I Can't Go For That (Game Series)

[Sno]

I take issue with calling System Shock and Deus Ex shooters, they definitely aren't. System Shock, especially, is definitely a straight action RPG that merely exists in the guise of an FPS. There is far more emphasis on its role-playing mechanics than any technical proficiency with its shooting mechanics. Deus Ex, on the other hand, places as much, or more, emphasis on its adventuring and stealth as it does on shooting.

BioShock definitely takes significant strides towards being more of a shooter though, and by Infinite, Irrational was really just making Half-Life 2.

 

 

Ridge Racer

Somewhere there exists a dusty contract that ensures a perfectly serviceable arcade racer must launch with your console. You'd think they'd come up with the sequel a couple of years down the line...but no. Average launch games only. Feels like it thrives on the fumes of fanboys validating their Day One Perch.

So i feel like i should chime in on this one since i actually like Ridge Racer, and it doesn't feel like there's a lot of people who do. I used to play those games because they generally had a great sense of speed and some really weird, unique mechanics that don't really exist anywhere else. (The series has a particularly strange implementation of a drifting mechanic that i've always found a lot of fun.) The series peaked years ago with the PSP games though, the subsequent decade is where Namco tanked the series. (The Bugbear reboot also stripped the game of its defining mechanics, so fuck that.)

As for my own contributions to this thread, i generally don't completely write off anything, though i'm extremely reluctant to play MMO's or any F2P nonsense.

I'm also pretty much done with Call of Duty. I thought CoD2 was a lot of fun way back when, CoD4 was alright, MW2 less so, and then IWard imploded. I've also found the Treyarch games almost offensively terrible. What the series has grown into, with its progression mechanics in competitive play and participation-absent linear campaigns, has come to represent a lot of the things i really loath about modern shooters.

I'm probably also done with Assassin's Creed. I actually love the series a lot, i don't have many of the complaints people often raise against it, the annualization is just kiling it for me. I'd like to keep up with the series, but i just can't. They're too time consuming and there's too many of them.

Blizzard games, collectively, have never appealed to me at all. Diablo, WarCraft, StarCraft, none of it ever clicked with me. Except for Lost Vikings, that was awesome.

Metal Gear Solid is one i kind of love to watch from afar, but have consistently found them to be completely unengaging as games. I appreciated Metal Gear Rising as a glimpse into that universe that also happened to be a game i really enjoyed playing.

[thorn]

Bioshock games (and possibly System Shocks) - I really like the art direction of every single one of the games in the series, but again, I feel like I will become incredibly bored because of the FPS stuff and I'd rather just play them for the story and art than any kind of actual gameplay. For whatever reason, Bioshock 2 actually seems like the one I'd enjoy the most.

I'm terrible at FPSes and don't generally enjoy them, but I loved Bioshock for the reasons you think you might like it; the story and art. Stick to the psy-abilities and the wrench and you should be fine.

[syntheticgerbil]

I take issue with calling System Shock and Deus Ex shooters, they definitely aren't. System Shock, especially, is definitely a straight action RPG that merely exists in the guise of an FPS. There is far more emphasis on its role-playing mechanics than any technical proficiency with its shooting mechanics. Deus Ex, on the other hand, places as much, or more, emphasis on its adventuring and stealth as it does on shooting.

Possibly I feel like there's no reward in doing stealth in first person view. Same with jumping in first person view. No one is ever going to do that right. No one, it's just awkward and doesn't have the same thrill as a platformer. I don't like playing games as a chore. RPG elements are just that, they are kind of in every game, so I don't know what to think of them as a major draw.

[CaptainFish]

Any MMO for me. There's also a lot of horror stuff I'm way too much of a wimp to get into. I've owned Amnesia since it launched and still haven't gotten past the first like 15 minutes.

 

Oh I guess Donkey Kong Country is one for me. I played a lot of SNES stuff in later generations since I had a Genesis when the SNES was new. I've gone back and played a lot of SNES hits and love them to death, but I have zero desire to play Donkey Kong Country. I must've tried it a couple times, but it never clicked.

