Agreed x1000
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Beautiful settings wasted on mediocre games
- Thread starter leng jai
- Start date
Agreed x1000
Yep. See also: Fly'n, Guacamelee, Giana Sisters. Games I bought for their settings and just put down when I realized they were merely competent and not all that interesting.
Another nominee: Ryse: Son of Rome.
Such good environments. Such a tedious chore to play.
I really enjoyed playing through the world, but the gameplay is just not quite there.
semiconscious
Member
no one's said l.a. noire?
...thelastcrusader
Banned
Bioshock Infinite and AC Unity hands down. Say what you want about 1886 but at least I enjoyed my two sittings to beat it. Took me weeks to beat Unity and I couldn't even stomach Infinite past the 5 hour mark.
mercenar1e
Member
for me.
This right here.
I have to agree, this is more for games where there's a general consensus that the game is average or mediocre, otherwise it just becomes a thread where every game under the sun gets mentioned which is kinda pointless.
trugs26
Member
There are two main aspects that make XCX a really good game:
1. Exploration
2. The combat system
I honestly can't understand how you could say the combat system was bad when it's one of the best combat systems in any RPG. Sure there were issues with Skell combat, but ground combat, stacking arts and soul voices is so good.
Chucke1992
Banned
Bioshock Infinite. Without combat it would be much better game.
It is sad that Bioshock original did gameplay more or less right.
It is sad that Bioshock original did gameplay more or less right.
d00d3n
Member
Firewatch has a very distinctive and beautiful look (that made me buy the game), but yeah, the gameplay is mediocre.
The gameplay was actually a bit better than what I expected honestly with the whole compass and orienteering aspect. It's the poor story that makes it a less than stellar game really.
I'll go with the original BioShock. The graphics are pretty good for the time, the atmosphere is fantastic, the story is interesting enough, but I found the gameplay to be insufferable. Shooting mechanics are really bad, and the plasmids feel weird to use. Enemies are bullet sponges, especially on Hard, and it just isn't fun to play. Couldn't finish it when I started it a few years ago, didn't even get to the famous plot twist before quitting.
Truly a shame, because the game is great in almost every aspect, except for actually playing it.
Truly a shame, because the game is great in almost every aspect, except for actually playing it.
deriks
4-Time GIF/Meme God
Don't know why I didn't think of it immediately upon seeing this thread, but absolutely Anno 2205. The setting is absolutely gorgeous and a refreshing change of pace from all the other super depressing sci-fi settings you normally see in games. An optimistic future where anything seems possible through technology. Just a shame that the game is much too simplified and unlike all its predecessors only has maybe 15 hours of gameplay in it before you've quite literally finished it.
SprachBrooks
Member
How dare you?
rootbeerafloat
Member
The Last of Us had some really nice environments. Wyoming, Colorado, SLC.
Fancy Clown
Member
Bioshock
ivanthebearable
Member
Mediocre isn't the word I'd use for it, as I feel it's a bit strong but Final Fantasy 8 has a really fascinating world that I really enjoy seeing more of, even if it doesn't have my favorite story, gameplay or characters. Then again I haven't finished it yet (I'm on Late Disc 2) so perhaps my opinion changes.
A game that better fits the thread title though is Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: The Crystal Bearers. Such an awesome world, really beautiful. Would have loved to see the FFCC world get more usage kinda like Ivalice. Game is definitely mediocre though.
A game that better fits the thread title though is Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: The Crystal Bearers. Such an awesome world, really beautiful. Would have loved to see the FFCC world get more usage kinda like Ivalice. Game is definitely mediocre though.
GusZamboni
Member
bloodborne
edit: sorry upfront gaf! not a flame, i just don't get into the game =/
lol
edit: sorry upfront gaf! not a flame, i just don't get into the game =/
R_thanatos
Member
Final Fantasy 8
Such a beautifull game.Such great music
Yet the story is crap, the characters are total nonsense ,the draw & junction system feel undercooked to me. The difficulty curve and battle design make no sense to me.
The very first game i played i found so great looking yet i was bored out of my mind.
Such a beautifull game.Such great music
Yet the story is crap, the characters are total nonsense ,the draw & junction system feel undercooked to me. The difficulty curve and battle design make no sense to me.
The very first game i played i found so great looking yet i was bored out of my mind.
orthodoxy1095
Banned
So many games being listed that aren't mediocre -_-
I love Mafia 2, but it is truly the most polished unfinished game.
