Unpopular gaming opinions

[Callate]

System Shock 2 had great atmosphere, but many terrible systems on a game level, a couple of significant flaws on a plot level, and everyone should get past worshiping at the altar of a game that really never sold all that well.

Stealth mechanics are frequently a way of padding out a game that would be half as long if people weren't spending a couple of minutes to dodge every guard and a couple of hours reloading because the fifth guard between checkpoints keeps spotting them.

Games could use more gratuitous sex and less gratuitous violence.

THQ deserves to survive more than EA and Activision put together.

Everyone should stop buying pre-orders and wait for a host of reasonably independent reviews before they plunk down their money. No, you don't need the monkey hat, the extra level, and the chrome-plated SMG that badly.

Steam is a service. Origin is a dis-service.

 

[thebobmaster_v1legacy]

System Shock 2 had great atmosphere, but many terrible systems on a game level, a couple of significant flaws on a plot level, and everyone should get past worshiping at the altar of a game that really never sold all that well.

Stealth mechanics are frequently a way of padding out a game that would be half as long if people weren't spending a couple of minutes to dodge every guard and a couple of hours reloading because the fifth guard between checkpoints keeps spotting them.

Games could use more gratuitous sex and less gratuitous violence.

THQ deserves to survive more than EA and Activision put together.

Everyone should stop buying pre-orders and wait for a host of reasonably independent reviews before they plunk down their money. No, you don't need the monkey hat, the extra level, and the chrome-plated SMG that badly.

Steam is a service. Origin is a dis-service.

Um...only the first and third are really unpopular views. Everything else is the general opinion of The Escapist.

 

[Lancer873]

TL;DR version:
I don't like Turn-Based RPGs because of the core mechanics
Diablo and Torchlight are not Action-RPGs, they are RPGs that removed the turn-based combat and kept everything else about the core the same. Referring to them as Action-RPGs is an insult to the proper Action-RPG genre.
Skyrim was either mediocre in my book, or it had an absolutely terrible destruction tree.
Iron-sights are A-Okay in my book, though they can be problematic if poorly done.

A few other short opinions: The Gameboy Advanced was one of the best consoles ever. (To be fair, this is probably because this is the console I grew up with, and I don't know of many others who can say that.)
The PSP had several underrepresented (not underrated, most critics received them well) cult-classic game series that you should feel bad for not knowing about. (If I were to pick one, Patapon. Two, LocoRoco.)

On to my rant:
I have a profound distaste for Turn-based RPGs. (The exception going to tactics sort of games like Fire Emblem or the eponymous Final Fantasy Tactics, which I consider to be a completely separate genre)
That's NOT to say that I think turn-based RPGs are crap, they're all bad games, or that people who play them are stupid or anything. I think they're pretty cool and play a huge part in Video Game history, there are definitely some good ones out there (Golden Sun certainly springs to mind), and I have plenty of respect for RPG fans. I just personally think the core gameplay is boring and isn't worth my time. There's nothing about the stories or art style that bothers me, in fact, the Action-RPG is one of my favorite genres (think Legend of Mana or Reccettear, NOT Diablo or Torchwood) Simply put, I don't like how half of it is just figuring out the numbers and the other half is completely unhidden luck (Yes, unhidden luck. I have a 75% chance to hit, that means that I have no control over whether the attack does any damage or not) I like to be in control of my character and ensure that if I fail then it is my fault, that the battle could have gone better or worse but for my skill, not my stats.

In that same vein, I think that if you're going to make your game an "action" RPG, there had better be some damn action in it. I'm not fond of games like the aforementioned Diablo or Torchwood (or WOW, etc) that go real-time but still make everything the same play-by-numbers junk with about five different abilities in a hundred different colors. (In essence, if I miss an attack, I want it to be because my sword didn't touch the opponent, and I want my dodges to be my own damn fault)

Also, I didn't like Skyrim, but that's probably because the destruction-mage gameplay was horrifically disappointing. I was expecting to play with a variety of different tricks and tactics and instead got three different spells (one of which I couldn't even use for ages due to the mana cost) in three different flavors all of which were rather mundane, except maybe the trap, which was the one I couldn't even use for a while. If I were to get my own copy (was a console copy which my brother took with when he left) I'd probably try stealth, which was MUCH more fun than destruction, or I'd make a straight up sword-and-shield build, which seemed like it would make combat a bit less "hold attack to make them die and guzzle potions when your health or mana is low." Even so, I hate it that levelling up non-combat skills makes enemies get stronger. To me that just ruins the RPG elements...


