Poorly Reviewed Games You Enjoyed

[Machine Man 1992]

Syndicate 2012.

I just liked the "feel" of it, you know? I liked the DART system, and I liked how shiny and plausibly futuristic everything looked.

 

[kdanielss]

I'd go with Castlevania: Lament of Innocence which I had problems with (it's convoluted and boring level design) but the combat was solid (it demanded creative use of combos and magical attacks) and the music was fantastic.

So yeah, maybe if the Castlevania team would decide to ape a good 3D metroidvania style game (Arkham Asylum) the next 3D Castlevania could live up to the series' name.

 

[Valkrex]

I am going to get sooooooo much flak for this.
Metroid Other M is one of my favorite games of all time. The game was thoroughly fun from start to finish, with a great and fluid combat system, epic boss battles, and fun environments. I enjoyed the story and found myself keep playing just to see the next twist and turn it was going to take. I also though Samus's characterization of a bounty hunter who has suffered from some emotional trauma from the events in her life to be very original and infinitely more interesting than just another action hero in power armor. The music was great and the atmosphere was very appropriate to the setting. It got me into the Metroid series, something every game of the Prime trilogy failed to do so.
Now it does have its flaws. I do agree Samus's voice actress needed work on her delivery and the switching perspective thing was annoying. But this was the first game in a while to be so much fun and interest me in the game's story and messages behind said stories than any game in recent memory.
Now let the hateful comments commence.

In terms of its gameplay I really liked Other M. To me the story, while it has some great ideas, REALLY messed up the game's potential. I understand that they wanted Samus to remain a bad-ass, wile also making her look more human.However, having a complete mental breakdown during the Ridley fight... good god. If it was the first time she'd seen him since her home was destroyed, then I could understand the freak out. But seeing as this takes place after Super Metroid, and she's killed him at least 6 times before hand... just no. That incident, coupled with countless others really ruined the story for me.

Gameplay was great, but the story really killed it for me.

As for the Prime Trilogy, those are some of my favorite games of all time, though I can definitely understand the immersion problem there.

The thing with Ridley was that this was the first time he's ever returned to life. Up to this point, Ridley has only been critically injured by Samus but never killed. He was finally killed in Super Metroid. So the way I saw it, Samus finally had closure on her parents' deaths, only to find out their killer has returned to life spontaneously. That's why she freaked out like that. Though I do think they should have made the scene shorter and more have it so Ridley grabbed her before she was able to react.

Actually, this is at least the 3rd time she's seen him revived, seeing as Other M takes place after Super Metroid, which is after Metroid 2, which was after the Prime Trilogy, which was after the original. Meta Ridley in the zero-mission/original, Ridley in Prime 1, Meta Ridley again in Prime 1, again in Prime 3, Omega Ridely in Prime 3, Ridley again in Super metroid, and then again in Other M. So no. This is not the first time he's been revived. It even says in the lore logs in the prime games that he was killed, and brought back.

 

[Varanfan9]

I am going to get sooooooo much flak for this.
Metroid Other M is one of my favorite games of all time. The game was thoroughly fun from start to finish, with a great and fluid combat system, epic boss battles, and fun environments. I enjoyed the story and found myself keep playing just to see the next twist and turn it was going to take. I also though Samus's characterization of a bounty hunter who has suffered from some emotional trauma from the events in her life to be very original and infinitely more interesting than just another action hero in power armor. The music was great and the atmosphere was very appropriate to the setting. It got me into the Metroid series, something every game of the Prime trilogy failed to do so.
Now it does have its flaws. I do agree Samus's voice actress needed work on her delivery and the switching perspective thing was annoying. But this was the first game in a while to be so much fun and interest me in the game's story and messages behind said stories than any game in recent memory.
Now let the hateful comments commence.

