I want to love it.

[infohippie]

New Vegas. I loved Fallout 3 and was very much looking forward to New Vegas, but somehow when I played it, it just... wasn't fun. It felt like a slog. I've since gone back and replayed Fallout 3 and I still enjoyed that, so I don't know why I can't get into NV, I just... can't.

Same thing for Bioshock 2, and Bioshock Infinite. The original Bioshock was amazing and I loved every second of it. I've played through it half a dozen times and still enjoy it. Bioshock 2 relied way too much on escorting and almost tower-defence style set battles, two of the three things I most dislike in games. And Bioshock Infinite was all about the third thing I hate in games - run-and-gun gameplay. I don't like dodging and weaving and running for cover, I like sneaking and sniping without being seen as much as possible.

And TF2 - all my friends loved it and I tried a dozen times to get into it, but again it's all about run-and-gun. Even playing the sniper wasn't enjoyable - his range is way too short, maps are far too small, and it's far too easy to be seen. Sniper gameplay should involve hitting unsuspecting targets from a kilometre away, not trying to ping a charging target at 100 metres while getting a scout right in your face two seconds later.

 

[EHKOS]

JRPGs in general. There are tons I'd love to finish, Skies of Arcadia, Ni no Kuni, FF12, Chrono Trigger, Wild Arms 5, Rogue Galaxy. I have high hopes for FFXV though, since it's more character action than time-based turns unlike 12 and RG. I started playing Persona 4, and I hate dungeon crawlers (they burn me out) but the characters and atmosphere were really good and I felt like I was part of the group. So I played until I got Chie to be my girlfriend and when she said yes I considered the game mission accomplished and never played it again. BUT THE ANIME VERSION. I've watched it about 3 times now, everything is so lovable! Kuma YOU'RE SILLY AND I LOVE YOU!

The Witcher 3 is very high on my list. It's got a lot of content and from what I have played of it, I liked what I saw. But the combat is insanely hard for some reason, either that or it sucks. But I keep nearly dying on easy, and I have other games I want to play, so off to the backlog it goes. (Besides I haven't even started Shadows of Mordor and I just finished a 13 hour long stint through Skyrim to pick up the platinum trophy that glitched on me years ago and I just hate classic fantasy. The magic and sword kind, ya know.)

Street Fighter would be nice so I could have something to play online, but I suck really hard at it. That and I swore my allegiance to Tekken when I was five. Boy, would I be pissed off if they brought in a SF fighter for 7 who was responsible for killing off the Mishimas...

EDIT: Kingdom Hearts. I'm playing 1 Final Mix and it's just...ugh. There's nothing really wrong with it besides the backtracking, but something about it bugs the crap out of me. I think it's partially the control delay, and partially having the story shit itself into a twisted mess of nonsense.

 

[Mcgeezaks]

The Uncharted series, Uncharted 4 looked great so I decided to buy the Nathan Drake collection before playing through UC4 but after playing through all games, it just felt....meh. The characters aren't likeable, the story isn't that interesting and the gameplay isn't all that special.

 

[Oinodaemon]

I really wish I could play the Witcher games for the expansive story and pretty combat, but Geralt looks too much like my dad. Not exactly like him, but enough that it is uncomfortable for me to play.

So when I first played Dragon Age, I tried to make the character look as much like myself as I could (which I don't normally do). He didn't, really, but it was close enough so I started playing. After a while of feeling kinda weird about the character, I realized he looked exactly like my father. After that I just couldn't take any of the cutscenes seriously. Started an Elf shortly after that, but try as I might I still couldn't get into DA. I love KOTOR, I said. I like the world building, I said. But no, I just couldn't make myself feel invested in that game.

 

[sXeth]

Borderlands. The basic concept is appealing, but some combination of the horribly forced attempts at humor, bullet sponge enemies, and possibly the worst GUI I've ever encountered in a game that requires inventory management ends up driving me off everytime I try and play it..

Skyrim - The world is an interesting enough idea to pique my interest, and Elder Scrolls is probably the closest to a spiritual successor of the old Ultima series that contains several of my all time favorites. But its interesting how they manage to take one of the basic concepts of RPGs, and completely wipe it out of existence by having everything scale alongside you. You never feel more powerful. Quests never feel epic. The limited enemy variety feels even more tiny since they don't differ in power from each other. Legendary Daedric artefacts become pieces of trash because you level up after you did the quest. Radiant quests (and even some of the non-radiant ones) quickly annihilate the novelty of exploring by making you criss-cross the world constantly (or forcing you to use fast travel). MAgic and Stealth are uselessly crippled or insanely overpowered based off picking a perk or two. The likelihood of the game simply bugging out a quest and becoming incompletable just kind of nails the coffin.

