Games people and/or critics were too hard on.

[Hero of Lime]

Dead Space 3. Anyone who says it's too much like Call of Duty, or got too "action packed" is quite frankly not remembering the other two very well. Outside of the singular ammo system, and understandably awful micro-transaction mechanic, it is literally the same as the other two.

I had lots of fun with it, and it ended the trilogy very nicely. Seriously, if you didn't get it like I did because of the bad press it got, but you like Dead Space, check it out.

 

[Iwata]

Aliens Colonial Marines.

I don't know what it is with this game. A vast majority of people who say that this was utter shit are people who also freely admit they never actually played the game. I agree it's not a masterpiece it was hyped up to be, but it's actually pretty enjoyable. I picked it up during a steam sale and completed the campaign. It's nowhere near as bad as people make it out to be.

Are you a fan of the movies? And by 'fan' I mean do you own the Alien Quadrilogy in either DVD or Blu-ray format?

Just curious.

I own the trilogy (Resurrection doesn't count) in boxed format. Before that, I had them all on DVD, as Special Editions. Before that, I had them on DVD as normal versions. And before that I had them on VHS. I own the Technical Manual and even have an Alien poster on my bathroom door. I have several other things, from Micro Machines to action figures.

And yes, I do think A: CM doesn't deserve the hate.

 

[kilenem]

Aliens Colonial Marines.

I don't know what it is with this game. A vast majority of people who say that this was utter shit are people who also freely admit they never actually played the game. I agree it's not a masterpiece it was hyped up to be, but it's actually pretty enjoyable. I picked it up during a steam sale and completed the campaign. It's nowhere near as bad as people make it out to be.

I think its more or less the game play trailer at E3 that had many things and locations not in the game. That may have lead to the low scores.

 

[scorptatious]

Probably Final Fantasy XIII.

I will agree, the game had a lot of issues.

It was linear as hell, the story was kind of a mess, and some of the characters were pretty annoying.

Still, I don't think it's a bad game overall. I felt the combat system worked pretty decently, even if it does require less input from you than other FF games, the soundtrack was nice, and there were characters I did kinda like.

It's no Final Fantasy IX. But I think it's better than a lot of people give it credit for.

 

[Frezzato]

I own the trilogy (Resurrection doesn't count) in boxed format. Before that, I had them all on DVD, as Special Editions. Before that, I had them on DVD as normal versions. And before that I had them on VHS. I own the Technical Manual and even have an Alien poster on my bathroom door. I have several other things, from Micro Machines to action figures.

And yes, I do think A: CM doesn't deserve the hate.

Are you a fan of the movies? And by 'fan' I mean do you own the Alien Quadrilogy in either DVD or Blu-ray format?

Just curious.

I own them on both formats. I'm a massive fan of all but Resurrection.

Thanks, that's what I was looking for. I could totally understand if someone who never watched the movies liked Colonial Marines, but it's a different thing if someone who liked the movies enough to buy them also thought the game was okay. I've never played it myself, but I had always suspected the hate train for Colonial Marines was a bit exaggerated.

 

[Racecarlock]

Saints Row IV.

You've seen the complaints by now. It's a DLC they made into a full game, it's too wacky, blah blah bleh. IT'S FUN! Really fun. It contains every conceivable type of fun. Fighting aliens with super powers and black hole launchers while "The Touch" plays in the background and then going to play telekinetic tron basketball followed by a journey into someone else's mind that manifests as a beat em up game. That kind of fun. Super powers, 80s rock, wacky weapons, humor, and above all else, video games. It loves being a video game and it doesn't give a crap about any sort of realism. Shit, I'm on board. Mafia II made me clean toilets, so fuck, I will take running up buildings any day.

 

[MetalDooley]

Dragon Age 2

What you posted is pretty much spot on.DA 2 is a good game that had some flaws.It's not like DA:O was some shining beacon of gaming perfection either

Aliens Colonial Marines.

Actually just finished this game last night.Is it a great game?No.Is it the steaming turd people make it out to be?Not at all.It just happens to be a ok game that was ridiculously hyped up before release.

If people want to see a real steaming turd then play Ride to Hell:Retribution

Alpha protocol.

Love this game.Easily one of my favourites from the last gen

I to this day don't understand why people like DA2. Outside the combat ( which did become repetitive at some point), the game had 0 redeeming qualities. While i won't stop or complain abou people liking it, i just don't understand why.

I'm sure there's plenty of people who'd say the same about your liking for AP though

I'll defend ya Deadly Premonition. You and all your weird cornball hash.

