Unpopular Opinions about Video Games -

[The Last Stand]

Harmonix games are pretty shitty.

Their best game was Guitar Hero 2, but then again, Guitar Hero 3 was a lot better and ironically not developed by a company that solely makes music games. The pro guitar mode in Rock Band 3 where you could supposedly learn how to play guitar for real was a total joke, while Rocksmith actually did that concept right. And their multi-track music games like Frequency and Amplitude were kinda terrible, I couldn't ever get into the flow of the song when you have to abruptly switch patterns every few measures.

They're not very good at making tough charts in Rock Band, either. Difficult charts can be fun when they're well made, but I really can't think of a good one of theirs.

Rhythm games could've stood a chance if they didn't milk the consumer for every penny they had. They should've stopped with guitar and vocals.

Just Dance for instance. After 3, they could've just done music packs instead of releasing it yearly. It works better as a platform than a yearly franchise.

Guitar Hero 3 was peak Guitar Hero. After that, it was just disc expansions.

 

[Marissa Moira]

I really want the rumors of Dragon Quest 1 and 2 HD coming to be true so I can buy 3 HD and now have the whole trilogy on 6 different release formats.

 

[eternal dog mongler]

Harmonix games are pretty shitty.

Their best game was Guitar Hero 2, but then again, Guitar Hero 3 was a lot better and ironically not developed by a company that solely makes music games. The pro guitar mode in Rock Band 3 where you could supposedly learn how to play guitar for real was a total joke, while Rocksmith actually did that concept right. And their multi-track music games like Frequency and Amplitude were kinda terrible, I couldn't ever get into the flow of the song when you have to abruptly switch patterns every few measures.

They're not very good at making tough charts in Rock Band, either. Difficult charts can be fun when they're well made, but I really can't think of a good one of theirs.

Counterpoint: Guitar Hero is fun as fuck when you're drunk and high at parties.

Nobody wants to switch their goddamn tuning to play Rocksmith

 

[gaystoner]

God, I loved that game as a kid. I don't really recall much being wrong with it unless you didn't like Hamtaro or cutesy stuff.

Anyway, Star Wars Battlefront 1 (2004) is better than 2 (2005).

The AI, while not perfect, was generally better and didn't bum rush each other like morons. They actually tried to hold and fortify their positions. The enemy AI in 2 also targets you above all other targets around them, no matter how close or far you are compared to your allies. It feels so cheap and artificial.

Maps are also generally smaller than 1's maps which I feel take away from the grand feeling the battles are supposed to give you. Doesn't help that for whatever reason, you don't have flying vehicles in the non space maps.

Speaking of, the space fights, while on paper are really cool, kinda fall flat in execution. The dev team had grand ambitions, but the limited and buggy AI kept the game mode from reaching its full potential. The AI will not utilize the drop ships to board the enemy's ship and attack their consoles and shield generator for example.

The game also emphasizes how well you do individually rather than working with your allies as a team. Which, to an extent is true in 1, in 2 s you play more and more, you unlock passive bonuses that can't be turned off and you get rewarded with bonus damage and weapons when you have a high kill streak. The only way to remove these things is to create an entirely different profile.

In general, the game feels like it was designed with multiplayer in mind, which is all fine and dandy, but barely anyone plays the game online anymore even with servers back up. 1 I feel is generally the better experience single player wise.

Some things I did like about 2 compared to one is how Hero units worked. While they are kinda broken, it is fun to get to play as one and absolutely destroy enemies and potentially turn the tide of a battle. They really do add to the whole Star Wars experience I feel. They should be a lot more rare or harder to get through. And I also like being able to play as Phase 2 Clone Troopers. The only way you can play as them in 1 is through mods, and the modding scene for 1 is not nearly as vast as 2's sadly, so there isn't as much quality content to find.

Supposedly, I heard modern Battlefront 2 improved immensely since its initial release. Can anyone confirm?

