Friends who like mediocre games

[Saelune]

I like Army of Two, and it IS a great co-op game, so his desire is well met there. Personally, I dont care if friends like bad games, I just hate when friends limit themselves in gaming. In High School, I would hang out with 2 friends and we'd usually switch off playing Gears of War. Thats all they really played, Gears, Halo, CoD. I love those game series, but I love so many more too. When I suggested we play Marvel Ultimate Alliance, they outright refused, even though its a fun game we could all play together. I like alot of games that people just dismiss, or they just play only certain games, and it sucks. I need more diverse gamer friends...

 

[I.Muir]

My friends name is Nick. He also really liked army of two and still thinks aliens colonial marines is a good game.

 

[AlbertoDeSanta]

I see no problem. Also, the word 'mediocre' is generally used in opinion, so whatever you think is mediocre may be amazing for someone else. Your opinion is not the gospel, for you are just another person on the planet who thinks something different from the guy next to you, and the guy next to that guy.

EDIT: Rereading your post OP, and it sort of seems that you were kind of a dick. No one has to justify their opinions to anyone, and so can like what they want. Yes, this friend may be 'limiting his options' but, that's HIS problem, not yours. You don't need to go around fixing what is perfectly fine.

 

[ImBigBob]

Reading over the responses, I'll admit that maybe I did step over the line. I actually have recommended him games before that I thought he might like (Uncharted, Saints Row, Bioshock, Far Cry 3) and his response was that he only wanted to play co-op shooters. I'll never get why he thought Bioshock Infinite looked boring when he watched me play, but no point in pushing it.

 

[Tazzman]

Honestly no it doesn't bug me, if anything I prefer that some of my friends only play certain types of games, COD fifa etc, cause they're easy to pick up and play when I'm around theirs. I pick and choose games based on how much fun I think they'd be and I assume my friends do the same, I wouldn't look down on them for buying anyone particular game and only playing one genre (Except for banter reasons) unless they buy big rigs of course haa

 

[captnb2thep]

I think this could go either way and I actually would like to argue a different view. I would argue that the "hardcore" gamers will buy/play mediocre games MORE than the casual gamer. When I think casual gamer, I think of the people who buy maybe a few games a year and ONLY the AAA budget titles. The Call of Duty, Madden, GTA, Halo etc. crowd, I know a lot of times casual players will get mediocre games a gift from Grammy Gam Gams that doesn't know a joystick from a pogostick, but the ones marketed well and the "BIG" games are ones they seem to gravitate to, and those normally have the budget to be pretty good: EA, Ubisoft etc.

I think the "hardcore gamers" are ones who will buy dozens of games a year easily, and they are the types of people who will buy niche titles that THEY are interested in. For example a game like Vanquish scored all over the place, pretty mediocre in places, but a lot of hardcore gamers into sci-fi shooters picked it up, I didn't like it and put it down after a while personally, but theres no need for me to knock them for playing it. Hardcore gamers are more likely to follow franchises and buy the sequels which are probably mediocre, but a hell of a lot of fun to them because its something they are already interested/invested in.

Franchises like Devil May Cry, Tekken, Resident Evil, Civilization, Fire Emblem, and Tomb Raider are some examples of some franchises with at least one mediocre installment that hardcore gamers have supported for years that I feel like the casual crowd doesn't embrace as much. except maybe Tomb Raider. Those arent the best examples but I hope you get my point.

Hardcore gamers are the ones who will buy the PSN, and XBL Arcade games that probably arent the best, biggest, or flashiest games out there, they will get the DLCs, and they will support a developer or a franchise through thick and thin.

But I can definitely see the other point of view as well, the one that says casual gamers haven't played as many games, thus they don't know good games/are more likely to enjoy a lesser product.

 

[doomed89]

I get the try not to be judgmental thing but here's the thing nobody else has touched on. If you are talking about the game you have to talk about the bad parts to so I see nothing wrong in asking why he doesn't want to try other stuff or even play a better co-op shooter. If you are going to talk about something talk about it don't get so freaking insecure you can't answer a simple question someone asked out of curiosity.

 

[doomed89]

I think this could go either way and I actually would like to argue a different view. I would argue that the "hardcore" gamers will buy/play mediocre games MORE than the casual gamer. When I think casual gamer, I think of the people who buy maybe a few games a year and ONLY the AAA budget titles. The Call of Duty, Madden, GTA, Halo etc. crowd, I know a lot of times casual players will get mediocre games a gift from Grammy Gam Gams that doesn't know a joystick from a pogostick, but the ones marketed well and the "BIG" games are ones they seem to gravitate to, and those normally have the budget to be pretty good: EA, Ubisoft etc.

