Overrated/underrated

Simple: List the most overrated games, concepts, characters, consoles etc, and then offer up an underrated counterpart:

Overrated:
Call of Duty Black Ops 2:
Excellent game, but is it really worth the sales numbers?

Guild Wars 2: Again, an excellent game, but it just never really clicked with me and I don't understand why. It seemed remarkably shallow.

Graphics: I need to have great looking games, but I've seen too little improvement in the last 3-4 years for me to buy a game based solely on graphics quality. I think WoW still looks great and that is 8 years old with just a few improvements.

Underrated:
Warhammer 40K Space Marine:
Not as good as CODBLOPS2, to be fair, but this game was somewhat overlooked, and captured the whole 40K universe beautifully.

Dragon Age 2: I never understood why so many people soured on this game. Sure the original was better, but this wasn't exactly the Godfather 3 of PC games.

Voiceover: It seems like such a throwaway sometimes, but if you have a few great voice actors who really sell a script, it makes such a difference.

mcdonis wrote:

Fallout 1, 2 (Underrated)
Black Isle are really the masters here and deserve more credit here than they get.

I've isolated the parts where I understand the individual words, but cannot comprehend as complete sentences.

removed.

Stengah wrote:
mcdonis wrote:

Fallout 1, 2 (Underrated)
Removed

I've isolated the parts where I understand the individual words, but cannot comprehend as complete sentences.

Does that help?

Totally agree with you on Space Marine I started it recently and am about half way in. For a dumb brawler it's amazingly satisfying. There is great variation in fight locations, weapons, and set pieces. I am getting a lot of fun out of it.

mcdonis wrote:
Stengah wrote:
mcdonis wrote:

Fallout 1, 2 (Underrated)
Removed

I've isolated the parts where I understand the individual words, but cannot comprehend as complete sentences.

Does that help?

No? I just didn't agree that Black Isle, Fallout 1, or Fallout 2 were underrated and attempted to say as it in a humorous fashion. I think they're held in extremely high regard, and that they've earned it by making/being incredible games. I certainly didn't mean to offend you or imply that you should remove your post entirely or even bother to defend it from my opinion. We're not exactly playing Highlander here, there can be more than one opinion on a subject, especially on a subject like this.

...for a list for the thread i could almost just put in yours and reverse the categories

Budo wrote:

Simple: List the most overrated games, concepts, characters, consoles etc, and then offer up an underrated counterpart:

Overrated:
Call of Duty Black Ops 2: Excellent game, but is it really worth the sales numbers?

?? with the exception of the massive first day sales BO2 is selling less than other CoD titles. So much so that people are starting to talk about Activision will be taking a loss for the year since so much of their profit rides on these titles.

Still my favorite one for MP out of the series.

Budo wrote:

Dragon Age 2: I never understood why so many people soured on this game. Sure the original was better, but this wasn't exactly the Godfather 3 of PC games.

Great game, but just didnt deserve or need the Dragon Age title. Would've worked as part of a subtitle at best.

Underrated:
Too Human

Kinda janky, for sure, but the controls felt really good once you got used to them, and the different classes were fun to play around. Really good in coop too, where you had to have a pretty good understanding of the systems as well.

Budo wrote:

Dragon Age 2: I never understood why so many people soured on this game. Sure the original was better, but this wasn't exactly the Godfather 3 of PC games.

Because it was insanely rushed, incredibly buggy, and reused the same 2 or 3 dungeon layouts over and over and over and over and over again. And Anders is a jerkass and I was happy to

Spoiler:

cut his damn head off.

Overrated:

Halo series. Pretty fun shooters with dreadful level design. Not a bad game by any stretch, just not as great as it's reputation would imply.

Underrated:

Freedom Fighters. This game freaking rocks! Yeah it's not terribly pretty and the shooting mechanics won't blow you away. But the interconnected mission structure works really, really well and sells the idea that your a fighting a guerrilla war against an occupying force. Fantastic game.

Edit: I see I have deviated from the prescribed format. Sorry about that. No I won't fix it

Overrated.
Graphics... I've seen games throw around their Graphical Power and Engine capabilities.. but so what.. especially IF:

Underrated.
Art Style... Your artists suck! and you can't create a game that is visually appealing (see Blizzard)

We really don't need separate threads for "your favorite game sucks and mine's the best". I think this topic is pretty well covered in the confession and blasphemies thread. It works well enough there. Here, it's just going to be flame bait.

