Critically acclaimed games you couldn't get on with

[Josh64]

The title says it all really, what games have reviewers, friends and co-workers been nagging you to buy, for you to then be disappointed?

 

To start things off, I'm almost scared to say this on these forums but.. Little King's Story. I heard SO many great things about it on this forum so when I finally bought it and had a go I just couldn't see what all the fuss was about.

 

I didn't find it particularly charming and if anything, the graphics were actually very ugly. The gameplay felt like an awkward take on Pikmin and I just couldn't get invested in the experience at all. After forcing myself to fire it up a few times I decided it just wasn't for me.

 

The same happened with Monster Hunter. I finally got it as my free game with Mario Kart 8 but.. where do I begin? Clunky controls, bare-bones environments (monsters literally just clip through shrubs or hills), boring weapon upgrades/fusing and all that bollocks and the grid based gameplay makes it feel like an N64 game trying to be open world. Disappointing is more than an understatement. I've spent about 10 hours with the game and wished I hadn't bothered because the whole time whilst telling myself 'I just need to get into it', I didn't enjoy it one bit.

 

Before you kill me, I can see why these games got the acclaim they did, and I'ts no doubt just my personal tastes dampening the experiences but it was disappointing either way.

 

So, what games were hyped up, only for you to be let down?

[drahkon]

Everything Nintendo has done in the past years.

:p

Just kidding. Well, not really, though.

 

 

Gears of War. I don't like the setting and characters...maybe it changes throughout the game/series but that was the reason I stopped playing after a couple of hours.

 

Crysis 2 and 3. Absolutely loved the first game. It was a technical achievement back in the day (8 years ago..."back in the day", he says ) and so much fun. The sequels...meh.

[Happenstance]

This feels like it will probably just end up as a list of games I dont personally like but here we go -

 

Legend of Zelda Ocarina of Time - I tried this at the time and then again with the 3D remake but just couldnt get invested. I think I gave up around the time you grew up this latest time.

 

Super Mario 64 - I know everyone loves how this controls but I hated it. Thats another one I tried again years later with the DS remake and still didnt like it.

 

Goldeneye - I blame this on being a PC gamer around the time because I felt like I was playing much better shooters around then with much better controls.

 

...I'll add more later but I'm about to leave work and I'm not staying here a minute longer than I have to! This wont just be a list full of Nintendo games you all love lol

[Hero-of-Time]

Persona 4. Played for something like 8 hours and only had a handful of battles during that period. Got bored and never went back.

[Happenstance]

Persona 4. Played for something like 8 hours and only had a handful of battles during that period. Got bored and never went back.

 

I hate you

[Fierce_LiNk]

I'm not trying to cause a stir or anything, but...

 

Mario Kart 8. If that counts as critically acclaimed.

 

It's strange, my timeline of Mario Kart love goes a little something like this:

 

MK64: LOVED IT

Super Circuit: Hated it.

Double Dash: Ok, didn't love it as much as 64.

MKDS: LOVED IT, FAVOURITE ONE

MKWii: Hated it...

MK7: Couldn't be arsed to even play it after Wii.

MK8: Bought it at a time when I getting bored with Nintendo and it didn't do anything to excite me.

 

I just find the game itself a bit barebones in places. There's not really much of a single player besides what has been seen before. The battle mode is shite. The online options are ok, I guess...but it feels incomplete without the feature that should not be named. I remember being really excited after playing MKDS and expecting the home console games to be out of this world with tooooons of options and shit.

 

So, there we are. On the other hand, it's quite rare that I find a game that I don't get on with. I'm on a roll at the moment and haven't come across a game for a while which has had me hate its guts. Bloodborne came close to being THAT game which I loathed, but it somehow ended up being one of my favourites eveeerrr. Work that one out.

[RedShell]

I'm not trying to cause a stir or anything, but...

 

Mario Kart 8. If that counts as critically acclaimed.

Just a bit yeah.

 

But I think you are trying to cause a stir, and you know why?...

No Super Mario Kart on your timeline!

 

Which means either you ain't played it, or you forgot to include it. Either way I'm going to have to keeeeel you!

 

*cough* Anyway, interesting thread. Not sure of any for myself, will have to think about it, but right now I'm off to play a certain critically acclaimed game with some other N-E peeps.

