The Hot Topic Returns

[Maf]

I on the other hand are very proud of you both and always knew you had good taste 

[one-armed dwarf]

Thanks, I knew you were being ironic in rating Bayonetta 3 so low like that

[Maf]

I on the other hand are very proud of you both and always knew you had good taste - bar specific exceptions 

[radiofloyd]

If you ignore the DS only IX and the mmorpg X, I think DQXI was quite a significant drop-off from DQVIII.

 

Guitar Hero 3 was definitely a drop-off from GH2, understandable given the change of developer I guess.

 

I hated the change of direction Jak and Daxter went in after the brilliant first game.

 

I think Broken Sword 3 was definitely a  misfire after the first two games, the switch from 2D to 3D didn’t work out so well.

 

Age of Empires 3 and Empire Total War were also both disappointing sequels, maybe because they dealt with a relatively uninteresting time period in history.

 

[Nag]

 

Quote

GameCentral readers reveal the terrible games that they still sat through all the way to the end, and why they did it.

 

We were a bit wary about running this week’s Hot Topic, as suggested by reader Gannet, as usually people aren’t very keen about admitting they’ve played really bad games. But for some reason this one seemed to strike a cord and we had readers admitting to completing all manner of bad games, for a variety of dubious reasons.

 

Getting value for money was the most common though, followed by trying to show appreciation for a present from a loved one. Although that still doesn’t explain the time some people spent on such undeserving games…

 

[HandsomeDead]

No.

 

I've never had a total stinker bought for me and I'll only see a game through if I like something about it.  I've dropped games that are fine for the most part but I just wasn't feeling it.

[one-armed dwarf]

Tbh, I've stopped playing games i don't like. I just drop them after a few sessions. So I'm not sure i can think of a properly crap game I've played

 

No reason to play a bad game

[shinymcshine]

I've enjoyed games that have reviewed poorly, I've disliked some games that have been lauded, but have I stuck with anything universally 'bad' and unenjoyable to the end, nah probably not.

[DANGERMAN]

Hmm I've definitely done this back when I was reviewing stuff, but nothing springs to mind. 

I finished Betrayer despite hating that, but I don't think it's a bad game as such, amazing atmosphere, but not a good experience imo . I beat Undertale

 

I'll have completed Rise of the Robots and Clay Fighters back in the day. There were probably a couple of Amstrad games that were short and dreadful. I think short is key to this. I used to beat the Mega Drive Home Alone game regularly, but I maintain that if you learn to play it that's a solid game, certainly not as bad as its reputation, it's just a pain in the arse to learn

 

I've thought of one! Last Battle, or the Fist of the North Star game as is was originally. Because of the source material I played through that and stuck with it until I completed it. granted it was a PS2 port of it rather than the Mega Drive one, which I have multiple copies of for some reason. It's incredibly basic, unfairly hard, and dull. the PS2 remake is better, despite being a bit shit still, but I beat that and the port

 

I bet there's a few license games that fit the bill. Like, when the Turtles Arcade game got rereleased, it's actually shit, especially if you're playing it solo, but I played through it

[Maryokutai]

5 hours ago, DANGERMAN said:

Hmm I've definitely done this back when I was reviewing stuff, but nothing springs to mind. 

 

Yeah, I played through a questionable amount of bad Marvel tie-ins back when SEGA had the license for them and we got reviews copies (FYI, Iron Man on PSP was the worst offender).

 

As for games I chose to play I guess did finish the Sonic campaign of Sonic 06 but never bothered with the other two, so that might count to an extent. But that's really as far as I can think of in terms of examples.

[Maf]

These games are liked enough for them to escape the “shit” category but both Horizon Forbidden West and Sonic Frontiers were games where I had to really dig deep to get through them 

 

Firstly, Foridden West was you fucker’s fault. I liked the first one despite it being kinda mid. And was sorely disappointed and hated the second one. But people on here acted like I was coming at it with hater energy. So I kept pushing to really make sure I had given it the fairest crack, which ended up being the end credits, and I still hated it. So that was on you, you’re to blame for that 

 

Sonic Frontiers is on me. It’s a Sonic game, and you can see flashes of what it could be, but 98% is the dryest, dullest, creatively dead ended empty check list open world game ever. There is something to it. But that first attempt was not it. But I finished it because it was Christmas holiday, easy Platinum, and it’s a Sonic game 

 

EDIT: Oh, also see my answer last week The Last of Us Part 2. Woo-wee. That was an almighty slog 