Dyni wrote:

We really don't need separate threads for "your favorite game sucks and mine's the best". I think this topic is pretty well covered in the confession and blasphemies thread. It works well enough there. Here, it's just going to be flame bait.

Yeah, opinions vary, and I'm 101% sure all the points that could possibly be brought up in this thread have already been discussed, at great length in some cases, in the respective game threads.

Scratched wrote:
Dyni wrote:

We really don't need separate threads for "your favorite game sucks and mine's the best". I think this topic is pretty well covered in the confession and blasphemies thread. It works well enough there. Here, it's just going to be flame bait.

Yeah, opinions vary, and I'm 101% sure all the points that could possibly be brought up in this thread have already been discussed, at great length in some cases, in the respective game threads.

This post ^ is overrated.

I think people tend to underrate framerate in the quest for great graphics. I feel the bare minimum to run something should be 60FPS. I'll happily disable AntiAliasing and turn down my resolution and kill all those pretty effects for a few frames per second more.

Played Max Payne 3 at like 800x600, but the framerate was awesome

Probably in a minority here n_n

Mex wrote:

I think people tend to underrate framerate in the quest for great graphics. I feel the bare minimum to run something should be 60FPS. I'll happily disable AntiAliasing and turn down my resolution and kill all those pretty effects for a few frames per second more.

Played Max Payne 3 at like 800x600, but the framerate was awesome

Probably in a minority here n_n

To a certain extent, it depends on the type of gameplay, but yes, framerate is definitely important to the extent it should usually be a priority over prettiness. This goes hand in hand with art style, and working within the hardware capabilities of the platforms you're releasing on.

Overrated: Thirty Flights of Loving.

There, I said it. Look, I love those guys. I pitched in for their kickstarter, I've listened to every episode at least once, and I think the whole crew is made up of some of the smartest voices in the gaming industry. But I have absolutely no f*cking idea what was going on in that game, beyond the most basic level. I can follow the story but if there's any deeper meaning in there, it's lost on me. If I came to the game with no background on it other than that I'd just dropped $5 for it, I would've felt ripped off. I really hope someone can explain to me what I'm missing because I really want to like the game as much as everyone else seems to. I want to be able to honestly endorse it. And yes, I did do a second playthrough in Goldblum mode!

Underrated: Warriors games.

The Koei "Warriors"-series games, including Dynasty Warriors, Samurai Warriors, Warriors Orochi, etc., are some of the most maligned games still made. People decry them as mindless button mashers with no depth and are truly baffled that anyone could enjoy them. Well, yeah, they are button mashers. So what's wrong with that? I find that relaxing from time to time, and for games that seem so homogenous on the surface, they have a surprising amount of depth if you know where to look for it. In one of the Samurai Warriors games, if you trained your custom character in exactly the right way and then won a fight in which you were severely outmatched, it would permanently upgrade their bow to a rifle. In another Dynasty Warriors game, you could unlock an elephant as your mount, and then abandon it only to have another fresh elephant waiting for you in the next mission. I left lonely elephants abandoned in battlefields all across China. And now I can never go to China, because they're everywhere and they never forget. They never forgive.

LobsterMobster wrote:

Overrated: Thirty Flights of Loving.

There, I said it. Look, I love those guys. I pitched in for their kickstarter, I've listened to every episode at least once, and I think the whole crew is made up of some of the smartest voices in the gaming industry. But I have absolutely no f*cking idea what was going on in that game, beyond the most basic level. I can follow the story but if there's any deeper meaning in there, it's lost on me. If I came to the game with no background on it other than that I'd just dropped $5 for it, I would've felt ripped off. I really hope someone can explain to me what I'm missing because I really want to like the game as much as everyone else seems to. I want to be able to honestly endorse it. And yes, I did do a second playthrough in Goldblum mode!

I want to call you out and rip up your Idle card. Unfortunately, I kind of agree with you (and I think we are in the minority). My difference is that I don't consider the game to be overrated- I just assume that I'm missing the pieces. I do think I'd enjoy the game better after a conversation with fans of the game. I like how the game folds into itself, I actually like that a lot, just not sure what is there beyond that.

Underated

The Wii- in terms of how the core accepts it- (when it had GC backwards compatibility) offered a lot of great gaming experiences. And on that, the phrase "good graphics for a Wii" should have been killed and buried a long time ago. It's the only conversation, and it happened a lot, in which art-style had to be anchored for fear of making a positive statement. I am a PC gamer who uses my Wii as a supplemental gaming portal. As such, it offered a lot. If it was my only entry into playing games, yeah I can see it a a disappointment. As it is, when you take GC in as an option, it offers a lot of unique play options.

