Games you want to get into but can't

[AnthrSolidSnake]

The Witcher 1 and 2: I really want to like them. They seem like good RPGs, but something about them bores me very quickly.
Batman Arkham City: I like Batman. I always have. But after beating Arkham Asylum, I felt like the open city approach felt like a huge departure from what I got familiarized with in Asylum
Skyrim: I bought the main game and all the expansions, and it feels like TOO much game. I play for maybe 8 hours, and realize that it gets a little repetetive. I've had the main game since launch, and haven't beat the main story once. I always quit after finding that temple with the mural on the wall.

 

[Phuctifyno]

Half-Life

(shields up!!!)

I don't blame the games though, I just tried getting into them at a time when I didn't really have the disposable hours. They're still in my Steam back-log. Waiting.

 

[Animyr]

The Witcher series. Great games by all accounts, and I'd probably enjoy them, yet I have almost no urge to actually go and play them. I (or rather my brother) bought the original game about a year ago and I still haven't installed it.

 

[Callate]

GTA IV.

I've tried. Gods, I've tried. I played through and won GTA III, Vice City, and San Andreas. I just got so sick of the combination of "we created these mechanics, and by God, you're going to use them" and the unlikable characters I'm spending all my time with earning money that barely covers my ammo budget and whose betrayal of the hero is written on the wall in six-foot-high letters.

The last time I tried to play it (after a few days away) I was in the middle of a mission when my phone chimed in to warn me that I was about to miss a meeting I'd completely forgotten about that was necessary for a different mission. At that point I basically said, "You know what? Life's too short for this crap."

 

[hoboman29]

After finishing DmC, I decided to go ahead and give the orginal HD collection a shot.

Thus far, I've only played the first game and it's been more frustrating than fun. Thing is, I feel like I could really get into it if it weren't for the awkwardness of the controls and the terrible fixed camera, because combined overcoming them is proving more challenging than any enemy I've encountered thus far. Having a fixed camera in a game with direction-based attacks/moves, particularly when said moves are dependent on which direction the character is facing, just doesn't seem like a good idea.

I intend to give the second and third games a shot, but after multiple attempts to get into it it's fairly safe to say that the first is a lost cause.

What games/franchises have you really wanted to like but just couldn't, for whatever reason?

Devil May Cry is strange in that it's one of the only series to get so much acclaim while not being that good. Don't get me wrong I love DMC3 and DMC4 but the early games were the definition of clunky (I am currently 3/4's of the way through the first game but can't bother to fight the controls and the enemies). If anything that HD collection should have been called "Devil May Cry 3 HD, and those other two games in the series."

For my game I can't get into it would have to be Fallout 2. I love old school rpg's but I can only go so far with no direction and a clear goal. This is a game that would benefit heavily from a quest log of some sort just to remind you that you have to do x thing otherwise enjoy trying to remember what you're doing. Also the game is hard for someone who's new to it (I just want a gun because melee misses all the damn time.)

 

[Mr Dizazta]

Dark Souls
I am up to the Boss Door of Ornstein and Smough and yet I can't force myself to play again. I don't know but Anor Londo just pissed me off to no end that once I got to the black smith, I couldn't could care less to fight them. Not to mention I still have no idea as to why I am even killing the bosses besides to survive. I wished that they made some of the story elements a little more obvious and not hiding it in the flavor text of the weapons. Not to mention I currently live in the dorms and I don't want my neighbors to think that I am committing murder in my room.

 

[Quala]

For me it's League of Legends. I like the gameplay, I have a friend who really likes it, a lot of the characters interest me, and I'm willing to try a more competitive game. But the amount of terminology that I'm unfamiliar with combined with the length of each match and how seriously many people seem to take it always puts me off. I feel like I could get to enjoy it if I just got past the learning curve, but I can't seem to muster up the drive to do so.

 

[Lazy]

For my game I can't get into it would have to be Fallout 2. I love old school rpg's but I can only go so far with no direction and a clear goal. This is a game that would benefit heavily from a quest log of some sort just to remind you that you have to do x thing otherwise enjoy trying to remember what you're doing.

I'd say that's where a pen and a bit of paper would come in handy.

Out of curiosity, have you played the first game? If not, I'd suggest doing so first so that you know what you're doing before jumping into the second, as the mechanics are pretty much identical.

 

[solemnwar]

TES: Morrowind

I try, but... argh. I do not like being beholden to the random number god :/ Although I've tgm'd a bit until I got to higher levels so it's not too bad now...
(I'm so bad when it comes to ~tgm).

 

[KillaBC]

The X games (X3 specificly)

I love the concept, I love what I've heard from other people, I own them, I've tried to play them...

The controls are just so horrible and the learning curve is so huge (basicly little to no tutorial)...I just can't get into it even though I know I would love it.

I feel the same way, it has all the ingredients to be a an absolute blast. Yet it or rather I fall flat as I have no idea what is going on and what to do. If it introduced the elements of the game slowly and progressively then fine but instead no.

 

[hoboman29]

For my game I can't get into it would have to be Fallout 2. I love old school rpg's but I can only go so far with no direction and a clear goal. This is a game that would benefit heavily from a quest log of some sort just to remind you that you have to do x thing otherwise enjoy trying to remember what you're doing.

I'd say that's where a pen and a bit of paper would come in handy.

Out of curiosity, have you played the first game? If not, I'd suggest doing so first so that you know what you're doing before jumping into the second, as the mechanics are pretty much identical.

I haven't played the first one due to the time limits that are constantly imposed on you. It's really not a good thing for someone who is new. Also I don't feel like going through the pain to remove a feature that adds to the overall experience.