I feel kinda similar about Final Fantasy, but I could totally see myself getting into them at some point, it's just the time investment seems intimidating. Part of it is definitely the fact that it's this huge series, since I love some JRPGs like Chrono Trigger. I'm definitely not as much into them as most people though. I did play through a decent chunk of 6 a long time ago, but then I lost that progress and lost all desire to replay it.

[TheLastBaron]

Possibly I feel like there's no reward in doing stealth in first person view. Same with jumping in first person view. No one is ever going to do that right. No one, it's just awkward and doesn't have the same thrill as a platformer. I don't like playing games as a chore. RPG elements are just that, they are kind of in every game, so I don't know what to think of them as a major draw.

Funny, I actually am the opposite in that I have almost no interest in a stealth game that isn't first person. I didn't add myself to the MGS list because I might get around to playing them at some point, but I probably won't like them if I do.

Edit: jk, I would play another Mark of the Ninja.

[N1njaSquirrel]

Ninjasquirrel, I really hope that you deliberately called it "The Eldar Scrolls" out of some insane ironic mash-up of Bethesda's world and Warhammer's.

 

Yes. I did just that. I'm glad you noticed... (I can't spell)

 

 

JRPGs - grinding, random battles, the huge time investment, and their general limitaiton to consoles mean I've never played any Final Fantasy games or anything like them.

 

I would agree with you, but the Persona games are so damned good. I'd suggest giving Persona 4 a shot before writing them off completely.

 

 

MGS. I can't even consider playing those games with all those cutscenes. It's a joke.

 

I actually started playing MGS recently as I got the MGS omnibus when I got my ps3. Playing through the first one now, and sure, there are a fair few cutscenes, but the first one plays more like Grim Fandango with stealth elements more than anything else. The cutscene stupidity only arose around MGS4, and by the time I play that, I'm fairly sure I'm suckered into the characters and world to not mind sitting through a few long cutscenes.

 

Also the MGS 1's cutscenes are hilariously camp now.

[Merus]

In general, any JRPG where you have to grind is a bad JRPG. Some games require you to tackle a dungeon in multiple chunks, which is fine, but the systems should be designed so that you always have at least one goal available to tackle at any one time.

[Jason Bakker]

Zelda is interesting. What about it makes you feel indifferent? The faux-medieval fairy setting could turn people off, but my guilt would be through the roof if I'd never played one. I've only recently played through LttP and found it disappointing.

 

I've attempted to play three separate Legend of Zelda games, and it hasn't caught each time. First was LttP on the (emulated) SNES when I was a teen - I think this didn't catch mainly because I'd been playing awesome JRPGs like Lufia II and FF6 and was looking for something more story-driven. A few years back I tried Twilight Princess, then Phantom Hourglass, but though I can see the quality in both of them I just don't really enjoy the puzzles or the world.

 

One of the key problems for me with the series is how the whole world feels like it was built expressly for you to pass through it (ie. shops selling only exactly what you need to buy in exact amounts, dungeons laid out in just the right way). I guess for some reason I'm not able to suspend my disbelief for that stuff (maybe because I never got into one of them as a kid).

[youmeyou]

I usually try to give everything a chance. I'm a glutton for new experiences. And with Steam sales and humble bundles it's fairly easy to jump around genres and mechanics not to mention time periods, without significant monetary investment.

For example I had written Dark Souls off for being too obfuscated but picked it up for pennies and am now having a blast with it.

There's also no reason to finish a game if you feel satisfied with where you're at. I'm convinced that's where much of this reticence to test uncharted waters finds its source.

My one point of hypocrisy is Nintendo. Partially it's the hardware exclusivity - but if I'm honest I just find the aesthetic childish and the worlds uninteresting. Though I have enjoyed playing many of the third party SNES games via emulator, to be sure.

