Unpopular Video Game Opinions

[Osprey]

There were no game rating systems when I was kid, so it's hard for me to relate. If you think that that must've been the life, since it meant no hassling when buying/renting, though, you'd be mistaken, since basically every game was a 'G' or 'PG' equivalent back then. I sort of envy you young'uns for having mature-themed games at all. They pretty much didn't exist when I was kid. In a way, you should appreciate the game rating system, since it allows for more mature games, rather than the vast majority being toned down to appeal to all ages, as used to be the case.

Just a question to those of you in NA, are children not prevented by law from buying games with the highest ratings? Are there specific age restrictions on games/movies that require ID for purchase?

In North America, the ESRB system is used (whereas PEGI is used in most of Europe) and it does recommend specific ages for different ratings. In the US, it's not enforced by law, no. US lawmakers called for such government regulation in the 1990s, so the industry came up with its own system of self-regulation to appease them. In other words, there are no laws that make it illegal for a kid to buy a mature-rated game or for a business to sell it to him. In some parts of Canada, however, there are laws requiring retailers to enforce the ESRB system, but, in other parts and in the US, there aren't.

 

[Commander Clueless]

Rather than launching into an hour-long rant about everything I hate about that game let's just say that it is the most extreme example of basically everything I hated about the N64 and the direction games, especially platformers, were heading in at the time. Collect-a-thons are the ****ing worst, and artificially inflating the length of a game by just throwing in numerous colors of bananas that can only be unlocked by using the corresponding ape, is an egregious sin in my book. Collectables are a nice bonus for completionists, but they should never be the basis of a game.

Throw in the fact that the damn thing cost $90 back in the day and it took me 6 months to save up for as a 12 year-old...it was a major lesson in disappointment. I played that game far longer than I ever would play any other game I legitimately hated just because of how much I invested in it, which fed into me hating it even more. There's no aspect of that game that I found remotely enjoyable...and it effectively killed the series for a long time.

It's not the worst game ever, but it's easily my most hated game.

The amount of time I saved for that game (and the necessary memory pack) and the resulting enjoyment is probably one of the biggest let downs I've ever had.

I don't think the game was bad per se, but I did lose interest pretty quickly.

It was my fourth (?) N64 game, and it was also my last.

 

[MayDay]

There were no game rating systems when I was kid, so it's hard for me to relate. If you think that that must've been the life, since it meant no hassling when buying/renting, though, you'd be mistaken, since basically every game was a 'G' or 'PG' equivalent back then. I sort of envy you young'uns for having mature-themed games at all. They pretty much didn't exist when I was kid. In a way, you should appreciate the game rating system, since it allows for more mature games, rather than the vast majority being toned down to appeal to all ages, as used to be the case.



In North America, the ESRB system is used (whereas PEGI is used in most of Europe) and it does recommend specific ages for different ratings. In the US, it's not enforced by law, no. US lawmakers called for such government regulation in the 1990s, so the industry came up with its own system of self-regulation to appease them. In other words, there are no laws that make it illegal for a kid to buy a mature-rated game or for a business to sell it to him. In some parts of Canada, however, there are laws requiring retailers to enforce the ESRB system, but, in other parts and in the US, there aren't.

I believe that attempts by states to make ratings enforceable by law have tended to struck down by the courts on First Amendment grounds.

 

[AKL]

I think people watching streams is incredibly sad and pathetic. Yeah let me waste hours I could be playing a game myself or doing something productive watching someone else play a video game!

Do you watch sports or any other kind of TV?

 

[flyingkiwi]

There were no game rating systems when I was kid, so it's hard for me to relate. If you think that that must've been the life, since it meant no hassling when buying/renting, though, you'd be mistaken, since basically every game was a 'G' or 'PG' equivalent back then. I sort of envy you young'uns for having mature-themed games at all. They pretty much didn't exist when I was kid. In a way, you should appreciate the game rating system, since it allows for more mature games, rather than the vast majority being toned down to appeal to all ages, as used to be the case.

