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00:00Tell you what, I could use a crack shot like you.
00:04You put this on, and I'll see if I can find some information on that scalawag reed.
00:10Welcome to Mojo Plays, and today we're reminding you about some of the most underrated games from the 2000s.
00:18But before we dive in, we publish new content all week long,
00:21so be sure to subscribe and ring the bell to get notified about our latest videos.
00:26Darkwatch.
00:27Put him down with headshots!
00:33High Moon Studios' FPS follows steampunk outlaw Jericho Cross,
00:38who accidentally releases a powerful vampire and gets himself bitten.
00:42As you're forced into fighting against the forces of evil by the titular do-gooders,
00:47Jericho develops a set of cool vampiric abilities, some of which tie into a morality system.
00:52Darkwatch is a great blend of western and horror, with a fun bag of mechanics to go along with it.
00:58The developers planned for it to be a franchise with future games set in different time periods.
01:03Sadly, Darkwatch 2 was cancelled in 2007 due to corporate restructuring that resulted in High Moon becoming a subsidiary of
01:11Activision.
01:12Maybe if High Moon had gotten to release their sequel, Darkwatch would be less forgotten.
01:25An arena fighting game with giant monsters battling across cityscapes is always a cool concept for a video game.
01:32And with a great sense of humor and inspiration taken from classic sci-fi movies,
01:37the PS2's War of the Monsters handled that concept pretty well.
01:41The character designs and abilities were unique enough to make each monster stand out,
01:45but the real joy came from the stage design.
01:47You could use elements of the environment against your foes,
01:51which made for a lot of wacky variety with things like buildings and vehicles turning into weapons.
01:56Whether in Adventure Mode or Multiplayer, War of the Monsters offered a nice level of chaos that deserves to be
02:02remembered.
02:09Call of Cthulhu, Dark Corners of the Earth
02:12What exactly do you want from me, Mr. Anderson?
02:15Developed by Headfirst Productions and based on H.P. Lovecraft's cosmic horror mythos,
02:21this first-person survival horror game follows a private investigator
02:25descending into the deeply wrong town of Innsmouth, Massachusetts.
02:30It had its fair share of thrills and could be quite difficult,
02:33often due to how it tried to replicate realism.
02:36There's no HUD, taking damage affects certain aspects of gameplay depending on the injury,
02:41and a decrease in sanity leads to increasingly worse effects.
02:45It had a troubled development period that saw several features removed before launch,
02:49and unfortunately was also released at an extremely busy time and ignored by most players.
02:56Not only did this lead to low sales, but the eventual cancellation of two sequels and Headfirst's closure.
03:02Thanks, I think.
03:04Lost Kingdoms
03:12A few years before it would release its genre-defining Demon Souls,
03:17From Software released Lost Kingdoms for the GameCube.
03:20Its blend of action RPG and deck building was fairly unique in 2002,
03:24but there are a few reasons it has stayed relatively forgotten.
03:28One was its exclusivity to a console that sadly did not perform too well.
03:33Another was its relatively short length.
03:35Still, it did have an addictive loop,
03:37building a deck of fantastical creatures to take through dungeons.
03:41It's almost like a precursor to deck-building indie hits we see today.
03:45Although a sequel followed,
03:47neither title ever received the recognition they deserved,
03:50and they remain mere footnotes in From Software's history.
03:53Freedom Fighters
03:55Hello?
03:58Amazon Patrol?
03:59Anybody home?
04:01IO Interactive is mostly known for its work on the Hitman series,
04:05and more recently reviving James Bond in video games,
04:08but in 2003 it also developed a pretty solid alt-history third-person shooter.
04:14Freedom Fighters is set during an invasion on New York City led by the Soviet Union,
04:19which earned worldwide power after developing the first atomic bomb
04:22and dropping it on Germany to win World War II.
04:25Leading a resistance against the Soviets comes with all the bombastic action one could want,
04:31and the AI of your companions,
04:33which you gained by doing good deeds and could command in battle,
04:36is surprisingly strong.
04:38Although there were initial plans for a sequel,
04:40IO Interactive eventually moved on to other projects,
04:43causing Freedom Fighters to fall further into obscurity over the years.
04:47Cameo Elements of Power
04:58In between exiting its partnership with Nintendo in 2002
05:03and finding another semi-hit franchise under Microsoft with Viva Piñata in 2006,
05:09Rare's output during this time is mostly forgotten.
05:12This includes Cameo Elements of Power,
05:15a launch title for the Xbox 360.
