One thing I run into often are games that I really, truly want to like, but just don't.
Usually this is because the game is just too hard for me. I am no slouch when it comes to games. I managed to beat God of War on hard, and I've pulled 15 million on Geometry Wars, I made it almost to the end of Ninja Gaiden... on easy... dammit.
Like I said, I'm not bad but I'm not great. So I can appreciate games like Bionic Commando: Rearmed, Alien Hominid, and Ikaruga, but I won't buy them because it's just not fun when you can't pass the first level. It's not for lack of trying, either. As my wife will attest, I sit and swear at the TV for hours as I switch between Braid, Ninja Gaiden 2, and Geometry Wars 2.
My reasons for playing games are a mix of what I get out of movies, books, comics and puzzles. I like the interactivity, I like being able to inject myself into the story, but I also like having a well-crafted story with music and characters for me to enjoy. As a result my tolerance for too-difficult games is not terribly high. And then there's the whole dignity thing. I want to be merciless and play it on normal difficulty and win, but I usually will resort to easy when a game gets annoying or feels broken so that I can enjoy the story and move onto a more entertaining game.
Another common one is that the game is too long. Japanese RPGs are the main culprit of this. Surprisingly I made it through Blue Dragon, god knows how, but Lost Odyssey is a different story entirely.
Sure, I'll piss and moan about the whiny characters being all pretty and angsty, but despite those plot and character hang-ups those games CAN be fun. It's just that you spend a lot of unnecessary time leveling up and fighting unnecessary battles. The games have arbitrary length added in.
It's that arbitrary length thing that's the real sticking point. I put a full 125 hours into Oblivion. I could've just done the main plot and called it good, but there were tons of OPTIONAL things. I could run away from any battle (just about), I could pass by any dungeon, I could ignore any quest. Everything was up to me. In a lot of longer games, about half the time you spend on it just feels unnecessary.
A minor, and rather petty reason that will keep me from a game is that of hype. It's not a question of whether the game lives up to the hype or not, but how much it was hyped. No one will shut up about Spore, for example. A friend of mine who might otherwise like it has lost absolutely all interest because no one will shut up about it. I've been there myself. People have turned me off of bands and movies just by talking about the constantly for weeks and months without end. By the time the game comes out, it feels like I've already invested a year of my life into it and at that point I don't even want to play it anymore.
What puts you off of a game you might otherwise like?
Usually this is because the game is just too hard for me. I am no slouch when it comes to games. I managed to beat God of War on hard, and I've pulled 15 million on Geometry Wars, I made it almost to the end of Ninja Gaiden... on easy... dammit.
Like I said, I'm not bad but I'm not great. So I can appreciate games like Bionic Commando: Rearmed, Alien Hominid, and Ikaruga, but I won't buy them because it's just not fun when you can't pass the first level. It's not for lack of trying, either. As my wife will attest, I sit and swear at the TV for hours as I switch between Braid, Ninja Gaiden 2, and Geometry Wars 2.
My reasons for playing games are a mix of what I get out of movies, books, comics and puzzles. I like the interactivity, I like being able to inject myself into the story, but I also like having a well-crafted story with music and characters for me to enjoy. As a result my tolerance for too-difficult games is not terribly high. And then there's the whole dignity thing. I want to be merciless and play it on normal difficulty and win, but I usually will resort to easy when a game gets annoying or feels broken so that I can enjoy the story and move onto a more entertaining game.
Another common one is that the game is too long. Japanese RPGs are the main culprit of this. Surprisingly I made it through Blue Dragon, god knows how, but Lost Odyssey is a different story entirely.
Sure, I'll piss and moan about the whiny characters being all pretty and angsty, but despite those plot and character hang-ups those games CAN be fun. It's just that you spend a lot of unnecessary time leveling up and fighting unnecessary battles. The games have arbitrary length added in.
It's that arbitrary length thing that's the real sticking point. I put a full 125 hours into Oblivion. I could've just done the main plot and called it good, but there were tons of OPTIONAL things. I could run away from any battle (just about), I could pass by any dungeon, I could ignore any quest. Everything was up to me. In a lot of longer games, about half the time you spend on it just feels unnecessary.
A minor, and rather petty reason that will keep me from a game is that of hype. It's not a question of whether the game lives up to the hype or not, but how much it was hyped. No one will shut up about Spore, for example. A friend of mine who might otherwise like it has lost absolutely all interest because no one will shut up about it. I've been there myself. People have turned me off of bands and movies just by talking about the constantly for weeks and months without end. By the time the game comes out, it feels like I've already invested a year of my life into it and at that point I don't even want to play it anymore.
What puts you off of a game you might otherwise like?
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