Popular/critical acclaimed games that you could not get into

So, imagine this scenario: All of your friends are enjoying this popular game and talking about this game like its the best game ever, so you tried it out and it did not click for you.

Or this scenario: Almost all of the gaming critics gave this game near perfect scores for its awesomeness. However when you tried it, you thought it was good but not great.

I have two big ones on this list: The Elder Scrolls: Oblivion and Bioshock.

I completely understand and agree with the praises that people gave them. Oblivion had a huge open world to explore in, incredibly deep leveling and RPG system, tons of quests, etc. And Bioshock created this underwater 1960's city that had a great atmosphere and visual design. It had a great story. The gameplay had variety with different combinations of weapons and plasmids.

However unlike many people, I did not love Oblivion and Bioshock. I only liked them.

For Oblivion, the combat felt incredibly dull with no impact, the voice acting was pretty stale, and the lack of focus made me wander around until I was bored. Maybe the lack of focus could be a compliment to the openness of the game, but it certainly did not help make me stay in the game.

And as for Bioshock, the combat was a little too easy, especially when there's no death penalty. The moral choices of saving Little Sisters seems a little empty for me, since you would ultimately get the same (or more ADAM, I can't quite remember) amount of ADAM when you rescue them. And I thought the ending was super anti-climatic, which made the twist in the story less memorable in the end.

So the question: Are there any popular or well-received games that you just could not get into?

Every RTS that exists.

Super Smash Bros. I feel like I'm the only person in the world who doesn't dig it! Maybe I am. But I have never been able to get into it.

I couldn't get into the majority of critically acclaimed Western RPGs I've tried (Mass Effect 2, Dragon Age, Fallout New Vegas, etc.).......that's why I now consider Western RPGs one of my least favorite genres .

@CL60 said:

Every RTS that exists.

Same here. Just didn't hold my attention for very long. Also League of Legends. In my office just about everyone plays it. I'm the only one that doesn't participate.

Oblivion and BioShock? Man, the OP and I obviously have dramatically different taste in games, as those are among my top 5 very favourite games of all-time ever.

For me my classic example is Grand Theft Auto 4. I distinctly remember the insane amount of hype that surrounded that game pre-release - the perfect scores, the claims of it being "video games' equivalent of The Godfather", and of course it was one of the first "classic" games of the Giant Bomb era, and Jeff and Ryan covered the game extensively. I was suckered in by the hype and bought it day one, despite having never played any of the previous GTA games. And it did absolutely nothing for me. Characters weren't interesting, humour was very flat, mechanics were annoying, mission structure was incredibly tedious, and the open world aspects of the game were a real letdown as well. Played about six-eight hours of it and just couldn't bring myself to finish it; eventually I sold it on eBay. It was an extremely disappointing and sobering experience, and ever since I have always tried to resist the lure of buying a game based on hype - which is why I am going to wait to buy Diablo III until the reviews are out and the servers are straightened out.

And yes, I am one of those people who hated GTAIV and absolutely adored Red Dead Redemption. Perhaps it's just a greater affinity for the western genre than crime dramas, but I also believe that RDR is a significantly better playing game, and it delivers its story so much more effectively. It's a very different kind of game, but my Rockstar love also extends to L.A. Noire, which while somewhat flawed is one of the greatest achievements in video game world-crafting, atmosphere and ambiance I have ever experienced.

2D platformers. even back in the day i hated them.

GTA 4. I liked (not loved) all the GTAs before, but I could not get into 4. I hated the driving, the action was not very good and the lack of mid-mission checkpoints was infuriating.

And just like Atlas I love Red Dead Redemption and L.A. Noire.

Wrote a large tangent on my lack of interest in the Bioshock and Assassins Creed series after being bored with first games. Got erased sigh so just those

Bastion.

Assassins creed mostly, also never really got into GTA IV or Red Dead..

Devil May Cry 3 is the only one I can think of right now.

I am one of those people who hate Bioshock. The whole things was just goofy. Felt like one of those 90s/early-2000s cartoons trying to be dark and edgy for the pre-teen crowd.

