Games you like more than the consensus

[DomsBeard]

Alpha Protocol is a game that got widely panned at the time but is only one of a few 360 I have kept (the only others I have kept have been the Dead Space and Mass Effect trilogies and Skyrim) in the hope one day it would get backwards compatibility. Loads of different endings and the conversation tree was brilliant, you basically had 3 responses based on Bond, Bauer or Borne.

[MagicianArcana]

I might've mentioned this once or twice before, but I actually enjoyed Sonic 06. (Aside from Silver's story because I found his levels to be uninteresting.) It's a game that many call "the worst game of all time" and if not that, "the worst Sonic game of all time."
But I appreciated how it felt reminiscent of Sonic Adventure. Even though I didn't think the story was good, I liked the Adventure formula of playing through the story from different perspectives. But because the reception was so poor, I doubt we'll see another Sonic game like it in the future. The formula used in Sonic Colors and Generations proved to be more successful. So future Sonic games I think are more likely to be like those. Not that I'm complaining. I really liked Sonic Colors so I'm very much looking forward to Project Sonic 2017. (Forgive me if I'm repeating myself here, because I feel like I said the same thing in another thread at some point.)

And of course there's No Man's Sky which had an overly negative and problematic fan response. But I don't wanna dwell on the response too much. I don't think it's an incredible game, but I really enjoy it. It offers me an experience I can't get from the other games I play.

[Jobobonobo]

This question had me scratching my head for a while. For the most part, I seem to agree with what the consensus dislikes and mostly agree with what it likes so I guess I am a dull conformist in that regard.

But after looking at the Spirit Tracks thread in the Podcast section, it seems I am in the minority in that I thought it was a great little Zelda title and that even the train travelling never really bothered me. Certainly remains one of my favourite DS games, that is for sure!

[James]

Afrika - Tons of people called this boring, but I liked it because it's almost a stealth game. It takes patience and effort. I'll grant the animal AI isn't perfect but it's not bad. And the soundtrack is great!

I too thoroughly enjoyed Afrika. A very slow game, but the simulation aspect of being a wildlife photographer on assignment was something I'd never experienced before.

[James]

Remember not to use "underrated" so Leon doesn't delete the thread!

Wait, is Leon really that harsh? What's the agenda here? Is there a poignant backstory involved?

I don't want to speak for Leon, obviously, but here's my take:

In contrast to observing a consensus, to me, claiming a game to be "underrated" (or overrated) gives connotations of the consensus being wrong. For example, if I say that I disagree with the consensus on Nier, I'm not claiming the widely-held opinion is in any way incorrect, just that it differs from my own.

On the other hand, if I say Nier is underrated, I am in some ways saying that the majority have rated the game less than its "true" value, as determined by me. It's a semantic difference in many ways, but I don't feel that it's a subtle or unimportant one.

I don't know whether Leon would delete a thread in which underrated or overrated was the premise, but I for one would take issue with anyone asserting (indirectly or otherwise) that another's opinion was wrong.

- Stranglehold: Critics said "Meh, whatever, Max Payne's better". I'm saying "Hard Boiled is a good thing, and you can't have too much of a good thing". Slick presentation, smooth controls, satisfying mechanics, Chow Yun-Fat, and doves. Lots of doves. Play it.

Stranglehold is definitely one I'd pick. In fact, I received a copy for my birthday last week (I had previously lent and lost my original disc). Looking forward to diving back in (pun very much intended)!

[DomsBeard]

Hate to say it, no actually I don't but I'm really really enjoying Infinite Warfare. The space combat/story reminds me a lot of the old Wing Commander games that were on PC and PS1 with Mark Hamill as the lead and some of the missions have been genuinely fun and there are some interesting characters. Jon Snow is the only big negative really, apart from his opening scene he is about as threatening as a kitten.

[gallo_pinto]

Remember not to use "underrated" so Leon doesn't delete the thread!

I don't want to speak for Leon, obviously, but here's my take:

In contrast to observing a consensus, to me, claiming a game to be "underrated" (or overrated) gives connotations of the consensus being wrong. For example, if I say that I disagree with the consensus on Nier, I'm not claiming the widely-held opinion is in any way incorrect, just that it differs from my own.

On the other hand, if I say Nier is underrated, I am in some ways saying that the majority have rated the game less than its "true" value, as determined by me. It's a semantic difference in many ways, but I don't feel that it's a subtle or unimportant one.

I don't know whether Leon would delete a thread in which underrated or overrated was the premise, but I for one would take issue with anyone asserting (indirectly or otherwise) that another's opinion was wrong.

That's a good point about the semantic difference between underrated and consensus. I hadn't really thought of "underrated" meaning that everyone else is wrong, but I think you're right that the connotation is there.

For what it's worth, I was completely kidding about Leon deleting the thread. I just follow him on Twitter and know his feelings on the words overrated/underrated. The "thread deletion" line was said with tongue firmly planted in cheek.

