hating the games everyone loves
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Gamerforlife
- Next-Gen
- Posts: 10184
- Joined: Thu Jul 12, 2007 5:15 pm
- Location: Florida
I should probably note that not every game I mention is one that I dislike. Sometimes, I'll just point out a certain quality of a game that I believe is overrated. And of course, these are one man's opinions based off of my perspective and observations
Mario 64
Supposedly, the first truly great 3-d game that would set the standard for all that would follow. For me, this game shows many of things that would make most 3-d games so annoying, most notably the annoying camera that constantly needs adjusting(and the annoying sound when it doesn't let you). Plus, I didn't like how the whole game was a bunch of little tasks to do in each level. I prefer old school Mario that is all about getting to the end of the level in one piece. It's is certainly a good game though, but for me Tomb Raider was the first 3-d game that really wowed me. Unlike many gamers, I enjoyed the surgical precision of TR's control scheme. Instead of doing awkward jumps and hoping to use your shadow to guide you to a platform like other 3-d platform games of the time, there was very specific positioning in TR that guaranteed that you would land properly. I liked that. Plus, the sense of wonder and isolation that the game created was great. Yes, there was actually more to the original TR than Lara's "assets"
Odin Sphere
Pretty artwork, good music, and that's pretty much it. There's nothing to the gameplay. The combat system has less moves than 16-bit beat'em ups and hack and slashers. There are no real combos, since enemies can interupt your attack string at any time. The item creation system is too simplistic since the game tells you every recipe and is constantly giving you items to use. I've seen more complex weapon and item creation systems in more traditional rpgs. That very same item system makes the game a cakewalk. You can just spam items throughout the game. Plus, you replay the same stages and bosses over and over again. Some like the story, because it is very Wagnerish, but it lost my interest halfway through the second chapter. And then there is the slowdown and flicker, which I could have forgiven were it not for the game's other flaws.
It irritates me that people are calling this game a return to the glory days of 2-d gaming. You know what every 2-d classic has? Quality gameplay, which is a bit lacking in Odin Sphere. This is not the game I would show to someone to make them see why 2-d games are still relevant.
Halo 2
Added litte to the first game's formula. I preferred the Covenant as the funny aliens dogging me throughout the game. I didn't want to actually play as them in story mode. Made them lose their charm. I didn't like dual wielding, it was initially disorienting to me, and there were some really cheap two weapons combos you could abuse in multi-player. Speaking of cheap, there was that over-powered plasma sword. I also didn't like how they toned down my fave weapon, the pistol.
What happened to the story mode? It had no ending, and no stage in the game was as awesome as the one that was shown and hyped up before the game's release. What happened to that stage? This game didn't live up to the hype for me, and for some stupid reason I actually bought into the hype. Somehow this felt more like a Microsoft game than a Bungie game if you get my meaning. I think the series sold out here.
Simpsons Hit and Run
The same like four or five mission types over and over and over. You needed to really memorize the shortcuts to beat the strict time limits too. It was more about the short cuts than your driving. Frankly, comparing this game to Grand Theft Auto seems insulting given how much more depth GTA games have. All I can say I enjoyed about this game was the great humor and the accurate recreation of all of Springfield's locations.
Essentially, this game would have been garbage without the license. The show references and humor were its only redeeming qualities in my opinion.
Jade Empire
Actually, I really enjoyed this game a lot for its story, graphics, music and the whole good vs evil freedom of choice thing. However, the combat system was nowhere near as deep as it was hyped up to be. It was rather boring and shallow actually. The only thing about the combat system I liked were the Mortal Kombat style kills I started seeing my character do later in the game. Also, like Knights of the Old Republic did, they had to throw in a rather pointless mini-game
Metal Gear Solid
Actually, this game is awesome, but it is often referred to as the first 3-d stealth game. Um, Tenchu anyone?
Shin Megami Tensei Nocturne
I like the music, the graphical style, the story, the monster collecting and Dante(even if it's DMC 2 Dante). It's the gameplay I hate. I'm not one to complain about difficulty, but the game is blatantly cheap, and much of this is due to the game's random nature. If you get RANDOMLY attacked from behind, and the enemies exploit your party's weaknesses, you are dead. Also, a battle can go horribly wrong due your character RANDOMLY missing an attack, or the enemy RANDOMLY getting a critical. Oh, and even better, when you win a hard fought battle and the game RANDOMLY decides to throw more enemies at you, and then RANDOMLY decides to do it again. There is a certain amount of randomness that makes most japanese rpgs annoying, but it's a serious problem in this game due to the harshness of the combat system.