Gta4 (really liked the others), Bioshock, every RTS, LoL, every MMO, pretty much ever racing game that isn't Trackmania. Oh and the Zelda franchise. Man, that makes it sound like I just play CoD all day.

I don't

@Echofoxz said:

So, imagine this scenario: All of your friends are enjoying this popular game and talking about this game like its the best game ever, so you tried it out and it did not click for you.

Or this scenario: Almost all of the gaming critics gave this game near perfect scores for its awesomeness. However when you tried it, you thought it was good but not great.

I have two big ones on this list: The Elder Scrolls: Oblivion and Bioshock.

I completely understand and agree with the praises that people gave them. Oblivion had a huge open world to explore in, incredibly deep leveling and RPG system, tons of quests, etc. And Bioshock created this underwater 1960's city that had a great atmosphere and visual design. It had a great story. The gameplay had variety with different combinations of weapons and plasmids.

However unlike many people, I did not love Oblivion and Bioshock. I only liked them.

For Oblivion, the combat felt incredibly dull with no impact, the voice acting was pretty stale, and the lack of focus made me wander around until I was bored. Maybe the lack of focus could be a compliment to the openness of the game, but it certainly did not help make me stay in the game.

And as for Bioshock, the combat was a little too easy, especially when there's no death penalty. The moral choices of saving Little Sisters seems a little empty for me, since you would ultimately get the same (or more ADAM, I can't quite remember) amount of ADAM when you rescue them. And I thought the ending was super anti-climatic, which made the twist in the story less memorable in the end.

So the question: Are there any popular or well-received games that you just could not get into?

I utterly adore both those games, but some of the flaws you point out are very viable for both. Can you turn off the VitaChambers in Bio1? I did that for Bio2 and played on veteran difficulty, and it changed the experience dramatically. Great fun. And yes, you do get more ADAM should you save the sisters. Which is kind of the lesson there, no? As for Oblivion, the openness is what I loved about it, but I can't argue much about the melee combat. I guess I'm saying that both those titles overcame their flaws, at least for me, and stand as two of the greatest games of this gen.

@CL60 said:

Every RTS that exists.

Yeah I'm the same way. Except I'll defend AOE to the death. That and AOE II were the only RTS games I reached competency in. I tried hard with Starcraft 2, and game close to kinda figuring it out and being able to win matches, but I gave up.

Also MMORPGs. I find them all very samey and unrewarding.

I'm game for pretty much anything else.

@FancySoapsMan said:

Bastion.

Agreed. I tried really hard to get into it, but the combat was dull and monotonous. A lot of people went on about how the narration made the game, but I didn't think it was all that witty or special. They did that kind of thing all the way back with The Bard's Tale, and it didn't make that a great game either. Just OK. Which is what I thought this was.

It looked really cool though.

Final Fantasy XIII loved some of the previous ones, but something about this one just made it boring, didn't get past the snow.

I've been hammering it into my head that I like mass effect, I started ME1 a few months back and have been snail pacing my way through it to the point were I took a 2 month break from video games in general because I was asking myself 'do I even enjoy games any more, this game is great and I can kind of see it but I'm not really enjoying it'. Maybe I just don't like mass effect! Which is weird because I love RPGs.

I can't stand RTS games. They're so boring.

And JRPGs. Because I really hate the art style of anime.

@Scheds said:

Super Smash Bros. I feel like I'm the only person in the world who doesn't dig it! Maybe I am. But I have never been able to get into it.

Nope. I'm in that same boat with you. I liked Melee a little bit, but after a match or two I was done with the series. I couldn't make myself play Brawl for anything.

I must say that I'm not a big fan of the Uncharted series, either. The second one was all right in 30 minute spurts but I don't care at all to play through again.

And then there's Killzone 3, which I just didn't like at all. I did play and beat Killzone 2, but I just couldn't make myself play 3 at all.

