Fighting construction vehicles and dinosaurs? These are the 10 most unique fighting games

Are you an avid fighting games player? Are you getting tired of playing all the great games currently available?

Get yourselves ready as we take a departure from the tried and tested formula for fighting games, and look at ten of the most unique titles ever seen in the genre.

10. Skullgirls

With a cast of some pretty out there characters - ranging from parasol wielding princesses to cats with detachable body parts - it's no doubt that SkullGirls has some of the most interesting and intricate character designs for any fighting game.

And with all these exceptional and extraordinary creations brought to life through some stunning hand drawn sprites, its also impossible to ignore that this is one of the best looking fighters that money can buy.

Building on some classic tag-team features we've come to love through games like Marvel vs Capcom, SkullGirls brings a whole new twist to the classic formula. It's difficult, it's demanding, but put in the time and learn the intricacies of these bizarre brawlers and you'll be rewarded with one of the most satisfying fighting game experiences around.

9. SoulCalibur

Let's take a quick look at one of the unsung heroes of consoles for a minute. The Sega Dreamcast. Despite its limited lifespan, it was just great. Sure - it quickly got knocked into the records of video game history by the more powerful PS2, but not before it spawned some games which will be remembered fondly by millions.

None more so perhaps, than SoulCalibur - a game that set out to do things a little bit different. This wasn't the first 3D fighter, nor was it the first to introduce weaponry.

It did a lot of things that had already been done - but it just did them better. It combined all these great aspects into something that stood out from the crowd and looked entirely different to its competitors. What ensued was the start of the most unique fighting game series still kicking about today.

8. Battle Construction Vehicles

Yes, this is the definitive fighting game featuring construction vehicles (Picture: Midas Interactive Entertainment)

Alright - so we've given you two very solid, very respectable fighting games. We're pretty sure that should satisfy the quota for quality, and now we can delve into the world of weird - and pretty questionable - fighting games. Now, we're no experts on how construction companies obtain contracts, but in our heads it's a lot like 'Battle Construction Vehicles', where workers will take to the scrapyard and battle it out with a range of bulldozers and diggers.

And when these disputes don't get settled the old fashioned way, you can always rely on some special moves to get the upper hand - you may be wondering what a bulldozers special ability might be? It's quite obviously a swarm of angry bees. Why wouldn't it be that?

It's got action, it's got politics, it's got cinematic cut scenes, and it's got a romantic sub plot - it is, without a doubt, the definitive fighting game featuring construction vehicles.

7. Warpath: Jurassic Park

As we've seen, disputes on a construction site only really have one realistic recourse. Has this primal desire to solve disputes through brawn always existed? Warpath: Jurassic Park argues - yes. Even at the dawn of time, every living thing was just out for a scrap.

Now we're not to sure here whether these dinosaurs are fighting because that's just what they do, or if they're being used to resolve the disputes between some scientists - but the subplot is really just going to distract us from what's really important: it's a fighting game with T-Rexs and megaraptors.

The game may not have been a huge hit with gaming publications, who criticised the fact that it's not a very good game. But we are going to hit back and say that they clearly missed the point of the game: It's a fighting game with T-Rexs. What more could you want?

6. Arm Joe

Whilst we're on the trajectory of confusingly spectacular settings for video games, lets take a look something that we're upset didn't spawn a craze of imitators. Based on the novel and musical Les Misérables we have Arm Joe.

The game is brilliantly bizarre in every way. You can play as all your favourite characters from the play with special moves based on their role in the story. After a variety of fights against beloved characters, you'll eventually face off against the incarnation of Justice itself.

Now there's clearly room to expand this genre further. We're going to be waiting for any budding game developers to get working on a spin off that sees the cast of Les Misérables face off against casts of other musicals in the most ambitious crossover of all time.

You may be wondering why was this game made? When asked why he spent five years developing the game, creator Takase simply said 'because I have no friends'. Well, we'd certainly want to be friends with anyone who turns classic novels into fighting games - now please make a sequel.

5. Divekick

Divekick takes footsies and button mashing to the next level (Picture: Iron Galaxy)

Needless to say, across any fighting game ever made, there will always be players who'll abuse the ability to perform a dive kick. It's always been that way, and it always will. So how can you counter that mechanic? Well it's apparently pretty simple - make it the only think players can do.

In Divekick - you only have two buttons. One labelled dive, one labelled kick. That's it. That's the whole game. You'd think a fighting game with only 2 commands would get boring quite quickly. We urge you, play the game and be proved wrong.

If you're looking to take to strategy, you're more than welcome to try with Divekick, however fortune seems to favour those who embrace the essence of the game in mind. It's a fast paced fiasco where you'll constantly find yourself raining down from the sky in an attempt to get that game winning blow on your opponent.

4. Powerstone

We've looked at just what was possible on the Dreamcast's hardware with SoulCalibur. A brand new experience was realised which started a long series of great games. However there were some gems that just didn't see the follow up they deserve. One such game was a starkly unique fighting game which is begging for a reboot - Powerstone.