 

[Dalisclock]

I would have liked to have gotten into Overwatch. I really like the feel of it, the games concept and personality, and I see a lot of other people having a blast with it. I really think its a good game and I'd love to play it.
.

For me it's more along the lines of "I like the aesthetic, the characters are varied and interesting and the story sounds intriguing but it's a Team shooter". So basically all the story bits go to waste because none of it matters and I already know from past experience that Team shooters, not to mention multi-player in general, don't hold my attention for long.

I know I've brought this up before but Final Fantasy X.

I love that the series tried something new. the battle system is nicely done, the sphere grid is interesting and the whole idea of the journey as a pilgrimage to stop a cosmic horror that has the world locked in a death spiral(and has for a very long time) appeals to me. Not to mention creating a world that isn't set in some variant of medieval/Renaissance Europe.

But, somehow they picked the most obnoxious main character in a long, long time, whose VA/the script ruined most of the scenes he was in(so goodbye dramatic effect), the religion that apparently holds the world in sway gets almost no explanation(other then, they want to control everyone, which is pretty much every big religion in a video game ever), the temples you have to visit which are part of this religion(and could have gradually revealed more about its place in the world, and built up the mystery of Sin) are basically excuses for stupid puzzles. Along the same lines, the new world is beatiful, but it doesn't feel like you get to see much of it. In fact, the game feels like you are locked in a tube(which would return in XIII but worse), looking at the world around you but not able to actually interact with it much. No towns past Guadosalam, few particularly interesting sights and, I don't know, the world just feels empty.

Also, F***ing Blitzball. It's introduced early on(including the intro cutscene which shows you almost nothing about it), talked about a lot, Wakka's Blitball team arc takes up a decent chunk of the early game, only for you to get thrown into a tournament with no idea how to play the game(hello 20 minutes of instructions and tutorials) and pretty much no way to win if you haven't played FFX before. And when the tournament is done, Blitzballs role in the plot is over and pretty much never comes up again, rendering all that attention it gets before somewhat meaningless. Unless you really like playing it, then you can play a sports game(which takes tens of hours) inside your FF game(which also takes tens of hours on it's own). Shamus Young recently talked about the issues with it. http://www.shamusyoung.com/twentysidedtale/?p=32959#more-32959

Maybe if the game had involved 90% of spira being flooded and thus Sin doesn't float through the air, but rather haunts the vast sea that covers the world, with Blitzball, once a simple game, is now a form of combat in the water(so now the game is also practice for combat). If nothing else, it feels like it would have made Blitzball feel a lot less out of place, and possibly make the whole thing feel a lot more interesting and unique. But then SE wouldn't have the tube to keep us in.

 

[Extra-Ordinary]

Same with Dishonored.

I want to do the stealth route but I'm terrible at stealth so I end up getting spotted and have to kill everybody.

"If you guys could just be a little less observant I wouldn't have to hurt ya."

 

[Hawki]

-Assassin's Creed (Series is just so huge now that trying to get into it feels like a lost cause)

-Borderlands (World and characters look great, but loot-driven games have rarely been appealing to me)

-Castlevania (Various reasons)

-Fallout (An interesting setting, but I'm turned off by Fallout 3's gameplay, and the original games, from what I've heard, aren't very accomodating for someone who didn't grow up with CRPGs)

-Metroid (Sort of...I actually quite like the 2D Metroid games I've played, but have never been enamored with the 3D ones. Which sucks, because most of the story content/worldbuilding comes from the 3D versions)

-Sonic the Hedgehog (I want to love this series again, I really do, but for every Sonic Boom cartoon, there's a Sonic Boom game, so to speak)

-World of Warcraft (Love the Warcraft universe, I've played all the RTS games, read most of the novels, browse Wowpedia, etc...but I just don't like playing WoW itself that much)

And various RPGs (In that I like playing RPGs, but they're such a huge timesink that I'm reluctant to commit to them very often. Last RPG game I played I began in May, 2015, and only finished it this year after putting it on hold numerous times)

 

[RedDeadFred]

I'm also going to say New Vegas. I didn't hate it or anything, but the linearity and invisible walls made me never want to play it again after playing through the rather short main quest.

 

[Dalisclock]

-Assassin's Creed (Series is just so huge now that trying to get into it feels like a lost cause)

If it makes you feel any better, the plot that used to bind them together hasn't really mattered for a couple games now. That was wrapped up in AC3 and everything since then has been Ubisoft killing time. So you can pretty much jump in at this point without missing much as far as plot goes(and the games tend to be fairly self contained).

