Games Nobody Else Loves But You Do

[Benza]

Kind of an upbeat version of the other thread. What are some games you feel get an undeservedly harsh reception?

For me
Banjo Kazooie Nuts and Bolts
Now I kind of understand why people didn't like this, it was a lot of 'this isn't my banjo kazooie!' mentality. A sudden genre change will do that. But BK isn't one of those series I've come to late in the game, the 64 games were a huge part of my childhood, I made my best friend in primary school through playing BK together. But man, fuck it Nuts and Bolts was awesome.

And it kind of bothers me that if say, Mario had done this no one would have batted an eye lid, I mean is there a massive contingent of people that hate Mario Kart because it's not a platformer? Or Mario RPG? Or Mario Party, or Mario Golf, or Mario *Insert other activity here*

Firstly the game is freaking gorgeous. Rare know how to make a gorgeous game, the area's are huge and detailed, they have this aweomse cobbled together feel that suits it. But the vehicle building was the real star.

It's one of the few games that actually encourages you to be creative while playing it and I reckon that's a missed opportunity in a lot of games. And not just in the 'we included a level editor' kind of way. You get a mission like 'complete this hurdle course' and you can build a vehical to try and beat it. You can either build a plane to float over the hurdles, something with springs to hop over the hurdles and play fair, my personal fave for that one was load up a vehicles with as many engines and as much weight as possible and just drive straight through the walls they were using as hurdles. And pretty much every mission can be completed like that, or fuck just muck around and build cool vehicles to dick around in, I had a giant flying top hat, a WWII biplane etc that served no practical purpose they were just fun. I mean if you go into the game expecting something like BK 1 and 2 you're not going to get it, but if you go into the game looking to have a good time with the toys they give you then you're probably going to enjoy the shit out of it.
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[theory]

Who hated Nuts&Bolts? I remember heaps of people on here buying it, playing it, loving it.
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[Nietzsche]

Alpha Protocol

With no internet I went back into my collection and began playing this. 4 playthrough later and I think this game has something going for it. Sure I can see the problems but this game has some great parts to it. And to think I put down people who liked this game when it came out.

[Cyph]

I absolutely loved Banjo Kazooie Nuts and Bolts and even more Alpha Protocol. The latter was such a rough gem but it was simply amazing. I lost count of the times I finished it just to see how my choices would affect the game world. Plus the protagonist was such a hard ass

[Fetidchimp]

I don't know if the games i like that most people, or rather, that most publications think are shit are undiscovered gems, or that i have a high tolerance level to shitty games.
I loved nuts and bolts though.

Anyway...Dark Star One.
I think i liked this more because there wasn't or isn't any other space trading 3d flight games on the 360. But i find it quite a decent game with some interesting ideas, like your ship levels up in the same way you would as a person in an rpg. Your puny little ship ends up being the bringer of death for quadrants around stacked to the gills with all types of weapons.
The game is massive, probably too massive as it starts to become a grind, but that and the most god awful cut scenes in the history of gaming are really my only gripes with it.
It's an open world game that you can fly around and trade, kill or join the pirates and destroy some nice capital ships, or join the cops and search people for banned components and drugs.
But yeah it is probably only filling a large void for me in one of my favourite game types on console, but it is actually pretty good.

I'll raise my hand as another person that enjoyed alpha protocol
we need jibbs to come tell us how shit nuts and bolts is
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kill, kill, kill.....the white man. Kill the white man, kill

[Benza]

[emech]

The problem with nuts & bolts was said to be the physics. Disclaimer: haven't played it, wouldn't know
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[emech]

Made this LJ blog entry in 2009:

Was on metacritic and have decided the following of the best games Ive played that had the lowest review on each system I have owned. no reason- just because......

PS2: 51% Pirates of the Caribbean: The Legend of Jack Sparrow
They said: Disney may have a massive hit in the theaters but they have one heck of a dud for the PS2. This almost recalls the fabled "ET" in terms of rushing something, ANYTHING, out the door to cash-in on a popular movie only with better voice work.
I say - 2 player co-op, varied level design and a re-telling of the movie that doesn't just rehash events by telling things from Jacks perspective takes what is an average brawler into a fan pleasing game 78% from me.

PSone: 71% Sheep
They said: Not as clever as "Lemmings," but also more intuitive and silly on a basic level, and capped off by a great two-player sheep soccer game where the animals kick around the football as the shepherd chases them around on the field.
I say - For a recent remake that steals directly from this get Flock off steam. The score is about right but is the ONLY game sub 80% I have played and enjoyed.

