Games magazines, online reviews and the like, they by their very nature review games and a lot of the time they are fairly accurate, but they don't speak for everyone and they are often bought by publishers.

This thread is for you to name the critically shamed games that you thought were good and worth recommending.

I offer up/

Legendary, 360/ps3
A FPS where Pandora's box is opened and all manner of mythical creatures come out and break the world. Hmm, sounds a bit like my comic... moving on.

Someone
Legendary is the gaming equivalent of cheap supermarket own-brand beans, but instead of costing eleven pence it costs the same as a prime steak cooked by a top chef. It's a bad, bad game. One of the worst I've played on this generation of consoles, in fact. In that regard, at least, the title is surprisingly accurate.

Well yeah, it didn't review well.
It has flaws but they are rarely as bad as the reviews would have you believe. I found the controls tight and the action fast and frantic despite the linear design.
Also it is no more linear that say gears of war, just with lower production values.
It isn't perfect but for the prices it sells for you will get good value for money. I found it far more enjoyable than killzone 2 that's for sure.

Deadly Towers

Famous for being the worst game of all time on the NES. I knew this game was bad while I played it as a kid... but I... enjoyed it. In fact I played through it many times, not just once (many ppl play through games they hate at least once, to justify the purchase and to see if it has a cool ending).

Why... Because as you play, you realize that the developer had no intention of letting you beat the game, and the dungeons are like wastelands which were not designed by human hands.

So I wasn't playing a game designed by humans trying to make an enjoyable game... I was playing against the universe, or fate, or a deadly disease, or a natural disaster, or what have you.

It's like climbing a completely uncharted mountain instead of climbing Everest which every mountaineer has already spiked and mapped. It's like... a sandbox game created by a malicious virus, before I ever had any concept of sandbox games. Anyways, I've gotten the ending many times, but I never managed to even map 1 of the dungeons (I've tried... I had graph paper and everything... but their stealth-teleportation rooms were designed to foil any attempt at mapping), and I've never made it out alive from any dungeon I tried to map...

I'm glad you made this thread because I love Nier. It got blasted by the gaming media and I can't for the life of me understand why. The game ia absolutely amazing. I might even say it's the most under-rated game of all time. The story is great and original. The characters are very interesting and the music is hauntingly beautiful. One complaint reviews had is the graphics, it can be ugly. It looks like a late PS2 game. But it's so fun it's easy to ignore this huge fault. The boss fights are so epic and each one is very different from the last. It has decent replay value as well. You can replay the game after beating it with all your level ups and it actually reveals new plot elements.

One game that comes to mind would have to be Kameo for the 360.

Mainstream reviewers were kind to it, however the studio that made it (Rare) was not. In fact, they pretty much regret making the game altogether as shown by this:

I was on that project from start to finish, so it's quite painful to talk about it in some ways.

We changed direction slightly because of the new audience we were trying to aim at. We called Kameo an elf, but really she was a fairy. We tried to disguise that a few times, but it didn't really work out. It was a game with a fairy for an audience that likes shooting and killing things. "In hindsight, it probably would have been best to scrap everything and start again. And then we jumped on 360 as a launch title. We weren't far off finishing .

The game coincides with the switching of publishers from Nintendo to Microsoft for the company. Originally this was supposed to be a Gamecube title, but then they had to clean it up, in a sense, for the 360 audience (assumed to be an older crowd). Everyone that I've talked to personally would agree with the above statement that the game just wasn't worth purchasing, even as a debut title for the 360.

That was actually the reason I had a chance to play it. I never owned a 360, but a friend of mine was considering selling his but let me borrow it for the time being (I'm sure those of you that own one remember that initial dead period when the system first came out). And I must say...I loved the game. I've always found their style and platforming to be extremely entertaining, and this one did not disappoint. Sure, it may have been slightly easier than other adventure games out there, but this one was just...fun to me. Quite a few people will tell you this game should never have been made, but if I look past the fact that it doesn't quite fit the 360 audience it ranks as a well-designed game.

