Terrible games that you loved.

Someone posted a topic recently, asking for examples of your favourite 'lesser entries in a game series', and it got me thinking about a similar question.

Which games did you really like that were considered by everyone else (or critics) to be awful?

There are 3 games that immediately come to mind for me, but the list could be quite long as I have loved some absolute stinkers in the past. These are:

Conflict Desert Storm

Warriors of Might and Magic

Two Worlds

I often go back to games like this and it's kind of like looking at an old picture of yourself and thinking 'What the f*ck were you thinking with those clothes and that haircut?'.

I could probably make a pretty big list if I thought about it long enough, my tolerance for less than stellar games has diminished over the years.

The most recent game I liked that was critiqued poorly would probably be Knack. This may have been partly down to being a PS4 launch game and not having many other games to play on the system other than Killzone which I didn't really like but I remember having a good time playing through the game. Going from the trailers I was expecting something along the lines of the original Crash Bandicoot games but it played more like a beat-em-up and a pretty basic one at that but I liked the artstyle of the game and I found it surprisingly challenging in a good way.

Going further back I will say Driv3r was a pretty good driving game if you ignore the obvious shoehorned-in gun combat in a bid to rival GTA. I particularly remember the damage model being very impressive at the time and having a lot of fun just free roaming around the maps.

Way back on the PS1 I fondly remembered Croc: Legend of the Gobbos and recently playing the game again a few years ago has left me wondering how I ever had any good memories with it. For the 3D platformer it is arguably one of the worst in the genre and I was also playing and enjoying Spyro The Dragon around the same time which is one of the best examples of early 3D platformers done right. I think my nostalgia for Croc is mostly down to the visuals but the controls are bad and some of the difficulty spikes are insane and further compounded by the bad controls.

@the_greg: I also loved CDS. I dunno if it'd be classed as terrible but maybe I'm blind to it's flaws.

@the_greg: There is nothing terrible about Conflict Desert Storm that game was great, as was most of it sequels, apart from the PS3 game, now that was dog shit that no one should play.

I feel like this is just another vehicle for naming an unpopular game that you happened to like. I gave this a bit of thought and the problem is that I personally didn’t think of the games I enjoyed to be “bad” games. For instance I really, really enjoyed everything about Watch Dogs, the first one, and it’s generally regarded as a bad game, but I think it’s really good.

There aren’t any games that I can really think of that I played and thought “wow this is a bad game” and yet continued to play and enjoy it. The closest I can think of is Yakuza 1 on the PS2 - like I knew the dubbing was bad, but it was so over the top bad that it was good.

Resident Evil 6. I think that's it? But yeah, I think RE6 is a really great game and didn't have the issues many had with it. I like both the horror and action-oriented Resident Evil so I had no qualms about six going all out action more or less. I loved the way you took a different perspective and ended up in the same location, to me it felt slightly different because you're playing the role of a different character's journey. I had no issue fighting the Ustanak over and over for example. I thought it was interesting. The close-up camera view in hindsight (as I think about it in games more recently) wasn't really necessary, but I didn't take issue with that either. I did, however, move the FOV further back when I got the option and found it hard to go back to the original point of view. I think the Ada twist if you can call it that, was pretty decent too.

The dodging maneuverability with characters was a great addition. I don't really agree with people that say some of them felt different (like going from Leon's campaign to Chris'), at least not in terms of control or camera position, nor hardly in terms of action. I just really enjoyed it and beat the game with each character on the 360 version twice, maybe more. I bought the PS4 remaster but because of having finished it a bunch of times I didn't finish it on PS4, and the same goes for four and five for the same reason. My issues with six were that the cover system was pointless, and I had initially thought they were going to do something with Jake and his fists for a sequel with the ending they had (like some kind of goofy hyper action PlatinumGames style game), and I had no interest in that. Wow, I never thought about it before, but now we know what really became of a sequel, which was fantastic.

There are probably more issues with six, but a lot of it is quite negligible.

The Godfather, and to a lesser extent the Godfather 2. I enjoyed taking over the city in the Godfather even though it was mostly just shooting a couple guys then slapping a baker.

Mount and Blade, specifically Warband. It's kinda one of those "love it or hate it" games. It's by far my most played game on Steam. Smacking peasants in the head with a huge sword while on horseback for hours and hours never got old to me...

