Games You /Want/ To Like

[rgrekejin]

Any Fable game after the first one. I loved the first game, one of my top-five games of all time, but it seems with each new installment, they strip out whatever it was I had liked about the previous iteration and replace it with questionable design decisions, mean-spiritedness, and more of that dumbass Stephen Fry-voiced pirate character that I really just want to shoot in the face. Even Fable: Anniversary wasn't good, and that one was just supposed to be a graphical upgrade of the one game I liked! The graphic upgrade was uneven and weird-looking, the only new content they added to the game was a bunch of price-gouging costume packs, and the thing freezes up ever 15 minutes or so! It was the worst kind of remake - the kind that makes you wonder what it was you like about the original in the first place.

The Borderlands games. These games seem like me-bait, based on the art style, the setting, etc., but I just found them dull and unenjoyable. I just don't enjoy the constant loot grinding to marginally improve my gear, I guess.

The N64 Zelda games. Everyone loves them, and they're a cultural touchstone for a certain generation of gamer, and I wish I could partake in their enthusiasm, but I just don't like them. I think they're clunky and ugly and overrated. In my mind, they're just warm-ups for the 3D Zelda games on the Gamecube, which were actually good.

Dark Souls. I liked the combat quite a bit, but I didn't like getting dropped into a world with no idea what I was supposed to be doing or why I was doing it. I had a hard time getting sucked in - I could tell that there was an epic story being told here, but darn it, the game just wouldn't tell me what it was!

The Dragon Age series. To be fair, I've only tried playing the first one, and people keep telling me how great they are, but they're just so "Soulless Brand X Generic Dark Fantasy World" that I can't bring myself to invest in them.

 

[go-10]

Dark Souls, I like the look of the world and the battle system is deep enough to keep me entertained, the challenge makes the time spent worth it as you always achieving something and the lore seems really cool, I've spent countless hours reading through wikia and fan theories as to how everything is connected. But then I play the game and I dunno I just can't bother to find any sort of enjoyment in it.

 

[Jinjer]

I really really tried getting into the Baldur's Gate games but I just couldn't. Either my party would get slaughtered by a random mob early on (even after consulting game FAQs on how to optimize my character build and shit) or I'd run into a game breaking bug 2 hours in that I couldn't find a solution for even after reinstalling, starting over with a new character etc.

 

[Artina89]

Fallout 3. No matter how hard I try, I just can't seem to be able to immerse myself into this game, it could be that I find the setting a little too depressing for my liking. I also seem to be unable to get into the Assassin's creed games, with the exception of Black flag, now I do find that game to be a hell of a lot of fun.

 

[The Goat Tsar]

The Dragon Age series. To be fair, I've only tried playing the first one, and people keep telling me how great they are, but they're just so "Soulless Brand X Generic Dark Fantasy World" that I can't bring myself to invest in them.

Yep, I feel the same way. I love Bioware RPGs, but the setting of this one just does not interest me.

I also wanted to like the Tomb Raider reboot. I got about 2-3 hours into that game and I quit. The game really makes you feel bad for Lara Croft, but that's only because she gets hurt in all manners of ways from a rusty rail to the rib cage or getting impaled by a stake if you fail a QTE. But she didn't really get any characterization so I ended up not caring about her or the story and I just never started up the game again.

I wanted to like Metro: Last Light as well but the game forces you to chose between having fun or getting the good ending. I tried to get the good ending which meant using the game's crappy stealth system instead of the awesome gun system.

Spoiler

Then I got the bad ending because apparently getting a lap dance is worse than murder. I even let Lesnitsky live. Fucking Lesnitsky...

 

[Scarim Coral]

Mass Effect.

Now hear me out, I got the triliogy for christmas and while I can see the appeal (I loved KOTOR) but the beginning is such a drag to the point I can't keep my interest in the game long enough to keep on playing. At the moment I am still at the beginning part of the game but I'm stuck at this main quest (keep dying and I restart at the beginning).

De Blob.
This Wii game got alot of praise but to me the game was just a chore. Sure the game is suppose to express your creativity but splashing colours in a white plane city did not get me to express my freedom etc.

 

[Abulurd_H]

The new Sim city

I love the way they streamlined the building/zoning process and the art is spot on. Budget management is a breeze compared to the older games so you can really just micro away to your hearts content. The ability to level up your town hall and mansion etc, all awesome. But the finite water table, and the small maps that make your city actualy more of a suburb just kill it. The fun lasts 3 days, after that the limitations become painfuly obvious and there is no geting around them.

I downloaded a 'trial' version from KAT and was going to buy it then I hit that wall, did some research and found that EA had "seriously looked into it" and found that there was no way they could increase the map size. Theres mods but they are buggy and, from what the modders were saying about the nature of the code, are likely to stay that way. So sad, after years of EA actively telling me to go fuck myself, they almost got something right, then they dropped the ball at the try line (its a rugby reference, I think you Americans call it the N (end?) zone?)