This:


Yeah, so what if it was just basically a average third person shooting game that had so much fan-service that it was ridiculous but didn't otherwise really stand out too much from other shooting games?

I liked the fact that I got to play as a woman who not only liked to groove in time to the music, but shoot things at the same time. it was kind of addicting in it's way.

in fact I probably would still play it if it wasn't for the fact that I actually didn't own the game, much less a gamecube. my brother owns one, and he traded in that game for something else. =\

Genejoke
Games magazines, online reviews and the like, they by their very nature review games and a lot of the time they are fairly accurate, but they don't speak for everyone and they are often bought by publishers.

This thread is for you to name the critically shamed games that you thought were good and worth recommending.

I offer up/

Legendary, 360/ps3
A FPS where Pandora's box is opened and all manner of mythical creatures come out and break the world. Hmm, sounds a bit like my comic... moving on.

Someone
Legendary is the gaming equivalent of cheap supermarket own-brand beans, but instead of costing eleven pence it costs the same as a prime steak cooked by a top chef. It's a bad, bad game. One of the worst I've played on this generation of consoles, in fact. In that regard, at least, the title is surprisingly accurate.

Well yeah, it didn't review well.
It has flaws but they are rarely as bad as the reviews would have you believe. I found the controls tight and the action fast and frantic despite the linear design.
Also it is no more linear that say gears of war, just with lower production values.
It isn't perfect but for the prices it sells for you will get good value for money. I found it far more enjoyable than killzone 2 that's for sure.

I agree with you in that Legendary wasn't a bad game at all. it just got so harsh reviews. i guess they did expect more of this game. but i did learn to not expect too much from a game.
and i liked how they did use mythological monsters in the game. cruel, murderous and wild. but not entirely evil since they only follow their nature.
and this is for PS3 too. just letting you know. :)

Warpedwenger
I'm glad you made this thread because I love Nier. It got blasted by the gaming media and I can't for the life of me understand why. The game ia absolutely amazing. I might even say it's the most under-rated game of all time. The story is great and original. The characters are very interesting and the music is hauntingly beautiful. One complaint reviews had is the graphics, it can be ugly. It looks like a late PS2 game. But it's so fun it's easy to ignore this huge fault. The boss fights are so epic and each one is very different from the last. It has decent replay value as well. You can replay the game after beating it with all your level ups and it actually reveals new plot elements.

My Mrs is playing it right now and enjoying it far more than FF13 so it can't be all bad.

Fudge ya! Now there's 2 people that like Nier.

I had a hard time trying to think of a game that was actually critically mauled but that I liked anyway. I liked Mario Sunshine, but even that got decent reviews.

I might want to mention Oni. I found its combat system incredibly fun... so fun that I almost never even picked up a gun, opting instead to try stealth kills or brutal fistfights with my enemies. The story was hit-and-miss, but overall interesting, and some of the artwork was awkward enough that I might have been able to draw it better. But man, that gameplay. Oh, I should note that I played it on the PC, which most felt was the better version.

But I guess I missed something. I was living overseas in Japan during the game's hype and release, and hadn't heard of it until I got back. I was surprised to find that everyone was ticked off about the game not having a few features they had promised, including multiplayer. I don't care, though. I heard no promises. I just found a game a loved it.

I wish Bungie hadn't gone on to that commercial flop "Halo", because I'd love more Oni.

I was hyped about Oni but then the games mags mauled it so I never bought it even when I saw it in the bargain bins. They cited poor controls. Please elaborate on what made the combat system good.

PN03: Wow that looks like Ultraviolet The Game or something. I actually kinda want to play it after watching that video. Makes me nostalgic for some 80-90s stuff such as Light Years and Aeon Flux.

I enjoyed Rogue Ops. It wasn't exactly mauled, I suppose, but the reaction was very lukewarm.