[ratsoalbion]

DELETED

[stvnorman]

I'm going for No Man's Sky too. I can still lose myself in that for hours at a time, sometimes following the game's agenda but more often than not just making up my own.

I'm also going back in time to throw in Out Run on the Spectrum. It's only relatively recently that I discovered it's not well considered! Like many other conversions of the time, as far as I was concerned I was playing the arcade game in my home and nothing gave me greater joy.

[gallo_pinto]

DELETED

[DomsBeard]

I'm going for No Man's Sky too. I can still lose myself in that for hours at a time, sometimes following the game's agenda but more often than not just making up my own.

I'm also going back in time to throw in Out Run on the Spectrum. It's only relatively recently that I discovered it's not well considered! Like many other conversions of the time, as far as I was concerned I was playing the arcade game in my home and nothing gave me greater joy.

I had it on the Spectrum and only have fond memories. Same with Chase HQ

[Alex79]

Chase HQ had some incredibly good home computer ports. My personal favorite was the Amstrad one. Although damn that multiloading. Retro Gamer recently ran a great feature on the game.

[stvnorman]

I've never played the Spectrum Chase HQ, but I've literally just downloaded a Spectrum emulator for my new MacBook Pro... Yes, I know! I'm going to dig that out now and have a go! I'm glad I'm not the only one with only fond memories of Out Run on there though!

[Scrustle]

Got two big games that fit the bill easily. Always think of them whenever a topic like this comes up.

One is Castlevania: Lords of Shadow 2. I like all the LoS games a lot, and after playing through them all multiple times, I think this one is actually my favourite. It does show signs of a rocky development, with some half-baked minor mechanics and a mess of a story full of characters that never reach their full potential. But I've always found the game really damn fun in spite of that. Some really solid combat, great visual design and atmosphere, and an absolutely killer soundtrack. I quite enjoy the story it weaves too, as flawed as it is. I like the melodrama the crafted around the Belmont family.

The other is Killer Is Dead. I would like to say I'm a fan of Grasshopper and Suda51, but if I'm honest, the only games that I've properly played from them have been the No More Heroes games and this. I thoroughly enjoy all these games though. And in comparison, they fit well together. I think people give KID too much of a hard time when it's so similar to the NMH games that are adored so much. Fantastic sense of style with some really striking visuals and great enemy design. Fun, colourful combat with a satisfying sense of increasing momentum. Very similar to NMH. Maybe even better in some regards. Some fun characters too, or at least a few of them. Despite it's gorgeous and surreal visuals, it does lack a bit of character compared to NMH admittedly, but that doesn't mean it's short on it in any way. Bryan and David are real stand-out characters.

I guess I could also put the Test Drive Unlimited games in here, particularly the second. Those games were really fun. They provided a sense of freedom and adventure in racing games that still hasn't been topped. Not even by The Crew, but that's a rant for another day. That was especially true when the first one came out, and it was so impressive with what it was able to achieve. Love the tropical setting for the games too. It made the worlds actually interesting places to be, which is quite a feat given how huge they are. It was a lot of fun driving around and seeing all the favourite spots where people used to congregate. I always liked the soundtrack to the first game too. It was such an odd mix of quirky music, although some sounded like cheap knock-offs of other bands, but in a charming way. Although I prefer the first game, I think the second is more relevant here, since that first gets a lot of praise, while the second generally doesn't. While it wasn't as memorable as the first, and had some big problems around launch with server issues, it actually does quite a bit better. Better graphics of course, which meant the environments were that much more vivid and interesting to look at. A second island to explore, providing some nice variety between the old Hawaii and new Ibiza. And, even though both games were pretty lacking when judged purely as racing games, TDU2 made some pretty big improvements. Far better handling, and more types of vehicles allowing you to explore more diverse areas. Recently the Test Drive IP was bought from Atari, with the new owner expressing an interest in carrying on the TDU games. Really hope that turns out well.

I think I might as well put Skyrim and Bioshock Infinite on here too. They were received well, sure, but it seems after the initial launch all you ever hear about these games is constant negativity. Never a good word said about them at all. If you only just heard about these games now, you could be forgiven for thinking they were both unmitigated garbage. But I had a lot of fun with both. Don't think I really need to explain why. I just think the circle-jerk around how awful these games allegedly are needs a bit of a counterpoint every so often. Could say the same about Skyward Sword too, although I think that's a less extreme case.

Another game that wasnt recieved all that well, one that i really loved was Prince of Persia reboot. It had great pair of characters with a lot of chemistry (+ Nolan North as a Prince ). Game had beautiful art style, animation again was amazing. It also had much more platforming puzzles than combat which actually worked out fine for me, since platforming and figuring out how to get to point B is what i like in those games most. I'm even liked the ending, i though it told very personal story and it had bitter irony to it. Its just too bad that they didnt released epilogue DLC on PC.

