Games that nobody seems to like but you do . . . (1 Viewer)

[Chris Rock]

On the flipside of the other thread we've got going, does anyone enjoy a game that seems to be universally cosidered to be a dud?

Since I usually only try games after I've read positive reviews, it doesn't happen to me very often. But I just HAD to try Obi Wan for the XBox.

I love it, despite its mediocre reviews. The 5.1 sound is great, and who can NOT like smashing battle droids with the Force?

 

[Camp]

Homeworld (PC)

A fantastic true-3D RTS game with an amazing camera/control scheme. Actually, I think that control scheme is what turned so many gamers off.

Tribes 2 (PC)

Easily my pick for the best multiplayer FPS. Up to 62 players in a game at a time (real people, not bots). Brilliant weapon balance, controllable vehicles, and the phenomenal jet pack -flying literally adds a new diminsion to the genre.

Probably in my top 5 of all time.

Myth (PC)

Bungie's best game (yes, including Halo). As groundbreaking in its graphics (the first semi 3D RTS) as in the way it told the (well written) story.

Wipeout (PSX)

I know this series sold well overall but I never find people who like it (other than you guys here).

Yoshi's Island (SNES)

The best 2D platformer I've ever played. It's far too easy but the creative bosses and level designs keep me coming back for more.

I have no idea why more gamers haven't been exposed to this fantastic game. Sure, it looks kiddie but the effects are fantastic.

 

[Chris Beveridge]

Herzog Zwei for the Genesis. Man, I wish I had that system and game still. Hours upon hours of enjoyment playing that game that nobody seems to have even heard of.

 

[BrianB]

Wipeout (PSX)

I know this series sold well overall but I never find people who like it (other than you guys here).

You need new friends, Camp.

 

[Duane Robinson]

Blue Stinger for Dreamcast. I think I was one of the 10 people that actually bought that game and one of the 5 that actually finished it. Something about whomping monster ass and collecting the coins they dropped in a "survival horror" game just appealed to me. Also, how could you not love buying weapons like a lightsaber and a rocket launcher, sandwiches, and soda from vending machines all over the island. I knew it was stupid but it just kept me playing. Plus I loved the final boss in the game.

 

[PerryD]

Space Channel 5 on the Dreamcast was my favorite game at one point, and I can't say I've found anyone else that cared for it at all. I'm actually surprised that there is a sequel in the works for the PS2.
Also, I love gun games which almost always get bashed in magazine reviews. I've played Vampire Night as much as any of my PS2 games, who can't enjoy shooting zombies/vampire/werewolves?

 

[Shayne Lebrun]

Space Channel 5 on the Dreamcast was my favorite game at one point, and I can't say I've found anyone else that cared for it at all. I'm actually surprised that there is a sequel in the works for the PS2.

I still love that game, but I've showed it to friends who have told me to turn it off and never play it in their presence again.

 

[Chris Rock]

My wife liked Space Channel 5. I guess it was a fun game for a few minutes.

Another one of my faves that doesn't seem to be talked about much is Virtual Pool and Virtual Pool 2. I also liked Brunswick Pro Bowling on the PS.

Geez! I like Pool, Bowling, Golf...and don't like Jet Grind Radio? What is up with me? Am I turning into an old man?! Or do I just suffer from a long attention span?

Oh no!!!!

 

[Andy Sheets]

One of my all time favorites that never caught on to my knowledge was this game my friend had on his C-64 called Law of the West.

Basically you're a sheriff in a stereotypical western town with all the stock western characters (drunk doctor, kind-hearted whore, sweet schoolmarm and her brat kid, etc.). You walk around the town meeting these various characters and talking to them, trying to be nice and helping them out with their problems in order to be a good sheriff. Of course, every so often an outlaw will appear that you might have to shoot down as well. But what really made the game cool was that not only could the conversations take on many different forms, but you could also kill anybody in the game whenever you wanted to. If you got sick of the little kid taunting you about the secret only he knew...BLAM! Just blow the little bastard away (which my friend and I usually did). Of course, what really made this feature work is that it had consequences. If you kill an innocent, suddenly everyone thinks you're an evil sheriff and they start giving you crap when you meet them, and, IIRC, if you get wounded in a shootout the doctor won't even bother treating you, so you die. But it was so cool to have a choice on whether you wanted to be the good guy or the bad guy.