[Fierce_LiNk]

Just a bit yeah.

 

But I think you are trying to cause a stir, and you know why?...

No Super Mario Kart on your timeline!

 

Which means either you ain't played it, or you forgot to include it. Either way I'm going to have to keeeeel you!

 

*cough* Anyway, interesting thread. Not sure of any for myself, will have to think about it, but right now I'm off to play a certain critically acclaimed game with some other N-E peeps.

 

I have played Super Mario Kart but it was a looooong time after its release. It wouldn't be fair to include it as I'd already played the likes of MKDS by that point, so I can't really appreciate it in the preferred context. :p

 

Looking at that list, there's more MK games I dislike than there are that I do like. Strange when you see it written down, as I always considered myself a fan of the series.

[D_prOdigy]

Okami, but I know that it's me, not you.

[Jonnas]

Devil May Cry - This series is the first one that pops to mind. I don't know why I don't like to play it, when, by all means, I should love it. It doesn't take itself that seriously, either, so I don't know.

GTA Series - In the beginning, I simply didn't care much for it. It was bland, barebones and forgettable in every single one of its gameplay aspects, and it was fueled mostly by controversy and raw content. As it grew more and more popular, I came to hate it. I hated that my friends preferred to play this, I hate that GTA is the modern face of gaming (even moreso than Call of Duty), and I just wish I didn't have to hear about it all the time.

 

Starfox - Don't care for it. The genre doesn't do much for me, and Starfox doesn't really change my mind (Assault's on-foot missions looked fun, but I didn't play that one). I don't really get what is it about Starfox 64 that makes (well, made) people wish for a new entry every year.

 

Final Fantasy VII - As compelling as the characters are, the game kinda, really sucked. Like, its immediate successors and predecessors were better than it. Talk about being the right game at the right time.

 

Can't think of any others right now, but I'm sure there are more.

[Dcubed]

Okami, but I know that it's me, not you.

 

Not really. I can totally understand people being put off by the slow pacing. I don't mind it personally (and I think it's a great game) but I can totally understand it not being someone's cup O' tea...

 

Anyway, you could probably fill out my list with most AAA games out there from last/current generation (save for Gears of War 1 and Bioshock), so I'll just gloss over those. Not interested in games that prioritise story/production values over actual gameplay mechanics in general (unless it's something like Heavy Rain, which I actually enjoyed because it made no pretences about being anything but an interactive movie; and despite having more holes in it's plot than swiss cheese, it actually succeeded at what it set out to do in regards to branching story choices)

 

So with that in mind... a few specific ones...

 

Disgaea series: Far too grind heavy for me. Anything that involves a huge grind is a massive turnoff for me. Shame really, cause they're generally really funny and the actual core gameplay is pretty fun; but that grind is just utterly soul crushing...

 

Fire Emblem Awakening: Not that I don't think it's great, I just take issue with it being so much more highly rated than other FE games. For me, it's a bit too reliant on luck for my liking and the pair-up system is a bit overpowered. Also not really a fan of how they allowed for grinding to be done and it is seriously lacking in mission variety (whatever happened to having varied mission objectives? Or Fog of War? - Thankfully FE If seems to be bringing that back though! )

 

Persona series: The gameplay just simply doesn't interest me at all. Combat is very basic and the dungeon design just isn't interesting. I get the feeling that most play it for the story and characters/social link stuff; rather than the actual gameplay...

 

Halflife 2: There really isn't anything special about it at all. Outside of the Wow Factor it would've had at the time, with its graphics/physics/story, the actual gameplay isn't really fun or interesting at all. Level design isn't particularly noteworthy either, outside of how you can manipulate the game's physics to bypass parts of it.

 

Halo series: 30 seconds of fun remains fun for about that long... I trudged through the first three games to see what the fuss was about and it was an agonising slog. The wide, open environments must've wowed people at the time, but it doesn't make it fun. The level design is meandering and confused, with no meaningful encounters made out of it outside of the vehicles and while the AI is impressive, you see the same enemies and encounters repeated over and over and over... The Library level is perhaps the best example of the agonising Copy/Paste approach that really defines the single player of these games...

