Games Which *Weren't* Well Reviewed/Liked...But You Liked Anyway.

[Callate]

Psychic Detective. (Ever even heard of it?) It was an FMV game (horrors!). It was also fairly cheesy and low-budget. But it had some interesting ideas- the hero could "jump" into the heads of nearby characters, allowing them to watch events unfold from different perspectives. This meant that a fair amount of the time, the player would be on the "wrong path" to see, learn, experience or prevent the things necessary to get to a "good" ending, but it was usually interesting, anyway. It also did interesting things with the idea that people with psychic gifts all had experienced some sort of psychological trauma in their youth, leaving them with scars that other psychics could exploit.

I'm not going to claim it's some lost classic; it was strictly B-movie all the way. But I have a certain affection for it.

 

[MrDumpkins]

Darksiders 2. I didn't buy it on release because people weren't liking it, I ended up getting it a humble bundle and was very happy with it. The game felt much smoother than the first one and the platforming with the soothing music just created a great experience throughout. The story wasn't too great but the locations and world itself felt spectacular.

 

[Hawki]

To add some others, if the 70% range is counted as "not well received," then I'd add a few more:

-Spider-Man (the 2002 videogame based on the first Rami film). I went back and played a bit of the game this year, and to be honest, it hasn't aged well. But at the time, I certainly enjoyed it. It's certainly nothing groundbreaking, but overall, I'd still call it an enjoyable, if basic game.

-Lord of the Rings: The Third Age. I'll establish this also - this is not what I'd call a "good" game. It's been called 'Final Fantasy' lite and I can see why. The combat is enjoyable, but the story is basic, character development is almost non-existent (as our towns/hubs of any kind), there are logic leaps (apparently Rohan is fine with letting Morwen fight at Helm's Deep but not Eowyn...go figure) and the game ends with the party fighting the Eye of Sauron with no interruption from the Pelennor Fields. Um...yeah. Inclined to think EA cut a few corners.

Still, I enjoyed this game. I'm a sucker for LotR stuff admittedly, but while average, and I can't really recommend it to anyone who isn't a LotR fan, I still enjoyed it.

Sonic Heroes: It's probably controversial enough to include anything from Sonic on this list, given the widely different opinions of the fanbase. But as per the 70% thing, I'm adding this game. Of the console STH games, 'Shadow the Hedgehog' was the last one I completed. 'Sonic Heroes' however, while it had cases of iffiness like Shadow (basically the whole Chaotix story, not to mention the lack of story at all), is a game I definitely enjoyed for the most part. For the 3D Sonic games, I like SA1 and 2 much more, but I still enjoyed 'Heroes' as well.

 

[Valagetti]

Remember me... kinda forgettable. A game that was hated just because of the name... and other reasons.

 

[Saltyk]

Like half my gaming library, I would wager. I rarely pay attention to game reviews unless I'm not certain if a game would interest me or not. If it does, I will look at things other than reviews, like gameplay videos. If I'm on the fence, I'll look at reviews.

After a quick search, I found an older title, Vanguard Bandits. Metacritic has it at a 62. Ouch. But I really enjoyed the game. Was it great? No. Was it even good? Define good... But I enjoyed it.

I don't have the time to look up other games, but I'm fairly confident that I have "terrible taste" in games. I mean, I avoid FPS games by and large (rare exceptions being Desting and MAG).

Oh, MAG. 76 on Metacritic, with 54 positive and 29 mixed reviews from critics and the highest score is a 91. Actually did better than I thought it would. Man, I had so much fun with that game.

 

[Rebel_Raven]

It was a long time ago, but Dragon ball GT: Final bout. One of the first (Very far after "Dragon Power" for the NES which I enjoyed immensely) Dragonball games to come to the states.
Graphics were muddy, and so forth. I think it got a 7 in some mag I read once.

I liked it, though. Power struggles, and a character upgrade system, it was in 3d.

But these days, I'm hard pressed to like a roster smaller than 150~ thanks to Budokai tenkaichi 2, and 3... Unless it's the new Xenoverse game. mmm sweet sweet character creation with gender select.

