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Heavily criticized games that you really enjoy

RMI

Banned
Condemned & Heavenly Sword were two of my favourite games of the last generation.

Condemned was heavily criticized? I always thought it was widely accepted as a pretty good game. Heavenly Sword gets far more hate than it deserves though, so I can agree with you on that one. Loved both of these games, btw.
 

Toku

Banned
Star_Fox_Adventures_GCN_Game_Box.jpg

I had a lot of fun with that game! I didn't find out that everyone hated it until many years later.


FFXIII

Almost Platinumed it and had fun trying to do so.

Heh, I came here to post this too.

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I understood all the criticism, and I acknowledged it, but I couldn't help loving this game. Fang is a large part of it.

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I love her character design, and the localization putting on the Australian accent which for some was an off putting choice, strangely appealed to me. I got so much joy from watching this awesome lady launch a giant enemy who had killed the party many times before, and proceed to beat them to death with her staff thingy. So yeah, I really enjoyed this game in spite of its flaws.
 
Star Ocean The Last Hope - great game, the story and characters are hit and miss but the gameplay is fantastic.

Too Human - addicting game that is actually fun and has interesting take on norse mythology

Yakuza series -brilliant games with amazing stories. no idea how these games score so low. the media sucks for rating these lower than 85%

Vanquish - underrated game, some of the best gameplay of all time it's fast the controls are fantastic. the story is dumb but c'mon no game on the ps3 has gameplay this good.

Xenosaga - One of the best storylines in gaming and interesting combat. it's a shame these games aren't appreciated

basically IMO for the most part the media is heavily biased against japanese games. but whatever
 

Verger

Banned
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I liked this one just as much as the original. The story and music were superb along with the VA. Though I agree a little more interaction and enemy usage would have helped.

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This one I found pretty enjoyable. I definitely felt tension during most of the game and only wished they had diversified the environments better.

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Don't care what anyone else thinks, I had a lot of fun with this game despite its technical issues and the soundtrack is so underrated.
 

Alfredo

Member
Resident Evil 5
The game is a lot of fun, even in single player. It greatly expands upon the combat of RE4 by introduce more variety in melee moves, including melees on grounded opponents. It seems the main complete is that it isn't "scary," but it can still be pretty tense with the overwhelming waves of enemies and some threatening mini-bosses.

Resident Evil 6
The latest numbered entry in the Resident Evil series adds an even more complex combat system, that despite having similar concepts, plays wholly different from RE4 and 5. The modern Resident Evil games emphasize melee moves in tandem with the shooting, making them play unlike any other third person shooter in the market. It's a really unique gameplay experience, and a lot of fun once you master it. Too bad the actual campaign is terrible. The game needed more focus.

Assassin's Creed 3
Similar to RE6, the campaign of AC3 is poor. Many of the missions aren't very fun, and often frustrating. I thought the combat was fun, though. The variety of weapons and unique attack animations created for the game were great at making the combat feel interesting, but unfortunately it was hindered by the awful inventory system, making creativity with the combat a hassle.

I also loved the world the game took place in. The frontier was a joy to explore, and swiftly running through the trees to pounce upon a red coat or bear was a lot of fun. The setting also really resonated me. I loved the idea of having the game take place during the American Revolution as this was history I was actually somewhat familiar with. It was really cool seeing these people you learned about in school reimagined in this Assassin/Templar conflict. I even liked the characters. Sure, Connor wasn't as charismatic as Ezio, but I still found his stubbornness and naivety interesting. Plus, all the charisma went to Haytham, who I thought was an awesome character, and I'm sad we probably will never revisit him.