05:17It stood out in stark contrast to the rest of the launch lineup
05:20thanks to its vivid, brightly colored visuals
05:23and its key mechanic that allowed you to turn into different creatures to solve puzzles.
05:27Although criticized for being a bit too easy,
05:30this was an interesting step in Rare's history that had potential to expand.
05:34Instead, its lackluster sales and Microsoft's focus on the Kinect at the time,
05:39which Rare began developing for,
05:41caused its sequel to get cancelled.
05:43PSYOPs, the Mindgate Conspiracy
05:46Take this one to solitary.
05:48Mixing fast-paced third-person gunplay with psychic powers that can literally melt a person's mind,
05:54Midway's PSYOPs, the Mindgate Conspiracy is an unsung hero of the PS2 and Xbox's heyday.
06:01Players control Nick Skryer, a secret agent recovering his lost memories while fighting against a terrorist organization called the Movement.
06:08Unlocking new abilities as you went was a genuine joy,
06:12from telekinesis to weaponize the environment around you,
06:15to draining an enemy's mind,
06:17to simply setting them on fire with a thought.
06:20Despite glowing reviews, sales were low.
06:23A sequel was in consideration,
06:25with new powers and mechanics,
06:27more destructible environments,
06:28and other elements the team couldn't include in the first.
06:32But, Midway scrapped these plans,
06:34and another franchise that should have been,
06:36wasn't.
06:38I see your true self.
06:41You feel your best.
06:43You feel your destiny.
06:46Armed and dangerous.
06:47Planet Moon Studios' irreverent shooter has plenty of personality,
06:51worthy of being remembered.
06:53Set in a deliberately absurd fantasy world,
06:56it follows a ragtag gang of thieves out to steal the Book of Rule,
07:00while parodying big screen adventures The Lord of the Rings and publisher Lucasfilm's own Star Wars.
07:06Fittingly, it also has you using a variety of weaponry,
07:09a lot of which can get pretty silly,
07:11like a gravity reversing device,
07:13a mini black hole,
07:15and a land shark gun,
07:16which fires,
07:17well, a land shark.
07:19It's fun weaponry and sharp humor should have made it a hit,
07:22but, like many others on the list,
07:24it's suffered from poor sales.
07:27Oh!
07:27My flies!
07:29Move it!
07:31Giants.
07:32Citizen Kabuto.
07:33You.
07:34Face us.
07:36Oh!
07:37Sticking with Planet Moon Studios,
07:39the developer's first game is also an underrated gem of the 2000s.
07:44Giants.
07:44Citizen Kabuto combines RTS and third-person shooter mechanics
07:48and features three distinctly different types of characters to wield.
07:52The gun-toting Mecorans,
07:54the magic-wielding Sea Reapers,
07:56and the colossal, city-smashing monster, Kabuto.
08:00The developers did a fantastic job blending the genres into one succinct package,
08:04which was awfully nice to look at, too,
08:07thanks to some of the best visuals on PC at the time.
08:10Unfortunately, high praise didn't necessarily generate high sales.
08:14Although it gained a cult following,
08:16a Kickstarter for a spiritual successor from former Planet Moon Studios founder,
08:20Nick Broody, failed to get enough funding in 2016,
08:24showing even by then, most people had forgotten how awesome this game was.
08:28Mercenaries, Playground of Destruction.
08:31Good.
08:32Waiting is not my thing.
08:34They really nailed the title with this one.
08:37Set during a fictional military conflict in North Korea,
08:40the game cast you as a mercenary tasked with hunting down a rogue general's inner circle.
08:45Explosions were everywhere,
08:47the vehicle physics were wonderfully destructive,
08:50and the sheer scale of the sandbox felt pretty groundbreaking for its time.
08:54The world and how you interacted with it was enough to suck in players looking for an anarchic playground to
09:00let loose in.
09:00Unlike a lot of other games we've talked about,
09:03Mercenaries actually performed well and received a sequel in 2008.
09:07But developer Pandemic Studios was closed the following year,
09:10and two other sequels were cancelled.
09:13So, here's just a small reminder that this game still rocks.
09:17Cookday Moon's Korean for Black Gate,
09:19and you'll know why if you see it.
09:21Boom Blocks.
09:33Legendary filmmaker Steven Spielberg teamed up with EA to produce this physics-based puzzle game for the Wii.
09:39The result was one of the most genuinely joyful experiences the platform had to offer,
09:44which, unfortunately, is historically overshadowed by the console's bigger names.