In terms of its gameplay I really liked Other M. To me the story, while it has some great ideas, REALLY messed up the game's potential. I understand that they wanted Samus to remain a bad-ass, wile also making her look more human.However, having a complete mental breakdown during the Ridley fight... good god. If it was the first time she'd seen him since her home was destroyed, then I could understand the freak out. But seeing as this takes place after Super Metroid, and she's killed him at least 6 times before hand... just no. That incident, coupled with countless others really ruined the story for me.

Gameplay was great, but the story really killed it for me.

As for the Prime Trilogy, those are some of my favorite games of all time, though I can definitely understand the immersion problem there.

The thing with Ridley was that this was the first time he's ever returned to life. Up to this point, Ridley has only been critically injured by Samus but never killed. He was finally killed in Super Metroid. So the way I saw it, Samus finally had closure on her parents' deaths, only to find out their killer has returned to life spontaneously. That's why she freaked out like that. Though I do think they should have made the scene shorter and more have it so Ridley grabbed her before she was able to react.

Actually, this is at least the 3rd time she's seen him revived, seeing as Other M takes place after Super Metroid, which is after Metroid 2, which was after the Prime Trilogy, which was after the original. Meta Ridley in the zero-mission/original, Ridley in Prime 1, Meta Ridley again in Prime 1, again in Prime 3, Omega Ridely in Prime 3, Ridley again in Super metroid, and then again in Other M. So no. This is not the first time he's been revived. It even says in the lore logs in the prime games that he was killed, and brought back.

Actually, in Prime is says they got the "Injured Ridley" and revived him as Meta Ridley. Plus, he didn't die in Prime, only got knocked off a cliff. He doesn't die in Prime 3 either, according to the Metroid Wiki. This is the first time he's back from the dead, but he has come back from grevious injuries before hand.

 

[Darth_Payn]

I'm gonna say Captain America: Super Soldier. Yeah, it's a movie tie-in game, but there's no rule about how those HAVE to suck (exhibit A: Goldeneye, Exhibit B: Spider-Man 2). It truly felt like Batman:Arkham Asylum meets Castle Wolfenstein, because it's set in Castle Zemo after HYDRA took it over, and it has a bunch of classic Cap villains, collectibles a-plenty, and you can throw the freaking shield!

captcha: mumbo jumbo
that's what a lot of reviews called it, and that's what I think of them

 

[waj9876]

I was gonna say Steambot Chronicles, my favorite game ever. Until I realized I don't know what ratings it currently has. Or ever had. So I looked it up on IGN and Gamestop. Lowest was a 7.3/10. Higher than I thought it was gonna be. The user scores averaged from 8.2 to 9 something.

 

[FirewallCMD]

Every Dynasty Wariors game ever. I keep buying them cause they are reliable, something people complain about.

This. Personally, I know the gameplay is.. Completely inconsistent besides the whole button mashing and shallow story kind of thing, but there is something about it that just keeps me coming back for more. Maybe its because the Romance of the Three Kingdoms deeply piques my interests and experiencing through games helps keep me from making the effort of reading. Yadda.

ALSO Crackdown 1 & 2.
Frankly, I had endless fun with Keys to the City Mode, and the thought of a super soldier in a big city with orbs all over the place, providing incentive to explore the entire world to better your characters abilities, is just fantastic.
Also I really like throwing trucks at civilians. Power complex or something like that.

Maybe nobody cared about Crackdown 1 because it had the Halo 3 beta or something in it.

 

[pandorum]

X2: Wolverine's Revenge. It was just... a comic book game. And a fun one at that.

Predator: Concrete Jungle. I've yet to play any other game that lets you just fucking pick someone up and rip their body in half, bare-handed. The stealth executions were just so goddamn fun.

I still to this day do not get why Concrete Jungle got slammed, its the best predator game out there. You sir earned your daily cookie for that.

 

[Another]

I actually really dug the two Luminous Arc SRPGs on the DS. Looking back, they were not all that great, but I got them at a time when a lot of SRPGs were not coming out, so they scratched that particular itch.