I thought that game got a pretty good reception when it came out. Not the biggest fanfare, sure, but people were generally positive about it. I liked it too. Had a real nice visual style and atmosphere. That said, whenever I've tried to go back to it in the years after, I haven't been able to enjoy it as much. I think there's at least a few reasons for that. Most major being that it was basically superseded by Assassin's Creed. Those games took that style of platforming and made it ubiquitous, and has long since gotten very stale, to me at least. Although I guess you could say PoP's system had more going, but there wasn't much else to it beside that, which is another big reason I think it doesn't stand up so well these days. There simply isn't much to the game. The entire game is basically a web of these very narrow platforming corridors, with a handful of fights that repeat pretty often. Other games that have that kind if platforming have it as only one part among many, while in PoP it's most of what the game had to offer. But despite those problems, I do still think of the game fondly. Because of the nature of those problems being more about how the game looks in retrospect rather than what it actually is, it's one that I'd like to be able to experience for the first time again. Maybe if I could erase memory of the AC games as well too though.

[AndrewBrown]

The Order: 1886.

Stay tuned for more?

[Stanshall]

Same here, really looking forward to that episode.

[luke10123]

Dark Souls 2. I just listened to the C&R episode on it the other day and it sounded like a lot of people didn't enjoy it very much, particularly compared to the love for the original. I actually really liked the hub and spoke nature of the world design and I enjoyed the individual level variety (I had nothing to compare it to as SotFS was my first Souls game). But the combat and gameplay were obviously amazing and I actually quite liked the mechanic of finite enemy respawns. I know it was well reviewed at the time but I don't see how people can say it's worse than the original, which I feel to a degree people put on a bit of a pedestal.

[Alex79]

Oh no I absolutely loved DS2 (original) and I'm about halfway through a play of the SotFS release and loving it all over again, it just didn't quite match the sheer sense of wonder and delight of the first though. Bloodborne certainly is, though.

[Hicks]

I often find that the "consensus" tends to actually drive me away from things, whether games, movies or music. It is a very subconscious thing that I very conscious of when I do it. Heck, I'm even punk against punk, as what could be more conformist than dressing and behaving punk? In other words, I'm a bit odd.

The GOTY lists are a perfect example of titles that actually could be great, and I might actually enjoy, but the attention and constant saturation are a turn off. For example: Overwatch. Never heard a negative thing about it, and it seems to be in everyones list. However, I don't do online multiplayer (Australia + internet = shithouse at best), so that's the biggest hurdle right off the bat. I have no problem whatsoever with everybody loving it, and I sincerely hope it continues to bring enjoyment to all those who engage with it, but it feels like its popular and successful enough to not need my engagement. I'd rather turn my attention to the less popular underdogs of the gaming world.

We have a lot in common there. I am the same way. If a game is getting a ton of hype and praise, I tend to look elsewhere for my gaming. Which more often than not, results in me being late to every big party. For example, I picked up Persona 4 Golden as the first title for my Vita because it is the highest rated game for that platform everywhere I looked. That was Xmas day 2015. Do you know when I first put it in my Vita to play tho? Xmas day 2016 lol

I think it's a case of me worrying that the game won't live up to the praise. So my anticipation for these kinds of games will be underwhelming to say the least. Then when I finally try them, they take every minute of free time from me for the next month or so.

I can't really think of any games that I loved more than the consensus tho..... I enjoyed the Half Life 2 Episodes more than most ppl I saw. I've got more games that ppl loved and I just couldn't get with. Like Dragon's Dogma, Far Cry 3, Saints Row the Third, Oblivion, GTA IV, any of the Assassin's Creed games, Dead Rising.

Don't all games have a certain amount of ppl who love them regardless of consensus? Like FFXIII, some ppl really love that one.

I guess I could go all the way back to the NES days..... A little game called Bugs Bunny's Birthday Blowout. I really liked that game back in the day

[Hicks]

The other game for me is Walking Dead: Season 2. I feel that most people love Season 1 and were disappointed by Season 2. I thought Season 2 was just as good and I loved playing as Clementine.

I've got both in my Vita but I've only played S1 so far. I don't expect I'll be disappointed as I even enjoyed the 400 Days addition.

I just thought of a game I can add to this discussion -- Medal of Honor Airborne. A really cool and unique WW2 shooter. There's only like 7 levels, but each is a rather large multilevel map with multiple objectives that give it am almost pseudo-open world feel. One of my favorite aspects of the game is the leveling up of your weapons that transform the antiquated armaments into powerful and specialized firearms (the standard STS-44 can be upgraded with a large box of ammo that makes it like a heavy MG, a zoomable scope and a faster firing rate). Each weapon has 3 upgrades that unlock naturally as you play and become immediately added as soon as they unlock. The shooting mechanics are also interesting. It feels much more realistic than other FPSes, and you can even lean in every direction while crouched behind cover (a necessity, as the enemies are deadly accurate and rather aggressive). I feel like this game was more of an overlooked one rather than a disliked game, but I know the critics didn't cut it any slack for being a WW2 FPS in an era where modern military shooters were the rule.