Maybe Evil Zone?

Pretty much every game from Koei. *Mutters coz reviewers mostly seem to hate Koei.*

 

[laggyteabag]

Dragon Age 2. Aside from the review here on the Escapist, Dragon Age 2 was, for the most part, panned across the board, but I loved the game. I understand the criticisms: Criminally overused dungeons, boring city, a huge step back in terms of scale from Origins, and I get them, but the game was still pretty fun. I felt that there was a huge improvement to combat, especially in terms of animations, the companions were a bunch of fun, especially Varric and Isabella, and despite the step back in terms of scale, the story was still a blast, especially acts 2 and 3 of the game. Could there have been improvements? Hell yes, but the game was enjoyable.

 

[V da Mighty Taco]

FF12, though I played it after FF13-2 was released iirc and never did finish it. It's also the only FF I've played, admittedly.

I liked Shadow the Hedgehog back in the day, though my standards are way higher these days and I don't think I'd quite feel the same if I played it again.

 

[Yossarian1507]

I really enjoyed Alpha Protocol. The story and characters were presented well enough, even if some of the topics were a little bit sketchy/needed some more work and the gameplay worked its way from "not very good" to "broken as all hell I can headshot people from behind a wall, fear me mortals for I am the harbinger of your unconciousness and I have no mercy to spare" but it was an enjoyable romp and the way your choices impacted your various relationships worked out really well.

Pretty much this. I consider Alpha Protocol as the most underrated game of the last 5 years, if not the entire XXI century. Yeah, it has bugs, it's ugly as hell, and it's possible to create such a stupidly overpowered build, nothing poses a challenge anymore. But damn it, excluding possibly some text adventures, where as far as mechanics go that's all there is, AP has probably the best choice-consequence system in a video game ever, where even the most insignificant (at first glance) decision have some kind of impact sooner or later.

 

[Mikeybb]

Aliens: Colonial Marines- Now here me out. This game was a victim of over-hype, I remember hearing about this game back in 2004. So expectations were high. Yes, they did lie about the game in trailers and "gameplay" videos. But the game overall is pretty fun now. I've enjoyed the time I've spent playing it.

This I agree with.

I know it wasn't as good as I wanted it to be.
It was no where near as good as they claimed/portrayed.
...but all the same, I had some fun playing it.

All I really wanted from a colonial marines game is something with the gameplay of left for dead, similar concept of level design, and some kind of AI director alike.
Four marines scrambling to extract from an operation gone horribly wrong, or working in to find a downed dropship inside an infested colony.
Multiplayer for various breed types of aliens.
The ones used in L4D would make a pretty good baseline.

I digress.

I really found myself enjoying Dead Island... yes, even riptide.
I'd bought it cheaply in a sale, and while I'll always think back to that hauntingly effective trailer and the complete thematic disconnect experienced when starting to play the first game, but I still had fun with it.
All the same.
I still wish that someone would try to do a zombie game that fit with the tone used in that infamous trailer of theirs.

 

[mysecondlife]

LittleBigPlanet Karting.

It's a good cheerful fun but it got a lot of crap by critics and Nintendo fans. Oh well.

 

[Saetha]

I LIKED STARFOX ADVENTURES.

*Flips table*

SOMEONE WANNA FIGHT ME ABOUT IT?

That aside, hmm, I liked DA 2. Not as much as Origins, but it was alright. And from what I've heard about Destiny, it's supposedly terrible, but I liked what I played during the open beta.

Meh, I think that's it. Most of the terrible games I liked I played when I was a kid and cling to them out of nostalgia (KAMEO ELEMENTS OF POWER WAS A COOL GAME GODDAMIT) Bad word-of-mouth usually is enough to keep me off of something. I haven't got much money to waste on a sixty dollar game I'll never enjoy.

 

[clinicalPsychologist]

I liked Beyond: Two Souls. Not as much as Heavy Rain, but that got mixed opinions, too, right?