@thekramer89: I don't think i've ever heard anybody say those games were terrible

I would say Shenmue, and i still love it.

TMNT for the NES

Yeah, I find in the threads like this a lot of people list a bunch of 7/10 (which is still considered good) games. Like ME:A in spite of everything it still scored fairly well. (I enjoyed it)

Devil's Third is my answer, it's bad but it's so dumb I ended up having a good time.

According to the internet: Final Fantasy X, the entire Kingdom Hearts franchise, and some of the Metal Gear games.

Real answer: I dunno.

Castlevania 64.... hey don't judge me!

I genuinely loved 50 Cent: Bulletproof. I was 14 when the game came out and still very much obsessed with 50 Cent’s music. I regret nothing!

The staff here doesn't seem to have any love for it, and frankly I totally understand why somebody wouldn't like them as they are janky as hell, but they just click with me more than anything I've ever played. It was kind of a Dave Snider-esque game, but he's no longer here to defend it unfortunately...

Genuinely terrible games? Sonic Heroes is iffy, but not terrible. Siren on PS2: also iffy, but not terrible. Yeah, I don't think so -- not out of a high-and-mighty complex, I just lucked out when I was younger and didn't buy a terrible ga...

an awful memory just flooded into my mind. This is a real-time memory event I'm logging right now. Oh god...

There was a Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon game I liked when I was 11. I'm getting retroactive PTSD right now.

Jesus.

Also, that shitty Bruce Lee game on XBOX. I was just a fool when it came to martial arts games, I guess.

Austin loved them and talked about them all the time when he was on the staff, not sure if they did anything with them.

Joe & Mac for the SNES. People will tell you this game wasn't terrible; they're lying to you.

Well of Souls

Street Fighter X Tekken

Combatribes

Sea of Thieves?

I felt that way about Two Worlds 2. I played several dozen hours of it, and I thought, "Meh, I've played worse...probably."

Deadly Premonition

@casepb: From what I remember, it rated relatively well (now that I check, there are some low scores). Also, my brother loves that game. It's not bad. I guess if you're a huge fan of the original side-scrolling Castlevania I can see why someone might not be into it.

The closest I can remember in terms of games I actually played was spending way too much time with a Soldier of Fortune II demo because the gore was comically ridiculous. I almost bought Rogue Warrior, Ride to Hell: Retribution, and that Rambo game based on how hilariously bad they were, but I decided to treasure the QLs of them instead. I love those terrible games for existing and giving us content gold, if that counts.

I was going to say From Dust, but I checked the reviews on GameRankings and it apparently got relatively decent reviews overall (generally in the mid 70s and 80s)

So instead, this clunker of a Spawn game that I played the SHIT out of with my friend Jon in middle school and loved every second of it.

7th Saga, a mostly broken entirely frustrating mess that still enjoy a lot.

I learned much later that it was turned into that during the localization process but I could never imagine playing a 'fixed' version of that game.

Freaking TIME COMMANDO

That game I trash and controls like garbage, but as I was poor and could not afford many games, when I lucked upon it for 9.99 and begged my mother to buy it from me you bet I was going to play it a million times.

Harry Potter: Quidditch World Cup for the GameCube. Pretty rubbish, really, but I actually got a lot of enjoyment out of it. I always thought Quidditch was one of the coolest parts of the HP universe.

Enter the Matrix. I was obsessed with the Matrix at the time, so I feel like I made myself love that game.

Stuntman and Stuntman Ignition.

They're bad. I get it. But that premise, the fake movies, the directors yelling at you... Can't help but love it.

What was the 3D Street Fighter with Skullmania? We played the shit out of that game one summer in university.

@oursin_360: TMNT for the NES....I....how...that level with the timebombs underwater is the furthest I've ever seen that game. Your telling me you've beaten it enough to love it? Crazy talk.

As for myself, I'd say The Force Unleashed 1 and 2. Neither are perfect, but I think they both deliver on something that is greater than the sum of it's parts if you will.

Lost: Via Domus

Ghostbusters: The Video Game

Diddy Kong Racing

Scooby-Doo Classic Creep Capers (GBC version)

I haven't played any of these in years though so maybe I'd still think they're still good. I'm not willing to chance ruining the memories though.

I just finished Let's CATCH, purchased as part of a fire sale special while the Wii Shop burned down. It's a clunky game with basically one mechanic and some basic visuals, but IT GOES PLACES.