 

[FPLOON]

Shadow The Hedgehog... The first level has such promise... Then, the fatigue started to set in the first time I got one of the 10 designated endings needed to get the final level...

Other than that, The King of Fighter XIII... The only fighting game, thus far, I regret not being able to love mechanically...

 

[Cold Shiny]

Kotor 1. Fuck Taris. I played and beat 2, but everytime I go back to one...Taris.

For those who don't know, Taris is the first planet of the damn game.

I would argue that Peragus II from KOTOR 2 is worse.

 

[Ihateregistering1]

Turn-based strategy games (not including X-Com). Things like Endless Legend, Endless Space, Age of Wonders, Fallen Enchantress, Galactic Civilizations, HOMM, etc. For some reason I buy these games all the time convinced that I'm going to fall in love with them, but then I get bored and quit playing them after a few hours.

Though oddly, I do love me some Total War.

 

[BrawlMan]

Transformers: Devastation

I love Platinum Games and their combat, but this was a low point for me. Having already played Bayonetta 2, the system was nothing really new to me.
- While the weapon drop/weapon levelling system was neat, its not very satisfying for such an intense fighting game to be limited by RPG elements.
- The enemies were small in number and not very unique. There were only a handful of enemy types in the game, not including bosses. Enemies rarely did anything too unique either.
- The combat system just felt like pressing buttons and waiting for the blue flash to press shift. I didn't feel a need for advanced combos or interesting techniques. Dodge, hit buttons, hit shift.
- The bosses were just massive bullet sponges. A good run on the first boss takes 7-10 minutes of the same 6 attack patterns. The triple insectoid boss fight was kinda fun, but most of them were pretty bare.

I respectfully disagree with you sir or madam. While do admit that Devastation has its flaws, it is not Platinum's low point; TMNT: Mutants in Manhattan fills that space. In this game, enemies and bosses especially, have a huge amount of life with no little strategy or thought. Most of the time you'll be button mashing and constantly switching between each turtle (if you are not doing co-op). Not to mention you have to do bullshit requirements just to fight a few hidden bosses that aren't worth it.

At least Devastation had fun combat that was Bayonetta lite. Enemies in that game became a lot less damage spongy when you properly leveled up all of the Autobots. I am more so talking about when you play on Magnus and Prime difficulty (a player should at least be lv. 50) If you're at least lv. 30 or more, the bad guys health bars go down quickly if you're playing on Warrior or Commander. Getting A, S, or SS Rank weapons can whittle bad guys to nothing if you level those up right too. If you play Mutants in Manhattan, Transformers: Devastation will seem like a huge step in comparison. Honestly, I blame Activision and hope Platinum will not have to waste time with them ever again.

Anarchy Reigns I wanted to love, but the single-player was lacking and the multiplayer was just not that fun. You can't find anybody online now, unless you got a few friends who are heavily invested in the game. As spiritual successor to Mad World it failed, and Mad World has aged better in comparison.

 

[gorfias]

South Park Stick of Truth has pissed me off. The bad guys are leveling with me. In Diablo, you start with some little blue guys kicking your butt. They don't level with you, so you find [edit, after leveling up yourself] that you can wipe out a room full of them with a button click. Then, you were challenged by new monsters. South Park? Little elf enemies are just as strong as you as the game goes on!

Er... there are far better comparisons you could make than Diablo and The Stick of Truth. They're not the same style of game, and there are plenty of turn-based RPGs that don't do level scaling (and isometric ARPGs that do).

Final Fantasy X might come to mind but while playing straight through, unlike Diablo, you didn't really encounter the weaker enemies: you just kept getting new stronger ones (that changed late in the game when you got an air ship if I recall correctly. Been a dozen years!!!).

Please recommend any newer current PC or current gen console RPG titles you think appropriate (where, after leveling, you can easily beat old enemies and encounter new ones). Thanks!

 

[shrekfan246]

South Park Stick of Truth has pissed me off. The bad guys are leveling with me. In Diablo, you start with some little blue guys kicking your butt. They don't level with you, so you find [edit, after leveling up yourself] that you can wipe out a room full of them with a button click. Then, you were challenged by new monsters. South Park? Little elf enemies are just as strong as you as the game goes on!

Er... there are far better comparisons you could make than Diablo and The Stick of Truth. They're not the same style of game, and there are plenty of turn-based RPGs that don't do level scaling (and isometric ARPGs that do).

Final Fantasy X might come to mind but while playing straight through, unlike Diablo, you didn't really encounter the weaker enemies: you just kept getting new stronger ones (that changed late in the game when you got an air ship if I recall correctly. Been a dozen years!!!).

