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Games with mediocre or bad gameplay, but great visuals, music and presentation

To those who have said Uncharted, heres a post I made about the gameplay in the franchise a few days back. I think because many Sony games have such strong presentation compared to a lot of the competition, people assume they lack in the gameplay department, but that is often very far from the truth. Uncharted is actually a great example of that.

The bolded part is a bit much, but I do agree with your stance on Uncharted's gameplay. There are some legitimate gripes to be had, such as bullet sponge enemies, but in my eyes, it's not nearly enough to detract from the overall enjoyment of the games. I had never before played a shooter with such verticality or intricately designed encounters. Maybe I feel differently than most about the game since I primarily used stealth when possible(same as in TLOU), so the game felt more like a stealth-combat/TPS hybrid than a straight up TPS.

Anyway, a large portion of people that use gaming forums abhor a lot of big, high profile games that I like, and are infatuated with games that I would never touch. I find subjects like these to be never-ending debates mostly.
 
I still don't understand the Uncharted replies, did you people play all three games? I've played all three games on PS3 three times (third time for the platinum on crushing). These are the only games I've played through three times in the previous gen. And the thing that did it for me wasn't the graphics, or the story but the gameplay. For me it was smooth and satisfying. Opinion of course...

I still have Remember Me on my PS3, now this thread scares me of starting it up :(
 
Does FF13 count? The game looks gorgeous and has pretty good music, but the gameplay is fucking awful. Sure, the system gets better and I hear it becomes one of the strong points of the game (I never got that far), but for the first dozen hours or more you are really just running down one hallway after another and pressing Attack over and over.

Yeah, this is the game that made me lose all interest in the FF series. I got FFXIII-2, but didn't ever play it besides a few minutes, and I haven't even seen lighting returns.
And I was a huge FF fan. Played all the numbered main games (that aren't MMO), and even a few spin offs (crisis core ending was so sad... :'( )

So yeah, it does count.
 
4 pages and no mention of Chrono Cross?

Art design and music were the only things it had going for it outside of the title.

It had pretty interesting and unique mechanics.

I wouldn't say the "gameplay" was bad, more like the plot and character focus was so broad it was sometimes hard to connect to it.
 
4 pages and no mention of Chrono Cross?

Art design and music were the only things it had going for it outside of the title.

Huh? It's an old school JRPG where practically everything was more basic. Despite that, it had its own spin on the turn based combat. It's one of the better RPGs from that generation actually. It may not have aged well, but then not a lot of games do either that were "great for their time".
 
I don't have time to respond to your entire post. You did a good job but in the end nearly every scenario in the game comes down to the same reaction. Why does this guy have (insert weapon here)? This guy is an average guy who steals shit and somehow murders thousands upon thousands of professional hit men, thugs and criminals. All the while using weapons there's no fucking way he would know how to use it be able to use. It's a clusterfuck of a concept that is great at the story and presentation level and falls apart everywhere else. If they had made it super tongue in cheek it would make more sense, but they went for the realistic angle and it doesn't fit.

Oh and let's not talk about how generic the shooting and combat is. The aiming sucks, enemies respond generically to getting hit, etc.

These are ridiculous semantics. Like asking why you can face multiple enemies in the first place, or why all the soldiers in Gears are so muscly, why Mario is a plumber and can jump so high, why you can drift so far in NFS etc etc. In all cases it's because it compliments gameplay.

And kill a million faceless henchmen. Fuck that series.

Also a pretty amusing response. Faceless enemies (they're not faceless, just largely unimportant and without a proper personality, like in 99.999% of games and even action films) in numerous quantity, automatically equates to bad gameplay? Again, how is that I different to nearly every third or first person shooter on the planet? This all just seems reaching to me.
 
Most all super hyped AAA games nowadays.

The Uncharted series and most AAA games.

Bioshock games are the epitome of this. I just stick the difficulty on easy and take my time going through the games, taking in the atmosphere with absolutely no fear of death.

Right there

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Most recent one for me.

Sadly this
 
I don't have time to respond to your entire post. You did a good job but in the end nearly every scenario in the game comes down to the same reaction. Why does this guy have (insert weapon here)?