[one-armed dwarf]

The question is about terrible games though. I guess that can be subjective but if RDRII is the most miserable gaming I've ever had, I'd still find it hard to call it an objectively 'terrible' game. Maybe I've done that before but if I did I was off base

 

If I had to submit an answer, maybe Enter The Matrix. But I really liked that game, which is why I stuck with it. Was just super into anything that let me run on walls, on that note see also DMC2

[Maf]

But like answers above I don't sit through terrible games. I just stop playing. This is as close as I can get. Games I at least think are bad/boring and was a huge test of determination just to get to the end 

 

 

[Nag]

 

Quote

Nag says... "Do you take notice of Digital Foundry? In regards to their breakdowns on games do you take any notice or is it a little bit too anal in what they comment on?... would their teardown ever influence you on buying a game?"

 

[Maf]

I love Digital Foundry and watch most of their videos. The only videos I don’t watch are their PC hardware reviews. Like recently they did a review of a CPU, it’s just going to be beyond my understanding 

 

If I really want a game and they say every version of it is bad, it will stop me buying it day 1 in hopes for a patch but if it doesn’t get better than I will buy it anyway. That’s what I did with Dragon’s Dogma 2. And waiting is fine. There’s always games to play and they only get cheaper. 
 

There are games that I know I want to play and on what system I want to play it on. So sometimes I watch their videos out of interest but already know I’m going to buy it 

 

They can be too anal about stuff like sometimes they show details where they have to zoom in 400% to look under a piece of geometry to show the texture is blurrier on the Xbox than PS5 and stuff. But sometimes I think they have 10 minute videos to make and sometimes there’s not a lot to talk about in between versions of games so sometimes it’s kind of irrelevant 

 

I think the best thing about Digital Foundry is I’ve learned a lot about video game tech. 10 years ago I didn’t know anything and I think watching their work has increased my knowledge of an aspect of video games I never knew about before. There are still things I don’t always get or can spot the difference. But overall I think they’ve made me more knowledgeable on video games. And being a video game fan I always want to learn more 

[one-armed dwarf]

People say they are anal but I'd like to know what specific examples they have in mind, as in specific videos where they have done this pixel peeping and needless criticizing of stuff. 

 

The thing about PC is that different builds can exacerbate problems in a game. It's good to have an outlet out there bringing attention to the kinds of issues which publishers would just ignore in the past, so you'd have no choice but to lump it

[mfnick]

Yea I like them. Like Maf, if a game is receiving terrible performance everywhere I’ll hold off and wait for a patch. But otherwise they’re good at showing which console is closer to maintaining 60fps & has less stutters.
 

It’ll definitely influence which version I buy. Though it won’t be the only reason. Dont give a fuck about the slightly better resolution of a building 20 miles in the distance though, they lose me a bit when doing that. 

[Maf]

21 minutes ago, one-armed dwarf said:

People say they are anal but I'd like to know what specific examples they have in mind, as in specific videos where they have done this pixel peeping and needless criticizing of stuff

I actually just started watching this while having breakfast. 4min mark they start talking about screen space reflection under a cup

 

This is not a criticism for me as they are right, and it is all the small touches which help build up a picture. But also who is ever going to look at the cup. So I get why people think they can be a bit anal

[one-armed dwarf]

I don't think examples like that cup are supposed to be "hey, look at this cup, it's better on Pro", or whatever the point they are trying to make there is. It's more that it's an easy example to explain the physical differences that the new RT pass brings and why it's different to screen space reflections. "Hey, RT reflections have more information, here is a cup which demonstrates what that means". Now extrapolate to the rest of the game, where you're looking at bodies of water where the difference between SSR and RT is super noticeable. But it also makes the point that it's not just water that's impacted

 

It reduces the technical jargon to something which is more tangible and easy to understand, hopefully.

 

But tbh I'm not even against this kinda anality when it's something as expensive as a Pro. Everything I've seen of that thing seems super underwhelming, the cups better be fucking amazing or what's the point you know. 

[Maf]

Not to switch topics but this is the first wave of PS5 Pro games using PSSR. Some games are using it tremendously well out of the gate, FF7R2 and that F1 game. Alan Wake 2 seems a mixed bag on Pro where it’s better in some areas but actually worse than the standard PS5 in other areas.

 

But this is why DF is good because it’s interesting to see where this new console tech is in comparison to the previous, and next gen PC stuff (which I’ve just finished my coffee, speaking of Alan Wake, and going to watch next)