Silent Hill: Shattered Memories
I thought this game was amazing and didn't know it was hated until I saw a large portion of the Silent Hill fandom pooping on it. I guess a lot of the hate came from the fact that people expected a remake of Silent Hill 1. I guess the "Shattered Memories" subtitle didn't hint strongly enough at what to expect. I thought this was a really interesting reimagining of the Silent Hill mythos, maybe even superior (I think anything to do with the "cult" in Silent Hill is kinda lame, but that's just me). It was neat adventure game oozing with atmosphere and unique storytelling. I will concede that the harsh separation of exploration and the chase sequences (which were a bother on the Wii, thanks to my misunderstanding of the motion controls) ruined the tension and horror aspects that the game could've had, but being the coward that I am, it made the game easier to get through to the end. Which is good, 'cause, man, that ending!
 

Neff

Member
RE6 is my favourite game of last gen.

Not counting GC ports, Metroid Other M is my favourite Wii game.

I also love Final Fantasy XIII.
 

SerTapTap

Member
Wat? Best modern FF right there

I agree but I've heard no end of complaints about it. Mostly due to the draw system and non-conventional leveling system. People forget one of FF's strengths is how it mixes up game mechanics. FF5 also gets swept under the rug often, but it may be because of no US SNES release.
 

RobbieNick

Junior Member
Recently I'd say Ryse. It wasn't anything revolutionary but it was a solid action game with a solid story and some very pretty graphics. Plus I played the arena mode a lot. IMO that game gets a lot more hate than it deserves.

Same here. Ryse was WAY better than I was expecting.
 

Musolf815

Member
WWE games: I play them with my brother every year. I know they're buggy messes, but to us they're more fun than actual WWE shows. Plus all the creation stuff is great.
Heavy Rain: I got invested in the story, despite all the plotholes. Some scenes were really tense for me, in particular
the one where Ethan has to get Shaun's teddy bear, and I was fairly certain that the Oragami Killer was in the house watching me, apparently you can hear his breathing...
Indigo Prophecy: I've never seen a game get so batshit crazy, which makes it kind of fun to see where it'll go next. The first few levels were really good as well.
Beyond Two Souls: First "slice of life" game I've played, not as good as Heavy Rain, but not bad.
LA Noire: Even though the game has pretty good color in its world, I had more fun playing it in black and white, it really felt like playing a detective movie that way.
 

Fbh

Member
Quite a few.

Some "recent" ones:

Watch Dogs: I agree on the story being bad, but other than that it was a fun game. I liked the city, drving wasn't nearly as bad as some make it sound and I think the core gameplay and level design was way better than most open world games of this type (including GTA)

Dead Space 3: I agree that on a story and setting level it's inferior to the previous ones, and it's true that it dropped the survival elements in order to become an action title. But I loved the weapon building option and I found it to be a really enjoyable co-op game

Residen Evil 5 and 6: Basically the same as Dead Space 3. Terrible as a "resident evil" game but quite enjoyable as a co-op shooter

Bioshock Infinite: Most people make it sound like this was the worst game ever but with a nice story. I agree that the gameplay could have been better but I still fully enjoyed my time with this game. Weapons felt right, I liked the level design, enemies and the mix of powers with guns is still fun. And, of course, I loved the story and art direction.
I think this game gets a lot of undeserved hate, I had a few friends that finished before me and if you asked them about it they would tell you "one of my favorite games ever"....skip forward a few month and if you ask them now they just repeat what they read other people on forums say about it.

Killzone Shadow Fall: Is it an amazing shooter? No, Is it a "true next-gen experience"? no, does it do anything to innovate or push the genre further? No.
But I found it to be a solid shooter. The single player was fun enough with nice presentation and a good variety of locations, I think the shooting and overal controls were great and the owl was a fun extra. I also enjoyed the non-obvious approach to level design, I don't really get why people found it confusing. I never really felt confused or lost, I just had to stop every now and then to take a good look at my surroundings and figure out were to go.
The online multiplayer was very "by the numbers" but I really liked the maps, I liked the fact that all the weapons are unlocked from the start and just as with the single player the controls were great. Plus they released some free maps and I never had a single connection issue (cough...battlefield...cough)
 
Borderlands 2 (and 1). BL2 sold 10 million copies and sits at 89 metacritic and I feel like 90% of GAF thinks it's one of the worst series of last gen.

