Infamously bad games that you like

[MysticSlayer]

(Especially Donkey Kong 64, which I think is a legitimately underrated game).

Maybe it is just that I've managed to avoid it all these years, but I've never really seen a lot of hate thrown DK64's way. Yes, I've heard a lot of people say it isn't as good as Banjo Kazooie, and I've heard my fair share of complaints about having to manage all five Kongs, but the general consensus seems to be that it was still a good, even great, game. I certainly haven't seen anywhere near the level of hate that would justify calling it "infamously bad".

OT: I can't really say that I've enjoyed any infamously bad games. I've enjoyed plenty of games that are considered mediocre (e.g. Dante's Inferno) and that receive plenty of hate from certain groups (e.g. Crysis 2), but if a game is so bad that it is infamous, then I probably avoided it or joined with others in tearing it apart.

 

[Recusant]

I really enjoy Master of Orion III, which I've gotten a bit of flak for over the years.
I don't really see it as an infamously bad game but somehow it's considered universally reviled.

I like it to, sure it can be at times a spreadsheet simulator but under that cluttered interface is actually an OK game.

Hey, another MoO III fan, fancy that. We are a rare breed indeed. ,)
About the game, I know and that's what weird. I don't even like spreadsheet games.

I think part of the reason people hated it is because of what it could've been, like how they could've allowed you to customize how ships look instead of how it currently looks like cloned ships. They probably could've simplified the interface and made gotten rid of things that have 0 effect. I look at what we ended up with and say it's not great, it might not even be good, but it's ok and I'll play it.

You didn't come in until it had the hell patched out of it, did you? It wasn't hated for what it could've been, it was hated for what it was. It did have some interesting ideas, but not only were they implemented badly, each of them replaced solid (if non-innovative) ideas that worked fine. An experiment that doesn't pan out is one thing, but so much of the game was changed that even if everything had worked perfectly, it wouldn't have felt like a Master of Orion game. Then there was the DRM. The DRM that wouldn't even let the game run if your machine had a CD drive that was capable of burning discs. I can't speak for what the game became after heavy patching, but believe me, it earned every bit of its condemnation. Ultimately, Master of Orion 3 was good for only one thing, and that was proving once and for all that adding, removing, or changing a game feature purely for the sake of 'realism' is a monstrously bad idea; and given much of the market's product in the last five or so years, it's even failed at that.

As to the topic at hand, I can't think of any.

 

[Alex Baas]

I enjoyed the original Red Steel. Now granted I did buy it for $5, but I thought it was bad in a somewhat enjoyable way. The sword combat was rubbish and most of the guns felt off, there was no melee attack, the bullet time was just there, there were weird glitches everywhere, t difficulty spiked in odd places so high that you literally needed to exploit the game. I still enjoyed it.

There were a few guns that were fun to use and the armory let you go into a mission with those once you unlocked it. The story and voice acting were terrible, but in a great way and there actually were a few encounters that were really interesting. There are parts of that game and ideas that just needed to be in a better game.

I also liked how you used the nunchuk to flip over tables for cover and to open doors. It was a nice touch that I enjoyed immensely.

Damn, looks like I need to get my brother and play this lovable mess for a laugh. God I love that game.

 

[Charli]

Sonic R.

Don't look at me like that.

 

[Nazulu]

Well I like that Sonic 06' exists because of all the comedy's that were inspired from it and how it made so many lets player's want to rip out their hair.

Don't get me wrong, I have nothing against Sonic, but the shit it's spawned has been entertaining me for awhile now.

Edit: I'd also like the add that While I wouldn't play Megaman X6, I believe it had some great stage styles and designs. That game really should be fixed up.

 

[ScrabbitRabbit]

I think that, as a whole, it's awful but there are bits of Sonic '06 that I really enjoyed. Kingdom Valley as Sonic was really fun for some reason.

I also think it's the only truly bad main-series Sonic Team game. So I guess... the rest of those games, too?

I also had a bit of fun with Naughty Bear

 

[crazygameguy4ever]

I really like Dragon Age 2. I played Origins first, and I actually prefer the second game.

Also, even though I admit that it is terrible, I enjoy Empire Earth 3. Heh.

Dragon Age 2 wasn't bad, it was a great game...the best game in the series (and still is)... when has it ever been considered infamously bad?

 

[Darth Marsden]

I will quite happily play through Daikatana, despite it being substandard at BEST.

There's also Star Wars: Force Commander (half-decent RTS with a terrible camera), Blood 2 (best if viewed as a silly arcade-style FPS rather than a follow-up to the original Blood) Tomb Raider: Angel of Darkness (mostly because I don't really like the original 5 games that much) and Afterfall inSanity (blatant Dead Space clone... but I liked Dead Space, so it's all cool with me).

 

[Ihateregistering1]

Already mentioned, but Arkham: Origins. I tried playing it on the 360 and it was completely unplayable, but I downloaded it on Steam and it worked (most of the time). When you got past the bugs, it was actually a really, really good game. I thought it had the best atmosphere of any of the Arkham games (it felt much darker, grittier, and more brutal than the other ones), and I thought it had the best depiction of Bane of any Batman media.