So I personally really enjoy BF2...I didn't like it as much as 1 at first but its grown immensely since release with 0 DLC packs. For me the most fun is playing as a Droideka. They get the look/feel of them really accurate.

Also adding The 'Clone Wars' period for free was pretty sweet. Greivous being added alongside count Dooku...Obi Wan/Anakin. You also have an Ewok special class now.

 

[Pissmaster]

Rhythm games could've stood a chance if they didn't milk the consumer for every penny they had. They should've stopped with guitar and vocals.

Just Dance for instance. After 3, they could've just done music packs instead of releasing it yearly. It works better as a platform than a yearly franchise.

Guitar Hero 3 was peak Guitar Hero. After that, it was just disc expansions.

Not to mention, the shoddy quality of the instruments once drums were added. Was a good drumkit ever actually made for GH or RB? Pedals would break, pads would misfire, and everyone who played tough charts had to mod their drums to hell and back just to get them responsive and reliable enough. And Rock Band's guitars didn't even have the click that Guitar Hero's did, so it was fairly vague exactly when you were actuating the input. Thank goodness those games had enormous timing windows.

In fact, I could write up a pretty long spergpost about all the goofy fuckups in the world of GH/RB that've seemed to just fade from everyone's minds over the years. I might do that someday if I get pissed off enough.

As for Dance Central, wasn't that the idea behind Just Dance Spotlight? That game just kinda seemed to fade away shortly after launch. And apparently they quit adding new DLC to it in 2015 anyway, so I guess that franchise is dead. Props to them for making the one and only Kinect series that's worth playing for longer than an hour, though.

Counterpoint: Guitar Hero is fun as fuck when you're drunk and high at parties.

Nobody wants to switch their goddamn tuning to play Rocksmith

You're not wrong and I totally agree, but I'm also a person who used to play music games alone at home a lot and try to shoot for full combos on everything. Good chart design isn't particularly easy, but it's weird that Harmonix didn't seem to have as much of a grasp on it as the boyz at Neversoft.

Though mostly I just wanted to shit on... whatever you call that collection of games that all play the same way that consist of Frequency, Amplitude, Rock Band Unplugged, the DS versions of Lego Rock Band & Rock Band 3, Amplitude PS4, etc. They're just not very fun, and I honestly never saw the appeal.

 

[The Last Stand]

Not to mention, the shoddy quality of the instruments once drums were added. Was a good drumkit ever actually made for GH or RB? Pedals would break, pads would misfire, and everyone who played tough charts had to mod their drums to hell and back just to get them responsive and reliable enough. And Rock Band's guitars didn't even have the click that Guitar Hero's did, so it was fairly vague exactly when you were actuating the input. Thank goodness those games had enormous timing windows.

In fact, I could write up a pretty long spergpost about all the goofy fuckups in the world of GH/RB that've seemed to just fade from everyone's minds over the years. I might do that someday if I get pissed off enough.

As for Dance Central, wasn't that the idea behind Just Dance Spotlight? That game just kinda seemed to fade away shortly after launch. And apparently they quit adding new DLC to it in 2015 anyway, so I guess that franchise is dead. Props to them for making the one and only Kinect series that's worth playing for longer than an hour, though.


You're not wrong and I totally agree, but I'm also a person who used to play music games alone at home a lot and try to shoot for full combos on everything. Good chart design isn't particularly easy, but it's weird that Harmonix didn't seem to have as much of a grasp on it as the boyz at Neversoft.

Though mostly I just wanted to shit on... whatever you call that collection of games that all play the same way that consist of Frequency, Amplitude, Rock Band Unplugged, the DS versions of Lego Rock Band & Rock Band 3, Amplitude PS4, etc. They're just not very fun, and I honestly never saw the appeal.

Make a thread on Guitar Hero, please.

Battlefield shouldn't have a single player. It's always subpar and cliche.

