Games you ignore (licenses, kid's games).

[AndyB]

I wonder how many cool games that we'd really enjoy pass us by each year because we assume that they are too easy / made for a quick buck / too embarassing to buy?

I've just bought Tak 2: Staff of Dreams which is a funny, enjoyable platform-action-adventure.

Likewise, I've been looking at reviews of Disney's Extreme Skate Adventure (which looks neat), not seen it in stores yet though.

--Have you taken any chances with licensed/kid's games recently that have paid off? If so share it with us.

[Lechimp]

I usually never take chances with games at all. I'll usually check out a bunch of reviews of a game and see if anyone has recommended the game here before buying it. There's no point in just buying a game that looks interesting when you're at a store, there's so many other great games out there anyway that I haven't even played yet so I would rather save my money for those instead of taking a risk.

I can't even remember the last time I took a chance on a game. I guess the last thing would be Prince of Persia:Sands of Time which I bought since I was a pretty big Prince of Persia fan.

And the reason why you probably can't find Disney's Skate Adventure in stores is because it was released over a year ago (assuming you live in america)

[miffy495]

I have a confession. I love the Godzilla Fighting games. The first one, Destroy all Monsters Melee, I got because it was $20, the second, simply because you can fight as Jet Jaguar. These games are stupid, pointless, and the single player mechanics are terrible, but when you get two people facing off in the city of their choice hurling buildings at each other, somthing magical happens. The game becomes good. This is the only game I own where the only truly enjoyable mode is 2 player. SP, the AI sucks. 3 or 4 people, the game becomes convoluted and bad. 2, we have gaming gold.

[AndyB]

The new Incredible Hulk game has great (good) reviews, and has the whole sandbox thing going on, I'll rent it to see how it is:

http://www.metacritic.com/games/platforms/ps2/incrediblehulk

[Jake]

I don't ignore games because they are a license or a kids game. That's a pretty ridiculous stance to take by default.

I feel like I miss out on good games because I'm not an informed enough consumer but not because I have a built in bias against looking at licensed or kids games.

Back when I was writing for Mixnmojo a lot, people always assumed that the site was by default against Star Wars games, but it wasn't - it was against bad games. The fact that Star Wars games were often bad was enough for most people to just write off the entire license (and enough to make them mindlessly embrace things like the fourth Monkey Island, and things like RTX Red Rock... holy crap... because they weren't the, you know, Star Wars sort of game). It's idiotic.

[vimes]

The only censors I have concerning video games are my bank account and the time I allow myself to spend on games. Those are huge restraints and that's why I'm missing 3/4 games that aren't masterpiece but which are worth playing.

[Chris]

Nintendo games! Man, that shit is for kids only.

[miffy495]

(and enough to make them mindlessly embrace things like the fourth Monkey Island

Dammit, I really liked the fourth Monkey Island. It wasn't perfect, but it was a fun little adventure game, and one of the better chances for adventures in recent years...

[Udvarnoky]

(and enough to make them mindlessly embrace things like the fourth Monkey Island, and things like RTX Red Rock... holy crap... because they weren't the, you know, Star Wars sort of game). It's idiotic.

Who at Mixnmojo mindlessly embraced the fourth Monkey Island upon its release? I recall the original Mojo review almost having to apologize for the community's hatred for it. "Yeah, you know, it's really not that bad of a game."

[Karimi]

I took a risk and bought that episode 3 game for the ps2. It sucks.

[vimes]

MI4 was a good adventure game but fucking horrible as a Monkey Island.

[Marek]

This will sound weird but ... board games... card games... D&D (never done roleplaying, actually). I feel like I've been ignoring those a lot. If I want to play a board game I usually just play something familiar, like RISK which I've known forever. Same with card games. All I ever play is Chinese poker and I never bother investing time to learn any other card games from anyone.

Though this holiday I did try one of those board games from that famous German guy, which was good, and also some weirdass bean trading game which was totally hilarious and awesome.