The Splatterhouse reboot. Yes, it had bugs out the wazoo and atrocious loading times, but I had a blast with the game. I loved the Lovecraft-esque "Reanimator" type story, I thought it was cool to have a God of War type game where you usually don't have weapons, and I found the combat to be generally fun.

 

[Wasted]

Final Fantasy VIII

It is not bad (as a general consensus) but it is a polarizing game within Final Fantasy players, you either love it or loath it. When I played it as a kid I loved it, it was the game that introduced me to the series. Tried replaying it as an adult (thanks to the Steam re-release) and I had to take off my rose-colored glasses because everything was awful. The combat, the story, the protagonist (Someone seriously needs to punch Squall in the face repeatedly) are horrid.

But having said all that I can't really say I hate it. The music is great and my nostalgia still gets all warm and fuzzy when I play. I can still enjoy myself playing, if only to laugh at how I used to think Squall's ultra whiny emo personality was so cool as a child.

 

[username sucks]

I really like Dragon Age 2. I played Origins first, and I actually prefer the second game.

Also, even though I admit that it is terrible, I enjoy Empire Earth 3. Heh.

Dragon Age 2 wasn't bad, it was a great game...the best game in the series (and still is)... when has it ever been considered infamously bad?

No offence, but have you been living under a rock? Because pretty much every mention of the game is about how it was rushed and unfinished, has reused dungeons, and bad romances. A lot of people seem to think those three little things ruin the game.

 

[JennAnge]

DA2, as already mentioned by others.

Also, ME3. Discounting the ending, I loved that game. So much rich interaction with your comrades, the atmosphere, the story and its stakes...Drama, humour, tension, Mordin, all that good stuff. People said the ending ruined it for them, and it's true I did not replay ME3 as much as I replayed ME-ME2. However, once I had all the DLCs, I found that my overall feeling about the games are still positive.

 

[crazygameguy4ever]

I really like Dragon Age 2. I played Origins first, and I actually prefer the second game.

Also, even though I admit that it is terrible, I enjoy Empire Earth 3. Heh.

Dragon Age 2 wasn't bad, it was a great game...the best game in the series (and still is)... when has it ever been considered infamously bad?

No offence, but have you been living under a rock? Because pretty much every mention of the game is about how it was rushed and unfinished, has reused dungeons, and bad romances. A lot of people seem to think those three little things ruin the game.

I think people weren't ready for the great action heavy game of DA2.. they liked less actiony game play of DA Origins and DA Awakening for some reason.. But I liked the great graphics, the action focus, the smaller areas that meant you didn't need to travel 30 minutes or more to get to your mission's starting place on the map(with more attention to detail and more interesting environments afforded by the smaller maps, the fact that your main character actually spoke.. i found nothing wrong with the game,and in fact It's the only Dragon Age game out of the first 3 that I actually wanted to finish.. i got bored after a while with the first 2.. and everyone i know who's played it agrees @ was the best so far..

 

[LGC Pominator]

Vampire The Masquerade: Redemption. No idea why this gets so much hate. Solid story, amazing graphics for it's time, interesting combat.

I played this game through a few times, I utterly adore it, the attention to detail, the universe and everything, Christof Romuald's story was fantastic

Honestly surprised people didn't like this game that much.

Others:

Dragon age II, natch, not as bad as people say, nowhere near as bad, I mean the reused areas were a bit grating, but the city was the real star of the game, Kirkwall and the people in it felt so alive that I felt like a part of the universe, not as much as Dragon age: Origins, which had some brilliant worldbuilding, and Awakening, which was what ALL DLC SHOULD BE, but still a pretty good game, glad I got to carry over everything in both games to Inquisition, I spent ages grinding out the games to 100% on the 360 over the last few months so I could get my ideal state through the keep in DA:I

Kane and Lynch: Dead Men and Kane and Lynch 2: Dog days were some of my favourite character driven games of all time, I don't care what anyone says, the gameplay was pretty solid, the graphics weren't the best (who cares anyway?) but certainly nowhere near as bad as people say, the world and individuals within it though... amazing, everyone existing in this moral grey area, where you root for the 2 individuals who you are cast as because everyone else is just WORSE, Kane is possibly my favourite father in gaming, one with a very understandable reaction to the world around him based on his own experiences, and an utterly lost soul, Lynch though, Lynch is what someone like Trevor Phillips would be in the real world, a medicated psychotic with serious dissociative tendencies, but when controlled, a powerhouse of driven violence and raw insanity, and when he loses control, it is glorious.
I prefer the first for the HEAT/Payday style influences, but the second has a very cool found footage vibe to it as well, plays like a youtube video of the worst day of Lynches life.
I think that anyone who has trouble identifying with these brilliant characters is probably lying to themselves.

The nomad soul is the only David Cage game I even slightly liked, the rest of his "interactive movies" can absolutely suck it.