I think the "hardcore gamers" are ones who will buy dozens of games a year easily, and they are the types of people who will buy niche titles that THEY are interested in. For example a game like Vanquish scored all over the place, pretty mediocre in places, but a lot of hardcore gamers into sci-fi shooters picked it up, I didn't like it and put it down after a while personally, but theres no need for me to knock them for playing it. Hardcore gamers are more likely to follow franchises and buy the sequels which are probably mediocre, but a hell of a lot of fun to them because its something they are already interested/invested in.

Franchises like Devil May Cry, Tekken, Resident Evil, Civilization, Fire Emblem, and Tomb Raider are some examples of some franchises with at least one mediocre installment that hardcore gamers have supported for years that I feel like the casual crowd doesn't embrace as much. except maybe Tomb Raider. Those arent the best examples but I hope you get my point.

Hardcore gamers are the ones who will buy the PSN, and XBL Arcade games that probably arent the best, biggest, or flashiest games out there, they will get the DLCs, and they will support a developer or a franchise through thick and thin.

But I can definitely see the other point of view as well, the one that says casual gamers haven't played as many games, thus they don't know good games/are more likely to enjoy a lesser product.

I think it's actually proven that casuals buy more and play less. Not 100% on that though but hardcore gamers tend to be very selective in what they buy and play them to death were casuals are more oh this box looks cool I'll grab it. How do you think all the crappy mediocre shooters make a profit.

 

[Miss G.]

I think you should just let people like what they like unless it's legitimately harmful to them and/or others and if you have a suggestion or 2 in mind that maybe you both can enjoy, that's even better.

 

[Maximum Bert]

Yeah I have friends who just play Mortal Kombat (for a few days after release) God of War (for a few days after release) and any other title with hyper violence in.

Another one who just buys Zombie games others who just play COD and even a couple who buy EA sports games (which I cant stand).

Really though I dont give a shit what they play we all have very different tastes in games and rarely buy the same title, if they want to buy and play a shitty game thats fine by me they may even enjoy it, I know I have bought crap games in the past and still enjoyed them on some level. As for mediocre games well thats even harder to call as thats more subjective than a bad game.

We may joke about each others purchasing habits and make fun of each other on occasion but no one really cares who buys what game wise.

 

[DoPo]

My friends name is Nick. He also really liked army of two and still thinks aliens colonial marines is a good game.

I'm sorry for your friend. It might be best to put him out of his misery - if it's any comfort to you, he is already dead inside, as evidenced by the fact the doesn't play the most awesomest games ever. He's too far gone, it's hard but you'll have to do the right thing as his friend - take him out in the back, say your goodbyes and give him tickets to a Justin Bieber concert. May his soul find peace.

 

[Brown Cap]

I have a friend who only has a PS2 and a Wii. He tends to play a lot of Nintendo games, and not much else.
He plays some great classics, like Zelda, Crash Bandicoot, and Spyro, but for god's sake, if he tells me that Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles is better than Skyrim, Imma FusRoDah his ass.

He's never played a real Triple A game, or anything particularly excellent of this generation. And that's not a bad thing - more power to him for digging the classics and being happy. But there's only so much of a Gamecube Quidditch Tournament one can play until you say "Screw this, let's get some Fallout up in here."

 

[ZZoMBiE13]

I explained that to my friend and asked why he could continue playing those games even though they were just the same thing, and at this point I got a response of "I don't have to justify myself to you." It's the same response I've gotten when I ask Twilight fangirls about why they like the movies. I don't want to force my opinions down his throat, but I do feel that he's limiting his experiences by only wanting to play a specific genre, and considering I'm one of those people who thinks that violence in games is getting disgusting, it's very difficult for me to consider his point of view.

What do you guys think?

I think you're being incredibly close-minded.

Why do you care if he only likes playing co-op shooters? Different people appreciate different things for different reasons. If the guy doesn't care about single-player, stories, or any of that crap, let him enjoy what he enjoys. To him, those games may not be "the same thing" over and over again.

Besides, I could say the same thing of Just Cause 2, or any racing game, or the vast number of RTS games, or countless Nintendo titles, or to people who replay games like Dragon Age or Mass Effect, or platformers, etc. etc.

"Why do you continue to play Just Cause 2, all you're doing is flying around an island destroying identical strongholds and shooting military rebels?"

"Why do you like racing games so much? All you do is drive around predetermined tracks over and over again."

"Why do you play Starcraft/Diablo/DOTA so much, it's always the same thing every game?"

