I was just looking back over some of my retro purchases throughout the years and I started thinking about all those titles that everyone seems to refer to as 'best game eva OMG!!1!' but you yourself don't own. Then, after years of searching, you eventually track down a copy only to discover that it's complete plop. However, due to everyone else's insistence that it is the 'best game eva OMG!!1!', you carry on playing so as not to look a fool. After years of perseverance you eventually see the light and come to the conclusion that it is not the 'best game eva OMG!!1!' but in fact a steam pile of Peter Andre.
With that in mind I've compiled a list of games whose almost universal appeal completely baffles me.
Alien vs Predator (Jag)
I bought an Atari Jaguar purely to play this and even had to suffer the ignominy of the shop assistant laughing at me and saying 'good luck finding AvP. Hahaha.' It took me about a year to find a decent one and I couldn't wait to play it.
I was told by those in the know that it was as tense and atmospheric as the movies and twice as scary but it turned out to be a complete mess. Whichever character I chose I just seemed to spend hours wandering aimlessly around bland mazes with nothing to do. Every now and then a gun fight would break out but these were totally chaotic and, if playing as either the marine or the predator, it seemed impossible to avoid the puddles of acid spilled by the aliens. These fights also had a completely disorientating meaning that I was even more lost in the dreary maze.
It was scary at times but those were few and far between and the overall malaise and ambiguous purpose made me wonder where all the hype had come from.
Sonic CD
Another mess of a Game
I met someone at university who, upon seeing my games collection, refered to me as 'the geek I've always wanted to be.' I didn't know whether to laugh or cry which was exactly how he felt 20 sconds later when he booted up Sonic CD for the first time. He was a big Sonic fan and had spent years dreaming of playing the ultimate Sonic game. Much like myself he'd been wooed by endless gaming sites and magazine reviews that claimed that this was a game like no other, a gift from the gods and, more importantly, the 'best Sonic game eva!!1!'
However, neither of us could see what all the fuss was about. As with AvP the level deisgn is a hideous mess. It seems as though someone at Sega was told to just cram as much colour onto the screen as possible in a Mega Drive vs SNES willy waving exercise. It's also hard to imagine these levels being designed at all as springs, traps, enemies etc appear to have been strewn about with little to no thought or reason. Compared to the carefully crafted and purposefull layout of Sonic 1 the Mega CD game seems a complete shambles. Also, despite playing the Jp version, I just didn't appreciate the supposedly brilliant soundtrack.
It's a shame as I really was looking forward to this one but I just don't get it.
So, has anyone else had any similar experiences? If so please share.
With that in mind I've compiled a list of games whose almost universal appeal completely baffles me.
Alien vs Predator (Jag)
I bought an Atari Jaguar purely to play this and even had to suffer the ignominy of the shop assistant laughing at me and saying 'good luck finding AvP. Hahaha.' It took me about a year to find a decent one and I couldn't wait to play it.
I was told by those in the know that it was as tense and atmospheric as the movies and twice as scary but it turned out to be a complete mess. Whichever character I chose I just seemed to spend hours wandering aimlessly around bland mazes with nothing to do. Every now and then a gun fight would break out but these were totally chaotic and, if playing as either the marine or the predator, it seemed impossible to avoid the puddles of acid spilled by the aliens. These fights also had a completely disorientating meaning that I was even more lost in the dreary maze.
It was scary at times but those were few and far between and the overall malaise and ambiguous purpose made me wonder where all the hype had come from.
Sonic CD
Another mess of a Game
I met someone at university who, upon seeing my games collection, refered to me as 'the geek I've always wanted to be.' I didn't know whether to laugh or cry which was exactly how he felt 20 sconds later when he booted up Sonic CD for the first time. He was a big Sonic fan and had spent years dreaming of playing the ultimate Sonic game. Much like myself he'd been wooed by endless gaming sites and magazine reviews that claimed that this was a game like no other, a gift from the gods and, more importantly, the 'best Sonic game eva!!1!'
However, neither of us could see what all the fuss was about. As with AvP the level deisgn is a hideous mess. It seems as though someone at Sega was told to just cram as much colour onto the screen as possible in a Mega Drive vs SNES willy waving exercise. It's also hard to imagine these levels being designed at all as springs, traps, enemies etc appear to have been strewn about with little to no thought or reason. Compared to the carefully crafted and purposefull layout of Sonic 1 the Mega CD game seems a complete shambles. Also, despite playing the Jp version, I just didn't appreciate the supposedly brilliant soundtrack.
It's a shame as I really was looking forward to this one but I just don't get it.
So, has anyone else had any similar experiences? If so please share.
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