Unless it's Souls, Platinum game, or a pre-Gen 6 generation game, expect to see it put through the wringer on GAF.

My choices of those criticized in the media and/or GAF:

  • Dead Space 3: Hated the story, rock climbs, cover/crouch, and weapon balance in favor of firearms, but it was still a fun romp. Microtransactions were non-invasive and find that anyone who complained about them affecting the game had not played the game. Crafting was fun, and the space exploration section is among the best moments in-game.
  • Quantic Dream's Heavy Rain and Beyond Two Souls: Stories had problems and the latter needed more variation and consequence, but otherwise still enjoyable. Similar can be said for TellTale's The Walking Dead S1, though that's generally well-liked.
  • Titanfall: Best multiplayer gameplay this generation thus far, and possibly the best since COD4: MW. Suffers from balance between pilot weapons, a shit 'campaign', and rather bland and non-distinctive game-modes, but the mechanics in-place are fantastic. Hope the sequel corrects this and people get in on it.
  • Skyrim: Not a ton of depth, unremarkable narrative in the main storyline, and cookie-cutter missions with pathetic rewards and designed around fast travel, but it was still incredibly fun. Taking on those dragons, giants, and mammoths is not easy to forget.
  • ZombiU: Best survival horror game since REmake. Sure there was some technical issues and Ubisoft unceremoniously dropped the support they were hinting at when they pulled a Capcom on it, but it was impressive to see how much was accomplished in such little time of development. Still the best case for the Wii U gamepad.

Edit: ^ Agreed when it comes to Shadowfall multiplayer, at least until people got good/asshole-ish enough to camp bases. The spawn beacons helped if the team isn't 100% committed to the lockdown, but a good team can counter it quickly and its back to square 1. Can't agree on the story mode though. Was just too bland in gameplay and enemy behavior to accompany the interesting locations (especially that Dead Space-esque level).
 

Tain

Member
Resident Evil 6 is a big recent one.

Many see it as the perfect representation of the evils of big-budget game design. It's a huge game, one with a big cast of playable characters and all sorts of different kinds of scenarios, which can come off as an attempt to appeal to everyone at once. It has a lot of bombastic cutscenes with QTEs. It's a hot-blooded action game in a franchise that was traditionally slower-paced. Partner AI is obnoxious. The inventory is still real-time, and it's hardly even an inventory now. Surely it's more focus-tested and less-noble than Resident Evil 4, right?

Most of that stuff doesn't matter at all to me. I don't find anything wrong with it being a faster action game (I love action games and don't need franchises to carry a single theme throughout), and while the game's size leads to it being less consistent than 4 and 5, I feel the huge variety is a positive in the end. It's certainly worth putting up with one or two bad chapters. And yeah, the game honestly shouldn't even let you play solo, but the co-op experience is awesome. It was great in RE5, but crossing paths with strangers who are playing entirely different campaigns than you are is such a cool feeling, and even the campaign invasion stuff is fun. And while the frequent cutscenes and QTEs are annoying at times, they were mostly not an issue after the start of Leon's campaign. I actually wound up really liking the times where one player would be dealing with a QTE while another would be dealing with a larger battle.

On top of all of that, the most important part of the game (and probably still the most overlooked) is the time spent actually fighting enemies. The game is so great at this. It adapts the best of modern third-person shooter mechanics and builds upon them with a myriad of movement and melee options (all tied to a stamina meter that needs to be carefully managed), and it all shines in Professional/No Hope Left mode co-op campaigns, Mercenaries mode, and Onslaught mode.

RE6 rules.

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Uhh Borderlands series isn't heavily criticized, come on.. Due to the popularity of the series you'll probably see a lot of complaints about the game, and some people talking about how overrated it is, but overall the series is far from "heavily criticized"

I really enjoyed ShaqFu back in the day, though I can't remember why.
 