"Why do you always buy New Super Mario Bros. games, they're all basically the same with a new coat of paint and a few different powerups?"

"Why did you get Ocarina of Time on the 3DS, didn't you already play it on the Nintendo 64?"

"Why are you replaying Dragon Age: Origins for the tenth time, haven't you done everything by now?"

"Why do you always play the new Sonic games, they haven't been good since Adventure 2/Sonic 3/they all control the same now."

Blah blah blah.

It might be that your friend plays these titles so much because, despite what you might think of them, he finds them fun.

I feel like "Why do you care?" means that I'm not allowed to ask. I care because I don't like seeing bad games get rewarded. Why make a game with a good story or unique game mechanics if you can just make another brown military shooter that'll sell? If all you want is a game with co-op, why buy a new one instead of replaying Gears of War if it's going to be a similar experience? Otherwise, you're just wasting money.

Am I not allowed to ask why someone else might think a game is fun? I can understand if a game is just not for me - I don't like Starcraft, but I can see why others might. But people feel insulted when I don't understand why they think a vampire who breaks into a girl's house and watches her sleep is considered romantic. I feel like saying "I don't have to justify my purchase to you" is avoiding giving me an answer that would help me better understand the other person. No, people don't have to have similar tastes, and I admit that my knee-jerk response was not polite and didn't help the situation, but to be told "I'm not going to waste brainpower answering your question" makes me not want to bother asking them about anything.

I'm an outsider to this so I only have your half of the conversation to go on, but honestly if you asked me something like that in the perceived tone, I wouldn't want to continue the course of that conversation either.

The way I read it, which admittedly could be off since tone is difficult to convey through text, it sounded like your questions were more judgement then attempt to understand. Intent isn't always enough, sometimes you gotta add the honey instead of spreading the vinegar (to torture an old analogy).

If you'd started your end of the conversation with "Oh yeah, I liked some cover based shooters too, ever try Gears of War?". Then after you've opened the lines of communication in a less aggressive tone, you can maybe try to ascertain why he liked the game you considered of less quality.

I'm assuming you actually want to know of course, not just berate someone else's choice of games. If he digs Army of Two, he digs Army of Two. It fits his needs, even if you don't like it. We all have guilty pleasure too. Hell I used to play all those old Simpsons games. Yeah they were awful, but I still had fun with them despite their broken mechanics and bad graphics. And you can argue that they were "lesser" all you want, but for my needs they served their purpose. Right, Wrong, or Otherwise; I got what I needed and wanted out of them.

 

[Sectan]

I don't know...I've played Bioshock, Bioshock Infinite, the original Deus Ex and the Thief games, Dishonored, Fallout 3, NV and Skyrim, which I absolutely love to death btw, and a lot of the other awesome "High Class" games.

That being said, I still had a shitload of fun sniping with my friends in BF3, Coop in Army of Two, Coop and singleplayer in Gears of War 1. Playing through the singleplayer/multiplayer of MW 1, 2, 3 and Blops.

There's nothing wrong with the games themselves and they're solid experiences. They aren't the next Deus Ex, but they're fun to sit on the couch and pass the time. My most memorable gaming experiences have been on the "Dudebro" games playing Coop. I think the reason these games get such a bad rap is due to the companies and practices behind their development and not the games themselves.

This is like the debates of high art and low art. It all comes down to opinion and when someone starts spouting off about how one is better than the other and must be consumed over all other forms it makes said person seem very close minded as well.

 

[Palademon]

I'm going to share a house this coming year with other people on my game design and programming course.

They're xbox fanboys.
One of them's favourite series is Halo. He's never seen the cutscenes of Reach because he skips them.

They think of me as the 'Retro' guy because I'm willing to play things a generation old, or a wider selection of genres.

What makes it worse is they're currently better than me because my passing into the next year requires completion of a module I'm simply incompetent at.
They're pretty friendly guys and obviously quite passionate. They just seem kinda lackluster in their involvement into the medium.

 

[I.Muir]

My friends name is Nick. He also really liked army of two and still thinks aliens colonial marines is a good game.

I'm sorry for your friend. It might be best to put him out of his misery - if it's any comfort to you, he is already dead inside, as evidenced by the fact the doesn't play the most awesomest games ever. He's too far gone, it's hard but you'll have to do the right thing as his friend - take him out in the back, say your goodbyes and give him tickets to a Justin Bieber concert. May his soul find peace.

That's a crime against humanity right there

 

[Troublesome Lagomorph]

They're free to like whatever they want, just as long as they don't militantly try to convince me that they're great, above average games. I've had people do that to me with Timeshift and Hunted: The Demon's Forge.