Amisbro said:
I'll randomly pick 5 games I thought were great and then do 5 that I thought stunk to balance it out so we can see that not everyone has the same standards here.
Good Games
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1. Peggle - Yes I know its a Pop Cap game and there for extremely simplistic, but it has a level of immersion that is like some anime-style "MUMORPGUERS" that I played(Fiesta comes to mind) and its cute characters and maddening levels(not to mention the urge to try and get 100 percent on a level) makes that game a staple for me.
2. Bioshock - OK I youtubed the endings, but I got choked up from watching to good ending and now am doing all I can to rescue all the "Little Sisters(not to mention find all the audio diaries and research all the splicers) because I want to experience all the the game and that I can + plus I once started playing the game at Midnight and lost track of time till I looked at my bedroom clock to realize it was 2:30 in the morning
3. Dragon Quest(Any of them) - Is it a JRPG? Yes ,but honestly its a game that has been a part of my childhood since I watched my dad play the games. I got hooked on the games and started trying to complete all the ones I own and have now completed the first game and the fourth(which is in my personal "Hall of Fame") and they are games that have made me WANT to complete them. Not an easy task considering sometimes my attention span on games is crap!
4. The NHL Series - Only EA games I own in my library right now until NCAA '09! I admit that I didn't start getting interested in them again until recently but I can thank the NHL Network carrying "Hockey Night in Canada" and me getting to hear the announcer of the NHL series, Jim Hughson, on the broadcasts. There's a passion that he has for hockey that I think some NFL announcers don't, but that's another thread entirely.
5. Puzzle Quest - *Shrug* Maybe I just enjoy odd games but this is one of the oddest blends I found in gaming when I saw puzzles and RPG elements put together. They are done extremely well in my opinion and I enjoy the game immensely because it, much like Peggle, Bioshock, and the DQ series all have a level of immersion that I don't find in many games these days
"Bad games"
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1. HALO - This game falls into a problem in that as FPS' go it has to meet my unusually high standards and all I had to do was go through the first level and shut the game off before I said "No". Forgive me but I think the whole "person in armoured suit fighting alien life forms" have been done before...yeah it did and it was called "Metroid" and even that series jumped the shark after "Super Metroid". At least in that game if you beat it in under 3 hours(Good luck) you have the promise of seeing Samus without her spacesuit. What happens in HALO? As far as I know nothing because no one mentioned anything to me about the ending.
2. Resident Evil: Survivor - OK this one is because a friend of mine had it and beat the damn thing...in under an hour! What was CAPCOM trying to accomplish with this series? "OK let's make a rail shooter that is so stupid your mum could beat it with her eyes closed and still cooking dinner?" G-AWD that was bad!!!
3. Escape from Cyber City - OK this was an odd one because it was an Anime FPS game that appeared on the Phillips CD-I(Anyone else remember that) and its difficulty stunk something bad because while "Survivor" was piss easy this was "throw controller against the wall" hard! I never got far enough in the game to see the ending and if anyone ever completed the game God Bless
4. Madden - Honestly 3 years ago this game would have been in the "Good" category, but the problem is in my personal opinion the series needs to die and die soon. The good thing for someone like Yahtzee is he lives in Australia so he doesn't have to worry about getting beat to death with the game but we do!(P. S. Anyone know if there's a region free cricket game I can import?)
5. Wall Street Kid - An old NES game that was about stocks...'Nuff said
The Good:
1. Peggle -
Agreed: I'm all about immersion in a game, and if peggle gives you that wondrous feeling, then more power to you, by and at large. That would make it a good game.
2. Bioshock -
Disagree: But for reasoning alone. While you mention immersion and story-telling here, I'm going to have to say you're playing for the wrong reasons. The adage "Life isn't about the commencement, nor the destination, but rather the journey." If a game is fun, even if the story is monstrous, then good freakin' job. Especially with gameplay-centric games like FPS titles or sports games. Don't love a game just for the narrative, because the narrative alone can't make a game good.
3. Dragon Quest -
Disagree: Nostalgia is a bad reason to like a game. If you can go back and play the game and still love it, like I do with Earthbound, then more power to you. But remembering times of yore as modern marvels isn't a reason to peg a game as good. You don't mention gameplay, all you mention is memories. That alone will not make a game good, especially not by my standards.
4. NHL Series -
???: Never played, don't intend to. Unsure of how to respond to "fan of the game because of the concept" that I get from your post, though.
5. Puzzle Quest -
Agree: While immersion is important, it can't make a game. You mention the game itself (I'm assuming gameplay here) is enjoyable, so that makes it work for me.
The Bad:
1. Halo -
Disagree: A game isn't it's story. If you wanted to review the HALO novels, then we could talk a different story. But HALO is a formulaic FPS that picked a good formula. It's the Quadratic Equation of FPS games, and it did it well. Despite that "space armor fighting space aliens" is a trope older than me, it's still a fun game. The story is interesting, if you look at events rather than facades, and it's still a fun game. The story simply
cannot be all there is to a game,
unless it's very specifically geared toward the narrative. (Which only really applies to point-and-clicks and visual novels.)
2. RE: Survivor -
Disagree: Aside from occasional issues, games like Earthbound and Final Fantasy IX are easy. They're still fun, though. Just 'cause it's easy doesn't mean it's boring.
3. Escape from Cyber City -
Disagree: While games like "I Want To Be The Guy" make their only gameplay features the "trial-and-error" difficulty, a game that is hard shouldn't be the only factor that makes it "not fun." I personally loved the game Insect Princess [http://ca.youtube.com/watch?v=zthnUuzUHxU], despite the fact that the game is genuinely controller-snappingly hard.
4. Madden -
Disagree: While the formulaic nature of the games is annoying as hell, that shouldn't make the games themselves bad. (By your assumption) Assuming you randomly pick up a game like Madden '02, it'll be fun. If you pick up just Madden '05, it'll be fun. Once again for '08. I don't see why the fact that they're same-y should make the games less fun as individuals. If the sequal-tastic nature of the games bothers you, don't buy the sequels, stick to the one you liked, even if it's over 3 years old.
5. Wall Street Kid -
Disagree: Not enough said.
but hey patience is a virtue aye 
