Games that make you go "How could anyone hate this?"

[YCRanger]

inb4 Half-Life 2?
Fanboy-clichés aside, I really do think HL2 is "perfect". It's clearly not, but it does everything right that it sets out to do. I always say it's The Lion King of video games. TLK and HL2 may not be the best in their medium or even their genre, funner and more impressive examples have come out since then, but damn do they hit all the right notes.

Took the words right out of my mouth. Half life 2 stands to me as one of the finest examples of atmosphere, good design, and "holy shit" moments of any game I've ever played. And this is coming from someone who did not play it until last year. So I'd played the "newer, better" games that everyone talks about in relation to Half life 2. So when I hear people talk about how the game is so dated and no longer worth the praise I just can't understand.

Also, P4. I came to love all my party members more than almost any other game.

 

[EHKOS]

Ribbit King, Animal Crossing, Ape Escape.

Star Wars. Seriously, how the shit can you NOT smile whenever you hear John Williams?!

 

[Owlslayer]

Mirrors Edge.

How that game didn't sell more copies is really beyond me. Beautiful game, challenging and fun to play, unique, decent story, great soundtrack etc etc.

It sucks because we'll probably never see a sequel.

I second this. Tho actually i do understand why someone wouldn`t like it, but still seems weird... I really loved it, especially the way the whole world looked. Hadn`t seen anything like that before, really impressed me, how everything was so bleak, but still damn colorful. Sure, it had its flaws, but the gameplay was damn fun in my opinion. We can only hope that one day, they will make a second one, or at least something along the lines of Mirror`s Edge.

 

[ohnoitsabear]

So far, Dishonored. Sure, a lot of the characters might be lackluster, but when you're out there actually playing the game, I can find absolutely nothing wrong with it. This game has so many elements that would be enough to carry other games on their own (the combat, the open level design, the city of Dunwall, the magic powers), but Arcane put them all in the game. Plus, the blink ability is so awesome that I'm surprised nobody else has thought of it before.

 

[VeryOddGamer]

My epitome of video game meaning. Fun meter into overdrive, skill meter into hyperdrive and destruction into FTL drive. I can't find faults except for the menus but who fucking cares !

TAKEDOWNS GALORE ! WHOOOOOOO !

Yes.
YES.
Seriously, that game is one of my favourite games ever.
So, Burnout 3 and Team Fortress 2. Great gameplay, great visual design and hilarious characters. And it's free.

 

[Alhazred]

I think Fallout 3 always gets a bad rap. The game was doomed to be hated by the so-called "fans" the second it was announced.

But for me, strolling through the capital wasteland, dog by my side, music on the radio and a gun that can blow off a raider's head at 50 paces is one gaming's greatest pleasures.

 

[Elemental]

Arkham Asylum/City
Half Life games
Seriously some people hate Burnout?
Mirror's Edge
Turok 2008
Killzone 1 & 2 (never played 3)

 

[distortedreality]

So far, Dishonored. Sure, a lot of the characters might be lackluster, but when you're out there actually playing the game, I can find absolutely nothing wrong with it. This game has so many elements that would be enough to carry other games on their own (the combat, the open level design, the city of Dunwall, the magic powers), but Arcane put them all in the game. Plus, the blink ability is so awesome that I'm surprised nobody else has thought of it before.

There's hate for Dishonored? That's news to me.

 

[L0dest0ne]

Ultima Online. So many memories of killing people and stealing their shit. How could that not be enjoyable?

 

[PLightstar]

Two Worlds.

Spent countless hours, in this game. Loved every aspect in it. Sure there were a few bugs, but I never really encountered them. I loved the cheesy dialogue and the different landscapes. Working towards the resurrection spell was a good time, managed to bring back the entire serpent city, as its population was killed, during the events of the storyline.

 

[The_Echo]

Biased indeed. I like the games, but they are far from perfect. Three words: Dance, water, dance.

Oh, but that's just one segment among seven games! Psh.

I have my own personal gripes about the series, (Ice Cream Beat, Atlantis, the Stat Ability mechanic in 3D...) but nothing I think could garner any hate towards the game a as whole.

Only played the Kingdom Hearts demo for 3DS and I hated it. So boring and dull.

If you don't mind my asking, what about it did you find so dull?

