Overrated Games

[KRC]

I recently had a dispute with a friend of mine about overrated games, it turned into a heated debate, he was like COD this and COD that, which totally annoyed the hell out of me.

I want to see what titles everybody else would consider overrated or even underrated.

Also what is the best and worst game you have played.

Overrated: COD Black Ops, Ok visuals but boring..boring..boring,

Underrated: Most 8bit games from the late 80s, ;-) .

Best: Resident Evil 2 PSX, This title still stands out for me even 15 years later.

Worst: Juiced 2 HIN, I hated this game with a vengeance.

Also has anybody had a headache from playing a specific game, mine is Halo 3 on the 360.

[Draco1962]

If you don't like most 8-bit games from the late 80's then why are you into emulation? BTW, looks like an 8-bit avatar ya got there!

I think of the CODs Madern Warfare 1 & 2 are equally the best, Black Ops has a boring story line and online play is crap. COD Modern Warfare 3 has a great, albeit brief story line, but the amount of stock online maps blows and I am not paying $50 to join Elite to get more maps. My COD collection ends here unless they breing back the original programmers from the earlier part of the franchise.

I am a fan of the Halo games and they just keep getting better so far.

[hansolo77]

I think you misunstood overrated vs underrated Draco. Overrated means people say its so much better than they really are, and underrated means people don't say enough good things about a great game. So in his option, the most overrated games are the COD games, which are not as good as everybody says they are. And the 8bit games dontt get nearly enough hype for how good they really were.

I have to agree with kaceyrayclare about the 8bit games. Granted, they're all the same kinda genre, sidescrolling shooter/fighting, platform, and a few puzzles. But they were FUN to play. Current games nowadays are all hyped up on visuals, while the FUN factor tends to go downhill. Sure a game can LOOK absolutely amazing, but a lot is still required to make a game really great. The problem with the COD games, they spend to much time making it look realistic, and not enough time making an interesting story. Halo, on the otherhand, DOES have an interesting story to go along with all the shooting. So I do agree with Draco there, that Halo is not only FUN, but has great graphics, and they're always improving while not losing it's integrity as a good story.

When it comes down to it, I prefer games that are simple but have engaging storys and replay ability. I'd play DOOM over COD anyday, just because it's FUN and doesn't feel like a chore.

[Draco1962]

I am lysdexic, what cna I ysa?

[celly]

I honestly prefer the 80's style sidescrolling button mashing point getting games over anything newer. To be honest, I'm not into any of the FPS/COD type games. Halo 1, the Doom series and Portal (1 and 2) is it really. I've played FPS for real, with real bullets. Gasp! Playing it at home as a game, isn't my cup. But by golly, I hold a high score record that can't be beat at Galaga.

Sorry, back to the topic.

Overratted - Twighlight Princess for Wii. Same game as the Gamecube game but with wiggly stick controls.

Underratted - Grimm Fandango for PC. Great story, art work, game play (its a point and click like Monkey Island) and just all around fun.

[Adultery]

Underrated = Zelda Spirit Tracks (people bash this game but I absolutely loved it!), and all the Dragon Quest games (it sucks they don't get much love in the US).

Overrated = The COD franchise (Sorry, I suck at FPS games), Madden (roster updates! Stop gouging, EA!), and the Saints Row franchise.

Best = Probably has to be Final Fantasy VI or VII. Both great experiences all the way through. Skyrim is pretty great too.

Worst = Lots of games belong on this list! Off the top of my head, I'll say Athena for NES. Boy was I pissed when I popped that in! LOL!

[nullPointer]

Just like Han noted, overrated doesn’t necessarily mean a game is bad, it simply means that the hype surrounding a game is much greater than the perceived quality of that game. Having said that, one game I feel is somewhat overrated is Shadow of the Colossus.

Once again I’m not saying that I think it’s a bad game, but I feel like most of the uproarious praise that it receives is based on an excellent design and concept rather than being a fantastic gameplay experience. Can I appreciate the world building, the well crafted sense of melancholy, and the overall tonality of the experience? Sure. Do I have a blast playing it? Meh. Perhaps I’m pegging myself as a luddite, but I think high concept ‘artsy’ games tend to run this risk.

OTOH I’m certainly not against games that challenge the idea of what a game can be. That’s how games evolve. I think To The Moon is a good example of this tendency (and while the design and style elements of that game are important, they never feel like they are more weighty than the game itself).

As far as underrated games go, I’d have to say that Psyhonauts is an absolutely brilliant game. (I’m starting to see a Tim Schafer trend developing here, so I’ll go ahead and add that I also thought Brutal Legend was pretty great, though admittedly targeted at a niche audience).

[Draco1962]

Psychonauts for the original Xbox is awesome! The God of War franchise for PS2/3 looks like a decent game, although I have not played it. Skyrim is definitely up there for the RPG type games. I have to give a positive nod to World of Goo - great indie game. Simple graphics but amazing physics.

[Adultery]

Side note: Tim Schafer interests me greatly. I'll +1 your Brütal Legend, it was a bitching game. Did it break the glass ceiling? Not so much. That being said... I'm watching his fan-funded point and click closely and can't wait to see what comes of it. Making games for the people is a great idea... who would have thought? Lol!

[KRC]

I do agree with Adultery in regards to Final Fantasy VII, but ive only played about 4 hours worth of Final Fantasy VI,I couldnt really comment, but the OST to FFVI is one of the best I have heard.