09:49It's essentially Jenga meets Angry Birds.
09:52Using the Wiimote to throw, grab, and blast at elaborate block structures,
09:56Boom Blocks is satisfying in its simplicity,
09:59but wrapped in brilliantly engineered puzzle design that grows increasingly fiendish.
10:04While there's no deep story or overpowered hero to control,
10:07its addictive loop made it an excellent party game.
10:10Yet, despite getting a sequel, Boom Blocks went away soon after,
10:13when it should be a series we get the occasional yet fresh update on.
10:18Jade Empire.
10:19You are gracious as always.
10:21I regret that there won't be much time for such practice now that you've almost finished your training.
10:25Heralded as one of the defining cult classics of the era,
10:29Jade Empire is so tragically underloved that it often finds itself on lists just like this one.
10:35A martial arts RPG set in a world inspired by ancient Chinese mythology,
10:39it follows a monk investigating the kidnapping of their master.
10:43With themes of corruption and betrayal,
10:45a morality system that affected story and gameplay,
10:48and some of the best character writing Bioware has ever done,
10:52anyone who did play Jade Empire was completely enchanted by its story, world building, and combat.
10:58Sadly, that turned out to be not many.
11:01The game performed well below expectations,
11:04which many attributed to it being an Xbox exclusive when the 360 was right around the corner.
11:10The Mark of Kree.
11:11Cleaning the floor and washing dishes.
11:14Ha!
11:15This was not the kind of work my master was looking for.
11:18The PlayStation 2 library was clearly vast and varied,
11:23which caused a lot of really creative titles to fall through the cracks.
11:26Developed by Sony's San Diego studio as one of the developer's few titles not to be a sports game,
11:32The Mark of Kree follows an honorable warrior whose journey and struggles are steeped in Polynesian culture and folklore.
11:39This interesting historic basis also gives the game its unique art style,
11:43from its level design to the stunning hand-sketched cutscenes.
11:46It received modest sales, enough to get a sequel greenlit,
11:50but Rise of the Kasai didn't perform nearly as well, critically or commercially,
11:55causing the series to eventually disappear from most players' memories.
11:59The Suffering.
12:00You don't know shit about the man.
12:03I'm telling you, what I heard, he's all right.
12:07Midway's dark action thriller dropped players into Abbott State Penitentiary
12:11as a death row inmate without memories of the horrific crimes he's committed.
12:15As if that wasn't bad enough, soon after the game begins,
12:19the prison becomes home to violent, supernatural creatures
12:22that were birthed from all the death that has occurred inside the prison.
12:26Needless to say, as twisted manifestations of different methods of execution,
12:31the monster designs were pretty alarming.
12:33While it may not have made you feel as helpless as its contemporaries,
12:36The Suffering was still full of claustrophobic dread.
12:40It's also another game that makes great use of its morality system,
12:43particularly juicy when applied to a death row inmate.
12:46Although The Suffering is one of the more financially successful games on the list,
12:50its sequel was far from it, causing the IP to disappear.
12:55I'll bring you down!
12:57Crimson Skies, High Road to Revenge
13:00I got a little hung up.
13:03How much did you make off with?
13:04For fans of action flight games, High Road to Revenge had just about everything you could want.
13:10A fascinating alternate history that saw the U.S. fractured,
13:13leading to the plane and zeppelin becoming the main forms of transportation.
13:17A dashing sky pirate as the lead character, out to avenge his fallen comrade.
13:21Intuitive dogfighting mechanics that made every encounter a thrilling firefight.
13:26It looked great, it sounded great, and it was a fantastic early step in Xbox Live.
13:31The only thing it didn't have was popularity.
13:35The game was a very poor seller,
13:37although its high quality did earn it a passionate cult following.
13:41Project Snowblind
13:43There's something I tell every dewy, clean-cut GI press out of military academy.
13:49It's the most important thing you're going to learn out here in the field, so listen up.
13:54Ready?
13:55One year before Crystal Dynamics released its first foray in the Tomb Raider series with 2006's Legend,
14:01it released this relatively forgotten FPS.
14:04Players control Nathan Frost, a soldier enhanced with nanotech after a near-fatal injury,
14:09which provides interesting gameplay perks as you progress through the story.
14:13Project Snowblind was originally developed as an entry in the Deus Ex series,
14:17before it was reworked into a standalone title.
14:20Traces of that lineage remain in its DNA, much to its benefit,
14:24although with heavier focus on combat.