 

... The multiplayer is good though. Far from my favourite MP shooters, but credit where credit is due. It's the defacto, go-to alien based FPS and it does a decent enough job of that.

 

GTA series: You can have all of the Oscar Worthy story/characters/acting/whatever you like, but if it is not fun to even walk around, then I am not going to enjoy your game.

 

The controls have always been horrible and Rockstar seemingly don't care enough about gameplay to fix them. Likewise, the mission design is typically nothing outstanding from a gameplay perspective (though I do give them credit for trying with GTA 5 with the heists).

 

I don't mind watching someone else play these games (at least then I can enjoy the parts that are actually good, like the radio stations!), but when that's more fun than actually using a controller myself, then someone's priorities are seriously messed up...

 

Portal 2 (single player):

 

 

... pretty much. The co-op however is spectacular! For as much as I love the characters and production values of Portal 2's single player, it's a much weaker puzzle game because it just funnels the player down a path; rather than actually allowing them to find their own solution... The co-op mode doesn't suffer from this however and is BRILLIANT! It really allows the new mechanics (like the gels, which were a great addition that go heavily under-utilised in the single player mode) come out in full force

 

Demons/Dark Souls: Generally boring level design, coupled with functional but not remarkable combat and a very heavy focus on stats porn make it not my kind of game. I appreciate what it sets out to do with its old school difficulty, but the actual core gameplay mechanics just don't interest me.

 

There are plenty more I can think of, but that'll do for now

 

To start things off, I'm almost scared to say this on these forums but.. Little King's Story. I heard SO many great things about it on this forum so when I finally bought it and had a go I just couldn't see what all the fuss was about.

 

I didn't find it particularly charming and if anything, the graphics were actually very ugly. The gameplay felt like an awkward take on Pikmin and I just couldn't get invested in the experience at all. After forcing myself to fire it up a few times I decided it just wasn't for me.

 

You're not alone there... I wasn't a big fan of LKS either. Not that I didn't think it was charming (cause it certainly was!), but I'm not really a fan of the town building part of it and that was far bigger of a focus than I expected. It also wasn't nearly as strategic as I was hoping for and more of a very basic action game outside of the town. Nice and charming, but just kind of dull to play.

Edited May 22, 2015 by Dcubed

[Sheikah]

lol @ boring level design in Demon's/Dark Souls. Not even gonna bother.

[Murr]

BioShock - I have all 3 of them, picked them up for 360 for next to nothing along time after their release. Picked them up on the basis that they are meant to be incredible. Played the first for a couple of hours. Didn't really get grabbed by it at all. Number 2 and Infinite remain unopened and have never been in my console. Wasn't sold on the first at all.

 

Mass Effect - Only have the first one, Played the first one a hell of a lot. But it didn't really blow my mind. Not one bit. I've not completed it, have no urge to go back to it, and don't feel the need to complete it or 2 and 3.

[Wii]

Skyward Sword. I hate it so much I can't be bothered to talk about it. Do a search if you want my views on this piece of crap.

[Rummy]

I hate you Josh!

 

Ofc, I can see the issue with LKS(or many other things for that matter) - the hype can hurt it when you finally get on board. I personally loved LKS, despite wiping my save data, replaying to the same point, and never finishing it. Monster Hunter U I enjoyed - but didn't have enough to keep my going(console gaming stuggles to hold me these days).

 

One of my biggest letdowns(and this came up recently) was actually Kirby's Epic Yarn. I can't deny it's a good game, but for me it was quite a Kirby departure and he felt so tacked on - I spent most of my playtime wishing they'd just kept it as a fresh new IP than sticking Kirby into it. Quite possibly the worst Kirby game in the series, imo.

 

I recall trying to get into Modern Warfare 2 YEARS after it had been out and was still huge - found that a bit inaccessible as a noob, but that's probably more due to my own lack of knowledge compared to others playing(ie an online element that evolves by itself somewhat) so I don't hold it against it.

 

I've tried a bit of GTAV too - didn't hold my attention much in the starting parts compared to GTAIV - need to go back to it at some point and hope it does but generally just wasn't all that for me so far.