 

[Entourian]

For me personally it was Mass Effect. I mean I enjoy Bioware games it's just for some odd reason Mass Effect just never clicked for me.

 

[Jfswift]

For me personally it was Mass Effect. I mean I enjoy Bioware games it's just for some odd reason Mass Effect just never clicked for me.

I have to ask but did you get past the citadel? That opening part is pretty boring, I won't lie.

 

[Lazy]

I haven't played the first one due to the time limits that are constantly imposed on you.

There's only the one time limit, really. After you get the water purifier you've got as much time as you want.

Besides, the second has a time limit too, you know.

 

[mitchell271]

Mass Effect.

All the right things are there. A sprawling Bioware Sci-fi RPG, it should be exactly my sort of game.

For some reason, however, it just falls flat.

I get that. Took me 3 separate occasions to get into the game but once I got past the first couple of hours, it sucked me in. It's now one of my favourite games.

OT: Skyrim. Despite dropping 12 hours into that game (mostly due to peer pressure), I just can't get into that game. The combat feels clunky and the story is one we've seen the likes of tons of times before. World is nice though.

 

[Duck Soup]

Dishonored. I hadn't actually heard of it before i came out, but it pickled my fancy. And with all the gushing reviews, I decided to dive in. But no. I just can't get into the game. Part of it is the entire "here's a person you've just met. You don't know anything about her, either as a ruler or as a person. But we say you're her lover, so remember that you care about her deeply. Now she dies!" setup. I seriously don't feel Corvo's motivation.

This is me, too. I expected to love Dishonored because I usually love stealth games but I just can't get into it. For me it's more the lack of instruction, I think. Like, I know I'm supposed to be doing something but I have no idea what and I don't have a journal or anything to tell me my objectives and on top of that I have no clue how to use any of my weird power things and there's no way to look it up (in game). And how am I supposed to know who is going to attack me on sight and who isn't? Things aren't very clear in that game. In my opinion.

 

[Semudara]

Chrono Trigger.

Is it just me, or has that game not aged very well? The music, particularly, has a very dated feel to it. The themes themselves are great, but the way they sound is just very distracting to me.

Also, the plot progresses soooooooooo graaaaaadualllllllllyyyyyyyyyyy. Even the most obvious, predictable set-ups take forever and a half before reaching a sudden, yet disappointing pay-off. It makes it feel like the game is just trying to drag itself out for no reason, which makes it really difficult to stay invested.

I really did want to like it. I enjoy classic RPGs and I thought the DS remake was a foolproof investment, but everything that's supposed to be great about the game (the time travel, the story, the characters, the battle system, the "twists") have just fallen flat for me. C'est la vie, I suppose.

 

[Semudara]

Pokemon

I've been trying to get into the Pokemon games for ages, but I never can. They are too grindy, I feel constantly torn between an OCD desire to gather all the pokemon and the dislike for the fact that I'll be benching most of them. And all the starter pokemon are lame, except for the first gen, and even then the starters are just OKish. And did I mention all the grind? I like the concept of the games, I like the pokemon themselves and it all honestly seem like something I'd enjoy, but somehow I get bored with it very fast.

Yeah, I love the Pokemon series, but there are two things you really need in order to enjoy it:

- You have to enjoy the grind, at least a little bit. Something about that level-up chime, and of course getting to see my Pokemon literally transform into stronger forms and learn better moves, is quite satisfying for me.

- Friends who play it. This is the most important thing. See, the Pokemon games have always been a social experience at their core. If you just play it solo, then it's basically the most boring RPG in existence. Sharing the experience with friends is what kindles that Pokemon magic.

That's my experience, anyway. Hopefully, one of these days, the conditions will be right and the Pokemon series can worm its way into your heart and make its magical nest therein. =D

 

[Username Redacted]

More recently I've had a hard time trying to get into Bayonetta. I wanted to get that kind of fighting game just to try a new genre, and Bayonetta was the cheapest option available to me. I really want to enjoy it enough to keep practising and get good, but the game has so many annoying design choices that I just can't.

I too recently picked up Bayonetta on the cheap. I quickly realized that I wasn't actually going to be very good at the game (hello lots of stone trophies). I also found that my most common comment on the game was a muttered "Well, fuck you too camera" as the camera drunkenly swerved away from anything resembling an optimal viewing angle for doing anything. Hell, the final boss killed me once because I outright couldn't see the super attack thing it had laid down. That said I did at least finish the game as it isn't particularly long.

 

[TheKruzdawg]

I have a friend that desperately wants me to like Dynasty Warriors and even gave me Dynasty Warriors 6 to get me into it, which was lovely of him. But every time I try it goes something like;

"These are a lot of Chinese names. I've lost track of who's who already."
"Hey, fighting all these armies is cool, I could get into this."
"Why is that guy and his squad retreating? Did we need him? Where was he, even? Ah, whatever."
"Who's Lu Bu?"
"Why am I dead"?

I'm sure if I pick up an interest in Chinese history at some point I'll come back to Dynasty Warriors and it'll be great. Oh, also the music's really good.

The first time I played it I felt that way. Playing it with a friend of mine helped (mostly because of shenanigans) and every now and then slaughtering the population of a virtual medieval Chinese village in one battle sometimes appeals to me.

For me it was Fable II. I think I got past the 2nd Important Person you had to rescue quest (which for me was the evil Tower place). But I was playing one afternoon and while following the magic trail on a quest, I fell asleep. Was completely awake a few moments before and then out. I woke up, tried to remember what I was supposed to be doing, who it was for, and who some of the major characters were, found out I couldn't remember and stopped playing. It didn't make me want to care.