A lot of people on this thread (http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/9.848160-Games-you-like-but-are-ashamed-to-admit-you-like?page=1) have responded with things along the lines of "Why should I be ashamed of what I like?" or "I love (insert controversial game) and I am NOT ashamed!"
So, here's a reverse thread. Let's be loud and proud. What games are you NOT ashamed of liking, despite the fact that there are certain stigmas associated with being a fan?
Here's my off-the-cuff list:
Dragon Age II - The combat, for all it's silliness, was just fun, and I dug the story. I completely understand why a lot of people hated it, and the shameless recycling of environments was bollocks, but I still dig this game.
Prince of Persia (2008) - I loved the art style, the environments, and the ridiculous parkour. I get why people hated it, but liked the story, I liked the characters, and I didn't even mind the story's ending. I even enjoyed the combat; as someone who has studied the art of fencing, I like how the combat felt more like a legitimate sword-dual (this is rare in video games), focusing more on the timing of blocking/parrying/attacking--it was different, interesting, and it worked. I agree that the game overall was way too easy and the lack of a difficulty selector was a head-scratcher, but I still love the game.
Final Fantasy VII - Has it aged poorly in a number of ways? Sure. But in a time when few video games dared to do anything bold with gaming as storytelling medium, FFVII addressed themes of terrorism, exploitation of and dependence on finite natural resources, the relationship between humanity and nature, questions of personal identity, and the clash between globalism and national cultural history. That is some heavy shit coming from a 1997 video game. You can say that these ideas were explored poorly, but FFVII was one of the pioneers of video game storytelling (as far as the big-budget mainstream games go), and in the context of its time, it was a giant. For the record, I still find it highly playable and enjoyable despite its age.
Final Fantasy X - "It's nothing but a CGI anime! The gameplay is nothing but moving the party down a linear path and fighting battle until another cutscene pops up!" And if really like the battle system and I enjoy the story that's being linearly fed to me, what's the problem? Some would say that this game does a disservice to the medium by keeping the story and gameplay largely seperate, and I don't disagree with that, but I still love this game. Best turn-based RPG battle system I've ever played with and I really dig the story, so much so that they sub-par voice acting and awkward moments weren't enough to even come close to ruining it for me.
So, here's a reverse thread. Let's be loud and proud. What games are you NOT ashamed of liking, despite the fact that there are certain stigmas associated with being a fan?
Here's my off-the-cuff list:
Dragon Age II - The combat, for all it's silliness, was just fun, and I dug the story. I completely understand why a lot of people hated it, and the shameless recycling of environments was bollocks, but I still dig this game.
Prince of Persia (2008) - I loved the art style, the environments, and the ridiculous parkour. I get why people hated it, but liked the story, I liked the characters, and I didn't even mind the story's ending. I even enjoyed the combat; as someone who has studied the art of fencing, I like how the combat felt more like a legitimate sword-dual (this is rare in video games), focusing more on the timing of blocking/parrying/attacking--it was different, interesting, and it worked. I agree that the game overall was way too easy and the lack of a difficulty selector was a head-scratcher, but I still love the game.
Final Fantasy VII - Has it aged poorly in a number of ways? Sure. But in a time when few video games dared to do anything bold with gaming as storytelling medium, FFVII addressed themes of terrorism, exploitation of and dependence on finite natural resources, the relationship between humanity and nature, questions of personal identity, and the clash between globalism and national cultural history. That is some heavy shit coming from a 1997 video game. You can say that these ideas were explored poorly, but FFVII was one of the pioneers of video game storytelling (as far as the big-budget mainstream games go), and in the context of its time, it was a giant. For the record, I still find it highly playable and enjoyable despite its age.
Final Fantasy X - "It's nothing but a CGI anime! The gameplay is nothing but moving the party down a linear path and fighting battle until another cutscene pops up!" And if really like the battle system and I enjoy the story that's being linearly fed to me, what's the problem? Some would say that this game does a disservice to the medium by keeping the story and gameplay largely seperate, and I don't disagree with that, but I still love this game. Best turn-based RPG battle system I've ever played with and I really dig the story, so much so that they sub-par voice acting and awkward moments weren't enough to even come close to ruining it for me.