Not to ignore the rest of your post but:

For the sake of fun. While Uncharted 1 and 3 both suffer from sequences that eschew fun for the sake of spectacle, Uncharted 2 really manages to provide a varied series of encounters without deviating from the core gameplay. It's a TPS and you're almost always in a shootout, but no two shootouts are the same in that game. If something ridiculous happens that barely makes sense like a helicopter pilot willingly blowing up a train filled with his teammates in order to kill one guy, it's for the sake of fun.
 
To those who have said Uncharted, heres a post I made about the gameplay in the franchise a few days back. I think because many Sony games have such strong presentation compared to a lot of the competition, people assume they lack in the gameplay department, but that is often very far from the truth. Uncharted is actually a great example of that.

You're right about Uncharted's design but this is really silly.

If they had made it super tongue in cheek it would make more sense, but they went for the realistic angle and it doesn't fit.

Uncharted realistic? Lolwut
 
These are ridiculous semantics. Like asking why you can face multiple enemies in the first place, or why all the soldiers in Gears are so muscly, why Mario is a plumber and can jump so high, why you can drift so far in NFS etc etc. In all cases it's because it compliments gameplay.



Also a pretty amusing response. Faceless enemies (they're not faceless, just largely unimportant and without a proper personality, like in 99.999% of games and even action films) in numerous quantity, automatically equates to bad gameplay? Again, how is that I different to nearly every third or first person shooter on the planet? This all just seems reaching to me.

You know, not everyone has to like the same things you do, or as much as you do. And not everyone has the need to justify their opinion as much either. Personally, I enjoyed the first Uncharted, bought a PS3 for Demon's Souls and Uncharted 2, because I got sucked up into the massive hype. Got halfway through Uncharted 2 before shelving it for a few months, finally finished it and was glad for it to finally be over. You can cite how "great" the gameplay was, but it was really very basic and repetitive. Maybe you don't quickly tire of doing the same things over and over through similar set pieces, but it was wearing really thin. It felt more like playing an interactive movie with a few minutes of shoot, bang in between. Uncharted 3 was more of the same, but with more of an emphasis on spectacle, so I never got even halfway through that.

The production values were through the roof and the voice acting was top notch. The actual gameplay was just "ok" like many have said.
 
Uncharted series
Killzone series
GTA series
The Last Of Us
Little Big Planet series
Puppeteer
Journey
Prince Of Persia 2008
Assassin's Creed series
El-Shaddai
Castlevania: LoS
Tomb Raider 2013
 
I would say most Nintendo games, but I don't think they have graphics to qualify.

Lets be honest here: Every company is too scared to rock the boat in the gameplay area. Its gamers fault. Modern control inventions like motion gaming and back touch got trolled to death. I'm hoping VR breaks the current rut all devs seem to be in. Hopefully the trolls will see past their wallet and praise something they can't own yet.

What.gif
 
Add me to the Uncharted group too.

UC2 was one of my favorite games last gen (got 100% of the trophies including multiplayer trophies) but the gameplay wasn't exceptional in any way. The gunplay was mediocre, the bullet sponge enemies and (seemingly) endless waves of bad guys was uninspiring, and the overall lack of diversity in the enemy roster hurt it for me. I've been tossing around the idea of speed running uc2 (the game has tons of glitches and ways of clipping out of the maps) but I'm not even sure it's possible to gain meaningful time with all the cinematic elements and environment triggers they added in there that are necessary to progress/load the rest of the level.
 
You know, not everyone has to like the same things you do, or as much as you do. And not everyone has the need to justify their opinion as much either.

He's not saying that they have the like the same games or experiences, but that a few games get over the top hate for ridiculous reasons, and lists a few examples of other games that have very superhuman features that don't get called out nearly as much.
 
What the hell is up with some of these posts (particularly the ones about TLOU)?
I didn't know triple A gaming = Bad gameplay right off the bat.

This thread has basically turned into a stealth "Raise the flame shield: Your "controversial" gaming opinion" redux. Some people are just being hyperbolic about certain sectors of gaming they don't like, or popular games.

Back on topic: Journey was that game for me and so was Flower. The games have great presentation. The atmosphere was superb in both, and the soundtrack as well. Beyond that though, they feel like interactive demos of gameplay concepts that could work in more fleshed out games.