 

[Hawki]

I LIKED STARFOX ADVENTURES.

*Flips table*

SOMEONE WANNA FIGHT ME ABOUT IT?

Um, no? And was that game poorly received? I know it's arguably a 'Star Fox' game in name only, but it's till an enjoyable one. For me personally. Overall, yes, I enjoyed it, but I wouldn't have thought it was that controversial to include.

But on the 70%/Star Fox range, yes, I liked 'Assault' too. Yes, it's much weaker than 'Lylat Wars', the ground sections are annoying (as are the turret sections), and while the story is adequate, it doesn't have the lastability of LW due to its lack of branching paths. But still, had fun playing it.

But 'Command' on the other hand...ugh.

 

[FootloosePhoenix]

Darksiders 2. I didn't buy it on release because people weren't liking it, I ended up getting it a humble bundle and was very happy with it. The game felt much smoother than the first one and the platforming with the soothing music just created a great experience throughout. The story wasn't too great but the locations and world itself felt spectacular.

Huh, pretty much everyone I've talked to positively loves Darksiders II, regardless of their opinion on the first. I just recently got around to playing it and I really dug it too. So much so that I started a New Game+ play-through immediately after completing it the first time, something I hardly ever do these days.

For me, my big answer has always been BioShock 2 and Final Fantasy X-2, though the venom for these games has died down a lot and it feels like I only ever hear from the fans of said games these days. I guess that makes sense, considering they're kinda old now and fade from memory unless you really like 'em.

 

[Madame_Lawliet]

I loved the 2010 Splatterhouse Reboot, which was pretty hated by most critics.

I don't think I'd call it a good game, but... what the hell were you expecting, IT'S SPATTERHOUSE! It's SUPPOSED to be a style over substance, gratuitous, filthy, disgusting, unapologetically gory and violent game for the sake of being gory and violent, that's what Spatterhouse has ALWAYS been!
And honestly, as far as aesthetic, tone, and theming go, Splatterhouse 2010 hit the nail on the head across the board, it feels like your playing a grindhouse exploitation film, and that's exactly what I wanted from a Splatterhouse game!
And hey, it included full, uncensored ports of the original three Splatterhouse games from back in the day, that's worth the price of admission in and of itself if you ask me!

Spoiler: it also has pretty much the most metal box art of all time

Sucks that it bombed and there's probably never going to be another Spalatterhouse game, at least not of this size and budget, but hey, at least it went out on a high note, from a fans perspective anyway.

 

[Extra-Ordinary]

Beyond Two Souls.
I don't like it as much as Heavy Rain but it's not really *that* bad.

Star Wars: The Force Unleashed
I know reviews for this were all over the place but I'll throw it in anyway. If nothing else, I still like the Star Destroyer scene when Galen pulls it out of the sky. Maybe it was a simple quick-time-event, I don't care, it was an absolute spectacle.

Assassin's Creed: Revelations
Maybe not reviewed negatively but fans say it's the weakest of the Assassin's Creed games, and it is but Assassin's Creed always has a pretty high standard of quality so it's not that bad. I loved the Altair missions. Out of all the main Assassins, Altair is my favorite and it was nice to see him again. I still appreciate how they toss his outfit in later Assassin's Creed games and I'm always sure to wear it at least for a little bit.

 

[Rad Party God]

Resident Evil 6.

Everyone and their dog hated this game and it honestly deserves most of the criticisms it had, but...

Damn if it isn't a LOT of goofy, silly fun

 

[Rad Party God]

I LIKED STARFOX ADVENTURES.

*Flips table*

SOMEONE WANNA FIGHT ME ABOUT IT?

Eh... Actually... I liked it too... in fact, I finished the damned thing like 4 to 5 times.

So uh... I'll just back away... slowly...

 

[TheMightyMeekling]

IGN gave PMD:EoS a pounding. I don't know why, as far as remastered versions go, its not bad, and the game itself is also not too shabby. It's a roguelike for beginners (though in the late game there are some Dungeons that are nothing short of murderous) and you play as a Pokémon.