Essentially, I liked the fact that it was a stealth game but it wasn't as obsessively repetitive as MGS, it had controls that were easier than Thief, and it wasn't as frustratingly difficult as Splinter Cell.

It certainly wasn't a great game, but it was something you could just pick up and play and start having fun with immediately. Not many stealth games seem to offer that.

mlai
I was hyped about Oni but then the games mags mauled it so I never bought it even when I saw it in the bargain bins. They cited poor controls. Please elaborate on what made the combat system good.

Those magazines might have been complaining about the PS2 controls, which I hear didn't work very well. I thought they were quite good on the PC.

It was third-person shooter, back when they very uncommon. You would control the view with the mouse, swiveling around your character, and using the WASD keys to control her. Your left mouse button punched and your right button kicked.

You could perform some cool combos and special moves by pressing the right combination of buttons and keys, but what I really loved about it was that you could block and counterattack your opponents if your timing was right and you weren't just mashing buttons. Add to that some fun stealth kills and moves you could do based on the way your opponent is faced or what speed you're going at when you approach them.

Of course, you could whip out your gun and try to take the enemies down from a distance, but that wasn't nearly as fun.

Here's a quick video demonstrating some of the combat:

You can thank Mlai for this one.

AVP, the latest one.

Someone
The few qualities stem from the characteristics imposed by the license, things that instantly make this appealing for an audience who grew up petrified of these things. The unmistakable bleeps of the motion tracker, the aggressive bursts from the Marines pulse rifle, the unnatural clicks from the Predator and the anguished screams of the Aliens all mirror the movies admirably and help to create a familiar experience - on the ears at least. The prevalent lack of ambition, however, is guilty of relying solely on these qualities - knowing that the right sounding bleeps on a motion detector instantly creates tension, the undeniably terrifying screech of an alien is enough to make up for its general dullness - rather than carefully creating an experience inspired by them.

I think this got harsh reviews unjustly. Granted it COULD have been better, the predator campaign is hindered by some clunky controls and the Alien campaign has a very weak narrative. that said, how on earth are you supposed to tell a deep or complex story from the aliens POV?

The game may rely on the things from the films but it does it well. It may not be ground breaking but it is far from a bad game.

Jericho. Perhaps it didn't get bad reviews but yet i feel it is a great game.
http://www.gamespot.com/pc/adventure/clivebarkersjericho/review.html
just too bad with the ending and there won't be a second game at all that could have tie up the loose ends.
I really enjoyed the story and the characters. i did play this alot of time and yet i can still find new things.

Here's another one: Ikari Warriors .

For the longest time, I tried to beat this game without knowing the code that's a band's name. I didn't know about the code until I got Nintendo Power.

Even with the infinite lives code, this game is so glitchy that you won't be able to finish the game the first 2 or 3 times that you try. Each try takes about... 4 hours?

But hey, as a kid I was sadomasochist enough to like playing Deadly Towers. And Castlevania 1. And Ghosts n' Goblins (I beat it without any codes). So ofc I liked playing this game.

Kids are sick, man. What was wrong with me???

Anyone try Beyond good and evil?

It was one of those flop games (don't know about the reviews it got though) that I ended up digging up out of a discount bin at some point and tried it.

It managed to appeal to me for some reason. Bottom line, I liked it.

Yes, it was simple and the graphics weren't really that great but there was just something about it that I liked. The whole "Investigative journalist" approach was kinda fun.

I heard that they're now making a sequel for that game. Apparently the creator finally managed to get funding for it, despite his first game not being a success.

Edit: Oh, and I also liked the music.

Never played it but it was praised to the skies all round, it just didn't quite do the business hoped (i think) there is an HD remake coming for either xbla and psn, maybe both.

I like Jurassic Park: Tresspasser and the only Final Fantasy game I've played to date and liked has been 9.

That's enough to mke people think my video game opinions lack merit.