 

BioShock - I have all 3 of them, picked them up for 360 for next to nothing along time after their release. Picked them up on the basis that they are meant to be incredible. Played the first for a couple of hours. Didn't really get grabbed by it at all. Number 2 and Infinite remain unopened and have never been in my console. Wasn't sold on the first at all.

 

Mass Effect - Only have the first one, Played the first one a hell of a lot. But it didn't really blow my mind. Not one bit. I've not completed it, have no urge to go back to it, and don't feel the need to complete it or 2 and 3.

 

Yes! I have tried to play BioShock1 a few times - whilst I generally enjoyed it whilst playing something just felt a bit lacking for me. I bought BioShock2 at some point for like a fiver/tenner - I've never even touched it. I don't know why I did it(well I do, my friend was hyping BioShock at the time). I strangely feel compelled to get 3 too, as it got such good reviews, but haven't yet caved into it.

 

I tried Mass Effect after it was big too - gave it quite a number of hours, but similarly I just didn't feel it gripping and holding me all too much. Almost as if there was too much going on, as mad as that sounds.

[Jonnas]

Disgaea series: Far too grind heavy for me. Anything that involves a huge grind is a massive turnoff for me. Shame really, cause they're generally really funny and the actual core gameplay is pretty fun; but that grind is just utterly soul crushing...

 

(...)

 

Halo series: 30 seconds of fun remains fun for about that long... I trudged through the first three games to see what the fuss was about and it was an agonising slog. The wide, open environments must've wowed people at the time, but it doesn't make it fun. The level design is meandering and confused, with no meaningful encounters made out of it outside of the vehicles and while the AI is impressive, you see the same enemies and encounters repeated over and over and over... The Library level is perhaps the best example of the agonising Copy/Paste approach that really defines the single player of these games...

 

Agree with both of those.

 

I thought about putting Disgaea, but I didn't think it counted as "acclaimed". Generally, I don't mind grinding for a bit if the core gameplay is fun, but Disgaea's really isn't, as it doesn't allow for much in the way of strategy (and what it does allow is a bit confusing). Of course, if it had more strategic options, we wouldn't need the grinding in the first place

 

Halo 1 is all I played, and no, not interested in touching it again. The vehicle sections are fun, and that's about it (Also, remember that one locked door that you had to go to the other side of the map to open, and there was no clue that you had to do this?).

 

GTA series: (...) if it is not fun to even walk around, then I am not going to enjoy your game.

 

Portal 2 (single player):

 

 

The GTA quote is spot-on.

 

As much as I liked Portal 2, I kinda have to agree with this image Pretty much the main reason why I still prefer the first game.

[Happenstance]

Yes! I have tried to play BioShock1 a few times - whilst I generally enjoyed it whilst playing something just felt a bit lacking for me. I bought BioShock2 at some point for like a fiver/tenner - I've never even touched it. I don't know why I did it(well I do, my friend was hyping BioShock at the time). I strangely feel compelled to get 3 too, as it got such good reviews, but haven't yet caved into it.

 

I tried Mass Effect after it was big too - gave it quite a number of hours, but similarly I just didn't feel it gripping and holding me all too much. Almost as if there was too much going on, as mad as that sounds.

 

I never really managed to click with Bioshock 1 or 2 but I found Infinite brilliant. I recommend giving it a try. As for Mass Effect, I think 2 is still worth playing if you didnt like 1, its a much better game.

[Rummy]

Looked up some critically acclaimed games and seen ones I didn't think were amazing. Half Life 2! - this got so raved about but I eventually got on board with it as part of The Orange Box on 360 well after Portal had been out and tbh I just again found it a bit dull and going through the motions. I never got the supposed Gravity gun that existed(which is what I was excited for about it, I guess) and just found it kinda mundane and linear.

 

AND speaking about linear - Mario bloody Galaxies. I played a lot of the original, only some of 2 - but the linearity of the game really really kills Mario for me(ironic I know, considering his early days were basically spent running left to right...in a line) - I want Mario to have more secrets and non-linear aspects, and the Galaxy games whilst lovely looking and kinda fun to play, just didn't do that for me.