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Maybe because it was my first "Atlus game", but I throughly enjoyed it. I thought the gameplay was very deep and rewarding if you treat it like the tactical action game it was. Its only flaw was that you kept fighting the same enemies. I was surprised to learn when people criticized the game for being shallow and boring, like Project X Zone or something.


GAF will call me crazy, but I actually enjoyed Zone of the Enders 1 more than 2. I felt it had a lot less fluff and it was just generally enjoyable. I could never understand the M rating though.
 

Bergerac

Member
Arkham Origins/Blackgate*
Battlefield 3*
Batman Begins
Bionic Commando 09
Bioshock 2
Bioshock Infinite
Cold Fear
Condemned 2*
Dark Sector*
Dead Island/Riptide
Dead Space 3
DE: Invisible War
Devil May Cry 2
Doom 3
Far Cry 2*
FEAR 2*
Fracture
Kane & Lynch 2*
Max Payne 3
MGS 2
MW2*/MW3*
Quake 4
Prince Of Persia '08*
Rage
Rainbow Six Vegas 1/2
Remember Me
RE0/RE3/RE5*
Saints Row 1/2 - back in 'poor man's GTA' days
Silent Hill: Homecoming*
Singularity
SOF: Payback*
Syndicate
Tekken 4
The Darkness II
The X Files: Resist Or Serve

Though I agree with many of the criticisms aimed at those*.
 
Call of Duty. I know that it's essentially the same thing every year, that it's gameplay is mindless and repetitive, and that it's single player mode usually is shit, but I enjoy every single one of them. No idea why.

Same thing with the Assassin's Creed series, actually.

I'm with you on this one. Don't get me wrong, I understand the complaints, and in many cases I agree with them. But I still love playing all of the AC and CoD games, though CoD is mostly for the campaign and co-op game mode for me. CoD2, CoD3, and World at War are the only ones I ever played much multiplayer in.
 
Haha, you picked borderlands. One of the most beloved and successful new ips of last gen. I know it's your thread but you're really doing it wrong. Super wrong.
 
Kingdom Hearts II. Don't care if people say you can beat the game simply by mashing one button.

Also Watch Dogs. It was a fun game, simple as that.
 

Durock

Member
Donkey Kong 64. I know a lot of people hate on it because of the insane amount of collecting involved, but I thoroughly enjoy the game. One of the best games on the N64 imo.
 

ZServ

Member
Arkham Origins. Everyone kinda just ripped into it and I adored it. I'm super proud of WB Montreal for living up to such high standards, IMO. I thought origins was a far better game than city. It's my favorite arkham, actually.
 

SerTapTap

Member
Was going to post this but for some, it may not be a 'heavily criticized game'. It's my favourite FF though :D love love love it <3

It's very much a love-hate game. I think Heavenly Sword and Star Fox Adventures are about the same, considering the number of mentions in this thread.
 

pitt_norton

Member
metroid other m

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i played with japanese audio w/ english subtitles. had no problem with the heavily eastern styled plot. gameplay-wise, i had a ton of fun that i'm blind to the hate it gets.
 

Not Spaceghost

Spaceghost
Ninja Gaiden 3 Razor's Edge, imo the best Ninja Gaiden

Yeah I also enjoy Razor's Edge, I wouldn't call it the best Ninja Gaiden because it's lacking a lot of the more polished features from other NG games also it's got a bit of awkwardness to its over all feel but NG3RE is a lot of fun and can be a serious blast.

It's got a pretty killer OST and the bosses are heavy duty as hell.
 

DaciaJC

Gold Member
Mercenaries_2_cover_art.jpg


Its predecessor, Mercenaries: Playground of Destruction, garnered near-universal praise, but Mercs 2 usually comes up in discussion as an example of a crappy game. I'm of opinion that the gameplay was largely improved by Pandemic for the sequel, so I'm not quite sure why it's so poorly regarded; at the same time, I only bought the game a year or so after release, so I can understand if severe launch bugs/glitches annoyed the shit out of players.