The only thing that bugged people about 9 was the style, which led to a lot of people complaining about it looking like a kids game (kind of like the reaction Wind Waker got). Reviewers, however, loved it. It has an average of 93.32 on GameRankings, 85% of which are 9 or above. In fact, most of the people I know thought the game was pretty good. It returned to some classic themes and gameplay systems which actually pleased a lot of the old schoo fan base.

Dead Premonition. In all fairness, a lot of the reviews were accurate. This game is clunky, it feels like an unreleased Dreamcast title, and it's too absurd to take seriously at all. But to me that was the charm. Easily one of the most hilariously insane games I've ever picked up. If you have 20 bucks, an Xbox, and are able to "get" the so-bad-its-good thing, then I suggest picking it up and giving it a try.

Got to admit I have been considering giving it a go.

It's really a strange little gem. I would definitely recommend Deadly Premonition. The writing is absurd, quaint, and all around excellent. It has a quiet yet obvious insanity to it.

The old Splatterhouse games for the Sega. Being a huge horror fan, I loved those games, despite how repetitive they got after a while. And I'm definitely going to get the remake that just came out.

Product Placement
Anyone try Beyond good and evil?

It was one of those flop games (don't know about the reviews it got though) that I ended up digging up out of a discount bin at some point and tried it.

It managed to appeal to me for some reason. Bottom line, I liked it.

Yes, it was simple and the graphics weren't really that great but there was just something about it that I liked. The whole "Investigative journalist" approach was kinda fun.

I heard that they're now making a sequel for that game. Apparently the creator finally managed to get funding for it, despite his first game not being a success.

Edit: Oh, and I also liked the music.

Beyond Good and Evil got very good scores when it was released and is a widely-praised game overall. The problem was that it was released around the same time another well-known Ubisoft game was released - Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time. Bad move on Ubisoft's part.

Aurora Moon
This:

i've played this too. I liked it. ; ) Held my attention for awhile, actually.

mlai
Here's another one: Ikari Warriors .

For the longest time, I tried to beat this game without knowing the code that's a band's name. I didn't know about the code until I got Nintendo Power.

Even with the infinite lives code, this game is so glitchy that you won't be able to finish the game the first 2 or 3 times that you try. Each try takes about... 4 hours?

But hey, as a kid I was sadomasochist enough to like playing Deadly Towers. And Castlevania 1. And Ghosts n' Goblins (I beat it without any codes). So ofc I liked playing this game.

Kids are sick, man. What was wrong with me???

Ghouls n ghosts, I beat that without cheating too, played it more recently and damn it was hard, wouldn't have the patience these days.

Ghouls N' Ghosts is a family-friendly party game compared to Ghosts N' Goblins, mon ami.

I did find a game that got very harsh reviews. Vampire rain: Altered Species.
I did buy it in my "What the heck" moods since it was VERY cheap. So i tried it out.. and found out i did like it in spite of the... weapons you get. (you ALWAYS have that goddamned useless pistol that isn't better than a pea shooter against the vampires)
It did remind me of Metal gear solid games because you are supposed to sneak around the vampire.

The Armored Core series was infamous for its "incredibly difficult" controls by gaming magazines and such. However, it is those very controls that once mastered, make the game one of the best 3D games I have ever played. The complexity of the controls is what allows you to do things you can't do in other 3D games. Can you fly/hop around a map miles in length while being able to look up/down left right freely? No, other 3D games will make directional looking be automated in some way, thus reducing the amount of skill needed to play a game.

Armored Core was basically the ultimate multiplayer game when it comes to how much skill you can put into it. The AC was literally an extension of you.

Eternal Eyes a PS1 stratagy RPG with a weird story and monster creating side to it seems to be only pulling a 2/10 on most scoring boards. I really liked it though. Puchi Puchi Virus a puzzle game for the DS doesn't get higher than a 7.5 and has a ton of 3s and 4s (out of 10) I also really enjoy that game.

mlai
Here's another one: Ikari Warriors.

I <3 this game. I didn't realize it received bad reviews.