 

[Casual Shinji]

Little Big Planet (just the on-disc levels)

It's just such a freaking happy game. Never sticky or sweet, just soft and fluffy.

 

[Genocidicles]

Star Wars The Old Republic.

I just hate it because that's what we got instead of a real KOTOR 3.

 

[Signa]

I'm going to throw Chrono Trigger out there. As a game, story, and example of well designed characters, CT has some of the best examples of all.

 

[Nimzabaat]

inb4 Half-Life 2?
Fanboy-clichés aside, I really do think HL2 is "perfect". It's clearly not, but it does everything right that it sets out to do. I always say it's The Lion King of video games. TLK and HL2 may not be the best in their medium or even their genre, funner and more impressive examples have come out since then, but damn do they hit all the right notes.

Also, nobody can hate Trine 2. Yeah, maybe the puzzles are too easy or too dumb and maybe you don't like platformers and maybe you even hate fantasy, but... there is no prettier game. More epic, more graphically impressive (show me, and no it's not Crysis lol), maybe more realistic (bleh) or whatever else - but not prettier.

Assassin's Creed 2

Don't get me wrong the game has faults, but whenever I feel just the slightest twinge of frustration with it all I have to do is climb up the nearest tall building, look around and think 'Damn, this game is pretty...'.

and in 3 years that has never got old. I think it has something to do with knowing it's not just a sky box. Not only are the aesthetics so beautiful, you can explore every inch of the terrain.

I like you.
Especially agreed on the exploration bit. Love those games where you can point to a spot in the distance and then just walk there. Or freerun. Or horseride. Or parachute.
Games need to do that more. It's one of those things games uniquely excel at.

I gotta say I hated the swamp buggy thing in HL2 so much that I could never keep playing after that part. I'd play the game and then i'd get to that part and it was such a tedious, painful slog to get through it that i'd have to take a break and play something else after. Then a year or two later i'd be like "oh I never finished HL2, I should try again". Do the same bit and take a break... The other parts of the game before that were good though.

OT: Skyrim. It's Oblivion with MOAR. Sure it's built more for console players so there's more hand-holding but it's still MOAR.

 

[xDarc]

Most recently for me it was Black Ops: Zombies. Eagerly awaiting the next CoD game from Treyarch just for zombies!

 

[Leemaster777]

Two words: Katamari Damacy. I DEFY you to hate this game. It's just pure joy on a disc. I have family members who don't like video games at ALL who like this game, even if just watching me play.

And hell, this series has one of the best soundtracks ever. Seriously, I can just pick one at random, and get a winner.


Really, I just typed "Katamari Damacy Soundtrack" into Youtube, and picked that song at complete random.

 

[The_Echo]

If you don't mind my asking, what about it did you find so dull?

It was just a demo, but nothing about it seemed interesting, the characters didn't appeal to me and the combat system for example was terrible.

Well, 3D is pretty late in the series. So it makes sense you wouldn't care about the characters. Especially from this demo. It was a lackluster demo. It barely showcased any of what made it a good game. (Which, I guess might be hard to do with an RPG, really...)

I'll give you that the combat mechanics aren't the best, but it's an RPG; the focus is more on the plot anyway. The combat is better in the full game, when you can unlock more and better abilities to make fighting more varied and skillful. And it's good in terms of action-RPG standards, but still pretty shallow.

I don't want to seem like I'm fanboy-defending the game, but if you happen to have a PS2 lying around (or an older-model PS3), I'd recommend giving the first game a rent. Can't hurt, at least.

 

[The Wykydtron]

I don't like it.

Poor production, muddy, dull and in dire need of people who are higher calibre singers than those you'd see at your average karaoke night. The whiny nasal verses are the worst of all, yuck.

Sorry, but it's bad from a technical and artistic standpoint in my honest opinion.

Well your honest opinion is wrong!


In context this song is absolutely brilliant, just play Persona 4, do it. You won't regret it.

If you have access to a PS2 you can pick it up really cheap off Amazon and the like. You could go for the re-release on the Vita if you happened to buy one for some reason but I don't recommend it.

 

[scorptatious]

ICO and Shadow of the Colossus. Some of my other favorite games, I can find some reason why people may hate them. But those two? Can't find anything to hate at all.