Beyond that, I don't really like any games that got poor reviews. Mirror's Edge would be another one I guess? It didn't get super poor reviews though, for the most part.

 

[bigfatcarp93]

Halo 3: ODST.

Not only the best Halo game in my opinion. but one of my top eight games of all time. Brilliant music, a wonderful atmosphere, characters I cared about, a more refined version of the traditional Halo gameplay, and to all the math class dropouts who call it a "four-hour campaign", it's actually seven-eight hours long. Not exactly Skyrim, but still.

 

[bigfatcarp93]

Predator: Concrete Jungle. I've yet to play any other game that lets you just fucking pick someone up and rip their body in half, bare-handed. The stealth executions were just so goddamn fun.

I still to this day do not get why Concrete Jungle got slammed, its the best predator game out there. You sir earned your daily cookie for that.

Oh, shit yeah, I forgot about Concrete Jungle! Not a perfect game, but undeniably fun. Also, DA MUSIC.

 

[Sir Christopher McFarlane]

Mine:

Dirge of Cerberus;
Final Fantasy Mystic Quest
Sands of Destruction (what I like is mostly the voice overs)
Super Mario Brothers 2/ The Lost Levels: the best Mario game on NES.

 

[Valkrex]

I am going to get sooooooo much flak for this.
Metroid Other M is one of my favorite games of all time. The game was thoroughly fun from start to finish, with a great and fluid combat system, epic boss battles, and fun environments. I enjoyed the story and found myself keep playing just to see the next twist and turn it was going to take. I also though Samus's characterization of a bounty hunter who has suffered from some emotional trauma from the events in her life to be very original and infinitely more interesting than just another action hero in power armor. The music was great and the atmosphere was very appropriate to the setting. It got me into the Metroid series, something every game of the Prime trilogy failed to do so.
Now it does have its flaws. I do agree Samus's voice actress needed work on her delivery and the switching perspective thing was annoying. But this was the first game in a while to be so much fun and interest me in the game's story and messages behind said stories than any game in recent memory.
Now let the hateful comments commence.

In terms of its gameplay I really liked Other M. To me the story, while it has some great ideas, REALLY messed up the game's potential. I understand that they wanted Samus to remain a bad-ass, wile also making her look more human.However, having a complete mental breakdown during the Ridley fight... good god. If it was the first time she'd seen him since her home was destroyed, then I could understand the freak out. But seeing as this takes place after Super Metroid, and she's killed him at least 6 times before hand... just no. That incident, coupled with countless others really ruined the story for me.

Gameplay was great, but the story really killed it for me.

As for the Prime Trilogy, those are some of my favorite games of all time, though I can definitely understand the immersion problem there.

The thing with Ridley was that this was the first time he's ever returned to life. Up to this point, Ridley has only been critically injured by Samus but never killed. He was finally killed in Super Metroid. So the way I saw it, Samus finally had closure on her parents' deaths, only to find out their killer has returned to life spontaneously. That's why she freaked out like that. Though I do think they should have made the scene shorter and more have it so Ridley grabbed her before she was able to react.

Actually, this is at least the 3rd time she's seen him revived, seeing as Other M takes place after Super Metroid, which is after Metroid 2, which was after the Prime Trilogy, which was after the original. Meta Ridley in the zero-mission/original, Ridley in Prime 1, Meta Ridley again in Prime 1, again in Prime 3, Omega Ridely in Prime 3, Ridley again in Super metroid, and then again in Other M. So no. This is not the first time he's been revived. It even says in the lore logs in the prime games that he was killed, and brought back.

Actually, in Prime is says they got the "Injured Ridley" and revived him as Meta Ridley. Plus, he didn't die in Prime, only got knocked off a cliff. He doesn't die in Prime 3 either, according to the Metroid Wiki. This is the first time he's back from the dead, but he has come back from grevious injuries before hand.

