Bad Games can have Redemption

[Imperioratorex Caprae]

Ok, during the latest surprise by EA I picked up the humble Origin bundle (on this site, that title alone is ironic) and got the package deal. Now, I wasn't a fan of Mirror's Edge when it first came around, nor was I a fan of Battlefield in all its forms. I was, however a MOHAA enthusiast (still play it from time to time). I heard the hoopla and hatred for the first and second installments of the MoH reboot and never really played it.
I installed it figuring what the hell. Now as Campaigns go, the game is shit on a stick lit on fire and shoved under your nose while attempting to call it a corn dog. I did however find the multiplayer to be fairly redeeming. Its not deep but I also don't find it to be tacked on. I see similarties (of course) between it and CoD MW2 but I find it to be a good bit of fun. Some of the game modes are actually engaging and remind me of Unreal Tournament minus the big shoulders, wacked out weapons and player models. But the fun factor for me is there. Would I have paid top dollar for it on Day 1? No. But I did enjoy the game a lot.
Now I've played games pretty much my whole life, and I'm 33. In a nutshell I find gaming's most redeeming quality is that it is entertaining. It doesn't have to be deep to be entertaining, it doesn't have to have a story to be entertaining (sometimes you can make the story yourself if you're creative enough) but it does have to be FUN. I needs to elicit a feeling of joy, a thought crossing the mind saying Well I wasted a few hours but I don't feel any regret for it. Games do not have to be the pinnacle of achievement, they don't have to be the gaming equivalent of Oscar Bait, to be fun. As long as the mechanics aren't horribly broken (unless the horribly broken mechanic adds to fun like Skyrim's GIANT PUNCH knockback bug), the graphics don't make your head hurt (Black Ops just don't sit with me well gfx wise) and the UI isn't too bass-ackwards to use, the fun factor can be there.
I love to game, and sometimes I feel we are way too hard on games. Sure there are a lot of copycat cash ins out there, and a lot of them aren't much fun. But I feel that if you enjoy your game, it doesn't have to be the next Half-Life 2 to be good.
Any games you folks found to have redeeming qualities despite their almost-universal hatred from the gaming community?

 

[Hero of Lime]

That's kinda how I feel about Metroid: Other M. There are the obvious reasons why it's sub par to other Metroid games to name a few:

Samus's portrayal was bad, but the worst problem was how she reacted to seeing Ridley alive and well. There are the other obvious portrayal issues I won't go into.

No memorable music, something Metroid is known for. Ridley's theme was amazing admittedly.

The environments were uninspired, the Prime games had such amazing 3D Metroid environments, Other M had only a few, and they were all bland. They even put environmental sectors like Fusion, but again, very lame ones.

The plot and environments were basically a lamer version of Zero Mission, Federation making Metroids, Samus and Adam destroy that part of the facility, the same thing happened in Fusion. Like Yatzee pointed out, they make a big fuss over the deleter side story, yet that just goes away without any closure. The whole thing about MB was uninteresting and just pointless to the overarching themes of Metroid Stories.

Yet for all these problems, the gameplay is a bit redemptive. Going into first person was badly implemented for sure, but the 3D perspective control was excellent. The boss fights were pretty well done for the most part, and its combat felt smooth and fluid, like a 2D Metroid game. I loved the dodge mechanic they used, if there are any other 3D Metroid games, I hope that makes a comeback. I rate it pretty low compared to most Metroid games, yet I feel to say it's one of the worst games ever made is a bit unfair.