14:26Despite its short length, this gameplay hook is really fun,
14:30but like many others, it didn't sell well,
14:32which is a shame because there was clearly enough creative juice here to expand on.
14:37I'm willing to bet my life on it.
14:39So am I, Lieutenant.
14:42Second Sight
14:43What you got there?
14:45Shit.
14:46Shit's got a mess of what?
14:49During its short time as a developer,
14:51Free Radical Design became known for the TimeSplitters series,
14:54which is still looked back at fondly in certain circles.
14:58In between the second and third games,
15:00the team released Second Sight,
15:01which is looked back at fondly by almost no one.
15:04It follows a parapsychology researcher trying to recover his memories
15:09and understand the incredible psychic powers he now possesses.
15:13Gameplay is nicely divided between stealth and action,
15:16and there's surprising depth in how you can use your psychic abilities to get through each level.
15:21Although it sold decently well at the time,
15:23Free Radical went bankrupt in 2008 before being purchased by Crytek.
15:28Many still love its TimeSplitter series,
15:31but Second Sight never got to reach the same heights.
15:34What the hell were you thinking?
15:36Freelancer
15:37We're here for medical.
15:40Is there anyone seriously injured?
15:42One.
15:42Inside.
15:43Digital Anvil's space trading and combat game
15:46captures the intoxicating fantasy of being a lone spaceship pilot
15:50navigating a galaxy full of danger, commerce, and faction politics.
15:55Highly impressive by 2003 standards,
15:58it gives players the freedom to trade, pirate, bounty hunt, or simply explore as they see fit.
16:04The campaign was definitely engaging,
16:06but it was the open-ended sandbox that could keep you locked in for hours.
16:11Freelancer was somewhat financially successful,
16:14though not enough,
16:15to keep the developer from closing three years after release,
16:18which also caused its sequel to be shelved.
16:21Microsoft shut down servers in late 2007,
16:24and while it's still playable thanks to dedicated fan servers,
16:28its following isn't as big as it should be.
16:30Eternal Sonata.
16:32Yes.
16:32Well, that would be nice.
16:35Try Crescendo's vibrant RPG has one of the genre's most unique premises.
16:40Set entirely within the dying dream of 19th century Polish composer Friedrich Chopin,
16:46it follows him as a boy in a fantastical world.
16:50There is a clear love for the artist's work,
16:52as his music and life events are interwoven throughout the narrative.
16:56On top of being a visual and auditory marvel,
16:59the combat system hinged on an interesting light and shadow mechanic,
17:03where an enemy or character's abilities changed depending on whether they stood in light or dark places on the battlefield,
17:10which themselves could change depending on a variety of factors.
17:13As one of the more original JRPGs of the PS3 and Xbox 360 era,
17:19Eternal Sonata deserves more cultural recognition.
17:22Nah, that was easy.
17:26Easy?
17:27Jeez, if that's what you call easy, I'd hate to see hard.
17:39Before we continue, check out this single from Sound Mojo's album, Balance,
17:44classical music reimagined as rock, hard rock, and metal.
17:47Check out the full track and album below.
17:50Born in the sunlight, born in the rain,
17:55Life is a rhythm, running through veins.
18:03Gun.
18:06Bite some jerky and collect your gear.
18:09Time to earn our pay.
18:10In the middle of its run on the Tony Hawk series,
18:13Neversoft developed something completely different with 2005's Gun.
18:18Set in 1880, the western follows Colton Cole White,
18:22an Apache man out to avenge the murder of his adoptive father.
18:25The open world was extremely impressive for the time,
18:29packed with fun side activities and anchored by great gunplay,
18:33which featured a bullet-time quick-draw mechanic.
18:36All of this five years before the debut of Red Dead Redemption.
18:39Although it was a sizable hit back then,
18:42Neversoft never revisited it in between more Tony Hawk
18:46and then Guitar Hero before it eventually closed in 2014.
18:50Considering how beloved Rockstar's western behemoth is now,
18:54it really is too bad Gun never got a second chance.
18:57Ooh, how bad they treat you?
18:59They busted me up pretty good, but I didn't squawk none.
19:02There are plenty of other underrated gems from the decade,
19:05so be sure to share your favorites in the comments,
19:07and we'll see you next time.
19:09I'm John Hulper.
19:11I'm Cindy Hawk.
19:12I'm Cindy Hawk.
19:12I'm Bean Hawk.
19:13I am하고 nessa history at Greyımınhan zdcıo wars grammatул.
19:13I'm Gary, along with 805etyan,