Also, the combat system itself is very overrated for being so innovative. It's neat that game pays high dividends for you exploiting an enemy's weakness, but this isn't a new idea in rpgs. It is just taken to an extreme in this game.
I could go and on about overrated games, but I'll have to save any more thoughts for another post
Mario 64
Supposedly, the first truly great 3-d game that would set the standard for all that would follow. For me, this game shows many of things that would make most 3-d games so annoying, most notably the annoying camera that constantly needs adjusting(and the annoying sound when it doesn't let you). Plus, I didn't like how the whole game was a bunch of little tasks to do in each level. I prefer old school Mario that is all about getting to the end of the level in one piece. It's is certainly a good game though, but for me Tomb Raider was the first 3-d game that really wowed me. Unlike many gamers, I enjoyed the surgical precision of TR's control scheme. Instead of doing awkward jumps and hoping to use your shadow to guide you to a platform like other 3-d platform games of the time, there was very specific positioning in TR that guaranteed that you would land properly. I liked that. Plus, the sense of wonder and isolation that the game created was great. Yes, there was actually more to the original TR than Lara's "assets"
Odin Sphere
Pretty artwork, good music, and that's pretty much it. There's nothing to the gameplay. The combat system has less moves than 16-bit beat'em ups and hack and slashers. There are no real combos, since enemies can interupt your attack string at any time. The item creation system is too simplistic since the game tells you every recipe and is constantly giving you items to use. I've seen more complex weapon and item creation systems in more traditional rpgs. That very same item system makes the game a cakewalk. You can just spam items throughout the game. Plus, you replay the same stages and bosses over and over again. Some like the story, because it is very Wagnerish, but it lost my interest halfway through the second chapter. And then there is the slowdown and flicker, which I could have forgiven were it not for the game's other flaws.
It irritates me that people are calling this game a return to the glory days of 2-d gaming. You know what every 2-d classic has? Quality gameplay, which is a bit lacking in Odin Sphere. This is not the game I would show to someone to make them see why 2-d games are still relevant.
Halo 2
Added litte to the first game's formula. I preferred the Covenant as the funny aliens dogging me throughout the game. I didn't want to actually play as them in story mode. Made them lose their charm. I didn't like dual wielding, it was initially disorienting to me, and there were some really cheap two weapons combos you could abuse in multi-player. Speaking of cheap, there was that over-powered plasma sword. I also didn't like how they toned down my fave weapon, the pistol.
What happened to the story mode? It had no ending, and no stage in the game was as awesome as the one that was shown and hyped up before the game's release. What happened to that stage? This game didn't live up to the hype for me, and for some stupid reason I actually bought into the hype. Somehow this felt more like a Microsoft game than a Bungie game if you get my meaning. I think the series sold out here.
Simpsons Hit and Run
The same like four or five mission types over and over and over. You needed to really memorize the shortcuts to beat the strict time limits too. It was more about the short cuts than your driving. Frankly, comparing this game to Grand Theft Auto seems insulting given how much more depth GTA games have. All I can say I enjoyed about this game was the great humor and the accurate recreation of all of Springfield's locations.
Essentially, this game would have been garbage without the license. The show references and humor were its only redeeming qualities in my opinion.
Jade Empire
Actually, I really enjoyed this game a lot for its story, graphics, music and the whole good vs evil freedom of choice thing. However, the combat system was nowhere near as deep as it was hyped up to be. It was rather boring and shallow actually. The only thing about the combat system I liked were the Mortal Kombat style kills I started seeing my character do later in the game. Also, like Knights of the Old Republic did, they had to throw in a rather pointless mini-game
Metal Gear Solid
Actually, this game is awesome, but it is often referred to as the first 3-d stealth game. Um, Tenchu anyone?