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Far Cry 2. I am cognisant of the criticisms and shortcomings but I still love it. Yup, the shitty AI and respawning checkpoints are annoying. It's a shame we never got to see Clint Hocking apply what he learned to another FC.

I was terribly disappointed to learn that Far Cry 3 got rid of most of the things that made FC2 so memorable. FC3 felt like a cookie-cutter experience catered to the modern distracted gamer; FC2, on the other hand, was one of a kind.
 
X-Men: Destiny!

I loved it! Multiple characters, cool powers, tons of costumes... Linear? Absolutely. Do your choices mean anything? Not really. But I think most games are like that.

I think it suffered from being over-hyped. I platinumed this bad boy!
 

Slappers Only

Junior Member
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Too Human is brimming with objectively and provably bad design elements, and yet I love it. The heart of it comes down to how, in my opinion, it does one thing REALLY well, which is the right-stick targeting mechanic in combat. Goodness gracious I love dashing around, making criss-cross ass kicking patterns through a battlefield. That feedback loop is the kind of thing that keeps me blissfully naïve to all the negatives.

I also really liked its melodramatic, ridiculous universe. I think it's for the better that Too Human plays all the Norse Tech nonsense straight rather than making a joke out of it. I get a strange, amused satisfaction just out of knowing that, well, at least someone takes this stuff seriously. Parody is overrated.

I'm deeply saddened that we'll likely never see the sequels they had planned.
 
Second sight. The plot was brilliant and the shootouts combined with the powers made for some amazing sandbox encounters. Was shocked to see the tepid reception and scores. Not sure if anyone even remembers that game. I know there was another similar one at the time the was considered better....was it psi ops? I thought that game was utter garbage in comparison.
 
For me, it's the Borderlands series.

Huh, I think you might be misled by GAF criticism (there's someone at GAF that loves and hates everything, and is very vocal about that), because Borderlands games have been universally well received, and even though I've not played them (dislike FPSs), all of my friends that have played them love them.

In fact I've fallen into that same trap myself. I was going to cite Dragon's Crown, Soul Sacrifice Delta and Guild Wars 2 as my own examples, when all of them have average scores above 80 on Metacritic (Guild Wars 2, the most often criticized game here, has 90, in fact). Brütal Legend, the poster child for this thread (or so one would think) and another game I intended to list, got above 80, too. Perhaps the lowest scored game that I've loved recently was The Wonderful 101, at 78, which, while not abysmal either, is a far cry from the score I think it deserves.

So it would seem that my tastes aren't as weird or far removed from the average reviewer's as I thought. Not sure if that's a good or a bad thing...
 

gelf

Member
Sonic Spinball - its still in my rotation of old 16-bit games I go back to from time to time.

Also I love Dark Souls 2, none of the many complaints really bothered me. ( I know its critically acclaimed but its complained about a lot).
 

npa189

Member
Ryse has actually been a blast so far. I like the setting and the combat is surprisingly fun, even if it is repetitive. Shame about the sequel, I don't get how Crytek is in a position to argue about franchise rights when they can't pay employees.
 
Super Smash Brother Brawl: An amazing game that had an amazing roster of characters to choose from, I absolutely loved SSE and the awesome ctuscenes therein, the mutiude of games modes to play and collectible. Not to mention it is my favorite in the series with the new items, I loved the slower paced gameplay over Melee's break neck speed.

Final Fantasy VIII: Treated like the bastard child between VII and IX even though it had a much more interesting battle system, amazing summons, a great storyline and one of the best mini-games(Triple Triad) in all of video games.
 
DmC, I loved it more than the original series. I always loved ninja theory games, so I probably have a bias towards anything they make, Don't care though.
 
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