GameSetQ: Terrible, Terrible Guilty Pleasures?
Having written a story for Gamasutra earlier this week about Infogrames selling UK developer Reflections to Ubisoft, along with the Driver franchise - having previously sold the Stuntman franchise to THQ, I was sufficiently embarrassed by enjoying one of the above titles to set a new GameSetQ.
The question for you good people out there in Internet-land is, simply enough:
"What video game have you enjoyed playing more than any reviewer ever suggested that you would - perhaps more than you should have if you were actually sane?"
In other words, I'm talking about games with clunky game mechanics, poor execution, and otherwise dubious merits, but nonetheless, you couldn't stop playing through them. For me, Stuntman was that title - it turns out I enjoy the hardcore 'trial and error' gameplay of the title, even though it meant tens of frustrating retries to get stunts _just perfect_ and complete the level. Go figure. What's your weakness?
Comments
Some #ic discussion on this issue brought up Yoda Stories in particular (thanks eshock!)
Posted by: Anonymous | July 16, 2006 2:26 PM
Stuntman was one of my first PS2 purchases. Had I read the reviews I probably wouldn't have picked it up. I enjoyed the gameplay although the handling on some of the vehicles was particularly sluggish (to put it mildly). The thing that really killed it for me, though, was the load time between your attempts. The combination of mega load times (30 secs, possibly) and trial and error gameplay is horribly painful. I finished about 75% of the game and gave up in frustration. :(
Posted by: maas | July 16, 2006 2:51 PM
When I was a child, I had a dollar a week allowance. Basically, that meant I either had to rent Nintendo games or play the ones that my sister had actually spent 45 weeks saving up for. Occasionally a special kind of game would come along... a game that could be bought for as little as $5. These were pretty much the worst of the worst, but to me, a bad new game was better than no new game. Thus I ended up playing such gems as Chubby Cherub and Dash Galaxy. I really could find nothing enjoyable about Chubby Cherub, but Dash Galaxy had some fun moments. One half of the game involved box-pushing puzzles and the other half was a platformer. The platforming segments had wonky physics. A running jump could send you flying uncontrollably. This part of the game was fun like I imagine the first second or two of falling is fun for someone who jumps off of a bridge. Also, Dash's own weapon could kill him. Still, I found myself playing this game more than it probably merited. A glance at GameFAQs shows a couple people ranking it at a 3 or 4 out of 10. That seems generous to me. Definitely a guilty pleasure; may I never play it again.
Posted by: Icupnimpn2 | July 16, 2006 5:54 PM
Funny you should ask. I'm playing Catwoman on the PS2 right now, and there is a ton of trial-and-error gameplay in this one. I know I should stop, but it's actually kind of fun.
It's also got a very creepy idle animation sequence.
My all time favorite game that everyone else hates is Pictionary for the NES. I got it just to see how bad it was and ended up enjoying it way too much.
Posted by: packratshow | July 16, 2006 8:50 PM
I too liked Stuntman way more than the reviews would indicate. If the load times had been better and the stunt requirements just a _little_ more forgiving, I think it would have been a great franchise. As it is, a very fun but deeply flawed game.
Posted by: Kyle Orland | July 17, 2006 6:45 AM