Shin Megami Tensei Nocturne
I like the music, the graphical style, the story, the monster collecting and Dante(even if it's DMC 2 Dante). It's the gameplay I hate. I'm not one to complain about difficulty, but the game is blatantly cheap, and much of this is due to the game's random nature. If you get RANDOMLY attacked from behind, and the enemies exploit your party's weaknesses, you are dead. Also, a battle can go horribly wrong due your character RANDOMLY missing an attack, or the enemy RANDOMLY getting a critical. Oh, and even better, when you win a hard fought battle and the game RANDOMLY decides to throw more enemies at you, and then RANDOMLY decides to do it again. There is a certain amount of randomness that makes most japanese rpgs annoying, but it's a serious problem in this game due to the harshness of the combat system.
Also, the combat system itself is very overrated for being so innovative. It's neat that game pays high dividends for you exploiting an enemy's weakness, but this isn't a new idea in rpgs. It is just taken to an extreme in this game.
I could go and on about overrated games, but I'll have to save any more thoughts for another post
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RadarScope1
- Next-Gen
- Posts: 1720
- Joined: Mon Jul 09, 2007 9:01 pm
- Location: Missouri
Most FPS's. Most notably Halo. I dug Doom and Goldeneye back in the day, but Halo just seems boring. Doesn't grab me right away. From what I can gather, it's meant to be an online death match platform. That's fine, it's just not for me.
I don't care much for the Sonic games. Most of the time it feels like you're just running blind. Guys come out of nowhere and then BAM, you're stripped of every F'ing ring you have and then you tap some other dipshit a second later and you're dead. The speed element is cool but it's not substitute for real platforming. ... Maybe this is because I was weened on Mario games ...
Car sims like Gran Turismo and Forza. I'm sure for car nuts it's a dream, but I'm not a car guy in any way. Give me a drifty arcade game like Ridge Racer any day.
Otherwise, I seem to really like a lot of the games some of y'all dislike: Marios, Zeldas, FF's (the up to about 7 or 8 anyway).
I don't care much for the Sonic games. Most of the time it feels like you're just running blind. Guys come out of nowhere and then BAM, you're stripped of every F'ing ring you have and then you tap some other dipshit a second later and you're dead. The speed element is cool but it's not substitute for real platforming. ... Maybe this is because I was weened on Mario games ...
Car sims like Gran Turismo and Forza. I'm sure for car nuts it's a dream, but I'm not a car guy in any way. Give me a drifty arcade game like Ridge Racer any day.
Otherwise, I seem to really like a lot of the games some of y'all dislike: Marios, Zeldas, FF's (the up to about 7 or 8 anyway).
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Gamerforlife
- Next-Gen
- Posts: 10184
- Joined: Thu Jul 12, 2007 5:15 pm
- Location: Florida
I should point out that I've played through most of the games in my last post and beaten them(except nocturne and Odin Sphere). For some reason, I don't really feel comfortable calling something overrrated unless I've put significant time into it. I notice a lot of people on many forums will bash a game or franchise without really playing them.
I don't mind when someone says that a game or franchise just doesn't appeal to them, but it annoys me when someone bashes a game as if they've played it when they clearly haven't. It's one of my pet peeves
I remember someone on another forum bashing Devil May Cry 3 by referring to it as a "mindless button masher". You can give me any reason in the world for not liking the game and I'm cool with it if it is true, but that statement is a lie. DMC 3 is not designed for button mashers, and anyone who has played it knows that.
Sorry for the mini-rant. I guess this thread just made me think of that pet peeve of mine. I wasn't directing my comments at anyone in particular for the record
I don't mind when someone says that a game or franchise just doesn't appeal to them, but it annoys me when someone bashes a game as if they've played it when they clearly haven't. It's one of my pet peeves
I remember someone on another forum bashing Devil May Cry 3 by referring to it as a "mindless button masher". You can give me any reason in the world for not liking the game and I'm cool with it if it is true, but that statement is a lie. DMC 3 is not designed for button mashers, and anyone who has played it knows that.