Coming out of The Division Alpha, I felt like the beautiful and highly detailed world that they built would have been better used on a single-player game with a strong narrative, not an online loot game.
Too early to call the game mediocre, but I feel the setting is definitely wasted. It's hard to pay attention to all that detail they put in there when you're running around with 3 other players on a headset at a frantic pace.
Too early to call the game mediocre, but I feel the setting is definitely wasted. It's hard to pay attention to all that detail they put in there when you're running around with 3 other players on a headset at a frantic pace.
for me.
This fear is why I haven't bought it yet, but I love Olly Moss' work.
Vincent Grayson
Member
Alice: Madness Returns
Screenshot credit: Auto-Reply
Not sure what the consensus is for this, but for me the game was pretty basic and far too long. The setting was off the charts though and I especially enjoyed the Old England segments between each chapter.
My daughter is playing it right now, and keeps getting pretty annoyed by the game part of it, but she's so won over by the look of it that she keeps going.
for me.
I actually thought the TF2 style graphics took a lot away from the setting and atmosphere, on top of forest being inhabited by birds only.
Mr. Poolman
Member
Agreed, I had a lot of fun with Remember Me.
My vote goes to Contrast.
This game has the whole burlesque, early 20 century Paris thing going on, wasted on a terrible platformer.
iNvid02
Member
BlindJesus
Member
That makes me sad. I've been waiting on a significant sale before I picked it up. Can you still set up elaborate trade routes to manage multiple supply chains?
I think a lot of the bitterness in this thread is because the title is unnecessarily harsh. Less the "mediocre," more the "wasted on." It's dismissive and acts as if the setting of a game is a separate component, when, as the BioShock Infinite talk here shows, it's actually quite a core component. Perhaps internalize the debate as "Games where the setting outshone all else"?
I'd definitely add my voice to Destiny. I'm also currently playing Xenoblade Chronicles X right now, and the setting is by far the most compelling aspect. Both games are elevated by their setting.
I also really like Anachronox in, um, Anachronox. 2001 Springy dug that grimy place but found the game tedious.
I'd definitely add my voice to Destiny. I'm also currently playing Xenoblade Chronicles X right now, and the setting is by far the most compelling aspect. Both games are elevated by their setting.
I also really like Anachronox in, um, Anachronox. 2001 Springy dug that grimy place but found the game tedious.
Brerlappin
Member
Alice: Madness Returns
Screenshot credit: Auto-Reply
Not sure what the consensus is for this, but for me the game was pretty basic and far too long. The setting was off the charts though and I especially enjoyed the Old England segments between each chapter.
The setting, atmosphere, music and story elevate it from average to excellent for me. I definitely wouldnt call it mediocre. With something like Remember me, it only had the setting going for it. I didnt like the gameplay and the story was boring. But Alice had alot going for it and was only hampered by level design that was too long for its own good.
I finished it (Firewatch). Still like it a lot.
I guess people were expecting something other than a low-key character piece. It probably helps that I went in completely blind.
The Janitor
Member
Alan Wake. Some good ideas in this game but the gameplay just gets very tedious and repetetive.
GKSilKamina
Member
The best answer. I actually finished this game and almost immediately completely forgot about it despite how completely amazing it looks. What a pity.
This one breaks my heart. I was so excited for Fragile Dreams. It gets off to a really strong start, even with the bad combat and inventory system. The game starts shitting itself as soon as you finish the first dungeon and never recovers. Looked nice, at least!
Soapbox Killer
Grand Nagus
Epic Mickey (already said)
It has the potential to be great and in some ways it delivers.
It has the potential to be great and in some ways it delivers.
afreaknamedpete
Member
Ar Tonelico. The setting materials and codices implies a really cool and interesting sci-fi fantasy world with alot of potential for tackling story arcs. The games usually wastes them on sex jokes.
Robert at Zeboyd Games
Banned
I wish Ni no Kuni was a much better game. It's so pretty. Killer soundtrack too. I just didn't have much fun actually playing it.
The battle system wasn't great at the start and it steadily falls apart as you get more party members. A shame, too. That art style is astonishing. I also agree about the music.
Weltall Zero
Member
My pick for this thread, probably the most extreme disparity between visuals and gameplay I have ever had the misfortune to play.
Well, at least you're no longer pretending you like it while blatantly trolling the OT.
Also, thanks to this thread I have realized a glaring example of cognitive dissonance in myself, namely:
Hahah, ouch, that'll rile up some fans.
How do you fucking dare!!
Gonna have to put another vote in here for Bioshock Infinite.