What I found when I used to work at EB was an increasing number of parents frustrated that the scales seem to have tipped the other way. Even parents who let their kids play shooters and other mature games noted how hard it is to find more family-friendly current-gen games for their children, or even themselves. Now, Nintendo is a different beast, but I tend to agree with the parents. On the main platforms the selection of quality action/adventure/RPG games is increasingly limited and sooner or later kids are gonna get sick of Minecraft/Lego/Toys to life games, if they're not already.

 

[MMC]

Do you watch sports or any other kind of TV?

Not the same. I don't play for these teams or can do the things in most TV shows. I can play any of these games myself and get the same experience by simply buying it.

 

[HighAndTight]

I don't give 2 ***** about stories in video games. I skip almost every cutscene these days.

 

[AfroThunder396]

I'm glad you said "by and large" because if you think Shovel Knight sucks, you can fite me IRL

Outside of a few great games like Shovel Knight, Cave Story, World of Goo, and a few others indy games are largely:

1.) Overrated arthouse hipster titles
2.) Low quality amateur work
3.) Shameless cash grabs from moderately known developers trying to make a quick buck

I REALLY wish them luck in breaking up the Hollywoodization of games that's happened over the past 12 years, but I have a hard time defending the products that get released today.

 

[One Blurred Eye]

Rather than launching into an hour-long rant about everything I hate about that game let's just say that it is the most extreme example of basically everything I hated about the N64 and the direction games, especially platformers, were heading in at the time. Collect-a-thons are the ****ing worst, and artificially inflating the length of a game by just throwing in numerous colors of bananas that can only be unlocked by using the corresponding ape, is an egregious sin in my book. Collectables are a nice bonus for completionists, but they should never be the basis of a game.

Throw in the fact that the damn thing cost $90 back in the day and it took me 6 months to save up for as a 12 year-old...it was a major lesson in disappointment. I played that game far longer than I ever would play any other game I legitimately hated just because of how much I invested in it, which fed into me hating it even more. There's no aspect of that game that I found remotely enjoyable...and it effectively killed the series for a long time.

It's not the worst game ever, but it's easily my most hated game.

For me DK64 was incredibly forgettable--I literally remember almost nothing about it, except the last boss fight, probably the most frustrated I've ever been with a game, which says something because more than a couple controllers died at my hands from frustrated hurling in my youth. I think I was 14 or 15 maybe? I suspect my family thought I was going insane as I went on an expletive-filled rant on how video games are supposed to be fun. I beat it eventually but there was no real satisfaction in it--it was about as gratifying as getting a prostrate exam.

 

[The Nuge]

Not the same. I don't play for these teams or can do the things in most TV shows. I can play any of these games myself and get the same experience by simply buying it.

Huh? You can go play hockey/baseball/whatever just as easily as playing a video game...

 

[syz]

The amount of time I saved for that game (and the necessary memory pack) and the resulting enjoyment is probably one of the biggest let downs I've ever had.

I don't think the game was bad per se, but I did lose interest pretty quickly.

It was my fourth (?) N64 game, and it was also my last.

Four is pretty much how many good games the N64 had anyways.

 

[aleshemsky83]

Four is pretty much how many good games the N64 had anyways.

Closer to 10 imo but I agree it have very few good games.

 

[AKL]

Not the same. I don't play for these teams or can do the things in most TV shows. I can play any of these games myself and get the same experience by simply buying it.

It is the same though. Especially when people watch competitions like CSGO or LoL. Yeah, you could play those games yourself, but not at the level the "pros" can. Same with Hockey, Baseball, whatever.

At the very least, it's not any less of a waste of time than watching TV is.

 

[Carolinas Identity*]

Just a question to those of you in NA, are children not prevented by law from buying games with the highest ratings? Are there specific age restrictions on games/movies that require ID for purchase?

I was not allowed to purchase RE6 when it first came out cause I happened to be with my buddy's 10 year old and the game stop employee thought I was bootlegging it for him.

 

[Commander Clueless]

Four is pretty much how many good games the N64 had anyways.

Well I never had the ever popular Goldeneye, but a lot of friends did so I got some good playtime in regardless.

I ended up with Mario Kart 64, Super Smash Bros, Ocarina of Time, and DK64 as my lineup. I thought it was a solid lineup.

