radio Future, Splashdown, Indiana Jones, Quantum Redshift, Crazy Taxi 3, Dave Mirra 2, and NHL Hitz 20-03.

[cavalier]

These games prove the critics don't know jack when it comes to fun games:

Test Drive: Eve of Destruction...so many different ways to race (suicide, circle 8) and multiple variations of the demolition derby (how can you NOT love that), plus you can race SCHOOL BUSES!

NBA JAM: Maybe its the old schooler in me, but this game just does so much more for me than NBA Street 2....it's just a freakin blast to play (gotta love the dunk'o'licous, high-flying five point shots, except when its the CPU scoring them.

Yager: Yes the controls are difficult to get used to and some missions will bust your nuts, but once you play it for awhile the story and graphics will suck you right in (and it's only $10 at Best Buy).

World Racing: As long as you don't go off track and notice some of the glaring bugs that occur when this happens (driving through trees, the fugly water effects up close) the graphics are bright and colorful, the tracks are plentiful and creative and the racing is flat-out fun. Kinda reminds me of the early NFS games in terms of the creative tracks.

MX Superfly with Ricky Carmichael: Tracks are a lot better looking and creative to ride on then in MTX Mototrax or the other cycle game from Rainbow Studios which escapes me now and it can be had on the cheap nowadays.

Guilty Gear X2: Poor sales did not do this $20 gem any justice. It's the best 2D fighter on the Xbox to date.

Killswitch: Mindless? Yes, but boy is it fun in short doses to just blast away while shot dodging.

Rocky: The 1st one. Pure genius from the folks at the now defunct RARE (sniff, sniff). It's no Fight Night, that's for sure, but as far as an ARCADE version of boxing goes it's a lot of fun. Worth it to hear the Rocky song and see the likes of Drago and company alone.

As someone else said, so many good Xbox games to be had for cheap nowadays you'd be a fool not to add these suggested titles to your collection.

[MrBadExample]

I'll second:

Test Drive: Eve of Destruction
Armed & Dangerous
Buffy the Vampire Slayer (although the second one sucks)
i-Ninja
Kung-Fu Chaos
XIII

[xboxundone]

OTOGI is GREAT game!!! This game slipped under the radar as the gameplay is fun and the graphics ROCK!!!

[khc]

every SEGA game + tetris (i actually play that on live)

[PittsburghAfterDark]

I'm shocked that I'm the first one to say Outrun 2. I just wrote a long post on that for this board.

Nothing screams of Sega quality like Outrun 2.

It's $15 at EB in January, go get it, you will NOT be sorry.

[keviningeorgia]

Armed & Dangerous : I don't think I've ever laughed so hard at cut scenes


Hunter: The Reckoning ( and Redeemer) Fun Co-op and I like the White Wolf stuff. ( wish they would make a Console version of Vampire)

[Johnny Postman]

I have to speak up for one game - Whacked! Some fun mindless multiplayer action and the in-game commercials they had were pretty damn funny.

Maybe it's the warm fuzzies from the beta-testing days on XBL but I liked this game a lot and it got some god-awful reviews. Still have this one in my collection.

Another game better than the reviews that I still like playing is Circus Maximus.