 

[Raging Capybara]

but I'm also a person who used to play music games alone at home a lot and try to shoot for full combos on everything

So download Clone Hero and play those super boring 15 minutes long solos with 40 notes per second with 150% speed like all the speds on twitch are doing right now. You may like it.

 

[eternal dog mongler]

Not to mention, the shoddy quality of the instruments once drums were added. Was a good drumkit ever actually made for GH or RB? Pedals would break, pads would misfire, and everyone who played tough charts had to mod their drums to hell and back just to get them responsive and reliable enough. And Rock Band's guitars didn't even have the click that Guitar Hero's did, so it was fairly vague exactly when you were actuating the input. Thank goodness those games had enormous timing windows.

The stock GH3 one was pretty good considering the abuse I put it through.

The people who lived in the apartment below me started calling out songs I was playing based on what I was doing with the bass pedal. So that's...something.

 

[Pissmaster]

So download Clone Hero and play those super boring 15 minutes long solos with 40 notes per second with 150% speed like all the speds on twitch are doing right now. You may like it.

That's another thing I didn't appreciate about Harmonix games, how they tended to use full versions of songs that could have excessively long parts where you don't do anything for a minute or two, or how a tough solo might come up several minutes in, and failing it means you have to go through the entire rest of the song over and over, with no option to just restart from a checkpoint. It gets very grating.

Those Clone Hero tracks that are excessively hard aren't anything new either, that's just more of what Stepmania turned into after In the Groove. Look, here's a video from March 2007 that is pretty much exactly that:
(warning: loud)

That one's my favorite of that tier of charts, it's very fast but flows really well and isn't just a retarded vomit of notes wherever they felt like slapping them because muh difficulty. Rock Band's chart authors just didn't seem to have the knack for making charts that were both crazy tough and fun.

edit: also i'm not gonna be that guy at the party that insists on playing Through the Fire and Flames just to show off, I know it's a great party game and I can't really complain about any aspect of that, other than the instrument durability

 

[Vault Boy]

Battlefield shouldn't have a single player. It's always subpar and cliche.

I'd be sort of OK with that stance if they made more multiplayer content to make up for it.

Having 7 maps at launch, one less than Battlefield V did, is a pretty raw deal, especially when it's $70 this time.

 

[The Last Stand]

I'd be sort of OK with that stance if they made more multiplayer content to make up for it.

Having 7 maps at launch, one less than Battlefield V did, is a pretty raw deal, especially when it's $70 this time.

It's EA. And such a high price point for multiplayer only isn't appealing, especially when there are multiplayer games out there that are a fraction of that price.

 

[Vault Boy]

It's EA. And such a high price point for multiplayer only isn't appealing, especially when there are multiplayer games out there that are a fraction of that price.

Shit, Call of Duty's probably going to be a much better deal this year with campaign, MP, zombies (?), and Warzone.

Battlefield V was such a shit show that I don't get why people are so certain Battlefield will "win" this year.

 

[JamesFargo]

Silent Hill 3 isn't for me.

The Borley Mansion sticks out, as does the Alessa fight. The rest is just reheated from better games. If you don't enjoy Heather's company (I don't), then you're in trouble.

 

[Raging Capybara]

I don't think Cyberpunk is really that different from Witcher 3. Both are mediocre to bad games.

besides the story, what's the appeal in W3? Both games have horrible animation, boring combat, ugly art design (some armors in W3 makes you look like a clown), massive downgrade before release, lifeless map, basic and repetitive side quests structure, Roach is just slightly more responsive than cars, and the sex scenes are beyond cringe-inducing. I think the only distinguishable feature that stands out in Witcher in comparison to Cyberpunk is the lack of absurd glitches.

I can't comprehend the hype on those poles.

 

[X Pac Heat]

what's the appeal in W3?

Gaymers have a real hard on for daddy issue games and give them way more credit than they deserve.