Xbox: 51% Superman Returns: The Videogame
They said: Punching out bad guys becomes about as fun as taking out the garbage, and the "epic" battle between Superman and the forces of evil is as simple and dull as a day of chores.
I say: Poppy-cock. Sure there is recycling of robot enemies but it captures all of supermans powers and then some. It ain't as good as spiderman 2, but its better then justice league heroes - 74% from me.

Wii: 58% Wii Play
They say: By ordinary standards there's simply nothing here - bar Billiards - that offers anything worthy of more than a few minutes play. As an introduction to the Wii and its unique control scheme it just about works, but beyond that there's very little here to get excited about.
I say: Its $10 with a remote - seriously! This still gets brought out regularly for a quick play with the kids. Is pick up and play, quick and competitive fun, exactly what it was meant to be. Sure at $50 I'd be spitting, but I spent more for less. 80%

DS: 48% Sprung
They said: When you're trying to sell a game to a non-hardcore crowd, don't make it frustratingly hard for no reason.
I say: Its just as much fun as the acclaimed ace attorney series. Sure its a play once and your done title, but that true of most adventure games. The set-ups are interesting, the solutions are logical and the game knows its having flirty fun. 75% from me.

GBA: 61% Bubble Bobble: Old & New
They say: It gets away with it because of several elements: its budget price, its cartridge save, its link cable mode, its hidden extras via D-pad and button codes...and, more importantly, because Bubble Bobble's still a simple and fun classic game.
I say: it gets away with it because of several elements: its budget price, its cartridge save, its link cable mode, its hidden extras via D-pad and button codes...and, more importantly, because Bubble Bobble's still a simple and fun classic game. 95%

Gamecube: 48% Spyro Enter the Dragonfly
They say: The challenges are so easy they're laughable. The graphics haven't improved. The framerate chugs.
I say: Sure, its not the best of the series, or even the best platformer, buts I had more fun with it the viewtful joe (and that got 93%)! I lament the lack of being able to get a 100% collection rate (as the jewels are now currency, not collectibles)but a solid 78% from me.

N64: 65% Yoshi's Story
They say: There's a pervading feeling of trying to keep yourself busy (almost like a cat playing with a mouse) than being kept on your toes by your foes.In the end, Yoshi's Story is good for a rental at best.
I say: Honest, simple 2d exploration fun. And its got Yoshi - 85%

PC: Bit tough this one: Lost at 52% and Dino Crisis at 59% are both very underrated, but both are console ports - so as a PC exclusive my pick is 64% Star Trek: Away Team
They say: This could have been so much more if the mission and team selection were more flexible and less emphasis were placed on the underlying story.
I say: Its a star-trek licensed game, They paid for the licence because of the characters universe and story twit. If you enjoy commandos/fallout tactics/jagged alliance and have even the slightest knowledge of trek then pick it up, hell its only $10 now a days. 90% from me.

Dreamcast: 59% Tomb Raider Chronicles
They say: Let's hope that, if Lara just happens to be alive (care to bet?), her next Dreamcast adventure won't be handicapped by being shared with an inferior 32-bit system on its way out.
I say: Sure its a port, but again its the only one less then 80% that quyalifes fot this discussion. Any-who - more of the same but hey its been good enough for at least 8 games so far. 78%
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[Fetidchimp]

i think they nailed the physics for what they were attempting to do personally in nuts and bolts. I didn't run into any of the niggly things like getting stuck on a pixel of a rock or anything like that.
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kill, kill, kill.....the white man. Kill the white man, kill

[Frozencry]

Nuts and Bolts was amazing. Creating your own batmobile thing which turns into a boat, bike, plane and battle bus was just too good.

Anyway, the new Aliens vs Predator I thought was fucking fantastic. A lot of people seemed to just hate on it and I didn't really know why. Level design was solid, narrative was paper thin but they downright nailed the feel of each species, especially Predators. Multiplayer was hilarious fun too.

Oh yeah and the new Turok game. Thought it played pretty damn well, had some sick kills and weapon usage.
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[Fetidchimp]

I really enjoyed the predator parts and was probably only disappointed by the fact that wasn't the whole game
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kill, kill, kill.....the white man. Kill the white man, kill

[Jarrod]

Chalk me up as someone who really liked the Predator stuff (it nailed the sound and presentation of the films) but thought near everything else was tripe. The marine campaign in particular was over scripted copy/paste level design junk, and not anywhere near as tense and scary as the previous two games. Multiplayer was indeed cool stuff though.

This thread is hard because I'm so much better at hating on what other people like than liking what other people hate. I was going to say Excite Truck, but anybody worth a damn who has played it loves it for the amazingness that it is. So instead I'm going to say The Godfather, for the Wii of all things, because I haven't really heard anybody speak about it.