Massive Endgame Spoiler: YOU PLAY CATCH WITH AN ALIEN ON THE MOON WHILE HE RUMINATES ON PLANS TO MURDER THE ENTIRE HUMAN RACE THAT WERE SCRAPPED BECAUSE HE SAW YOU PLAY CATCH WITH STRANGERS.

I am only recently finding out that the Cool Boarders series isn't universally liked.

I don't know if this game is really considered bad but I really like Growlanser: Wayfarer of Time for the PSP. I was thinking about replaying it and out of curiosity decided to look up the game's Metacritic score and discovered it has a 67. I didn't really look up reviews for the game when it came in 2012 but sites like GameSpot gave Wayfarer of Time a 6 and many other critics gave it similar scores with a few exceptions. I do remember the gameplay being frustrating at times but I really enjoyed the epic scale of the story. Fun fact, the writer behind Wayfarer of Time (Yoh Haduki) is also one of the main writers for Radiant Historia, the first Devil Survivor game, and Tokyo Mirage Sessions.

@devise22: i beat that level but i never got much further. I was a young kid and it was a turtles game lol.

As a kid, I really liked Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith. I collected everything in that game and found all the alternate endings. The game has not aged well and was not even reviewed well at the time. These days, I chuckle at the idea that you could beat everyone in the game if there was a knee high table nearby. The ai was so bad that if you put a table between you and the boss, the boss would never walk around the table. And you just win the game because your lightsaber could reach across the table.

Conflict Desert Storm was fantastic, but yeah, it's not really remembered fondly. Neither is the Great Escape game from the same folks, another one I enjoyed. I learned later that they were essentially pale imitations of the Hidden and Dangerous series (H&D2 is fantastic), but lacking that comparison when I was younger, I just though they were fantastic. Never did play Conflict: Vietnam or Global Terror, though. Now I have to check if the series is available for download anywhere.

They get shit on a lot, but I legitimately love both Kane and Lynch games. They're both nothing special and quite unlike anything else all at the same time. I feel like my love of Kane and Lynch and my hatred of Nathan Drake go hand in hand.

I mean, I’ve had FUN with terrible games, but I don’t know that I’ve loved them.

Off the top of my head:

- Deadliest Warrior

- Duke Nukem Forever

- Alien Colonial Marines

I think terrible games are way more fun and interesting than medicore, bland, or boring games.

Oh man. I have tons! Here are some (not in any particular order):

• Batman: Dark Tomorrow - Yes, the game is superbly bad in terms of controls but I really dig the storyline. The cutscenes made me want to finish the game and I did. It's safe to say that Dark Tomorrow is a way better game than any of those scammed indie games on Steam Direct.
• Army Men: Sarge's Heroes Trilogy (SH1, SH2 and Portal Runner) - 3DO was notorious in spamming their Army Men games at one point with little to no improvements over the gameplay and graphics. However, that didn't stop me from enjoying these 3 Sarge's Heroes games. The Army Men is movie quality. Pixar should pick this up and turn it into a animated movie phenomenon.
• Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty - I honestly don't understand why people flack this game so much. Sure, Solid Snake isn't the main character and the relationship between Raiden and Rose is cheesy but what about the cyberpunk aesthetics? That was incredible! Everything about Sons of Liberty is gold to me and I pop this baby in any day.
• Condemned 2: Bloodshot - I was a huge fan of the series and still am. Sadly, a lot of people hated this game when it came out. I dunno what they were expecting but I adore everything about Bloodshot: the visceral face-to-face combat, the puzzle solving, the plot, the atmosphere. It's disturbingly beautiful!
• Metal Gear Ac!d - Another Metal Gear game that never got the attention it deserved. I'm still waiting for Konami to re-release it so I can play it on my Vita, Switch and/or PS4.
• Dark Void - I've not heard anyone given this forgotten game a praise but I liked it. Dark Void is not by any means a masterpiece but what's more fun than flying around in a jetpack and blast baddies in mid-air? It's awesome!
• The Club - I could not put this game down when it was first released in 2008. Sadly, others didn't feel the same way.

Honestly Wayfarer is one of the last ones I would consider to escape this idea for me, the ones that come after in that series I would definitely describe as being pretty poor games that I still liked quite a bit.

Bummed again that the very last one never made it over here.