Deadly Premonition is a funny beast.On a purely technical level it's pretty bad but it's strangely enjoyable in spite of it's shortcomings

Metroid Other M

Every game I was going to mention has already been posted in this thread

 

[Ubiquitous Duck]

So, for whatever reason, I suddenly got an urge a few days ago to replay ID Software's "Rage". I downloaded the Scorcher DLC and have been playing it over the last few days, and I'm having an absolute blast with the game. Great shooting action, graphics are still phenomenal, tricking out your car is fun, and just generally good atmosphere.

I bring this up because I remember when the game came out that a lot of people dismissed it as being mediocre, uninspired, and just generally not all that good. I get that it isn't a game-changer, and I understand that anytime ID Software makes a game everyone expects it to be the next "Doom' or "Quake", but to me it feels like people were being unjustly harsh to the game.

What about you? What games did you think were awesome but critics or other gamers were harsh to?

From what I remember at the time: Rage got a lot of hate from critics and players on release, because it was released in an almost unplayable state for some machines. Some machines were able to run it fine, but there were significant game breaking issues for many players and critics.

If you just go to youtube and search for a video of what Rage looked like on release, I think you will see what I mean.

It may well be repaired now and you are running without these issues, but this is not how the game was released.

I don't know if it got the same hate on other platforms, but it definitely was abused a lot for being released in such an unstable state for PCs.

 

[Artaneius]

Most of the gundam games. Seriously, they're games much worse in terms of gameplay and stories but get much better reviews. I think most of the review websites are just gundam haters.

 

[JonnyHG]

I to this day don't understand why people like DA2. Outside the combat ( which did become repetitive at some point), the game had 0 redeeming qualities. While i won't stop or complain about people liking it, i just don't understand why.

There are a few reasons I enjoyed DA2. I believe the moral grey area has already been mentioned. Even though I had clearly chosen a side, there were times when my choices made me feel a little guilty.

I can't think of a game where I felt more for the characters than DA2. ---SPOILER ALERT--- I empathized with Merril as she cared for her people and wanted to progress so badly that she used questionable means, which ultimately brought negative results upon her people. And Anders. I have never been as pissed off at a person who does not exist like I was at Anders. The fact that Anders blew up the Chantry and that he made me a part of it made my blood boil. I still cannot believe he killed the Grand Cleric, seemingly the only other level-headed person in that whole ordeal.

That is one person's explanation. Whether you understand it is up to you.

 

[Lugbzurg]

http://static.giantbomb.com/uploads/original/2/22269/1822245-duke_nukem_forever_logo.jpg
Oh, yeah... I'm goin' for the big one!

Duke Nukem Forever isn't bad. Granted, I think Duke Nukem 3D was better, as was Serious Sam 3: BFE of the same year*, and it's much like a mix of Half-Life 2 and some Halo, both of which I also think are better, but the game isn't bad. It lacks some polish, but it's far more creative than most shooters to come out lately. It also doesn't take itself seriously at all. How often do you see that? This is so much better than the alternative of what we normally get. We finally got something that dared to be a little different and how did people react? Thanks a lot...

StarFox Assault is my favorite game in the series. It's leagues better than StarFox 64. What's everyone's problem? Apparently, walking on foot and shooting with a gun instead of a spaceship is some sort of sin. I thought it was a welcome addition. It was designed well and didn't clash at all with the mythos.

Zapper: One Wicked Cricket is a game that gets panned as a Frogger clone. A Frogger clone. Ok, in the first place, how many games like Frogger are there? Is there really such an over-saturation like Call of Duty clones trying to bank in on Frogger's popularity that this seemed like a blatant cash-in? 'Cause Frogger really isn't that popular to begin with. Second, it plays about as much like Frogger as Serious Sam 3: BFE plays like Doom. Zapper is more linear, has a more wacky style, combat, puzzles, and even a final boss. This is far from Frogger's nature. The only Frogger game it bears any resemblance to was Frogger 2: Swampy's Revenge, which was not only a far cry from the traditional Frogger formula to begin with, but developed by the Zapper team as well.

*As Duke Nukem Forever, not Duke Nukem 3D.

 

[krazykidd]

I to this day don't understand why people like DA2. Outside the combat ( which did become repetitive at some point), the game had 0 redeeming qualities. While i won't stop or complain about people liking it, i just don't understand why.

There are a few reasons I enjoyed DA2. I believe the moral grey area has already been mentioned. Even though I had clearly chosen a side, there were times when my choices made me feel a little guilty.

I can't think of a game where I felt more for the characters than DA2. ---SPOILER ALERT--- I empathized with Merril as she cared for her people and wanted to progress so badly that she used questionable means, which ultimately brought negative results upon her people. And Anders. I have never been as pissed off at a person who does not exist like I was at Anders. The fact that Anders blew up the Chantry and that he made me a part of it made my blood boil. I still cannot believe he killed the Grand Cleric, seemingly the only other level-headed person in that whole ordeal.