Super Smash Bros. I feel like I'm the only person in the world who doesn't dig it! Maybe I am. But I have never been able to get into it.

GTA 4. I liked (not loved) all the GTAs before, but I could not get into 4. I hated the driving, the action was not very good and the lack of mid-mission checkpoints was infuriating.

And just like Atlas I love Red Dead Redemption and L.A. Noire.

Demon's Souls (and subsequent Dark Souls) were games I recognized the good things they were trying to do but utterly failing at other aspects and have been highly critical of those faults but it seems to fall on deaf ears and blind eyes. I'm confused why people let them get away with it where if this was a European or NA company that released it with these flaws it would have been ridiculed.

@PrivateIronTFU said:

I can't stand RTS games. They're so boring.

And JRPGs. Because I really hate the art style of anime.

the slow pace is really an rts's strength. It's for ocd power fantasy types for sure.

Borderlands, Diablo, MMOs and any other game based around "loot." I don't care about loot, never have. I remember early previews of Borderlands getting me SUPER excited, then I played it and realized it was Diablo as a shooter and was super bummed.

LA Noire... and I say that as an old adventure game fan. It just seemed like I was following steps, rather than figuring anything out myself. Also every scene was the same as one before.

Any RTS, they give me anxiety.

Mass Effect. And yes I am a terrible person

Any of the Call of Duty and GTA games. Can't really explain why just couldn't get into either of them.

Borderlands, I never got into it but my friends played it all the time.

I'm not quite sure why I didn't like it, it just wasn't my thing.

No, because I'm not a contrarian.

@Atlas said:

Oblivion and BioShock? Man, the OP and I obviously have dramatically different taste in games, as those are among my top 5 very favourite games of all-time ever.

For me my classic example is Grand Theft Auto 4. I distinctly remember the insane amount of hype that surrounded that game pre-release - the perfect scores, the claims of it being "video games' equivalent of The Godfather", and of course it was one of the first "classic" games of the Giant Bomb era, and Jeff and Ryan covered the game extensively. I was suckered in by the hype and bought it day one, despite having never played any of the previous GTA games. And it did absolutely nothing for me. Characters weren't interesting, humour was very flat, mechanics were annoying, mission structure was incredibly tedious, and the open world aspects of the game were a real letdown as well. Played about six-eight hours of it and just couldn't bring myself to finish it; eventually I sold it on eBay. It was an extremely disappointing and sobering experience, and ever since I have always tried to resist the lure of buying a game based on hype - which is why I am going to wait to buy Diablo III until the reviews are out and the servers are straightened out.

And yes, I am one of those people who hated GTAIV and absolutely adored Red Dead Redemption. Perhaps it's just a greater affinity for the western genre than crime dramas, but I also believe that RDR is a significantly better playing game, and it delivers its story so much more effectively. It's a very different kind of game, but my Rockstar love also extends to L.A. Noire, which while somewhat flawed is one of the greatest achievements in video game world-crafting, atmosphere and ambiance I have ever experienced.

I wouldn't give Grand Theft Auto IV a perfect ten, but I did enjoy that game a whole lot more than you did. Yes, I believe we do have very different taste in games.

@stryker1121 said:

I utterly adore both those games, but some of the flaws you point out are very viable for both. Can you turn off the VitaChambers in Bio1? I did that for Bio2 and played on veteran difficulty, and it changed the experience dramatically. Great fun. And yes, you do get more ADAM should you save the sisters. Which is kind of the lesson there, no? As for Oblivion, the openness is what I loved about it, but I can't argue much about the melee combat. I guess I'm saying that both those titles overcame their flaws, at least for me, and stand as two of the greatest games of this gen.

Um... No, I don't think you can turn off the VitaChambers in Bioshock.

Well, if one choice offered you more of a reward, won't you be more likely to pick that choice? And isn't more likely that normal people would pick the good choice anyways? If the good choice offers more rewards and is morally upright, then I don't see any reason to be the bad guy. So the choice is like an election in a one-party system (not really the perfect simile, but you know what I mean).