Digimon World 1 on PS1 is a legit terrible game where your digimon rarely does what you want because the only thing you do is give it vague commands to be aggressive or defensive and pray to god that they do the move you want without missing. They never explain how to digivolve your digimon into specific digimons you might want. So you spend most of the game in the gym leveling up random stats only for it to evolve into literal shit or slime. Your digimon will most likely die of old age before you can reach its ultimate form, forcing you to hatch a new one and start all the way from baby form again and grinding random stats at the gym in hopes that it doesn't turn into shit or slime again. Triggering certain quests and events relies on RNG and being in places during certain times of day. It's a game that requires a strategy guide to beat. And even the official published strategy guide for that game is poorly worded and straight up has wrong information in some spots. Regardless, there's something I enjoyed about banging my head against that game's obtuse and unexplained mechanics and questlines. And with access to more accurate gamefaqs and emulators with save states, it is kinda fun to play it correctly when you have the needed information that the game refuses to offer you.

@minipato: That game was a nightmare that me and a friend desperately tried to figure out. I kind of enjoyed it, but holy moly was it obtuse. Did not help that we aren't native english speakers either, so there was even doubt that we understood the text correctly on top of an already impenetrable game. I had a cool birdguy once though, so it was all worth it.

My contribution to this thread is a shitty car combat game that I believe Jeff might've destroyed in a Gamespot review. In school we had a gang of like 4-5 people that all picked up Cel Damage Overdrive independently of each other, and it weirdly turned into a competitive thing where we played a lot on our own time to git gud, and then did races at each others houses with a multi-tap. Shit was really fun, but the game is pretty awful. Goes to show what a lil community hustle can do for a game.

Enter The Matrix. There is a getaway scene in the opening moments of that game where an agent is chasing you. I can remember fighting him for hours on end just to explore the combat in that game. I think the sound design and PARTS of the combat were amazing in that game.

That being said, there were ALSO parts of that game where I would walk down a hallway and load a cutscene. Those were less fun.

I also LOVED the hacking mini game. I can remember spending a ton of time typing with my controller, and attempting to plug in a keyboard to my PlayStation so I could run through it more quickly.

I went back and played it a few years ago. It was not the sweetest reunion.

Lord of the Rings: Conquest promised to be "Star Wars Battlefront, but LoTR."

It wasn't. But it was a ton of fun that weekend that my brother and I rented it. We played it, then played it again for the evil campaign. The orcs had this sort of rogue class you could play (it might've been a goblin) that had this "backstab" ability. The animation for it was really cool. You basically kicked an enemy's legs out from under them, then stabbed them with daggers in the chest before they hit the ground.

So the evil campaign has you invading and burning the Shire. So there we are, setting fire to hobbit holes and backstabbing hobbits. Nothing about the gameplay felt good and the story and writing were terrible, but we had a ton of fun with it anyways.

Drunken Bar Fight. PSVR

Deadly Premonition - Don't think I have to say much about this one on this site, I did play through the game multiple times (twice on the original 360 release, once on the PC port)

Alpha Protocol - Hot Take: Alpha Protocol was better than Mass Effect 1, both had some rouuuuugh gameplay(with Alpha Protocol edging it out with some truly busted boss fights you could stumble into) but Alpha Protocol did choices and interactions way better.

Naughty Bear - It's like Hitman with maximum amounts of jank and a weird theme, but it had enough variety to it that I beat the game(and if I remember right, played the DLC too).

Far Cry Instincts: Predator - The 360 re-release of the xbox exclusive Far Cry Instincts and it's sequel Evolution. More forgotten then bad, a linear(but not to linear) remake of the original PC Far Cry but it gets even weirder, you get some really fun mutant powers, like running and pouncing on a guy and ripping him apart like Wolverine. It also had a fantastic map editor for the multiplayer.

Tenchu Z - First Tenchu game I ever played, clearly a budget game but enjoyable enough, especially with the co-op.

The Bourne Conspiracy - Kind of a B-grade Splinter Cell, did a good job mixing up the gameplay with both gunplay and hand to hand. Nice level variety too.

Splinter Cell: Double Agent - I don't know why this one got so much hate.

Peter Jackson's King Kong: The Official Game of the Movie - I miss these kinds of movie games.

Brute Force. Thought it was cool at the time and it gave me another shooter to play on my Xbox that wasn't Halo

Also, just remembered enjoying State of Emergency at the time.