 

[ryukage_sama]

I wish I could get more enjoyment out of Civ V. I see why people love it, but something about the interface leaves be feeling disconnected from control over my empire (or city-state much of the time).

 

[COMaestro]

For me it's Bioshock. I've started the game two or three times, got a few hours in each time, but then just got bored and moved on to a different game. I hear such good things about it and I've tried multiple times to get into it, but it just doesn't work for me.

Borderlands 2 as well. It's fun if you are playing in a group, and I've progressed furthest when I had some friends over and we all played together, but I get nearly zero entertainment when playing the game alone.

 

[Doom972]

For me it's Planescape Torment. I could never get very far in that game, maybe 5-6 hours, but the slow battles really bored me. I loved the writing and enjoyed every bit of text spoken by Morte in particular. I wanted to find out what was going on in the story, but damn, the fighting got me down, I just never enjoyed it. Yet, I enjoyed the battle system in Neverwinter Nights (which is quite similar), but not Planescape. Why?

I was going to say the exact same thing. It looks so promising, but after reading walls of text while travelling in that brown city I just gave up. I hope some day I might be able to get into it.

 

[F-I-D-O]

I really should have liked the Tomb Raider reboot, but couldn't care. I like Third person shooting, Metroid elements, and story based experiences. But the "Metroid" elements were godawful, and just an excuse to reuse environments rather than make it interesting. After playing Last of Us and Spec Ops, the story felt terribly cliched and boring. Lara wasn't a character, and didn't matter. Anyone would have been pushed through the series of events. She wasn't a good female character, she was a noncharacter used to distribute lead. It didn't help that the gunplay felt loose and the enemy AI was god awful. It didn't help that there were no tombs to raid, Enslaved had more difficult platforming, and collectibles meant nothing. It felt too much like a purely machine-like attempt at making a good game based off a checklist (XP, expanding toolset, upgrades, collectibles, female protagonist, long campaign, etc.), and it failed.

 

[Ihateregistering1]

System Shock 2: Just playing it, I could see why people loved it, but Christ, I found it endlessly frustrating. It's so stinkin' hard, and the fact that the enemies respawn just kinda killed it for me. I want to love it because it's so atmospheric and I love the RPG elements, but a lot of it is simply too annoying.

Red Dead Redemption: Seems like such a cool game, but I played for about 10 hours and didn't feel like I was making one iota of progress in the story. When you combine that with the fact that the game doesn't have any sort of XP or character upgrade system, it just killed my motivation to keep going.

Assassin's Creed: This one was easy for me. Pretty much the moment they tell you "oh this isn't really happening, you're just reliving your memories through this computer simulation machine" it totally killed any sense of immersion for me. (And I seriously hope that wasn't a spoiler for anyone considering the 1st game is like 7 years old).

Pretty much any fantasy 4X game: Heroes of Might and Magic, Fallen Enchantress, Age of Magic, etc. I really want to love these games, but I'm just terrible at them. I can never figure out exactly why, and it blows my mind when I hear people talking about how they won a 3 on 1 game on 'very hard', and I struggle to beat an easy opponent 1 on 1.

 

[trollnystan]

Bayonetta
It looks like such fun! But the little I've seen of it actually played - and I will admit it was a very little - the dialogue and the voice acting just made me cringe. The gameplay and music was way to BLAM IN YO FACE for me too.

The Witcher
I really want to like it, I do. I'm still playing it even, although I'm on one of my many 5 month breaks. But the voice acting (again) is truly awful. In ANY language. Seriously. I went through French, German, Polish, and Russian before giving up and settling for English again. And the fact they spent more effort on Triss' breasts' jiggle physics than making any of the faces actually emote anything beyond bland disinterest just makes me facepalm. I do love the fighting mechanics though, so that helps. I WILL finish it someday! (hashtag optimist)

Thief reboot
I didn't have any hopes really. I love the Thief games to bits, but almost everything I'd seen of the reboot made me want to cry. Then the fact that the price kept dropping BEFORE the game came out made me suspicious. But I decided to try it out; after all, I could do it for free via a friend's shared Steam library so no money lost, and even if it wasn't a good THIEF game it might've still been a good game in general. Nope. The only thing I really enjoyed was the first half of the asylum, and even that felt very cliché.

Baldur's Gate 1
I just can't get into it. I love hearing about it - I have a friend who loves to talk about her first playthroughs as a teenager - but personally just can't get into it. Second one is supposed to be better but I have a thing about skipping games in a series.

Those are the only ones I can think of right now.

 

[EHKOS]

Another one for Borderlands 2, but I bought the Ultimate Loot Chest and had a ball with it when it was released. My GOTY. I just tried going back this week, for some raisin I can't get into it.