That is one person's explanation. Whether you understand it is up to you.

See this kind of response is usefull to me. So you are telling me that the characters were well written? I can understand that, and that's completely reasonable. The problem i usually have is that, people don't say, i liked the game because "x,y,z" , they attack the person critisizing the game.

Basically, tell me why you like it, instead of telling me i'm wrong for not liking it. This is especially true for games a lot of people dislike.( I'm not directing this at you, i'm just saying in general.)

What exactly was morally gray in that game?

 

[CloudAtlas]

I to this day don't understand why people like DA2. Outside the combat ( which did become repetitive at some point), the game had 0 redeeming qualities. While i won't stop or complain abou people liking it, i just don't understand why.

I didn't like DA2 very much overall, but its redeeming qualities in my eyes were:
- A protagonist that actually talks (compared to DA:O) and has some personality.
- Somewhat interesting characters. I didn't always like the execution, but I appreciated what they were going for. Isabella, Varric, Merill, Anders, all nice concepts, I think.
- An attempt at innovative storytelling. It ultimately felt flat for me, I felt like I was doing secondary quests only most of the time, but again, I appreciate the attempt. No generic ancient evil to defeat, episodic structure, a focus on one area, no black/white story but lots of moral ambiguity, the narrator exaggerating certain parts of the story and being forced to re-tell them again, the framing of the story in this way in general, and perhaps a few more things.
- A story that was largely about the two interesting features of the Dragon Age World, the Qun and the Mage-Templar-Fade-Demons-Thing, and not about, say, DA:O's supremely generic Dark Spawn and Arch Demon.
- The style of Kirkwall. There wasn't much style, and what little there was underused, but this depressing slaver / refugee city theme, that was nice. In general, compared to DA:O, the setting and the outfits and had at least some style to speak of.

So, all in all, I liked some of the ideas, I could see some potential, it was such a shame that they pushed out such an obviously rushed, unpolished game.

 

[SomeGuyOnHisComputer]

Shadow the Hedgehog. It felt cheaply made, and it was stupid, but it was a perfectly competent game. No where near as bad as people made it out to be. I had more fun with it than Sonic Adventure.

Sonic and the Secret Rings. I honestly believe the hatred of this one was due to bias against both Sonic and the Wii. I mean, a 3D Sonic game on the Wii that's restricted to rails? Must be crap, right? It is by far, the best 3D Sonic game that I played. It is ridiculously fun, the music is awesome, and the graphics are fantastic (for an early Wii title).

I wonder how many people would believe me if I said I wasn't a huge Sonic fan?

Dead Rising: Chop Til You Drop. When this came out, it just pissed people off. I remember some guy on GameFAQs used to call this one an 'abomination' every single chance he got. A photoshoped version of the game's cover art, with all but one Zombie, spread like a meme. The strange thing, as ugly and cheap as it was, it was actually a ton of fun. Instead of port of DR (which it wasn't, as any rational person would notice), it was a more arcade version of RE4 with a DR skin. You know what? it was a winning formula. I would honestly say it's a better designed game than DR2 as well. Not as good as the original, but I consider the original one of the best games ever, sooo ...

 

[Shoggoth2588]

Perfect Dark Zero. It's utter bullshit to the eighth power compared to Perfect Dark, and a review that got me kicked off a site proved it, but it's not the singularity of suck so, so many say it is.

Now I'd like someone to delete my comment. I need to strangle myself and burn all copy of this goddamn game.

Good luck getting my copy...this is one of the few FPS titles that have FUCKING BOT MATCHES! I can actually get MULTIPLAYER achievements...OFFLINE!! That alone makes the game incredible to me.

---

Most of the gundam games. Seriously, they're games much worse in terms of gameplay and stories but get much better reviews. I think most of the review websites are just gundam haters.

I don't know how well they fared review-wise but anime adaptations of the Dynasty Warriors games are games that I absolutely loved. Dynasty Warriors (I NEED NUMBER 3, have you SEEN that shit!?), Fist of the North Star and, the Japan exclusive One Piece...I know Dynasty Warriors is generally passed over critically but they're all pretty solid.

 

[Coakle]

Dragon Age 2

Another vote for Dragon Age 2. It's the first RPG where playing a rogue was as fun as playing a mage. Teleporting across the map to assassinate some mook never got old for me.

I liked the party members. They revealed more information on the world and let their biases influence how I think the Dragon Age world works. I enjoy it when I have to depend on flawed characters for vital information.