A port and one of the earlier ones, I've poured maaany hours into this game. As a Wii game it controlled really, really well. Fighting felt really good, throwing punching with the remote and nunchuck, a gimmick that was responsive and accurate. The throws in particular were really cool. Motion controls were mapped effectively to all the melee functions and it worked so well that I'd say it's still one of the better motion controlled games around.

In terms of being an open world game, The Godfather did a great job of giving you lots of stuff to do and places to interact with. The extortion system was great and meant you spend plenty of time just driving around and forcing money out of people in interesting ways, defending your structures from rival gangs, and raiding rival gang owned locations for their goodies. Unlike a lot of open world games it did a great job of integrating interiors into the sandbox world and have you spend lots of time indoors as well as outdoors.

Lots and lots of guns were available, and melee weapons. A competent combat system and great audio design for the guns meant shooting stuff felt meaty and powerful. Hit reactions were awesome on NPCs, and reminded me of old school gangster films and the exaggerated deaths actors would have. Explosions and fire effects were really impressive too. I loved that you could interact with the environment during brawls. Not just throwing punches, head butting and putting people into headlocks, but slamming their faces on the telephone and cash register, pinning them against counters, and throwing them through windows. The devs did an excellent job of adding an environment dynamic to all the fist fights.

It's one of my favourite sandbox games because of all of the above. I thought the team made a really awesome and fun interactive sandbox world with some fantastic ideas I wish more sandbox games would adopt. It's one of those games that had it not been based on an unexpected (and arguably unwarranted) IP, and had better production values, would have caught a lot more attention. It did a lot of things and had plenty of creative ideas.

Now I'm going to go cleanse myself by bitching about Dead Space 2 in the other thread.
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[emech]

2012 UPDATE

Wii: 69% Disaster Day of Crisis

They said: So you'll be third-personing through a street, gallantly rescuing people, then suddenly it switches to Time Crisis, in the same locations, before flipping back once everyone's dead. And then jumping in a car. And then it suddenly becomes an adventure game, as you plod around a house finding hidden objects, using them in the right place, solving simple puzzles. Where did that come from?! (eurogamer)

I say: BRILLIANT!

PS3: Naughty Bear 43%

They said: Holy F***ing S***! I don't even know how to morally rationalize the atrocities you commit in Naughty Bear. The game is like Manhunt, except with adorable teddy bears. Wait -- can you compel your victims to kill themselves in Manhunt? No? OK, maybe Naughty Bear's actions are slightly worse. (1up)

I say: Overpriced and undercooked? Sure, but I like my bear medium raw. A great budget digital release it would have been.

psp: EA Replay 56%

They say: There's not much to EA Replay, and even though it's going for $19.99, it's really not for anyone who isn't specifically jonesing to play one or more of these games again. (gamespot)

I say: Ultima 7 on current gen. Sold. (GOG hadn't released their XP compatible version yet) - OH and its $8 used @ EBS at the moment

DS: Over the Hedge 71%

They say: There's just not too much to do, and what activities there are become incredibly tedious after a short time. (Nintendo Power)

I say: MGS with animals. - BEST movie tie-in ever

3DS: Pilotwings Resort 71%

They say: Pilotwings could be considered as a tech demo in a way. Its premise doesn't divert from a list of missions to go down and complete and doesn't use all of the 3DS's capabilities (Gamer.nl)

I say: Short sure, but I brought the system for this exclusive. Tells you something.....

360: Onechanbara: Bikini Samurai Squad 39%

They say:A linear, uninventive and utterly boring action game from start to finish, the splatter-fest that is Onechanbara makes us wonder how a game with bikinis this skimpy could be a very bad thing (gamezone)

I say: It can NEVER be a bad thing! Possibly better on Wii because at heart this is a gimmick game, but it achieves what it aims too. AA B grade stuff.
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[Jarrod]

Disaster: Day of Crisis is the best B-movie game of this generation.
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[emech]

[Benza]

[Jarrod]

[Benza]

WHY DO I NOT OWN THIS GAME!
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[Pagan's Mind]

God Hand.

[Benza]

What kind of sick deluded fucker doesn't like God Hand?
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[Jarrod]

IGN.
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[fatpizza]

[Esposch]

Did other People like Prince of Persia '08?

EDIT: Apparently they did.

Mirror's Edge got quite a bit of hate, I suppose...
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[Benza]

oh god I was tossing up between doing the first post for PoP 08 or Nuts and Bolts, I fucking loved pop 08.
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[emech]

Despite all the above, to be truly on topic

They hate (53%) and I love: Jaws Unleashed (ps2)
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