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International | Feature

Feature: The 10 Most Underrated Consoles

Feature by Blake Snow | 04/18/2008 | 13:01:23 PM PST

The road to modern video games is littered with the corpses of noble game consoles who flew too high to the sun. Here are the 10 best under-achievers of all-time.

Commodore 64

Forget a PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, or Wii - the Commodore 64 was literally the first living-room computer. At one point, the TV-enabled desktop held 40% share of the PC market, more than IBM and Apple. But it also doubled as a nifty game console, so much in fact that its library and third-party support rivaled that of the NES at one time, this despite being released three years earlier. Good times!

Must-play games: Boulderdash, Defender of the Crown, Impossible Mission, Hardball, Ghosts & Goblins, Commando, Spy Hunter, Mrs. Pacman, Donkey Kong

Sega Saturn

Though the short-lived Saturn would mark the beginning of Sega's hardware downfall, it was the system of choice for arcade junkies hoping to play Sega's stellar first-party efforts at home. It was also the first fifth-generation console to introduce gamers to true 32-bit graphics. While lacking the third-party support that both the PlayStation and N64 enjoyed, it was an imaginative system all the same.

Must-play games: Daytona USA, Virtua Cop, Virtua Fighter, Sega Rally, Panzer Dragoon, Nights

TurboGrafx-16

Sadly, the TurboGrafx-16 was a victim of poor localization. Despite boasting an eclectic, innovative, and well-received library of games, the system failed to appeal to Americans due to non-existent marketing efforts and sky-high pricing. Nevertheless, the TurboGrafx-16 was the first console in North America to play CD-based games (peripheral required) and is currently one of the most downloaded platforms on the Virtual Console, suggesting that it was anything but the games that doomed the system upon original release.

Must-play games: Bonk's series, Lords of Thunder, Neutopia (an awesome Zelda knock-off), R-Type, Devil's Crush

Game Gear

Fact: the Game Gear remains the longest-supported handheld console not made by Nintendo. The reason: it was the first handheld to popularize color graphics on the go with a sweet little game library to boot -- in some ways, it was a 890's version of the PSP. The not-so-portable bulky design and wretched battery life kept the Game Gear from achieving true greatness, but whenever the charger was used, you had yourself a make-shift console while mom and dad commandeered the TV.

Must-play games: Sonic the Hedgehog (1&2), Mortal Kombat II, Micro Machines, Sensible Soccer, Columns, Streets of Rage

NES 2

The NES 2 makes our list for one freaking reason: the delicious "dog bone" controllers, which make the original NES pads feel as ergonomic as sharpened bricks. The console itself, while sexier than the beloved toaster version, lacked RCA output and suffered from some graphical glitches due to wobbly cartridges. Still, when it comes to playing retail NES titles, you can't beat the dog bone. It's that good.

Must-play games: N/A


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