Love destiny, utterly adore it.

Alpha Protocol was massively underrated, definitely deserves a sequel, or at least more games set in that universe.

 

[EHKOS]

I enjoy the atmosphere of Sonic Boom, but maybe it's because everything in it reminds me of the older Ratchet and Clank games.

Starfox Adventures is amazing, but that's probably because I played that as my first SF game. Recently played 64 3D, that game is awesome and I know understand the hate for it. But if you took Fox out of Adventures it would be a fine game.

I don't know if it's hated or not, but Resident Evil: Revelations was really cool. The atmosphere had valleys, but the peaks were wonderful. And the combat was functional, it didn't feel as responsive as 4, but at least I didn't have a problem with it. Also I could have sworn Raymond was voiced by Steve Blum.

 

[AT God]

I liked Duke Nukem Forever. It had its flaws, most of the criticism it got was fair, and it definitely wasn't worth the wait but I really liked a number of the things it did. I love the environment interaction stuff, I had always assumed that would be the future of FPS games and hated when that kinda stuff disappeared. I also felt that the mechanics of its shooting were some of the most responsive. The weapons good animation, had satisfying sounds, and the control and responsiveness for hit registration seemed flawless.

I also liked the Sonic Adventure games. At least as a teenager I liked them, the dialogue sucked occasionally but they were fun, although I am pretty sure if I dug out my Dreamcast and tried them again they wouldn't stand up. First one was definitely worse if I recall but I still enjoyed both of them.

 

[dauw]

Dragon Age 2 wasn't bad, it was a great game...the best game in the series (and still is)... when has it ever been considered infamously bad?

Jesus Christ, no, it was certianly not the best game in the DA series. That's not even an opinion, man. It had some cool characters going for it, but the rest of it was reused maps to the point where you'd have to wonder if they did it to be deliberately insulting, along with horrible combat with little to no strategic thinking required. EA pretty much destroyed the game by trying to make it appealing to the "console crowd" (whilst alienating DA:O fans) and by rushing it out the door before it was anywhere near finished. Sorry, but Fenris rivalmance or whatever does not make up for all of that.

Some times I wonder whether people have any standards at all. See, it's crap like this that makes people like EA think they can get away with mediocre stuff like DA2. I would class DA2 as the worst of games simply because of What Could Have Been. On its own, sure, it's a 6/10; seen worse, seen better. In the Dragon Age series, however, it really should have been called Dragon Age 2: Wasted Potential. It is a game and a publisher that deserves no apologists saying that they don't get what all the fuss was about.

I can't say I've ever loved any infamously bad games, but I have to confess to preferring Fallout Tactics over the original Fallout 1 or 2. That should count for something.

 

[RavingSturm]

Already mentioned:
DragonAge 2 - streamlined compared to the first in terms of dialog, combat slightly better in some areas, hated the waves, production obviously rushed(music, recycled environments)

Arkham Origins - if you can get past the bugs, forced multiplayer, nerfed ability to cancel attacks into counters, Ubisoft tower mechanics, its pretty good especially the boss fights(though a lot of them are still too heavily scripted for cinematic purposes)

Alpha Protocol - game obviously wasnt sure what direction to go, was cut short,buggy combat, but as far as ability to make outcome changing decisions this is what ME3 should have been(still hate the starchild)


Resident Evil 6 - best controls out of all the REs I have played(havent gotten Revelations yet), could have worked if they didnt force the COD type action too much and stick to the horror and weirdness

Singularity/Wolfenstein(Raven) - some cool looking monsters but obviously hampered by budget and the fact that the developer was still stuck in the 90's

Bulletstorm/Duke Forever - unPC irreverence(I grew up in the '80s, none of this oversensitive dont hurt me stuff, you grew a thick skin survived, did the best with what you got and moved on)

 

[soren7550]

A little surprised no one has said it yet, but for me it's Perfect Dark Zero.

I get a lot of the criticism for it (doesn't live up to the original, graphics are iffy, voice acting weak, multiplayer not as deep as the previous game, etc.), but I still love it. Granted, I got it pretty much for free, so that may be a contributing factor to my forgiveness for it. But I love how they made Joanna her own person and not just Bond but a lady, the multiplayer announcer is just wonderfully insane, there's more story and character to it than the original, the multiplayer is pretty fun, and two of my absolute favorite books exist because of this game.

 

[Bizzaro Stormy]

Duke Nukem Forever has already been mentioned so I'll say Tekwar. I won't pretend it was good, and I never beat the Matrix section, it really hurt my eyes, but I enjoyed it. One of the complaints I heard about it was that the bosses died in one shot. Well in real life if you managed to fight your way through an army of, most likely armored, guards and unexpectedly burst into a man's office and shot him he would probably go down! The armor would explain it taking several shots each to kill his goons and the surprise factor that you actually survived would explain why he hadn't put on a bullet proof vest. I think it's fair to say that the game was a good idea with a bad execution, kind of like the books, and the T.V. show...