On a completely different note: I have absolutely almost no problem with ironsights. Poorly designed ironsights can tend to obscure the enemy I'm aiming at but even then I'll learn to compensate. Hell, one of my favorite FPS games of the modern generation is Killing Floor, which I play Sharpshooter in. That game features GRATUITOUS amounts of ironsights and I spend half my time as a sharpshooter staring down them. I really don't get where people are coming with this "BURN THE IRONSIGHTS" business. Are you just rebelling against something that signifies the influence of the modern-military shooter to you? Do you just lack the ability to line up anything that isn't a dot or a cross with something's head? Do you just really, REALLY hate having to zoom your gun in? I mean, I can kind of understand the last one, because it's a departure from classic run-and-gun gameplay, but to say that any non-run-and-gun FPS is crap is kind of narrow-minded to me. Then again, maybe that's because I don't play many competitive multiplayer FPS games.

 

[Lancer873]

1. Diablo 3 is the best ARPG out there.
2. All PvP is terrible.
3. Every console before the Playstation 1 and Nintendo 64 is bad and should feel bad.

1. I don't consider Diablo 3 a proper ARPG. I despise the fact that it's labeled alongside games like Legend of Mana that have actual action in their core mechanics.
2. ... Yes. I actually kind of agree. I mean, ALL is a bit of an overly blanket statement, however I've always been far more drawn to co-op than PvP.
3. You just dissed the Super Nintendo and the Gameboy. I can forgive you for insulting every single other console out there, but the console that brought us Yoshi's Island and the console that properly spawned handhelds... no >.>

 

[BanicRhys]

1. Diablo 3 is the best ARPG out there.
2. All PvP is terrible.
3. Every console before the Playstation 1 and Nintendo 64 is bad and should feel bad.

1. I don't consider Diablo 3 a proper ARPG. I despise the fact that it's labeled alongside games like Legend of Mana that have actual action in their core mechanics.
2. ... Yes. I actually kind of agree. I mean, ALL is a bit of an overly blanket statement, however I've always been far more drawn to co-op than PvP.
3. You just dissed the Super Nintendo and the Gameboy. I can forgive you for insulting every single other console out there, but the console that brought us Yoshi's Island and the console that properly spawned handhelds... no >.>

Okay, every non-handheld console, I didn't realise the Gameboy came out before the N64.

 

[Arcobalen]

1. I didn't really like any of the Mass Effect games.
2. All PvP is bad.
3. Not really sure if this is an unpopular opinion, but I thought Half-Life 1 was better than Half-Life 2.

 

[Bertylicious]

I liked Dead Island and Far Cry 2 for the same reason; I found them super immersive, in spite of their flaws.

Sometimes I think us gamers get so caught up in technical things, game mechanics and the like, that we can't see the wood of overall emotional experience for the trees if individual elements.

 

[BlueKenja]

1. Bioware aren't that great at writing characters, they recycle almost the same characters in every game.
2. Link's Awakening was the best Zelda (in my opinion).
3. Animal Crossing New Leaf is worth buying a 3DS for.
4. Skies of Arcadia doesn't get the recognition it deserves.
5. Persona is overrated and Devil Summoner: Raidou Kuzanhoa 1 & 2 are underrated.

 

[Glaber]

1. I think GTA IV is the best of the series and the best open world game that I played so far.
2. Even with all the dumbing down of Skyrim, it is still an awesome game and a very fun one.
3. Piracy is awful, but viable if you can't buy games in your country and don't have a credit card.
4. Mass Effect 2 is the worst of the series.
5. Mass Effect 3 is the most fun Mass Effect game to play, but only that.
6. I hate games that makes you control a very muscular character.
7. Old games (made before 2000) are not fun to play anymore.
8. Assassin's Creed has a terrible storyline and it should have been so much more.
9. Assassin's Creed has the best combat in any game with medieval style.
10. MMOs aren't terrible, it's a very unique genre.
11. An Elder Srolls Online is a good idea.
12. The Walking Dead is not overrated.

Hmm.. that's all I can think of right now.

 

[Gameguy20100]

ok i liked skryim more than morrowind *gasp*
the pc is NOT!! better than consles
ps3 and xbox 360 are for all intents and purpuses exaclly the same (besides a couple of games and the online"

 

[Lucky Godzilla]

Black Ops 2 had one of the best single player campaigns of 2012. Choices were handled in an intelligent manner, and little actions you may not have even been aware of could potentially lead to huge ramifications. Even better, a fair number of choices were not decided by a press of a button (and the ones that were had no clear "right" solution). The best example of this is a mission roughly 2/3 through the game which involves you chasing down a bad guy kidnapping a VIP. If you are simply not quick enough, he gets away, which has a massive impact on how the ending plays out. Also the characterization (barring Briggs) was nothing short of excellent. Menendez had a real, valid reason for hating the U.S, unlike the MW villains. The game was also decidedly less America fuck yeah than previous entries in the series, especially when covering America's actions during the Cold War, which were questionable at best. What's more, challenges in the campaign provided even more incentive to go back and play the game again by providing real benefits. There is nothing quite like riding a horse in 1986 while firing a minigun from 2025, in one hand no less.

 

[aguspal]

Heres a rather big one:

I never understood the hate for the whole "OMG LET ME CARRY MORE THAN 2 WEAPONS AT ONCE" in FPS games.