System Shock 2 is a game I would enjoy with certainty if I use a controller, or some mod that brings the controls to the age of the mouse. It was awso two howd on my wittle PS1 generation ass. But I made it to the hydroponics deck, or whatever deck has that nurse thing.

Assassin's Creed III. I enjoyed Brotherhood and I enjoyed Black Flag, the latter immensely. But apparently there are hours before you control the main character and getting from place to place is boring, so collecting is boring.

Far Cry 2. I loved three and look forward to four, even though I won't be able to afford it until sometime next year. But dat aim tho.

Dishonored is just...I don't even know. I think it's just

"Man, I like what I'm doing. I wish I cared about why I was doing it."

And it's funny because I've been trophy hunting for about a month because I'm low on games (Don't tell Nostalgia, it might bash my skull in on the Tower of Babel again, again) but most of the games I've enjoyed seem boring. Maybe I'm just a one playthrough guy, except Dark Souls II and Borderlands 2 the first time.

 

[laggyteabag]

The Witcher 2. Whenever I start it, I just cannot stick with it. I don't know what is wrong with it, but I always end up leaving it after a few minutes. I really want to be excited for The Witcher 3, but my time with 2 (or lack of) just puts me off.

DayZ. I hate buying games that I regret spending a lot of money on. I want to get into it, but it is just one of those games which are a lot more interesting in YouTube videos than when you actually play it. Unless you love walking a lot, then DayZ is right up your alley.

Assassin's Creed 3. In terms of comparing it to Assassin's Creed 1-Revelations, Assassin's Creed 3 was the first big step forward in terms of graphics and gameplay, and that is mostly why I played it, but now that 4 is out, there is little point to replaying 3 because the story is just ass, and Connor is even worse.

 

[Kontarek]

For me it's Planescape Torment. I could never get very far in that game, maybe 5-6 hours, but the slow battles really bored me. I loved the writing and enjoyed every bit of text spoken by Morte in particular. I wanted to find out what was going on in the story, but damn, the fighting got me down, I just never enjoyed it. Yet, I enjoyed the battle system in Neverwinter Nights (which is quite similar), but not Planescape. Why?

I was going to say the exact same thing. It looks so promising, but after reading walls of text while travelling in that brown city I just gave up. I hope some day I might be able to get into it.

I'll throw in another vote for Planescape: Torment. I got it off GOG like a year or 2 ago and I must have tried getting into it like 6 times, but I always just get kind of overwhelmed with all of the text and sidequests and branching paths. When I play RPG-type games my mind can't rest until I've done everything, but it just seems like such a lofty task to pursue with this game in particular.

I keep hearing about how it's like the best video game story ever though, so I really do want to try and finish it at least once at some point.

 

[Envy Omicron]

The Bioshock games. In theory, I should love these games because they combine two of my favorite things: System Shock 2 gameplay and political commentary. That should be the perfect package, but the gameplay is shallow, boring and removed everything that made SS2 engaging, and these games have hardly anything substantial to say about Objectivism or Christianity or institutionalized racism or class disparity or any of the politically-charged subject matter that it references.

So my overall opinion on these games can be summarized as a big 'meh'.

 

[ElMinotoro]

I love everything about Bioshock games and the Borderlands games except for their gameplay. Which is just awful in both cases.

 

[mysecondlife]

"Wanting to like" is one of those "issues" I can't seem to catch no matter how hard I try.

For me, it can be simple as "games you purchased it thinking it will be great but it really isn't"

I try to make careful purchases when it comes to videogame. But every now and then I regret my decision so I try to to like it to justify my purchases.

Ni No Kuni: Well received game that is created by studio Ghibli marred by horrible gameplay that I found unusual for JRPG

Assassin's Creed 3: I bought this game because the time period was alluring for me. What I got was a snooze fest filled with boring set piece battles and horrible ending.

 

[Ihateregistering1]

For me it's Planescape Torment. I could never get very far in that game, maybe 5-6 hours, but the slow battles really bored me. I loved the writing and enjoyed every bit of text spoken by Morte in particular. I wanted to find out what was going on in the story, but damn, the fighting got me down, I just never enjoyed it. Yet, I enjoyed the battle system in Neverwinter Nights (which is quite similar), but not Planescape. Why?

I was going to say the exact same thing. It looks so promising, but after reading walls of text while travelling in that brown city I just gave up. I hope some day I might be able to get into it.

I'll throw in another vote for Planescape: Torment. I got it off GOG like a year or 2 ago and I must have tried getting into it like 6 times, but I always just get kind of overwhelmed with all of the text and sidequests and branching paths. When I play RPG-type games my mind can't rest until I've done everything, but it just seems like such a lofty task to pursue with this game in particular.

I keep hearing about how it's like the best video game story ever though, so I really do want to try and finish it at least once at some point.

Yeah, I was lucky to have played Planescape back when it came out, so hyper text-heavy games were still very much the norm. You really do have to put your imagination into it, because it is essentially like reading a complete novel by the time you're finished.