So many of the best games and movies are those that duck mainstream attention and slip through the commercial cracks, destined for a cult following at best. And without the grapevine, most us would never know about them. So, in the interest of swapping notes and perhaps giving us a chance to taste the fruits of obscure awesomeness, tell us some of the greats that are sufficiently obscure that we may have missed, and may be missing out on right now.
Movies:*
Salute of the Jugger (a.k.a., The Blood of Heroes) - A big-budget film that looks decidedly small-budget in its production values. It's a post-apocalyptic style desert movie, but be warned, it's a little violent for the kiddies. The 90-minute version sucks, so look for the 99- or 104-minute version with the real ending, not the crappy American ending.
*
Old Boy - A bizzare (what other kind is there?) Korean movie. A great movie if you like Korean movies, but with some pretty full-on violence.
*
28 Days Later - A British film that's vastly superior to a certain American film that came out at around the same time with the same theme. Not for the squeamish.
*
Cannibal Holocaust - A messed up 'exploitation movie' that's interesting to watch for the sake of having seen it, largely because of the very interesting story surrounding the movie's history. It's messed up though, so don't say I didn't warn you, and for the record I'm not recommending it; just mentioning it as something some people with strong stomachs might find interesting. Let your kiddies watch it if you want them to need counselling for years to come.
*
Tremors - Probably the most well-known of the movies in this list, but one which many people may have overlooked. It's actually quite a humourous movie.
*
The King of Kong - A movie-length documentary which is put together well, and entertaining even if the subject matter isn't itself that appealing. And yes, the kiddies can watch this one.
Games:*
Stars! - A galactic conquest game akin to something like Master of Orion 2, except without any pretty graphics. 95% of the game is text and dots and lines, but it's a deep, enthralling game anyway that created hardcore addicts of quite a few of us.
*
Netstorm: Islands at War - A Real-Time Strategy game that was the grandfather to Tower Defense games (in my reckoning at least). Rather than making buildings to produce units to send off to fight, you create turrets to take and hold territory. Its graphics weren't great for the time of its release, so it looks positively dated now, but don't let that detract from the great gameplay at its core.
*
Sacrifice - A 3rd person game in which you play a powerful wizard who can summon all manner of wacky creatures to fight for you. It may be a decade old but it still looks great thanks to a graphics engine ahead of its time, and the gameplay holds up brilliantly. It's a weird hybrid of action and ground-level RTS, with great depth (but also a steep learning curve). Contender for the greatest game of all time in my book.
I can't think of any right now, but I'm sure I will. Please list your own, as I - and I'm sure this applies to everyone here - am always looking for something new and interesting, particularly in this current era of largely lacklustre PC games and re-hashed Hollywood movies.
Benesato.
