Terrible game that are still fun.

[Ack]

Hard to follow an awesome and thought provoking post like Ack's, but I have also noticed a lot of people will bash a game or never play it simply because its the bandwagon thing to do

Like with Halo games, you're not cool in the FPS crowd if you like Halo especially among the PC gamers. I still maintain that the first one was pretty good

You're not cool with the survival horror crowd if you liked Resident Evil 4 or RE 5....well, actually, RE 5 was pretty shitty but I digress

By the same token, there's a bandwagon of praise for some games that are pretty shitty. I get tired of hearing people talk about what a great tribute to Metal Slug and Contra Alien Hominid was by people who have never even played it. Honestly, I thought Alien Hominid's gameplay was pure shit

And yet, I still enjoyed its art, humor and mini-games. So I guess I just proved Ack's point that even bad games can have value

I agree with this completely...well, except for the Alien Hominid part, but that's because I haven't played it enough to form an opinion. But yes, the bandwagon does influence people's opinions of games quite a bit. I'm a fan of both genres you mentioned, and I admit that I am guilty of behaving that way in regards to Halo. As a survival horror fan, I liked Resident Evil 4, but I don't feel it fits the rest of the series. 5...has its problems, but it can still be fun in multiplayer Mercs games.

But the bandwagon response on praising or bashing a game is true, especially for folks who haven't played it. Consider ET. How many of you have actually played it? How many of you have bashed it? I've played it, and I didn't really find it to be all that bad. On the inverse I've also played God of War and had considerable problems with it.

[brunoafh]

For the record, I used to play Shaq Fu on Sega Channel back in the day all the time. When the Internet came around (or when I got it at least) and I discovered that it was universally loathed I was kind of surprised. I knew it was no Street Fighter but I didn't think it would have so much hate.

About the bandwagon, you also have to consider that it exists for a reason. If there wasn't any reason to hate the games you mentioned, then there wouldn't be a majority that did.

I do agree that jumping on the bandwagon if you haven't even played the game is silly though.

[Gamerforlife]

For the record, I used to play Shaq Fu on Sega Channel back in the day all the time. When the Internet came around (or when I got it at least) and I discovered that it was universally loathed I was kind of surprised. I knew it was no Street Fighter but I didn't think it would have so much hate.

About the bandwagon, you also have to consider that it exists for a reason. If there wasn't any reason to hate the games you mentioned, then there wouldn't be a majority that did.

I do agree that jumping on the bandwagon if you haven't even played the game is silly though.

I wonder sometimes how different our gaming experiences would be if we didn't worry about a game's reputation before deciding to try it. When I was younger I used to go to a local movie and video game rental place and rent whatever games caught my interest. I ended up playing some classic stuff, but also enjoyed some games that I would discover later in life were either panned by critics, bashed by gamers or went largely ignored and faded into obscurity

[Xeogred]

We'd probably all be having more fun in life.

[NeverGoBak]

Hard to follow an awesome and thought provoking post like Ack's, but I have also noticed a lot of people will bash a game or never play it simply because its the bandwagon thing to do

Like with Halo games, you're not cool in the FPS crowd if you like Halo especially among the PC gamers. I still maintain that the first one was pretty good

You're not cool with the survival horror crowd if you liked Resident Evil 4 or RE 5....well, actually, RE 5 was pretty shitty but I digress

By the same token, there's a bandwagon of praise for some games that are pretty shitty. I get tired of hearing people talk about what a great tribute to Metal Slug and Contra Alien Hominid was by people who have never even played it. Honestly, I thought Alien Hominid's gameplay was pure shit

And yet, I still enjoyed its art, humor and mini-games. So I guess I just proved Ack's point that even bad games can have value

I agree with this completely...well, except for the Alien Hominid part, but that's because I haven't played it enough to form an opinion. But yes, the bandwagon does influence people's opinions of games quite a bit. I'm a fan of both genres you mentioned, and I admit that I am guilty of behaving that way in regards to Halo. As a survival horror fan, I liked Resident Evil 4, but I don't feel it fits the rest of the series. 5...has its problems, but it can still be fun in multiplayer Mercs games.

But the bandwagon response on praising or bashing a game is true, especially for folks who haven't played it. Consider ET. How many of you have actually played it? How many of you have bashed it? I've played it, and I didn't really find it to be all that bad. On the inverse I've also played God of War and had considerable problems with it.

I played both the Atari, and the GB versions. Atari was pure shit, tied for worst game I've ever played, the GB game wasn't so bad though.

I also usually hold Shadow The Hedge in higher esteem than most, fuck what other people say, that game probably actually makes it just below the top ten sonic games, or a part of the top ten.

I try not to form opinions of games before playing, and when I do, I make sure not to voice them or rely on them until I've played it.

[isiolia]

People hate on the Saturn version of Tomb Raider but I enjoy it immensely.

Why do they hate on it? It seemed perfectly fine to me.

I haven't really played it since it was relatively new - but all I remember is it being the technically inferior version next to the Playstation one - understandable, since generally speaking, the PSX did 3D better, and the Saturn did 2D better.

I wonder sometimes how different our gaming experiences would be if we didn't worry about a game's reputation before deciding to try it. When I was younger I used to go to a local movie and video game rental place and rent whatever games caught my interest.