I'd give them both a pass as ok if they could've at least given me a decent narrative.
 
Back on topic: Journey was that game for me and so was Flower. The games have great presentation. The atmosphere was superb in both, and the soundtrack as well. Beyond that though, they feel like interactive demos of gameplay concepts that could work in more fleshed out games.

I'd give them both a pass as ok if they could've at least given me a decent narrative.

Journey was an incredibly profound and moving experience for me.
 
OP asks for games that are great except for gameplay not being fun and essentially sub-par - lots of people rush to be cute with games that simply don't fit the bill in terms of not being fun to play based on general perception, sales and popularity but based in them specifically not liking it.

Must be on the internet I guess.

Anyway Remember Me seems justifiable here as others have noted.
 
To those who have said Uncharted, heres a post I made about the gameplay in the franchise a few days back. I think because many Sony games have such strong presentation compared to a lot of the competition, people assume they lack in the gameplay department, but that is often very far from the truth. Uncharted is actually a great example of that.

its not that they have such strong presentation, its that is what they FOCUS on. Look at the order as a prime example and the things the devs say about the game. Sony games of late have all been linear corridors with a focus on presentation and story
 
Solatorobo, the gameplay isn't very engaging and it's really easy but it has a nice art style and runs at 60fps from what I remember.
 
I think some of the posters in this thread need to look up the definition of "bad" & "mediocre".

Most of the games described in this thread can be described as "objectively functional and engaging, just not very exciting or revolutionary". That's not mediocre.

Mediocre gameplay is that of Remember Me, Malicious, Assassin's Creed I, The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim... games that are critically acclaimed, but whose gameplay engines are either fundamentally flawed/broken, lacks variation, or are otherwise detrimental to the overall quality of the game...

EDIT: Rayman Origins & Legends have mediocre gameplay now? Yeah, this is singlehandedly the most pretentious thread ever...
 
These are ridiculous semantics. Like asking why you can face multiple enemies in the first place, or why all the soldiers in Gears are so muscly, why Mario is a plumber and can jump so high, why you can drift so far in NFS etc etc. In all cases it's because it compliments gameplay.



Also a pretty amusing response. Faceless enemies (they're not faceless, just largely unimportant and without a proper personality, like in 99.999% of games and even action films) in numerous quantity, automatically equates to bad gameplay? Again, how is that I different to nearly every third or first person shooter on the planet? This all just seems reaching to me.

Because the actual shooting is insanely boring. I mean, punch myself in the face why the hell am I doing this instead of mowing the lawn or sorting my socks - level boring.

There's absolutely nothing satisfying to it. At least Gears of War is visceral and the crazy weapons match the theme.

Uncharted is like Silent Hill in that both would be better off focusing on their strengths, puzzle solving, story and atmosphere.
 
I thought Uncharted had great gameplay. Basic doesn't have to mean bad, ask Rayman.


Lotta people venting their AAA hate it seems.

It's not that it is basic, but it is pretty standard cover-shooter, the aiming is awkward (but better after DF), and the enemies are sponges. The platforming is great, but the shooter aspect is like a more awkward Gears of War. Animations are far better though, I love Naughty Dog's methods and quality in animation.
 
its not that they have such strong presentation, its that is what they FOCUS on. Look at the order as a prime example and the things the devs say about the game. Sony games of late have all been linear corridors with a focus on presentation and story
Again, I'm going to have to disagree here. Whilst some areas in these games are very linear, other arenas in games like Uncharted 2-3 and Last of Us are bigger than some of those typical of third person shooters (Eg Gears, Army of Two, Dead Space etc). Just check the first video I posted in my Uncharted post earlier in this thread. The arena is massive, and as non linear as it gets without going open world. It's also why the Last of Us for example is often referred to as wide linear.
 
Huh? It's an old school JRPG where practically everything was more basic. Despite that, it had its own spin on the turn based combat. It's one of the better RPGs from that generation actually. It may not have aged well, but then not a lot of games do either that were "great for their time".

Even at the time, the gameplay was a step backwards. The battle system was obtuse, clunky and didn't make any sense. It even had mechanics the manual was fuzzy on.

Too many characters, half of which were unmemorable. Convoluted story line as well.