I don't have quite as strong experiences of ignoring things in video games. There are some genres I generally avoid though, not because I have an unfounded bias against them, but simply because I've tried such games and not liked them much. This goes for a lot of driving, sports and beat 'em ups (like Street Fighter etc.). There may also be other things I'm not necesserily going to check out myself (I dunno ... Pokemon? Obscure interactive fiction? Fishing simulators?) but which I would definitely at least try for a bit if someone introduced them to me.

Hmmm. Mentioning beat 'em ups made me remember that I do enjoy brawlers, even though I've played very few. Have there been any good 2D brawlers on any platforms recently?

Sorry for free associating for half this post.

[jokemaster]

One game I was really glad I took a chance on was Uplink. I was at the store, I hadn't heard anything about it, but c'mon it was a fucking hacker simulator! how could I resist?

[Tanukitsune]

I ignore all sports games, I hate sports more than the villian from Sport Billy...

I ignore flight sims, tanks sims, and mainly games based on modern wars, including the WWII games, but I am OK with "war" games that take past in the distant future or past...

I also hate racing games, unless they are like Wacky Races or Mario Kart...

But as a collector, I eventually end up with a few, because of a pack or similar...

[Knar]

This will sound weird but ... board games... card games... D&D (never done roleplaying, actually). I feel like I've been ignoring those a lot. If I want to play a board game I usually just play something familiar, like RISK which I've known forever. Same with card games. All I ever play is Chinese poker and I never bother investing time to learn any other card games from anyone.

Though this holiday I did try one of those board games from that famous German guy, which was good, and also some weirdass bean trading game which was totally hilarious and awesome.

Usually the games from Cheapass games are pretty fun and hilarious. There's a lot of spin off RISK games like Axis and Allies, Nexus Ops, and Buck Rogers of the 21st century. Some more complicated spinoffs would be something like Air Baron.

What's considered Chinese poker? There is a game called 'Gang of Four" that i know about. Another good card game is "Dalmuti" which strangely enough can be used as a drinking game.

As for children's games, I remember Rampage. Don't know why, but I really liked it, especially the sound effects to when I'm smashing a window open and eating people.

[Aussie Ben]

I was pleasantly surprised and delighted when I found out that Scooby-Doo: Night of 100 Frights! had Tim Curry as the villain. I really need to pick up a copy of Lemony Snicket before it disappears off the face of the planet, because that has Tim Curry as well. Oh, and the latest Scooby-Doo console game has ADAM WEST.

Kim Possible 3 for GBA is pretty damn cool, and Lizzie McGuire 2 is not bad, but very short (an hour to finish the game). that's SO Raven 1 AND 2 are phenomenally awful. I haven't played Kim Possible 2 for GBA, but I hear it's awesome.

[elmuerte]

I played all Harry Potter games, they are all quite nice, but the first two where much better. The 3rd one had a crappy ending.

It's fun to play some "easy" games once in a while, it is relaxing to sit back and simply play the game along without too much tension or brain activity.

[Spaff]

I'm gonna go out on a limb here and just say this

AndyB: your threads make me want to stab and rape you into bits.

[vimes]

rape you into bits.

[Marek]

AndyB: your threads make me want to stab and rape you into bits.

In a pleasant, gentle kind of way though, right?

[AndyB]

Marek (1500+ posts) u are so great! I love your Games Beyond Games article,

Hambob.

Spaff: get a grip.

[Tanukitsune]

If we're talking about games that I play and others ignore, the list is endless....

Carmen Sandiego, Hamtaro, Sabrina the Teenage Witch The Animated Series, Scooby-Doo, heck, I even have Real Arcade PASS!

[miffy495]

hey, who dares ignore Carmen Sandiego? That was one of my favorite games back in the day. Mind you, I haven't played it for many a year, but fond memories arise at that name.

[jokemaster]

Carmen Sandiego is awesome!

[Tanukitsune]

Dude, I know! I have nearly every Carmen Sandiego game ever made!