I'm glad you enjoyed the two games despite some flaws. I, on the other hand, not as much.

I am in a personal war with elements of Mass Effect 3, The Witcher 2, Portal 2, and Uncharted 2. However, I definitely still enjoyed Uncharted 2.

I also actively dislike Dragon Age: Origins, Ocarina of Time, and Gears of War 3's campaign. And I revile Metal Gear Solid 4.

@Rappelsiini said:

@Pink_o_mat

GTA 4. I liked (not loved) all the GTAs before, but I could not get into 4. I hated the driving, the action was not very good and the lack of mid-mission checkpoints was infuriating.

And just like Atlas I love Red Dead Redemption and L.A. Noire.

Did you play GTA 4 when it first came out? Imo the game has aged horribly. Though when I first got the game in '08 it took some time to get used to the driving and those problems woth the cover mechanic.. Oh god. It wasn't easy game to get into after Vice City.

I player it when it was 30€ on PS3, so maybe a year after release. I think at the time there were too many better games (mechanically, the world of GTA is fantastic). Maybe I should try Lost+Damned, I think they trimmed the fat from the game.

Bastion.

Metal Gear Solid series. Bleh. Give me Thief, thank you.

@Atlas: I had the same experience with Saints Row: The Third. Thought most of it wasn't funny (or at least wasn't that funny) and the combat was boring and repetitive.

Any GTA before 4, Bioshock, competitive multiplayer in... anything. I'm sure if I gave Bioshock more of a chance, I would dig it. It seems like it would be right up my alley.

Fez. It was OK, but the way the guys on the Bombcast gushed over it felt unwarranted.

Sword & Sworcery. Didn't like it and found that it was overrated.

Every game released by Blizzard Entertainment after the first Starcraft. Never got past the first act of Diablo 2, no matter how hard I've tried. Played through a fairly big chunk of Warcraft 3's campaign before getting bored. My interest in World of Warcraft died when I was sent on the third "Kill 10 bandits" mission in a row. Starcraft 2 didn't grab me, neither single- or multiplayer. I have a Diablo 3 guest pass and I hope it will be fun, but my expectations are low as hell (pun intended).

Curse of Monkey Island. It's really an okay game, but the way it handled the characters and the story rubbed me the wrong way. I would have been fine if the series ended after LeChuck's Revenge.

Planescape Torment. I honestly can't say why. All the angry Chris Avellone fanboys make it even more off-putting to me. Note that I actually like Avellone and his work a lot, but being called an idiot because the game never clicked with me isn't exactly going to turn my opinion around. Now that I've left the Something Awful forums behind me for good, maybe it will change.

Mass Effect 1 & 2, Fallout 3 - I wanted to like them but they just don't do it for me. I'm not an RPG kinda person though. I lasted about 10 minutes with Oblivion although weirdly I got really into Skyrim and ended up finishing it.

Red Dead Redemption - I finished it but barely touched the side stuff, I just barreled through the main story. I really didn't think it looked good or played all that well either.

Metal Gear Solid 4 - Loved MGS 1 & 2 back in the day, played and finished 3 but didn't care for it, then eventually played and finished MGS4 about 2 years after it came out and could not for the life of me see why people loved it so much!

Starcraft. I find nothing interesting in it at all. Not sure why. I can see why people like it though.

The most recent one I can think of is Journey.

@Sergio said:

Sword & Sworcery. Didn't like it and found that it was overrated.

Also this. Again, though, I finished it. What the hell is wrong with me?!

Bastion and Mass Effect 2 really.

Thinking about OP's question, i'd say a couple Rockstar games didn't live up to the hype for me--RDR and GTAIV. I got bored w/ the constant shooty missions of the former, and saving someone from hanging 10 times, despite the beauty of the world and a pretty interesting lead man. Parts of the game felt too much like a slog.

GTAIV built an amazing city, but there wasn't anything to do outside of the main missions. Vice City (the series high point IMO) and San Andreas allowed far more freedom and craziness that IV eschewed for 'realism,' i.e. your cuz calling you to go bowling. I hope V goes a little retro in terms of the gameplay.