MojoBox wrote:

Underrated:

Freedom Fighters. This game freaking rocks! Yeah it's not terribly pretty and the shooting mechanics won't blow you away. But the interconnected mission structure works really, really well and sells the idea that your a fighting a guerrilla war against an occupying force. Fantastic game.

Awesome game that hardly anyone I meet has even heard of, never mind played. It was also an impulse buy, I hadn't seen/heard anything about it. Now, normally that kinda purchase usually ends up being disappointing, but I console myself with the 'risk' I took in buying it. I was really chuffed with the impulse this time around though!

omnipherous wrote:
MojoBox wrote:

Underrated:

Freedom Fighters. This game freaking rocks! Yeah it's not terribly pretty and the shooting mechanics won't blow you away. But the interconnected mission structure works really, really well and sells the idea that your a fighting a guerrilla war against an occupying force. Fantastic game.

Awesome game that hardly anyone I meet has even heard of, never mind played. It was also an impulse buy, I hadn't seen/heard anything about it. Now, normally that kinda purchase usually ends up being disappointing, but I console myself with the 'risk' I took in buying it. I was really chuffed with the impulse this time around though!

Wasn't this like the RTS that was superhero based? Fighting Nazis?

omnipherous wrote:
MojoBox wrote:

Underrated:

Freedom Fighters. This game freaking rocks! Yeah it's not terribly pretty and the shooting mechanics won't blow you away. But the interconnected mission structure works really, really well and sells the idea that your a fighting a guerrilla war against an occupying force. Fantastic game.

Awesome game that hardly anyone I meet has even heard of, never mind played. It was also an impulse buy, I hadn't seen/heard anything about it. Now, normally that kinda purchase usually ends up being disappointing, but I console myself with the 'risk' I took in buying it. I was really chuffed with the impulse this time around though!

I loved that game. I played it many times over. Wish they had done more with the license. I think for a while there was a placeholder site for FF2, but it didn't go anywhere. Real shame, because it let me play out all my Red Dawn fantasies.

Demosthenes wrote:
omnipherous wrote:
MojoBox wrote:

Underrated:

Freedom Fighters. This game freaking rocks! Yeah it's not terribly pretty and the shooting mechanics won't blow you away. But the interconnected mission structure works really, really well and sells the idea that your a fighting a guerrilla war against an occupying force. Fantastic game.

Awesome game that hardly anyone I meet has even heard of, never mind played. It was also an impulse buy, I hadn't seen/heard anything about it. Now, normally that kinda purchase usually ends up being disappointing, but I console myself with the 'risk' I took in buying it. I was really chuffed with the impulse this time around though!

Wasn't this like the RTS that was superhero based? Fighting Nazis?

That was Freedom Force. And it was the sequel that had them traveling in time and fighting Nazis.

Freedom Fighters was an IO Interactive game (developers of the Hitman franchise), I think it came out not long after Hitman 2 using the same engine. I played it on PC but I know there were versions on all of the contemporary console systems.

To elaborate on the mission structure, you had 2 or 3 levels you could enter at any given point and each one had multiple mission objectives that were interconnected between the levels. For example, one set of missions might task you with freeing hostages from a building in one level, but the building is being covered by snipers and the streets patrolled by a helicopter. In another open level would be the heliport, or a way to access the snipers nest. So it was left up to you to figure out how best to approach all these missions. You can fight your way into the helipad and blow it up, disabling the Helicopter, or just do your level best to avoid it in the streets and skip straight to rescuing hostages.

There was also a rudimentary squad control, you would earn renown which would convince other fighters to join up with you, and you could capture weapons caches to supply the rebels. You start the game sneaking around with a pistol and by the end of the game your commanding a small squad equipped with rocket launchers.

So good, gonna have to replay that soon

Overrated:

The Witcher Series (1 & 2): I just don't get how this series has gotten such praise. For the first game, tedious combat, ridiculous trading card system for sexual conquests and monotonous fetch quests. For the second game, cinematics constantly interrupting gameplay, monotonous fetch quests, and being forced down a very narrow path.

The Walking Dead: This is another one that I just don't get. The choices you make bring you to the same end result. Even the 80's choose your own adventure books gave you different outcomes based on your decisions.

Underrated

Arcanum: Of Steamworks and Magick Obscura: This fantastic RPG holds up perfectly (with patching). The amount of character development choices, great story, and freedom to roleplay and decide your own path make this game one of the best RPGs out there.