Now this may be just me, but I usually stick with just one gun. JUST ONE. I rarely feel the need to use my secundary, in veery few games I would actually care about my secondary weapon even (usually due to the fact than my main just ran out of ammo), AND YOU FOLKS WANT TO HAVE 4+ WEAPONS!!!...


Borderlands is a good example of this. Eventually, you get 4 slots for weapons. In all of the original game I used AT THE VERY MOST 2 of those 4 slots. It wasnt until I fought Crawmerax (Final Bonus Boss of the game, and also on of the hardest challenge I have faced in my 16 years of videogaming so far) that I felt the need to use the 4 slots. That was literally the ONLY time in my FPS gaming history that I NEEDED to use more than 2 weapons...


Left 4 dead is alsoa good, very well done example. The pistols are good without begin godlike like the primary, but do the work well and they are worth using (That they also have infinite ammo is just an added bonus).


And yet you still want MORE. Well I guess its a matter of taste. But for practical purposes, you shouldt really ever need more than 2 IMO.


Now, if it is just for messing around and shit, then I can understand that more.

 

[Raika]

-- MMORPGs are the future of video games.
-- Heavy Rain is one of the worst games of all time and deserves to be mentioned alongside Big Rigs, Superman, and similar fare.
-- Final Fantasy XIII was well above average and featured some of the series's best character writing.
-- Final Fantasy VI is one of the weaker entries in the series.
-- Final Fantasy X-2 is one of the stronger entries in the series, and its portrayal of Yuna was an extremely positive change from her portrayal in Final Fantasy X(although she was still pretty well-written there too).
-- Call of Duty is a good series. So is Halo.
-- There is nothing particularly outstanding about Borderlands or its carbon-copy sequel.
-- Resident Evil didn't work as a survival-horror series. Ever. It does work, however, as a series of third-person shooters.
-- Third-person shooters in general are something of which I'd like to see much more.
-- On that note, the best competitive third-person shooter ever made is Monday Night Combat.
-- Duke Nukem Forever is okay.
-- The Legend of Zelda is bland, mediocre, and substanceless, and it always has been. There are dozens of games that outdo each installment of that series, and they do so while actually having a plot and characters with personalities.
-- I never want to see zombies in a video game again.
-- Street Fighter IV sounded a death knell for fighting games as a legitimate competitive genre. Every fighting game released in its wake has been a complete joke, with the only exceptions being the more recent installments of Tekken, Virtua Fighter, The King of Fighters, and(shockingly enough) Mortal Kombat.

 

[JarinArenos]

I loved Final Fantasy IX and XII (they're on my 'regularly replay' list), and hated X and XIII with a passion. Though XIII at least seems to be a somewhat more common opinion.

Also agreeing with the previous poster on X-2. Found it to have far more redeeming qualities than the game it was following.

 

[Canadamus Prime]

Games could use more gratuitous sex and less gratuitous violence.

Neither sex nor violence should ever be gratuitous. If you have either in your fictional media, be it book, film, TV show, or game; I have wonder what you're compensating for. Presumably that would be a lack of a well constructed plot, well developed characters, or both.

 

[Acton Hank]

-I'm more anxious for Kingdom Hearts 3 than Half Life 3.

As am I. but I think we will have to wait for 6 or 7 more handheld spinoff titles before they even announce it.

Here are my unpopular opinions.

Dino Crisis 2 is the greatest game ever made.

Psychonauts and Beyond Good and Evil are boring as sin.

Mass Effect 3 and MGS4 are both great games.

Every copy of Half Life 2, Bioshock and Skyrim should be erased from existence.

Portal 2 blows Portal 1 out of the water.

 

[felbot]

i love how just going through the first page almost everyone thinks valve is overrated in some way.

unpopular my ass, everybody thinks this shit.

anyway on topic: I fucking hate liars, apparently that's something people cant understand.
ubisoft is the worst publisher ever, not ea.

I got nothing more.

 

[42Weasels]

I find league of legends shallow and the game imbalanced due to how it's mechanics interact with each other. Definitely a minority here... @_@

I definitely enjoy the mechanics of DotA and its follow up more than LoL, mainly because while its cool have a variety of resources for champions (mana, fury, energy, NA, etc) it also limits your options in other places. No mana drain abilities / items, and in order to match the same variety of items in Dota, you have to greatly expand the shop. I do think its mostly balanced though compared to its older brother. Nobody would ever consider picking Meepo in a game with something on the line (as much as I'd like to see someone pull it off), but it's hard to think of a champion with the same problem.

Moving on then...

I was going to say that Mass Effect's character interaction etc is boring, but I don't appear to be in the minority on that.

Dragon Age (both of them) were terrible.

Skyrim is not better or worse than Oblivion. It improved on things, and screwed the pooch on some others. If Oblivion could match Skyrim visually (which it can't for obvious reasons) I would play them equally to this day.