Crysis. I don't understand the hype about that game. It's not that it was a bad game, actually I thought it was a shit game, but at best it felt like a "meh" game, like a 6/10.

And The Witcher, but I totally understand why people liked the Witcher.

Skyrim is the latest one, it's strange because Oblivion is one of my favorite games of this generation. Somehow the world of Skyrim just doesn't click with me.

Other then that it's Half-Life 2, played it on the original Xbox and didn't care for it, stopped playing when I reached Ravenholm. Picked up the Orange Box for the 360 when it came out, hoping that the improved graphics would help me see the brilliance that this game supposed to have. I finished it as well as episodes 1&2 and I liked episodes 1&2 more then the main game.

I also couldn't get into either of the Mario Galaxy games. Mario 64 is one of my all-time favorites but I do not care for the Galaxy games. I can see that they are good games, I just hated the controls. I've never been a huge motion control fan but I really began to hate motion control after my experience with Mario Galaxy, because I really think that I would've been able to enjoy those games if I could play it with a GameCube controller

Gotham Asylum

Assassin's Creed

GTA 4

Skyrim

It kept glitching, the gameplay was boring and kinda janky, but worst of all I felt disconnected from everything.

@Echofoxz said:

@Atlas said:

Oblivion and BioShock? Man, the OP and I obviously have dramatically different taste in games, as those are among my top 5 very favourite games of all-time ever.

For me my classic example is Grand Theft Auto 4. I distinctly remember the insane amount of hype that surrounded that game pre-release - the perfect scores, the claims of it being "video games' equivalent of The Godfather", and of course it was one of the first "classic" games of the Giant Bomb era, and Jeff and Ryan covered the game extensively. I was suckered in by the hype and bought it day one, despite having never played any of the previous GTA games. And it did absolutely nothing for me. Characters weren't interesting, humour was very flat, mechanics were annoying, mission structure was incredibly tedious, and the open world aspects of the game were a real letdown as well. Played about six-eight hours of it and just couldn't bring myself to finish it; eventually I sold it on eBay. It was an extremely disappointing and sobering experience, and ever since I have always tried to resist the lure of buying a game based on hype - which is why I am going to wait to buy Diablo III until the reviews are out and the servers are straightened out.

And yes, I am one of those people who hated GTAIV and absolutely adored Red Dead Redemption. Perhaps it's just a greater affinity for the western genre than crime dramas, but I also believe that RDR is a significantly better playing game, and it delivers its story so much more effectively. It's a very different kind of game, but my Rockstar love also extends to L.A. Noire, which while somewhat flawed is one of the greatest achievements in video game world-crafting, atmosphere and ambiance I have ever experienced.

I wouldn't give Grand Theft Auto IV a perfect ten, but I did enjoy that game a whole lot more than you did. Yes, I believe we do have very different taste in games.

@stryker1121 said:

I utterly adore both those games, but some of the flaws you point out are very viable for both. Can you turn off the VitaChambers in Bio1? I did that for Bio2 and played on veteran difficulty, and it changed the experience dramatically. Great fun. And yes, you do get more ADAM should you save the sisters. Which is kind of the lesson there, no? As for Oblivion, the openness is what I loved about it, but I can't argue much about the melee combat. I guess I'm saying that both those titles overcame their flaws, at least for me, and stand as two of the greatest games of this gen.

Um... No, I don't think you can turn off the VitaChambers in Bioshock.

Well, if one choice offered you more of a reward, won't you be more likely to pick that choice? And isn't more likely that normal people would pick the good choice anyways? If the good choice offers more rewards and is morally upright, then I don't see any reason to be the bad guy. So the choice is like an election in a one-party system (not really the perfect simile, but you know what I mean).

I'm glad you enjoyed the two games despite some flaws. I, on the other hand, not as much.

Uh, yes. You can absolutely turn off Vita Chambers in Bioshock.