Don't get me wrong, love the game, but it fits the thread's description.
 
I would say both TLOU and Bioshock Infinite qualify.

Amazing graphics, worlds, audio design, music, voice acting. And gameplay that is just ok.

Particularly. I also never really cared for the gameplay in Beyond: Two Souls since it was more enjoyable to watch my friend play.
 
And not everyone has the need to justify their opinion as much either.

Opinions are not exempt from criticism. They also can be based on ignorance, or stated as fact (which usually leads to people pointing out what's inaccurate/wrong about them).

Because the actual shooting is insanely boring. I mean, punch myself in the face why the hell am I doing this instead of mowing the lawn or sorting my socks - level boring.

There's absolutely nothing satisfying to it. At least Gears of War is visceral and the crazy weapons match the theme.

Uncharted is like Silent Hill in that both would be better off focusing on their strengths, puzzle solving, story and atmosphere.

If you think the only positives to Gear of War's combat are its weapons and "visceral" nature, then I'd hazard to guess you don't like third-person shooters. That doesn't mean you can't actually discuss what does and doesn't work in these games, but you aren't doing that here.

I'd agree to some extent though if we're talking about the first Uncharted. I can't call the shootouts in Uncharted 2 boring at all though, especially the ones that take place atop moving trucks and the like.
 
Even at the time, the gameplay was a step backwards. The battle system was obtuse, clunky and didn't make any sense. It even had mechanics the manual was fuzzy on.

Too many characters, half of which were unmemorable. Convoluted story line as well.

Don't get me wrong, love the game, but it fits the thread's description.

Chrono Cross's battle system made sense just fine. The gameplay itself isn't any worse than any other JRPG from the time.
 
I quite like enslaved, I don't think the gameplay is bad but it's definitely quite simplistic, especially compared to other games in the genre. Usually some of the simple adventure games would still have decent platforming or puzzles but Enslaved has none of that, they are auto platforming with linear levels.
 
I actually agree with the people saying most Sony firstparty games, their games are (IMO) ridiculously overrated thanks to their mostly boring gameplay. However, there are some exceptions here, with the prime one being the Team ICO-games which actually have great gameplay, and I also really liked Demons Souls which was Sony-funded.

I also agree very much with the Golden Sun-mentions, those games are slow, chatty, easy and boring as hell.
 
I think some of the posters in this thread need to look up the definition of "bad" & "mediocre".

Most of the games described in this thread can be described as "objectively functional and engaging, just not very exciting or revolutionary". That's not mediocre.

Mediocre gameplay is that of Remember Me, Malicious, Assassin's Creed I, The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim... games that are critically acclaimed, but whose gameplay engines are either fundamentally flawed/broken, lacks variation, or are otherwise detrimental to the overall quality of the game...

EDIT: Rayman Origins & Legends have mediocre gameplay now? Yeah, this is singlehandedly the most pretentious thread ever...

Uncharted meets this criteria. The gun play helps the game in zero ways and needs to take a massive step back in prominence.
 
Red Faction Armageddon

Was prepared to be dissapointed by this game, but in the end quite enjoyed it, kinda like a tame Dead Space.
Of course the gameplay is quite linear compared to Guerilla, but nonetheless it was some nice sci-fi action, crazy weapons + Geomod.
 
Can't roll my eyes hard enough
Yea, its nib.

I wasn't even saying the games have bad gameplay, but mediocre sound about right in many cases. And that doesn't even mean I cant enjoy them. I'm not one of those people who outright dismisses AAA gaming or cinematic experiences or whatever. There's a time and place for all that, in my opinion. Cant say I'd want that all the time, but I'm not trying to say Sony's games are crap or anything either.

Most of the games described in this thread can be described as "objectively functional and engaging, just not very exciting or revolutionary". That's not mediocre.
That's exactly what I'd consider mediocre.
 
Uncharted meets this criteria. The gun play helps the game in zero ways and needs to take a massive step back in prominence.

But the setpieces, options and approach when it comes down to pure shootbang are most varied in Uncharted. Understandable that you don't enjoy the shooting that much, but it's not poor by any stretch.

Hey look, it's Seanspeed. Defender of Racists.

Seriously though man, you should stop that.
 
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