It's the perfect example of what I mentioned earlier: a game with a beautiful and ambitious setting where you... just shoot people. There are parts where you can walk around and look at people talking, and then sometimes engage in some QTEs or first person cut scenes, but that's pretty much it. It's was a pretty average linear first person shooter in my experience, and even the story wasted the potential of the setting. The ultimate example of this is why you end up having to fight the Vox Populi. To me it felt like they kind of just invented a reason for them to all of a sudden not like you and become monsters, and at that point they're just turned into another horde of mooks. It also pretty much ruined Daisy Fitzory's character. All that and more was tossed aside in order to create a functional first person shooter.
In my mind the setting of Bioshock Infinite would have been better served had it kept some of the RPG elements of its predecessors like the original Bioshock, System Shock, and Ultima Underworld. Come to think of it, Fallout 4 almost feels like the game Bioshock Infinite should have been. No wait, boh Fallout 4 and Wolfenstein: The New Order feel like different but better attempts at what Bioshock Infinite was going for in terms of a combination of setting and gameplay. Fallout 4 certainly could have done a lot better with its story, but in my opinion achieved the sense of place Infinite should have had while having better gunplay.
It's the perfect example of what I mentioned earlier: a game with a beautiful and ambitious setting where you... just shoot people. There are parts where you can walk around and look at people talking, and then sometimes engage in some QTEs or first person cut scenes, but that's pretty much it. It's was a pretty average linear first person shooter in my experience, and even the story wasted the potential of the setting. The ultimate example of this is why you end up having to fight the Vox Populi. To me it felt like they kind of just invented a reason for them to all of a sudden not like you and become monsters, and at that point they're just turned into another horde of mooks. It also pretty much ruined Daisy Fitzory's character. All that and more was tossed aside in order to create a functional first person shooter.
In my mind the setting of Bioshock Infinite would have been better served had it kept some of the RPG elements of its predecessors like the original Bioshock, System Shock, and Ultima Underworld. Come to think of it, Fallout 4 almost feels like the game Bioshock Infinite should have been. No wait, boh Fallout 4 and Wolfenstein: The New Order feel like different but better attempts at what Bioshock Infinite was going for in terms of a combination of setting and gameplay. Fallout 4 certainly could have done a lot better with its story, but in my opinion achieved the sense of place Infinite should have had while having better gunplay.
Hey Im Patrick
Member
Opinions, how do the work? I'm not sure. You can't please everyone.
Anyways, for me it's Spec Ops: The Line. The story is amazing, the set pieces are awesome. But nothing special about gameplay. Still strongly recommended for people who haven't played it.
How About No
Member
This. Enjoyed the hell out of the first two disks though.
My choice is Resident Evil Zero
Most exquisite backdrops in the entire series and the Remaster properly up-resed the original backgrounds. I couldn't believe I was playing a 14-year old game. It's a tragedy REmake HD couldn't look this good.
It's also the most droll and uninspired game in the entire classic series.
Yeah I love that game. It has some minor problems like any other, but people talk about it like its trash. I think it didn't meet people expectations for what they though a Bioshock sequel should be so they felt hurt on top of being disappointed. I thought it was fucking great so I dunno, would love to replay it on PS4.
FF: Type-0. The whole class setting with each character being a different job and playable was awesome and something that I hope we see in some future main FF. I liked it because basically you can choose any of the characters as the "main character".
Also Alpha Protocol. Most disappointing Obsidian game, yet a great concept.
Also Alpha Protocol. Most disappointing Obsidian game, yet a great concept.
Fine Ham Abounds
Member
This basically.
I find the Xenoblade X mentions kind of odd, not on a gameplay level as not everyone is going to like that pseudo MMO flow and pacing, or the many layers you have to engage in order to get a whole lot out of the game, but because I don't find it a particularly attractive game at all. It's got great scope and performance, but from an art design and world building standpoint it comes across as fake and inorganic as a lego set, dozens of textures look like complete shit, and the character and enemy design look like first ideas rushed into production. For me it's a game I enjoy quite a bit in spite of the setting not because of it. Best thing I can say is the world has a lot of variety.
Well, I mean, what exactly are we going off of here if not opinions? I see some drive-bys here sure, but there is some discussion in here too where people list out why they feel the way they do about certain games. Maybe they might be worth reading? In contrast, we also have a lot of people apparently so insecure about their own opinions they have to justify why they like something with consensus, like that should have any relevance in a conversation presumably about gestalt vs dissonance to someone who isn't a bean counter or advertising executive.