(also my unpopular opinion)

 

[JamesFargo]

Gaymers have a real hard on for daddy issue games

OK, you've piqued my interest. I assume you're alluding to TLOU2?

 

[X Pac Heat]

OK, you piqued my interest. I assume you're alluding to TLOU2?

I'm alluding to a lot of games. Generally if the game has something featuring a father figure either struggling to save his family, or a father figure and their child "coming together" you'll find a lot of gamers falling over themselves over how great the story or the major scene in general

TLOU and TLOU2 are a prime example for sure, but you saw Uncharted 4 also get a lot of praise for it's story compared to the previous entries I think.

The ending to MGS 4 (and I guess MGS3 to an extent) and Red Dead Redemption come to mind too with a lot of gamers talking about how those endings "made them cry" and such.

Witcher 3 with Geralt and Ciri. I've seen some people talk about how the ending to RE8 has "gotten to them" too.

It's something weird I've noticed where if a game has some sort of scene or theme of something involving a father and child it gets way more praise and talked about how well written and emotional it is. Doesn't make the game bad or anything, but I am kind of annoyed how it's the only part of RDR I see anyone talk about, or how some people excuse MGS 4's dumbass story because of its ending.

 

[Cardenio]

I enjoy playing Retro Games (N64 era and before) for the first time with a through walkthrough. I know it totally robs me the experience of properly playing the game and not knowing what's going to happen. I just don't care.

 

[Erika Furudo]

Mass effect 2 is the worst game in the trilogy and fans have no right to bitch about ME3 when they loved 2. ME2 set the precedent where your choices don't matter, rpg elements were stripped out, it went to a shitty action genre instead of scifi, etc. Even the fucking music in the series changed from synth to more generic "epic" orchestral shit. ME3 just picked up where 2 left off because people loved ME2, therefore ME2 is the exact point the series died.

Mass Effect 1 is still an amazing game, even the mako segments. The atmosphere is amazing (even minor shit like hiding a loading screen with decontamination as you get off/on the normandy) and the gameplay was fun as fuck making explosive shotguns or assault rifles that never overheat.

 

[Pissmaster]

I enjoy playing Retro Games (N64 era and before) for the first time with a through walkthrough. I know it totally robs me the experience of properly playing the game and not knowing what's going to happen. I just don't care.

No, that's the right way to play lots of them. Especially adventure games. Boomers can wax poetically all they want about how great old ScummVM games are and how Telltale games suck for being interactive movies, but nobody was beating any of those without getting hints somewhere. Even JRPGs had a lot of arbitrary bullshit where you might end up going to every town in the world and talking to every NPC until you find the one that points you the right direction.

And it was fairly often where you'd read a guide and find out about some kinda secret items that can really help you out and make the game go smoother in obscure places that you'd never think to check. Even Earthbound did that, with a secret pathway through a cluster of trees in Onett where you can get a Mr. Baseball Cap; by talking to a nearby NPC after you use a key on a door but before you enter for the first time (they despawn forever afterwards) to get a Travel Charm; and talking to a guy at a hotel over and over and over until he gives you $50 to go away.

But seriously, never play an old adventure game without a guide. I tried to play Zak McKraken without one a while ago, and got stuck twice because my characters kept running out of money. Your characters have cash cards as one of their items, and as it turns out, they all start with certain amounts of money in their bank accounts that isn't shown to you. Going to the airport, buying tickets, and flying around the world is a vital part of the game, and that can run you out of money and leave you stranded fast. If that happens, start a new game and try again. There's a secret to making a lot of money fast that you'd likely only come across from reading a guide, though: you can find a butter knife near the beginning of the game. Use it to try and pull up some floorboards, which will bend the knife. Take the knife to the nearby pawn shop, and the pawn broker will think it's a piece of modern art and buy it from you for tons of money.

Zak McKraken's really charming and could do well today if it got a remake, but it's practically impenetrable without a guide.