Please recommend any newer current PC or current gen console RPG titles you think appropriate (where, after leveling, you can easily beat old enemies and encounter new ones). Thanks!

Well, it kinda depends on the style of game. Divinity: Original Sin, for example, doesn't scale enemy levels, but it has a fixed number of enemies in the game and I don't believe they ever respawn. Grim Dawn, by contrast, is very similar to Diablo (and is primarily made by people who did Titan Quest), so enemies will be back every time you reload the game and they'll all have a maximum level based on which area of the game they're in and which difficulty you're playing on. Kingdoms of Amalur, meanwhile, is very MMO-styled, so it also has respawning enemies which have specific level ranges (they might need a reload to respawn as well, or you just being far enough away from the area, I can't remember perfectly anymore).

Most JRPGs that I know do have specific level ranges for enemies, too. Xenoblade Chronicles, Persona, Final Fantasy, Pokemon, Tales of, Drakengard, Resonance of Fate, Fire Emblem, etc.

And then there are games which have level scaling but don't make it too noticeable usually because you're not revisiting old locations very much, like Dragon Age: Origins, Mass Effect, and Deus Ex: Human Revolution. Honestly, the only games I can really think of that have had an egregious level of obvious scaling would be Bethesda's RPGs.

 

[Worgen]

Borderlands. The basic concept is appealing, but some combination of the horribly forced attempts at humor, bullet sponge enemies, and possibly the worst GUI I've ever encountered in a game that requires inventory management ends up driving me off everytime I try and play it..

I totally agree, I wanted to get into borderlands, I have a friend who absolutely loved it and she even got me all of it and its sequel. But, I just did not enjoy them. I think on top of your reasons also having to wait for other people to play the game with hurt my enjoyment, I tend to play though games at my own rate and having to wait for someone else hurt.

 

[Silence]

Kotor 1. Fuck Taris. I played and beat 2, but everytime I go back to one...Taris.

For those who don't know, Taris is the first planet of the damn game.

Incidentally, I had fun with 1, but can't get into 2 for some reason. Maybe because it's the bloated Star Wars bullshit, or the fact you can't tell the one character who calls this out, but is all mysterious and shit, to fuck off because I want to enjoy dumb, Star Wars is not meant to be thoughtful.

It's complicated ...

Final Fantasy X I tried recently, but lost interest after having to grind (last straw after all the points Dalisclock mentioned).

New Vegas' beginning is fucked, definitely. But I managed to get past it. Once.

Assassin's Creed 4. I expected it to be better than 2, because "more time for ship combat, instead of AC." But well, you still have to do AC combat - only more difficult because 20000 enemies, and more annoying. And the ship combat is boring.

And then ... many endless games. Minecraft for example. Or Hearts of Iron. Or Mount&Blade. Anything that does not give you a task. I just can't motivate myself to create one for myself.

 

[Saelune]

Kotor 1. Fuck Taris. I played and beat 2, but everytime I go back to one...Taris.

For those who don't know, Taris is the first planet of the damn game.

Incidentally, I had fun with 1, but can't get into 2 for some reason. Maybe because it's the bloated Star Wars bullshit, or the fact you can't tell the one character who calls this out, but is all mysterious and shit, to fuck off because I want to enjoy dumb, Star Wars is not meant to be thoughtful.

And then ... many endless games. Minecraft for example. Or Hearts of Iron. Or Mount&Blade. Anything that does not give you a task. I just can't motivate myself to create one for myself.

I like lore and stuff, so I like that.

As for tasklessness, I also love that. I literally have Mount and Blade alt-tabbed atm. I like that I can do whatever I want, I am not timed or anything. Sometimes I forget that though, but that's likely cause of games like Civilization where time keeps progressing. Same reason I love Elder Scrolls, cause I can do what I want. Hell, also probably why I like DMing in DnD, since I control everything and set the goals, though I also try to let my players make their own goals if they want.

 

[Mister K]

Final Fantasy X I tried recently, but lost interest after having to grind (last straw after all the points Dalisclock mentioned).

I am not saying that you are wrong for not liking FFX for this reason, I just want to mention that when I was younger and played the game just for the story I managed to beat it in 35 (or something like that) hours without grinding, doing any sidequests and finding any celestial weapons. I think that as soon as characters can do 9000+ damage relatively often, you are good to go.

OT: Baldur's Gate I and II. I like Aerie and Minsc, but that's about it, really. Everything else is kind of boring. I am bummed about it because many if not most people consider it to be THE WRPG and I just can't find the appeal.

I played and liked many other RPG's, especially later Bioware ones. But BG? Sadly, not for me.