Games Critics Called Bad That You Loved Anyway

[Rad Party God]

I also liked the ending, when you see all of Moscow ruined from the top of the tower.

Spoiler: Good thing I still keep these screenshots =)

Yeah, great game indeed. Actually... it kinda makes me want to play it again.

 

[PleasantKenobi]

Its sad CoD gets 10s, and that got 6s and 7s. I think its an 8 or 9. Only issue I had was stealth, and headshots not killing mutants instantly.

The combat, and stealth (core mechanics) of the game were lacking. But I think the overall narrative and sense of atmosphere more than make up for it. The world seemed relatively consistent and filled out, it felt like the events of the games occured within the confines of an interesting and well thought out fictional universe.

Of course, there were faults with the story too, like the lack of explanation of the 'Dark Ones', but that just added to the fact that the game reminded me alot of Half-Life 2, with its heavy investment in ominous setting and atmosphere.

The way amunition, gas masks, filters and general survival horror was managed added to the game alot.

 

[Suijen]

Alpha Protocol was really underrated. Critics wrote it off as buggy, derivative, and dumb. I still think it's a super fun game; the dialog system actually works very well, the characters are memorable and endearing, the gameplay, while easily broken and somewhat unchallenging due to idiot enemy AI, is still entertaining. Shame that it got stuck with illogically damning scores in the 70's and Sega isn't interested in a sequel. And it's really not as buggy as people say.

The game is neither derivative nor dumb. The mechanics are broken and need work, but when I played the game a week ago, it was more or less bug free. In addition, what you do in the game really does have an effect on how the game plays out. I was pleasantly surprised by it. I'd give it an 8/10.

 

[Toriver]

For me it was the Fable series.

I don't give a damn if it doesn't live up to all the mega-hype Molyneux gave it, they're still very fun games. Sure, they're very short and very easy, but I don't know, I still manage to get my money's worth of enjoyment out of them. I do like the combat and experience system from the first two games a lot. It flows very nicely and it's really easy to switch tactics and weapons on the fly. I do wish the moral choices weren't so entirely black and white, but this was back in the days when morality systems in games were still in their early stages.

EDIT:

While the 3D Sonic the hedgehog games have a number of problems, and some of them (ESPECIALLY Shadow the hedgehog) deserve the terrible reception they got, I feel that Sonic Adventure 2 and (to a certain extent) Sonic Heroes are still very fun games. Okay, so the Eggman/Tails levels aren't great, and the treasure hunting is really annoying until you get used to it and get to know the levels better, but the Sonic/Shadow levels are a blast to (re)play, and I'd say they're the tightest 3D sonic gameplay out there. Sonic Heroes is problematic in that it's a lot more loose and a bit buggy(er)and the game makes you play through near-identical stages Four(!!!) times before giving you the final boss, I thought the team formula itself was a good idea (though it probably came as a necessity for developpers trying to plug the ridiculous overlarge character cast into the game) and I still have fun with it from time to time (bought it used, though, I wouldn't pay full retail price for that game).

Also, I've replayed it recently, and Pokemon Snap is surprisingly fun. Don't know how the actual critical reception for the game was, but I remember most people I knew bashing it for being a pokemon cash-in (which I guess it is, but it's still fun and well made).

All of this too. I agree with this analysis 100%.