[Agent Gibbs]

Tearaway; It looked awesome, the art style is just amazing, but my god the gameplay is awful, or at the very least the demo was. I just couldn't get on with it, it was devoid of anything really, a few puzzles but just felt like it was all an excuse to look at the art style

 

Final Fantasy 8; its dog shit, there is very little to like, so i'll start with that - The battle system was good*, how summons and magic were handled was good, it was interesting enemies leveled with you, Laguna was cool as was his battle theme and finally the Ragnarok is one of the coolest space ships out of anything ever

The bad; everything fucking else! oh my god how can anyone like this? one dimensional characters who's back stories are non-existant to the point where it seems that by disk two the script writers realised and decided let make them all actually Orphans and have the exact same origins, because you know copy and paste with some name changes is best!

The battle system whilst good, could be absolutely broken (as i found on my second play through) before you've even got an hour or two into the game - find summon, draw magic from everything, link to stats, overpowered at any level.

The story itself is like M.Night Shamalan wrote it with needless confusing and plain stupid twists whenever they could shoe horn them in, to the point where there really isn't a main antagonist until disk 4, as everyone else turns out to not actually be bad and in some cases become party members

The Music for the most part was aweful, the odd good track and some amazing tracks

Laguna whilst one of the pros to the game is also one of the negatives, his tale is far more interesting than the main story, his battle theme is more interesting and he's a more likeable character

 

I just hate it, i've tried and tried to replay it and like it, but i just can't - i've played it thorough three times, once normally, once abusing the battle system and once using action replay codes so i could really plow through the story and replace the squall - the most boring whiny bitch in any JRPG. Last year i started it on my Vita (when i had no games) and got to Fisherman's Horizon, i'm quite proud i lasted that long....i'm probably never finishing it

[Jimbob]

The main one for me is Destiny. I played the Alpha and Beta builds last year, and got the game in September last year. Played it near enough all the time throughout September, then i took a few days off as i felt i needed to. Since then, i've been on it once, maybe twice. I got bored of the game, all that grinding and the way the system rewards players was repetitive and crap. So respect for those on here still plugging away to this day. To me (and many others over the world), this game felt extremely overhypped. The content Bungie are offering feels lackluster, and it's very repetitive in general.

 

The good thing about giving up the grind is that i've cleared quite a number of games on my gaming backlogm which is good.

 

Another, is Skyward Sword. Never completed it, and never will complete it. Probably for the same reasons @Wii isn't completing it, but mine do include the controls.

[Wii]

Another, is Skyward Sword. Never completed it, and never will complete it. Probably for the same reasons @Wii isn't completing it, but mine do include the controls.

 

I played it from start to finish but was glad when it was over. The controls weren't really a problem and were one of the few points about the game that was alright, although I did have to constantly recalibrate them.

[Fierce_LiNk]

Skyward Sword. I hate it so much I can't be bothered to talk about it. Do a search if you want my views on this piece of crap.

 

A bit rare that I agree with you, but this game surprised me.

 

I've never quite gone off a game so quickly before. The first third of the game is great and quite how it manages to turn bad is strange. The fact that it's a Nintendo game, a Zelda no less, just makes it even more bizarre.

 

The controls were good, but the music, lack of a proper overworld, NO NIGHT SYSTEM in the "sky", no decent boss battles and poor dungeon design really threw me. Quite how some websites and publications ranked this as the best Zelda to date is beyond me. It's easily the worst of the 3D ones. Easily.

[Nolan]

Beyond Good and Evil never really clicked with me. I suppose I never got very far into it either though.

[dazzybee]

Ocarina of time is one id pit up there. Yes I can appreciate it, has some amazing moments, a great ending, but ultimately I find it a bit of a chore and the worst 3d Zelda.

 

The most overrated gsme for me though is grand theft auto. Technically staggering, but the dullest gsme I can imagine. AWFUL writing, characters and I just can't really bear it.

 

I always found halo dull, but I didn't give it much of a chance.

 

Recently I'd have to say xenoblade. I'll give the new a proper go, but this was way too much of a chore for me to persevere with. Idon't like RPGs. That was my conuclusion.

 

All racings sims.

 

Little Big planet is a bag of wank, but was that even critically acclaimed?

 

Same with destiny. Another staggeringly dull FPS... But was that acclaimed?

[Agent Gibbs]

Little Big planet is a bag of wank, but was that even critically acclaimed?

 

Little big planet was, and its just terrible