[tegan]

I have something of an unending hatred for the Donkey Kong series. I know that they're mostly perfectly serviceable platformers; but all of the characters are soulless and ugly, they all seem to be crammed full of collectibles, and the jungle aesthetic is pretty boring to me.

[dibs]

I can't get on board with the word serviceable. For some reason I associate that word with handjobs. I don't know why.

 

 

For games:

3rd person Zelda games

Bioshock games. I finished Infinite for reasons I can't fathom, as i didn't enjoy it in the least.

[TychoCelchuuu]

I would agree with you, but the Persona games are so damned good. I'd suggest giving Persona 4 a shot before writing them off completely.

If only I owned a system Persona 4 could be played on!

[Squid Division]

I have something of an unending hatred for the Donkey Kong series. I know that they're mostly perfectly serviceable platformers; but all of the characters are soulless and ugly, they all seem to be crammed full of collectibles, and the jungle aesthetic is pretty boring to me.

 

Definitely agree with this. Something about them makes me think they're old Sega games or something.

[CaptainFish]

I have something of an unending hatred for the Donkey Kong series. I know that they're mostly perfectly serviceable platformers; but all of the characters are soulless and ugly, they all seem to be crammed full of collectibles, and the jungle aesthetic is pretty boring to me.

 

That sums up how I feel.

Definitely agree with this. Something about them makes me think they're old Sega games or something.

I've heard of using Donkey Kong Country to slam Sega's library, but never this way.

[Badfinger]

I would agree with you, but the Persona games are so damned good. I'd suggest giving Persona 4 a shot before writing them off completely.

 

Also the MGS 1's cutscenes are hilariously camp now.

 

If you are not sure if you would like to play Persona, watch the Giant Bomb endurance run of Persona instead. At first I thought it was sort of boring, and then it was funny and interesting, and then I lost interest. There are only 120 episodes of the Endurance Run left if I want to go back!

 

 

You kind of make it sound like literally 100% of all seconds in MGS are not ridiculous camp and insanity.

[TheLastBaron]

Re: DK, Donkey Kong 64 is probably a top 10 N64 game for me. I don't like any of the old platform ones though.

[Squid Division]

I've heard of using Donkey Kong Country to slam Sega's library, but never this way.

 

They just feel like they're trying really hard to be 90s cool in the same way that Sonic was trying. The new one doesn't look like it's trying to be the same way, but it looks exactly like Country, so it still evokes it in my mind.

[SecretAsianMan]

I like the first DKC because there was some fun platforming and I played it with a friend.  Every game after that felt repetitive and unnecessary.

[tegan]

Re: DK, Donkey Kong 64 is probably a top 10 N64 game for me. I don't like any of the old platform ones though.

 

Name nine other good N64 games.

[Squid Division]

Ocarina of TIme, Majora's Mask, Mario 64, Shadows of the Empire, Episode I: Podracer, Starfox64, Mario Kart 64, Goldeneye, Perfect Dark, Diddy Kong Racing, Rogue Squadron, Smash Bros., WWF Attitude, Wresltemania 2000, No Mercy, Mario Golf, Paper Mario, Jet Force Jemini?

 

Other people would probably put the Banjo games on there too.

[coaxmetal]

I guess a big one for me is mario games. Never enjoyed them, I didn't play them as a kid since I didn't have any consoles, and I've never been into games in which the primary mechanic is difficult platforming, or even easy platforming. I just get frustruated and don't really have any cooresponding sense of accomplishment as a payoff.

[Zeusthecat]

Am I the only one here who loves me some Donkey Kong Country? Those games were awesome.

[miffy495]

I love Donkey Kong Country a bunch. 2 is one of my favourite games ever.

[Sno]

I love the original 3 games a whole bunch, Returns didn't really do anything for me.

[Zeusthecat]

I love Donkey Kong Country a bunch. 2 is one of my favourite games ever.

I'd say the 2nd one is probably my favorite of the original three as well. The soundtrack in that game was amazing.