Never played Athena on the Nes but ill give it a blast tonight

@nullPointer - Psychonauts on the original Xbox was a great game.

[KRC]

Update: I just tried Athena on the NES, and it's awful.

[Adultery]

Lol! Told ya! Next give Zen Intergalactic Ninja a try.

[KRC]

@Adultery

I'll give that a try later on today, Athena was like a second rate wonderboy. Typical 8bit graphics but poor game mechanics like the jumping was awkward and her kick attack was really short lol

[hansolo77]

Another hugely overrated game is Minecraft! OMG I can't stand that game, and don't see why people just drool over it so much.

[KRC]

Metal Gear Solid PSX springs to mind aswell, good story but crap allover

[nullPointer]

On the topic of the worst games on the NES, I’m hard pressed to think of anything worse than the Uncanny X-Men game produced by LJN. Not only is it a completely awful game on its own merits, but they suckered you in with the promise of an awesome X-Men game. To quote GLC Councillor Bernard Brook-Partridge (on a completely unrelated topic), “[it is] unbelievably nauseating. [it is] the antithesis of humankind. I would like to see somebody dig a very, very large, exceedingly deep hole and drop the whole bloody lot down it.” Note that Atari actually did do this for E.T. on the Atari 2600, whatever that tells you.

*Also fictional bonus points if you know what Councillor Brook-Partridge was actually referring to.

[KRC]

@nullPointer

I remember uncanny X-Men with the near impossible bosses and no direction within the level. I borrowed it off a friend and the only thing decent was the boxart

[Sew]

I feel like Majora's Mask for the N64 gets a much worse rep than it deserves.

[KRC]

@sew,

Yeah I kinda agree with Majora's mask, I never played it on n64 but played it on the GameCube Zelda collectors edition disc, I do however feel that ocarina of time is slightly overrated, most online game critics put it in the top 3 games of all time but I could think of a 100 better games.

[KRC]

I think that Zelda games are a matter of love or hate, I don't really think theres an in between , atleast in my opinion anyway

[Kustom Kid]

The original Call of Duty was great. Medal of Honor, CoD, and Battlefield 1942 all hit around the same time and were good games. Then they turned them into Madden FPS editions and cranked new ones out each year and ruined them. And for overrated games the Zeldas on the N64 are overrated in my book. Great games yes, but not the end all be all. Also on my list is Grand Theft Auto series. Final Fantasy VII is overrated, too. Hell all FFs after VI are overrated with the exception of IX. Call me a stodgy old man, but VI, IV, and IX were my favorites by far. I have purchased every single Final Fantasy game in the original series with the exception of XIV. Square Enix is not unlike George Lucas in that they could crap in a box, slap the appropriate logo on there, and there's a 99.4% chance that I'll buy it.

[Draco1962]

Speaking of Lucas Crap in a Box - the original X-Wing vs. TIE Fighter! Underated, but one of the greats. I call it crap in a box because he hasn't released an updated version that would probably knock the socks off of anything else. Instead, he is taking the artistic squat on the Star Wars movies with some unnecessary edits in many cases. If you are going to edit "Episode IV: The New Hope" then how about extending the scene where Han Solo makes Greedo eat photons and assume room temp? I want to see if Greedo really drew first...

[nullPointer]

Draco allow me to introduce you to your edition of Star Wars (not quite sure about that extended scene, but a brilliant fan edit nonetheless).

Back on topic, I have always felt like the entire Gargoyles Quest series of games is criminally underrated. It certainly didn't help the series that each sequel was on a different game platform (thus preventing it from ever getting a good toehold on any one particular platform). I think the Gargoyles Quest games are so much better than the Ghosts n' Goblins series that spawned them, and yet Ghosts n' Goblins is the series that gets remembered.

I think that Demons Crest on the SNES is simply fantastic (and the best game in the Gargoyles Quest series), but it's also probably the least well known.

[hansolo77]

Draco allow me to introduce you to your edition of Star Wars (not quite sure about that extended scene, but a brilliant fan edit nonetheless).

Dang it! Not another version of Star Wars I need to download now! I'm still waiting to buy my bluray set. I watched the clip of vader in ROTJ saying "NOooooo" to the emporer when he was shocking Luke. It's enough to piss me right out of Star Wars. But a "despecialized" version, in HD, using bits and pieces from all around to make the best version sounds great! I already own the series on bootleg VHS, original storebought VHS set, Special Edition VHS (standard AND wide screen version), Original DVD hack of the LaserDisks (I guess this is called the GOUT), DVD set (first release, not the newer one with 2 versions in it), and the original DVD releases of the prequels (as well as a VHS Special Edition of Episode 1). I was waiting to get the BluRay because as much as George Lucas now loves to go back and tweak his movies, I got a feeling he'll go back and do a proper BluRay with an in-menu system to enable/disable the special edition tweaks. That'll be the one I buy. But for now, this version seems good enough for me.

[Adultery]

Wow harsh criticism for FF VII man. It broke the glass ceiling, totally deserves the credit it gets.

The N64 Zeldas may be weaker entries in the franchise as a whole but overrated is a strong word.

You're right about Square Enix in some aspects but they still rock DQ and well at that. DQ 9 was the best yet. 2D JRPGs are still my fave.