Okay you got me there, but I still find it INCREDIBLY difficult, no IMPOSSIBLE to believe the freakout, seeing as she has fought him as many times as she has. But whatever, we're not going to convince each-other here.

 

[RJ Dalton]

I don't bother checking reviews. I draw my information from a pool of friends and assorted individuals whom I trust. So, I don't know what games I've played that were reviewed poorly.

 

[JackWestJr]

A LOT of Sonic games.
Seriously. I was in a blind love for Sonic for a very long time.
I even liked Sonic 06 for a time until I started to play better games and realized how bad it was.
But for some reason I still look back on Shadow the Hedgehog as a good time, I don't know why.

Pretty much this. Friend and I played and glitched the hell outta Sonic 06, was so much fun.

 

[Valkrex]

*accidental double post

 

[Valkrex]

*accidental double post

 

[emissary666]

I don't normally pay attention to scores, so apparently some of my favorites (Alpha Protocol, Pathologic, EYE: The Divine Cybermancy, Deadly Premonition, Binary Domain, Bloodlines, Doom 3, one or two others already mentions) are not the highest rated out there, but there is one game that, were this a competition, beats almost all but the very worst of games, Postal 3. I went in as a Postal fan almost as soon as the game launched, so I may have had some bias, bot once did I lack enjoyment. I, unironically, loved that game. The only reason I stopped playing was that I had overdosed myself on it. In hindsight, it has its flaws, but I always instantly forget about them once I have Champ by my side and a badgersaw in hand.

 

[Garyn Dakari]

Hm...I'm not very aware of how well a lot of my games reviewed, but I get the impression that a lot of the internet doesn't/didn't like the Myst series, but I loved those.

Also...Eragon. Yes, the crappy movie tie-in game. Objectively, I know it's complete garbage, and I won't argue with anyone that says it is. But I have very fond memories of playing through it co-op with my siblings, over and over again.

 

[Grottnikk]

Red Faction: Armageddon got some shitty reviews, but I liked it alot. One review I read said that there was nothing to destroy in Armageddon, and kept comparing it to the previous game, Guerilla. I kept wondering "what fucking game was this guy playing?" Every fight has shit for you to pull down and launch at the bugs. Bad form to review game A by comparing it to game B when the two were not meant to be anything alike.

Payday: The Heist is another favourite of mine. It got the dreaded "7 out of 10" treatment from most places, but I found it to be pretty fun if you get a group of players who actually function as a team. Bad form to score a game poorly because the people you played with were dildos.

Foreign Legion: Buckets of Blood, while not a GREAT game, is certainly worth more than the 4/10 that alot of places gave it. It's a cheap little shooter that's fun and silly.

Fear 3 is another AAA title that got shafted with numerous 7/10 ratings. I'd give it a little higher than that. The bullet-time, creepy atmosphere, and ability to play as your undead cannibal brother Paxton Fettel really makes this game fun. It's not too long, so the creepiness doesn't wear off too much. Also, telekinetically lifting people into the air and making them explode pretty much never gets old.

I Am Alive got some crappy reviews more because the reviewer wanted the game to be one thing (a Tomb Raider clone in most cases) but it's something different entirely. Scarce ammo and food supplies, very little health restoration and very realistic consequences for trying to bite off more than you can chew in combat make it a survival game, not a 3D action platformer. The only thing most reviewers got right was panning the ridiculous save system.

Duke Nukem Forever is a classic case of "too much hype". With the 13 year development hell this game was in, reviewers were just lining up waiting to slap a "SHIT" sticker on this game. They often reviewed the game compared to what they thought it should have been a decade ago. It's not a great game. Hell it's not even a good one, really. But it probably deserves 15/100 more points than it got in most reviews.

Honourable Mention: Zombie Driver, Alpha Protocol, Toy Soldiers and Warlock: Master of the Arcane.