What games did you buy despite bad reviews?

[Scooter]

And which did you find to be as bad as the reviews said and which did you find to be good despite the bad reviews?

When Blasto came out it was hyped an incredible amount. Sony was still looking for that killer ap that they could claim as their own and show how superior their new system was. The prerelease hype was relentless and I'll admit it looked great. When the game finally hit the streets it was universally panned. I was so disappointed! It was roughly a year later when the game was deeply discounted that I bought it anyway and found out pretty quick that the reviews were dead on, man that game sucks!

On the other side of the coin: I really came around to the Dreamcast late in the game. I got my first Dreamcast just about 3 years ago. I had read many reviews of D2 that were less than glowing but I really enjoyed D on Sega CD and liked WARP and Kenji Eno (I wish he'd made more games). One of the first games I got for my DC was D2 and it was the first DC game I completed and I must say I liked it a lot. There were things I found slightly annoying, but then I could say that about any game I've ever played.

[Jmenglan]

I would have to say another Dreamcast game, Landstalker. The game has horrible design flaws but I kept playing through it and had some good times with it.

[Hatta]

Black & White. The reviews were right. At least I got it from the bargain bin.

[Tercoil]

Sonic Heroes for the Gamecube, while it didnt get horrible reviews most people were disappointed with it

personally i enjoyed the game but i finished it rather quickly and it didnt have much to do after that.

[RyaNtheSlayA]

Sonic R. I dont see whats so bad about it, its controls are tight and the tracks although few offer variety.

[Mozgus]

It's hard to answer this question. As I think back, I believe it was wasting money on bad games that motivated me to start reading reviews in the first place. Once I started doing that, I don't think I've bought any poorly reviewed games, however I've certainly bought some absolutely crap games that had near flawless reviews. (GTA3, Sims, FF8, RE:CV).

[MrPopo]

Manhunt 2. I was looking forward to it as an uber violent game to tap into that primitive part of my brain that enjoys that kind of thing. Then I saw the reviews, and it was looking pretty bad. But I got it anyway. And it was pretty bad. It had me going for a while, but then they gave me a gun and it all went to hell. Which, thinking back to it, is the exact same thing they did with Manhunt. The guns just ruin the game they were going for.

[bobbynewmarkiii]

Most SHMUPS

Trigerheart Excelcia - metacritic 63 - My Score 100
Raiden III - metacritic 61 - My Score 80
Steel Dragon Ex - metacritic 49 - My Score 80
Wartech Senko no Ronde - metacritic 59 - My score 90
1942 Joint Strike - metacritic 69 - My Score 49!

Not bad reviews per se - but hardly glowing.

[Bootaaay]

Most SHMUPS

SHMUPS are always reviewed badly because the review probably has zero experience of the genre outside of an r-type game they played over a decade ago. It's always the exact same complaints;

. Too short, you can complete the game in 30 minutes
. Not enough depth
. Not enough incentive to keep playing

Without realising that a) it's meant to be short, now try completing it on Manic without using more than 1 credit b) the chaining system the reviewer totally ignored or was unaware of is what usually provides depth in a shooter and c) the incentive is to complete the game on a single credit and improve your scores. Pretty much the only reason Ikaruga XBLA scored remotely well is because of how well regarded it is by it's rabid cult-following.

And to answer the topic, i've bought almost every iteration of Shin Sangokumuso/Sengoku Musou/Muso Orochi (Dynasty Warriors/Samurai Warriors/Warriors Orochi) and despite their horrid review record and lack of progression over the last 8-years, it remains one of my most enjoyed series.

[Pulsar_t]

Manhunt 2. I was looking forward to it as an uber violent game to tap into that primitive part of my brain that enjoys that kind of thing. Then I saw the reviews, and it was looking pretty bad. But I got it anyway. And it was pretty bad. It had me going for a while, but then they gave me a gun and it all went to hell. Which, thinking back to it, is the exact same thing they did with Manhunt. The guns just ruin the game they were going for.

I couldn't believe Gamesmaster gave the Wii version 88% last year. They lost whatever credibility they had left when they did that.

As for me I must say I enjoyed Killzone despite its glaring flaws.