Many gamers won't have heard of Powerstone, which is a serious shame. It was fantastic. The game revolved around a fight in a 3D plane, and saw players contest for gems which would unlock each character's unique powered up form. These forms will range from ghost pirates to something that resembles 'The Thing' from the Fantastic Four, and everything in between.

From what looks like a pretty simple fighter at first glance unravels in depth to be a chaotic scramble for supremacy. Despite each character only having a few attacks at their disposal, they can use all sorts of tricks, and utilise their surrounding environment until they can unleash their powered up form and turn the tide.

3. Primal Rage

Didn't get your fill of Dino-centric fighters with Warpath? Well this is your moment as we've got more giants going toe-to-toe with tooth and claw. It's more brutal, more bloody and much more vicious than its Jurassic park counterpart - it's Primal Rage.

The game gives you everything that you'd expect from a showdown between giant apes and Dinosaurs, and as well as the myriad of gruesome specials, the game gives each combatant supernatural powers to spice things up.

There really hasn't been a game like Primal Rage before or since, and no other fighter has had a bevy of mechanics revolving around chomping on your followers for power ups.

We often look at the likes of Mortal Kombat when thinking of morbid fighting games, yet Rage had plenty of viscera to rival the infamous series. And we're going to go out on a limb and say being decapitated by a Tyrannosaurus God of Destruction is a much worse way to go than at the hands of some chilly ninja.

You'll also be pretty unsuprised to hear that these bloody bouts between all manners of primal gods didn't go without their fair share of controversy, with numerous campaigns seeking to get Atari to tone down the violence - and whilst a number of changes were made, the true essence that made this game one of a kind remained.

2. Shaq Fu

I always wanted to main Shaquille O'Neal (Picture: EA)

Nearly all of our list so far has come from some pretty out their brainstorming during the development process - but we think our next pick will top them all. Back in '94 Delphine Software were pitching an idea for a basketball game, featuring the sporting Legend, Shaquille O'Neal. Nothing wrong there, that seems like a really reasonable idea for a game.

Things, however, got derailed somewhat when Shaq got on board with the project. As it turns out, Shaq liked Mortal Kombat. In fact, Shaq liked Mortal Kombat so much that he didn't want to be in a basketball game, he wanted to be in Mortal Kombat. Obviously, that was pretty impossible, so the team did the next best thing. A brand new fighting game featuring the basketball legend in 'Shaq Fu'.

It's a concept that just makes you smile. It's utterly ludicrous, and well deserving of its spot on this list. So many things set this game apart from any other title ever made.

The game even has a fully fledged story, and what a roller coaster it is. To put it simply, Shaq gets distracted on the way to a basketball game, and ends up in an alternate universe where he goes head to head with a kidnapping ancient mummy. How could you not want to see that unfold?

If that's not enough to make you love this game, Shaq even released a rap album to promote the games release. The game has absolutely everything - well, apart from good fighting game mechanics, but you can't have it all.

And just in case you didn't completely get your fill of Shaquille O'Neal taking the fight across worlds, there's also a sequel - Shaq Fu: A Legend Reborn, featuring all the weirdness of the first game, plus plenty more.

1. Smash Bros

Say what you want. In this list, Smash is the most unique fighting game (Picture: Nintendo)

Okay, so we've accidentally made an important point with this episode. Most of these titles are pretty painful to play, and while they may have a certain novelty about them - that will quickly wear off. Most fighting games these days are built on tried and tested formulae - which may take away from their uniqueness, but as we can see from some of these games, being unique isn't always a good thing.

Whilst some titles on the list have clear merit, like SoulCalibur and SkullGirls - there are base similarities to other games. However we're about to prove that a fighting game can be unique, can be ambitious, can break all conventions, and still be utterly amazing. Let's take a look at Smash Bros.

Right from the get go, it's clear that the Smash Bros series is in a league of its own. With one of the biggest character rosters in any fighting game, the series has pitched all manners of unlikely foes against each other in an entirely unique arena battle. With so many features integral to fighting games done away with, Smash Bros built a brand new formula which set itself apart from any other game in the genre.

And whilst it was never intended to be a competitive game, it wasn't long before players quickly saw the potential in Smash Bros - and looking at it it's easy to see why.

What comes off as chaotic, free for all action is in fact a deeply intricate system, rivalling the top dogs of the genre. And with each iteration bringing new features and refining the unique experience, its no wonder that the series has become one of the most beloved fighting game series of all time.

If you're looking for something a little bit different in the realms of fighting games, there's a lot of novelty here. You can button mash your way through the French revolution, realise the fighting potential of construction vehicles, or raise some hell as chaos incarnate in its dinosaur form.

However, we'll be honest - most of these titles won't provide more than their initial novelty. Yet if you're looking for a fresh take on the fighting game genre with something that feels truly unique, and you have yet to try your hand at Smash Bros, do yourself a favour and start playing. Immediately.

Divekick: A Fighting Game With Only Two Buttons?!