Niche Gaming

BEFORE I START, I JUST WANTED TO SAY THAT SOME OF THE GAMES MENTION IN THIS WRITING I'VE NEVER PLAYED BEFORE. I DON'T KNOW IF IT'S GOOD OR NOT. JUST A WARNING....

Sorry for the Caps. I just wanted to be clear about this next topic I'm jumping into. This time it's about Niche gaming. Niche gaming is a series of games that appeal to a specific audience. Some may be known throughout the gaming community like Persona and Amnesia: The Dark Descent. Others are not all that known like World Of Tanks and The Chzo Mythos.

Could be good. I hope.

IF YOU CAN'T GO TO HOGWARTS

There are a ton of games out there in the gaming world. Whether its online or in stores, a game that you may never heard of could be the best game ever. While I didn't enjoy it as much as other people did, Demon's Souls is one such game. It's brutal difficulty is something that I know a few gamers would love to have more often. Another well known game is Persona. I, personally, never played Persona. All I know that it's got a story line where you and a bunch of high school friends goes into the school's dungeon and fight monsters off. Day would be school time and the night would turn the school into different dungeons throughout the game. I don't know if it's good or not, but it has come highly recommended from my online friends.

THE MADNESS WITHIN

Another game that came highly was Amnesia: The Dark Descent. I actually tried to play the demo through Steam, but the laptop I had wouldn't run it. I may still get to play it, but I'm not sure how or when. Amnesia is a Lovecraftian Horror game where you are completely helpless. I'm not to clear on the plot, but it revolves around Lovecraftian influences, being helpless, going mad, and monsters. The dark and light can be your best friend or your worst enemy. World Of Tanks is a free Online game, which you can find here, you drive tanks around World War II. I don't know much about the game, but seeing that it's free to play and it's specifically for fans of the tank. I don't see why this should be left out.

JUMP INTO MIND TO MIND

To the people that played this, Thank You.

A game I have played, that I consider Niche, is Psychonauts. Psychonauts is a platformer from the mind of Tim Shaffer. I don't see how anyone missed this game when it was released. It does lead to something that I find highly discouraging. Platformers outside of Nintendo. Platformers are a dying genre. I haven't gotten it yet, but last year's hidden gem, Rayman: Origins, should have been a huge seller. Unfortunately, It was released near Modern Warfare 3 and Assassin's Creed: Revelations. It seems that the only studio outside of Nintendo that still does Platformers is Sony. Microsoft nearly had there chance with Psychonauts, but they lost their chance. Sony and Nintendo has platform mascots. Mario, Sly Cooper, Kirby, Jak & Dexter, Donkey Kong, and Ratchet & Clank. While Sony is towards the action side, it still does not change the fact that it's still a platformer.

THE BADASS HAT

Trust Me. It's a lot more interesting than it looks

Another series that seems to be dying is the Pure Adventure games. The Chzo Myhos is a point and click adventure on which you play, mostly, as Trilby. A thief that tries to rob a mansion he quickly becomes caught up on the Chzo Myhos. In doing so, he becomes the series main character. Even in 7 Days A Skeptic, the second game, which is set 400 years after the events of the first game, his presence is still felt. I watched a friend play this online and it was awesome. It's got a great story and so many twists. The first game, which is free to play, is here.

TO CHEAT OR NOT TO CHEAT

Besides Portal, can you name another well known Puzzle game? Sure you can say Bejeweled, Peggle, or even Angry Birds. But what about Puzzle video games. The one that pops in my head is Catherine. Catherine is a game from the same company that made the Persona games. In Catherine, you play as Vincent. He's an Office Worker who has a relationship with Katherine. Besides the puzzle nightmare sequences, you would have to work on Vincent's loyalty to Katherine. It becomes much harder when another woman comes up to him. Her name is Catherine. I played the demo and thought it was interesting. I don't know if I'll buy it, but when I get the chance I'll definitely give it a go.

LIGHT ABOVE THE HORIZON

Everyone has got tastes to what they like. It could be a first person shooter, a Real Time Strategy game, a Puzzle, or even a platformer. We look back at the games we saw passed us by, and say "Man, I wish I got the chance to play that." There will always be games that will crater to a crowd. If we played it, we may not like it. But at least, for a about an hour, you saw what others liked. With any luck it may open doors to other games to that genre. I'm not into the whole JRPG games because of Final Fantasy. I played Final Fantasy VII and thought it was boring. While Persona is a JRPG, I might try it out because of what others have said about it. I hope I like it when that day comes, because I don't want to close myself to just a few genres. I want to play all and enjoy them all. For more information on some of the games mention above come here and here.