Games That Don't Suck

[Witchyjoshy]

A thread I thought I'd make.

Basically, there may be games that you've heard suck, that you may have even said sucked after a cursory glance.  But when you actually get a chance to play it, or sit down with a video series of it, you find out that, in fact, the game doesn't suck.

Oh, it might not be a work of art, and it might not even be great, but it's good enough to qualify as a game that doesn't suck.

For me, one of those games is Spyro: A Hero's Tail.  At first, I thought this game was going to be worse than Enter the Dragonfly, which was horribly glitchy and the cutscenes were obviously aimed at 6 year olds.  So I thought Hero's Tail would be more of the same.

I was surprised.  While it is very different from the PS1 era, in its own way, it's good.  Cutscenes and dialogue are more vibrant and less the familiar loop-de-loop "HUR DE HUR" that has existed in the PS1 era (and Enter the Dragonfly) and more personalized.  The game is witty and self-biting with its humor, right down to lampshading how condescending Hunter is when trying to explain things to the player.  I initially cried out "IT SUCKS!" to Spyro's new voice, but it's grown on me.  I still much prefer his voice from the second and third game (that was the same VA, right?) but this voice isn't bad.  It kinda helps that Spyro's bacl turned into the snarky teenager that he was in the very first Spyro.  Only with even more snark.

If anything, the biggest criticism I can make about it is that it's merely different.  Which isn't a bad thing at all, but I think that's why fans seem to hate it so much - it's not really the kind of Spyro they grew up with and loved.  Same for why they hate Legend of Spyro.  And Skylanders (which, honestly, I reacted with disgust too at first, but then decided that the Obvious Marketing Scheme was actually of benefit, since collecting can be fun in and of itself, and the statuettes aren't horrible)

So, what about you?  What games did you think suck but then changed your mind on?  Or what games do you see most people say that suck but you enjoy anyways?

Also, just a request, please don't criticize each other's opinions in this matter.  Going "No, that game really sucks, I can't believe you like it, you're the reason why games suck today" defeats the purpose of the thread :|

[TheL]

I heard stupid things about Eternal Darkness when it came out, mainly because it came out the same week as the abominable Resident Evil Zero.

None of them were true.  ED is the only Gamecube-exclusive title I ever bothered to keep.  Ten years later, I still have it.

[Cerim Treascair]

I adore Eternal Darkness, even if I can't play it because I scare easy.  Same with Silent Hill 2.  And Amnesia, come to think of it.

As for my contribution to this? Really Big Sky, on Steam.  I've always loved side-scrolling shooters, but I'd heard RBS was... lacking.  I can't get enough of it, go figure.

[Witchyjoshy]

Also, strangely, Shadow the Hedgehog.

Is it a good game?  Not really.  Does it suck?  Again... not really.

It's an average game at best, but it is fun to play, and the over the top voice acting (having a bunch of voice actors used to doing children's cartoons swear like someone trying to fit in at a sailor convention is always fun) just adds to the game instead of takes away.

It's also the only modern Sonic game I've 100%ed >_>;

[Saturn500]

As for my contribution to this? Really Big Sky, on Steam.  I've always loved side-scrolling shooters, but I'd heard RBS was... lacking.  I can't get enough of it, go figure.

^This
Link: http://store.steampowered.com/app/201570/

[Søren]

A lot of people didnt like the BloodRayne games, they got very "eh" reviews.  But I fuckin looooooved it

[VirtualStranger]

Alpha Protocol got absolutely ravaged by "professional" reviewers and sold fairly poorly as a direct result. It put developer Obsidian on really shaky ground until New Vegas came out.

Which is a shame, because it's one of the exceedingly few RPGs where the story actually reacts to your choices in an organic manner, and where the plot hasn't been ripped straight out of the Big Book Of RPG Cliches.

The reviews tended to ignore that completely and focus exclusively on the graphics and combat mechanics. They also judged the game based on the standards of a third-person shooter instead an RPG.

[RavynousHunter]

That's the whole reason why I don't read reviews.  Yeah, I'll watch Spoony and Yahtzee and Marc0 stuff, but I know better than to base my opinions off of someone else's...been burned too many times by that.

I think the one game I can point to that I initially thought would suck but turned out positively marvelous was Castlevania: Symphony of the Night.  The title sounded so pretentious, and the prospect of a side-scrolling, 2D action-RPG didn't really strike me as interesting...until I played it.  And it was fucking amazing.  Still is, as a matter of fact.

[Sleepy]

I expected Doom 3 to be awful because I'm such a fan of the original cheesy graphics and weapons, but it turned out to be amazing. Developers did a standup job of smoothly incorporating a few elements from the first two games, like enemies (cacodemons, yes!) and classic weapons (BFG), while adding things like plot depth, ambient sounds, and more horror overall.

[Her3tiK]

I heard a lot of bad comments about League of Legends before finally caving and giving it a shot, and now it's one of the few games I still enjoy.

[DrFishcake]

Nothing recently but PES 2009 basically got panned, and yet I thought it was pretty much OK. I'm assuming the reviewers are a bunch of FIFA fanboys.

[StallChaser]

Dawn of Mana is one that really stands out as being better than the reviews.  The main complaint was that it wasn't "RPG-y" enough compared to the other Mana games.  It's definitely the odd one out in that respect, but it's pretty decent as a standalone game.