I'm not sure if this game was ever considered a dud so much as that no one I've known has even heard of it, but it was a lot of fun and really turned me onto the possibilities of games with open-ended gameplay.

 

[Shayne Lebrun]

Law of the West

Or the drunken doctor who'll kill you if you don't get him to sober up!
BWAHAHAHAHA!
I have the music from that going through me head now!
Bwa wa wa....bwa wa waaaa wawawa.
Link Removed
and the player
http://www.geocities.com/SiliconValley/Lakes/5147/
http://prdownloads.sourceforge.net/s...lay2-0.8-1.zip

 

[Andre F]

This one is easy for me. The Knockout Kings series! I love it but then again I'm a HUGE boxing fan so I'm biased.

-Andre F

 

[Dan Brecher]

Wipeout Fusion -- Remains to get mixed reviews from both games journalists and gamers alike here in the UK. I really think I am in a minority on this one, I just don't get it. People are seeing errors I am just not spotting!
Jedi Power Battles -- The Dreamcast version plays out sort of like a 3D version of the old Super Star Wars games on the SNES. It's fun! If X-Box Obi Wan is no more offensive I'd probably like that too.
007: Agent Under Fire -- PS2 version, I dig this game. The levels are a little sparse and repetative, but it captures the feel of being in a Bond adventure well.
Dan

 

[Peter D]

There are a couple of adventure games that were critical darlings but commercial flops - Grim Fandango and The Longest Journey. Engrossing stories, wonderful voice-acting, and GF had one of the best soundtracks I've ever heard in a game.

 

[Chris Rock]

YES! I loved Grim Fandango!

 

[Mark Evans]

The fact that Grim Fandango is now dirt cheap means that everybody in the world should go out and buy a copy . I loved that game, and was shocked it never found a larger audience.
I also have The Longest Journey, which didn't sell great this side of the world, but if I remember right it was very popular in Europe. I'm in the middle of it now and it's great fun, one of the best pure adventure games in ages.
I was also a fan of Gabriel Knight 3, though it seems very few people played it.
Same with System Shock 2 and Freespace 2. I don't like games that people didn't like, I just like games that nobody ever bothered to play. Freespace 2 is especially shocking since it's like a good Wing Commander game on steroids. I just adored it...
M.U.L.E. was amazing, but it doesn't count since it popular. I just thought I should mention that it rules

 

[Shayne Lebrun]

One of the worlds finest 'critical darlings, commercial flops,' and yet another form Looking Glass, the KINGS of CDCFs, was Terra Nova: Strike Force Centari.

The only game coming up that might have finally equalled it was X-Com: Alliance.

Speaking of X-Com, I loved Interceptor. Most didn't, though.

 

[Wolf Jenkins]

Space Channel 5 is pretty popular in Japan.

My game is a PC/Unix/Mac game that I actually still boot up and play - Angband! Perfect to play in a meeting, as it runs in a little window on my laptop..

It's an old Rogue/Nethack/Moria descendent based on Tolkien. It's all ASCII character based - you run around as a little '@' sign.. Way cool, has an active internet community on USENET, you can download the source, hack the heck out of it, etc. First played Moria about 10 years ago and have played with Angband on and off for about 6 years. Still high quality game play, strategy etc.

I've thought about porting it to the PocketPC - probably will if I get really bored one day. Then I'll be unstoppable.

 

[Morgan Jolley]

I have a strange addiction to rhythm games, and I really liked Um Jammer Lammy, though I know few who agree with me.

A lot of people seem to hate FF on the forum...would that count?

Other than that, I try to get into games that are universally accepted as good. That way, its money well spent.

 

[BrianB]

Other than that, I try to get into games that are universally accepted as good. That way, its money well spent.

Rubbish. By going for the lowest common denominator, you'll end up with the gaming equivalent of Britney Speirs

 

[Camp]

You need new friends, Camp.

Well, I don't hang out with gamers. Gamers are dorks -you know that!