Maniac Mansion/Day of the Tentacle: This is how you do an adventure game.

ems777 wrote:

Maniac Mansion/Day of the Tentacle: This is how you do an adventure game.

For something that routinely gets praise in PC gaming circuits, I wouldn't consider that "underrated". Underplayed maybe, but definitely not underrated.

First two that spring to mind

Overrated:

GTA4 (the base game, not played the expansions) - A cynical, mysogynistic, mess of a game that starts with some interesting ideas but then squanders them by descending back into the usual "missions for the mob" routines (the one where you punch and KO the teenage girl you've kidnapped to stop her making a fuss is a real "highlight").

And of course, one of the most annoying side-mission / reputation systems ever. EVER.

Underrated:

The Dig - Absolutely wonderful attempt to do something a bit more serious in tone than any other Lucasart adventure game at the time...which then seemed to sink without a trace. Still one of the best game soundtracks too.

shoptroll wrote:
ems777 wrote:

Maniac Mansion/Day of the Tentacle: This is how you do an adventure game.

For something that routinely gets praise in PC gaming circuits, I wouldn't consider that "underrated". Underplayed maybe, but definitely not underrated.

I think there are a lot of games that are either critically acclaimed or have fanatical fans, but are largely forgotten by the mainstream. There are a lot of good but underplayed games. I almost think it'd be better to have a thread of really, really obscure games.

Underrated:
Dragon Wars: Originally a sort-of-sequel to the Bard's Tale series, but vastly superior, having a unique setting and mythology, much smoother technical details, and a story that makes much more sense than the typical-for-the-time excuses for dungeon crawling. Plus, it deliberately and straight-facedly upends many of the genre cliches. And it has a heavy emphasis on open-ended choices, where the player's path through the game can take radically different routes, starting from escaping the starting city. Yet it's largely forgotten, especially when compared to the better known contemporary RPGs.

Underplayed:
Wasteland: Really, anything that has a successful nostalgia Kickstarter is unlikely to lack critical acclaim, so it's hard to say that this (Or Torment, or...) is underrated. But how many people have actually played it?

Gremlin wrote:
shoptroll wrote:
ems777 wrote:

Maniac Mansion/Day of the Tentacle: This is how you do an adventure game.

For something that routinely gets praise in PC gaming circuits, I wouldn't consider that "underrated". Underplayed maybe, but definitely not underrated.

I think there are a lot of games that are either critically acclaimed or have fanatical fans, but are largely forgotten by the mainstream. There are a lot of good but underplayed games. I almost think it'd be better to have a thread of really, really obscure games.

Underrated:
Dragon Wars: Originally a sort-of-sequel to the Bard's Tale series, but vastly superior, having a unique setting and mythology, much smoother technical details, and a story that makes much more sense than the typical-for-the-time excuses for dungeon crawling. Plus, it deliberately and straight-facedly upends many of the genre cliches. And it has a heavy emphasis on open-ended choices, where the player's path through the game can take radically different routes, starting from escaping the starting city. Yet it's largely forgotten, especially when compared to the better known contemporary RPGs.

Underplayed:
Wasteland: Really, anything that has a successful nostalgia Kickstarter is unlikely to lack critical acclaim, so it's hard to say that this (Or Torment, or...) is underrated. But how many people have actually played it?

I agree. I mean underrated in the respect that these games are largely underplayed as people jump to the next shiny new thing on Steam. This is not necessarily a bad thing but there are plenty of older games that represent their genre's much better than the new stuff, especially when it comes to "adventure" games.

ems777 wrote:

This is not necessarily a bad thing but there are plenty of older games that represent their genre's much better than the new stuff, especially when it comes to "adventure" games.

For starters, not being able to legally find some of these "lost gems" is a large part of that problem, adventure games in particular. At least Wasteland is getting a re-release to coincide with the release of Wasteland 2.

The "underplayed" category makes a lot of sense. I was really surprised to learn, for example, that M.U.L.E. was a commercial failure. It was a hugely influential (not to mention generally excellent) game, but not one that sold all that well.

misplacedbravado wrote:

The "underplayed" category makes a lot of sense. I was really surprised to learn, for example, that M.U.L.E. was a commercial failure. It was a hugely influential (not to mention generally excellent) game, but not one that sold all that well.

Well, that was when piracy was very widespread, so games could be commercial failures even if "Everyone played it"... Things were just too easy to copy.

Mex wrote:

Well, that was when piracy was very widespread, so games could be commercial failures even if "Everyone played it"... Things were just too easy to copy.