Possibly a bit more diverse - but figure, you could also get turned off of a genre, series, or games in general by happening to pick up some poor titles. I think a lot of us technically started that way anyway - playing what was there, or the arcade game that caught our eye, that sort of thing. It's more when you start having to invest a fair bit of money that it starts to matter.

[Rurouni_Fencer]

I heartily enjoyed Castlevania 64 back when it was first released. I don't care how broken it is, how frustrating it is, or what anybody thinks. I'll still throw on the soundtrack if the mood strikes me.

Was it your first Castlevania game though?

You..you..what?

Enjoyed it?

Masochist.

Yeah, this is usually the response I get.. Look, believe me, I understand the compaints about the game. As far as the series go, this was a time-warp step backwards. But when they made the game, they were going for one main thing - They wanted to add an element of atmosphere to the game, (being that the big games at the time were Resident Evil and Metal Gear Solid.) The devs felt Castlevania deserved to celebrate the gothic atmosphere and mood of the series, and therefore they created a 3D adventure game that traded the series' familiar soundtrack for a more moody, surreal backdrop. They succeeded, I feel, in that aspect, but unfortunately, as is often the case with a lot of experimental games, the gameplay suffered and that's what gamers and fans remember today.

I've said it probably too much already on this board, but Castlevania is my #1 series, and that will never change. I remember renting the original as a young kid on the NES when it came out and was instantly hooked on the original's gothic atmosphere and movie-monster aesthetic. Simon's Quest only served to increase that feeling, (again, some would argue the gameplay suffered a bit - which I would disagree! Metroidvania started with Simon's Quest and original Metroid, not Super Metroid and SotN!) The third game expanded upon this setting, but returned to the original's more linear gameplay, while incorporating branching paths, (which returned in Dracula X.) Super Castlevania IV on the SNES, came into the 16-bit era showing us that Castlevania was all about spooky and haunting atmosphere with it's various decrepit swamps and castles, detailed monsters, and haunting soundtrack.

My point is this - Konami always tried to push atmosphere onto the Castlevania player up until CV64 tanked. Sure, the newer games on GBA and DS have a certain gothic atmosphere, but nothing revolutionary. Only until Lords of Shadow did we see a real return to atmospheric change, (although this time, the story was the main focus, unlike CV64 where the mood and setting was.)

In closing, I wouldn't say I'm a masochist - I don't enjoy the games like I do the originals or SotN. But I do respect and recognize what it tried to do, and I appreciate it for that. It still evokes memories of being in high school and playing my favorite game series' debut into 3D and the hours I poured into it. I enjoyed it. But I wouldn't recommend it to newcomers, or those unfamiliar with the series as a starting point..

[NeverGoBak]

For the record, I used to play Shaq Fu on Sega Channel back in the day all the time. When the Internet came around (or when I got it at least) and I discovered that it was universally loathed I was kind of surprised. I knew it was no Street Fighter but I didn't think it would have so much hate.

About the bandwagon, you also have to consider that it exists for a reason. If there wasn't any reason to hate the games you mentioned, then there wouldn't be a majority that did.

I do agree that jumping on the bandwagon if you haven't even played the game is silly though.

I wonder sometimes how different our gaming experiences would be if we didn't worry about a game's reputation before deciding to try it. When I was younger I used to go to a local movie and video game rental place and rent whatever games caught my interest. I ended up playing some classic stuff, but also enjoyed some games that I would discover later in life were either panned by critics, bashed by gamers or went largely ignored and faded into obscurity

I usually look up Gameplay clips, or for older games test them on an emulator, far before I actually care what reviews and other gamers say. I bought Lock's Quest and Mysims: Kingdom on complete impulsive "This looks cool."(Both games awesome too) However, Okami had the reinforcement of "9.5/10" on the cover, but I think I would have gotten that anyway, the gameplay pics on the back were awesome, I absolutely love Japanese influenced art. I also must admit that after gameplay pics, I do look up reviews, just to get an idea of the game whether than trust it, as I know reviews to bash games I like and praise games I don't, I know I can't trust them.

When I was 12/13 and a good amount now, franchise trust, and impulse purchases led to both the absolute best and absolute worst games in my collection

TY: The Tasmanian Tiger tends to get bad reviews also, but I really loved those games(when I had them...)

[o.pwuaioc]

Is there some master list of bad games for me to choose which ones I like? I'm not sure which games, if any, I liked that are considered "bad". I got lucky as a kid and had the classics with very few else, with the memorable exception of Kirby's Dream Course (which I did enjoy) and Final Fantasy Mystic Quest (which I beat, for some reason, but absolutely loathed). I do not mind the N64 Castlevania games, but I'm not sure I generally enjoy terrible games.

[NeverGoBak]

Is there some master list of bad games for me to choose which ones I like? I'm not sure which games, if any, I liked that are considered "bad". I got lucky as a kid and had the classics with very few else, with the memorable exception of Kirby's Dream Course (which I did enjoy) and Final Fantasy Mystic Quest (which I beat, for some reason, but absolutely loathed). I do not mind the N64 Castlevania games, but I'm not sure I generally enjoy terrible games.

It's less what gamers and critics think are bad, but just universally bad games. When you played it you were thinking how horrible it was, but becasue of some outside force(Like a buddy being with you, or bad taste ) you enjoyed it anyway.

Jeopardy for N64 for example, when I got it used I didn't even want it to work, and I played through with my brohter, knowing it was horrible, but having fun at it's expense.