Sorry for the mini-rant. I guess this thread just made me think of that pet peeve of mine. I wasn't directing my comments at anyone in particular for the record
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grittykitty
- forever 16-bit
- Posts: 952
- Joined: Sat Dec 03, 2005 1:49 am
- Location: sega nomad
without really reading the posts on page 7 (i'm lazy), i understand durkada's sentiment, and i can see it's just not blind hatred directed towards nintendo. i've been a nintendo fanboy since birth until around the launch of the gamecube. it was around that time, to which i now notice, mario was showing up in too many places - party, tennis, golf, whatever. it can start to get stale depending on your viewpoint. maybe not nintendo, but if shigeru miyamoto tried new characters/story/locale for a game but made it with the amount of effort (interpret that as you wish) he does for mario (and to some extent zelda) games, and surely he could create a masterpiece and possibly even launch a new successful franchise. reusing the mario/mushroom kingdom setup seems like such an easy way out, and more than anything - MARKETING. people would be less likely to buy into an unknown franchise whereas a new mario game would get eaten like hotcakes. follow? not to sound bitter, because i'm not, but nintendo seems to have strayed from the path it once proudly walked. sure, i have to say the ds and the wii are pretty innovative - but as far as software goes, they may have forgotten their roots.
i'm losing my train of thought now...
obviously evolution is necessary in the world of video games - you can only have so many super mario bros/pacman/etc clones. with the whole 3d adventure genre getting stale, it's nice to see new franchises at least coming about once in a while. i'd love graphic adventures (especially with branching paths) to make a comeback. i loved phoenix wright...
i've definitely lost my train of thought now
i'm losing my train of thought now...
obviously evolution is necessary in the world of video games - you can only have so many super mario bros/pacman/etc clones. with the whole 3d adventure genre getting stale, it's nice to see new franchises at least coming about once in a while. i'd love graphic adventures (especially with branching paths) to make a comeback. i loved phoenix wright...
i've definitely lost my train of thought now
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metaleggman
- 128-bit
- Posts: 894
- Joined: Sat Nov 04, 2006 7:21 pm
Funny thing, as far as I can tell, the GCN had a lot of new projects by Shigeru Miyamoto. I mean, he really poured out a lot of creative gameplay ideas. Pikmin, Luigi's Mansion, Wind Waker (Personally, my favorite 3D Zelda), Odama, Donkey Kong Jungle Beat, Animal Crossing, Mario Kart Double Dash, Sunshine (While the water idea isn't all that great, it's still a pretty new idea. I mean, if there are other games with similar control methods, tell me), and a few others. Of course, I'm not sure how many Miyamoto himself actually worked on to a large extent or came up with the ideas in general (I think DKJB was actually the Tokyo Studio). I think the first party game line-up trumps the SNES, N64, and the GB. AFAIK, the NES was the only one where there was so much creative freedom and Nintendo workers spilled out their ideas. Well, less that it was creative freedom, just that they needed more new cool ideas.grittykitty wrote:without really reading the posts on page 7 (i'm lazy), i understand durkada's sentiment, and i can see it's just not blind hatred directed towards nintendo. i've been a nintendo fanboy since birth until around the launch of the gamecube. it was around that time, to which i now notice, mario was showing up in too many places - party, tennis, golf, whatever. it can start to get stale depending on your viewpoint. maybe not nintendo, but if shigeru miyamoto tried new characters/story/locale for a game but made it with the amount of effort (interpret that as you wish) he does for mario (and to some extent zelda) games, and surely he could create a masterpiece and possibly even launch a new successful franchise.
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Gamerforlife
- Next-Gen
- Posts: 10184
- Joined: Thu Jul 12, 2007 5:15 pm
- Location: Florida
I've heard of the Thief games arion. And yeah, I think they do pre-date Tenchu and Metal Gear Solid. I was thinking more of console games though.
I had two friends who were a bit more into PC gaming than me when I was in high school and they were into Thief. It looked cool from what I saw. Like Tenchu, it seemed to place more emphasis on real stealth while Metal Gear Solid is a mix of stealth, action, shooter and rpg(I only say rpg because few games outside of rpgs have quite so much dialogue and cutscenes)
I had two friends who were a bit more into PC gaming than me when I was in high school and they were into Thief. It looked cool from what I saw. Like Tenchu, it seemed to place more emphasis on real stealth while Metal Gear Solid is a mix of stealth, action, shooter and rpg(I only say rpg because few games outside of rpgs have quite so much dialogue and cutscenes)
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All Hail The New Flesh
- 64-bit
- Posts: 366
- Joined: Mon Nov 27, 2006 9:53 pm
- Location: New Hartford, CT, USA