MK64 and Smash were my only two games for a long time, as a) I had to wait for summer job money to buy anything and b) I played most of my single player games on PC, while the 64 was mostly for party games.

 

[CatchyTune]

I have played all the Halo games, and i'm still a huge fan, but they're not that good after Halo 3.

But I will say the original trilogy is legendary and iconic to real fans of the Halo series.

Mafia 3 was one of my favorite games of the year

Watch Dogs 2 was also one of my favorites

Along with Halo, Gears Of War series is the best Xbox 1 exclusive series.

The Batman Arkham games are awesome, (because open world games are awesome)

 

[Linkens Mastery]

Zelda II:Adventure of Link is criminally under-rated and if it didn't have the Zelda title it would be reguarded as one of the best games ever created for the NES.

 

[Jasper]

I don't give 2 ***** about stories in video games. I skip almost every cutscene these days.

I was going to say the same thing. The less story the better.

 

[542365]

I was going to say the same thing. The less story the better.

Yeah I'm kinda the same way. I play games almost exclusively for the gameplay. The cut scenes just take me away from the gameplay. The one true exception of that for me is The Last of Us. I watched every cut scene in that because it was honestly very entertaining.

 

[Commander Clueless]

I'm like the exact opposite.

If a game doesn't have at least a halfway interesting story or characters, etc. I tend to wander off.

 

[Big McLargehuge]

The amount of time I saved for that game (and the necessary memory pack) and the resulting enjoyment is probably one of the biggest let downs I've ever had.

I don't think the game was bad per se, but I did lose interest pretty quickly.

It was my fourth (?) N64 game, and it was also my last.

Now that I think about it...that was the last game I paid full price for on a Nintendo home console for 14 years

My disappointment with the N64 led to the GameCube getting lowest priority in that generation, meaning I only bought a used one late in the cycle with a bunch of used games (that I really didn't have the time to play as I got it a couple months before I started college), and I outright skipped the Wii as no part of that console appealed to any part of me. I wound up buying a Wii U mostly out of nostalgia and found it to be a mixed bag.

Suffice to say my relationship with Nintendo is complicated I was a total fanboy up until 1996, but man the N64 did everything the opposite way of what I wanted and DK64 was the cherry on top. Every negative thing I say about Nintendo comes from a place of frustration and a desire to love them the way I used to...but man they haven't made (m)any decisions I've agreed with in the better part of two decades now.

 

[Commander Clueless]

Now that I think about it...that was the last game I paid full price for on a Nintendo home console for 14 years

My disappointment with the N64 led to the GameCube getting lowest priority in that generation, meaning I only bought a used one late in the cycle with a bunch of used games (that I really didn't have the time to play as I got it a couple months before I started college), and I outright skipped the Wii as no part of that console appealed to any part of me. I wound up buying a Wii U mostly out of nostalgia and found it to be a mixed bag.

Suffice to say my relationship with Nintendo is complicated I was a total fanboy up until 1996, but man the N64 did everything the opposite way of what I wanted and DK64 was the cherry on top. Every negative thing I say about Nintendo comes from a place of frustration and a desire to love them the way I used to...but man they haven't made (m)any decisions I've agreed with in the better part of two decades now.

I did the exact same thing with the GameCube that I did with the N64 - bought it and played the crap out of Smash and Mario Kart, and then.....nothing. I was a bit jaded from the DK64 experience, so I don't think I even touched anything else except one of the NHL games.

I was always a PC guy for 95% of my games because that's what I had as a kid, with the Nintendo as my party game machine. After the GameCube, I moved to the Xbox 360 for shooters as my go to "party games". Lately it's been board games.

Recently, I picked up a Wii U to relive some of the magic and discovered a few things: 1) I no longer care for Smash, 2) Mario Kart 8 is still awesome, and 3) you can brick a Wii U by trying a factory reset

 

[vdB]

DK64 was freaking amazing. If you thought it was too hard, well then cry me a river.

Rare made MANY innovative gameplay choices. The whole experience is very unique and memorable.

 

[Big McLargehuge]

Tedium =/= difficulty

The DKC games required near frame-perfect reactions and I ****ing loved those games (well, 2 of them...and the newer ones).

 

[Commander Clueless]

DKC was/is awesome.