What are some Lower (or Average) Rated Games that you really enjoyed?

[danielmann861]

With all the talk in the Shenmue III review thread about what the game is going to score from critics, there's been a lot of belief that the game will receive mid range scores. I'm of the belief that it will probably sit somewhere around 60 to 70 on MetaCritic, which to me, is not an entirely terrible score.

It got me thinking though that I actually quite enjoy a number of games that got average scores.

For instance

Shadows of the Damned has a fairly average Meta Critic rating of 76....yet for me, it was one of my favourite games of last gen. An underrated and overlooked gem of a game.

God Hand has a 73 on Metacritic -- I really enjoyed the game none the less and would call it one of my favourite PS2 games.

Yakuza (PS2 original) -- 75 on Metacritic....again, one of my favourite games from the PS2 era.

Yakuza 3 sits at 79 on Metacritic....yet for me, I consider it one of my favourites in the Yakuza franchise.

Deadly Premonition is 68 on Metacritic....yet somehow, someway, it's actually getting a sequel next year and has quite the cult following (I still haven't played it, but I should rectify it one day)

The Last Guardian only got a 7.8 from IGN...if you asked me though, it's one of my favourite games of the generation.

So what about the rest of you? What are some lower (or average) rated games that you really enjoyed?

 

[spud1897]

With all the talk in the Shenmue III review thread about what the game is going to score from critics, there's been a lot of belief that the game will receive mid range scores. I'm of the belief that it will probably sit somewhere around 60 to 70 on MetaCritic, which to me, is not an entirely terrible score.

It got me thinking though that I actually quite enjoy a number of games that got average scores.

For instance

Shadows of the Damned has a fairly average Meta Critic rating of 76....yet for me, it was one of my favourite games of last gen. An underrated and overlooked gem of a game.

God Hand has a 73 on Metacritic -- I really enjoyed the game none the less and would call it one of my favourite PS2 games.

Yakuza (PS2 original) -- 75 on Metacritic....again, one of my favourite games from the PS2 era.

Yakuza 3 sits at 79 on Metacritic....yet for me, I consider it one of my favourites in the Yakuza franchise.

Deadly Premonition is 68 on Metacritic....yet somehow, someway, it's actually getting a sequel next year and has quite the cult following (I still haven't played it, but I should rectify it one day)

The Last Guardian only got a 7.8 from IGN...if you asked me though, it's one of my favourite games of the generation.

So what about the rest of you? What are some lower (or average) rated games that you really enjoyed?

I'd agree with all those.

Last Guardian was excellent imo. The game was unique and communicated the bond between the boy and Trico superbly, without much spoken narrative.

I hold it in a very high regard

 

[高野和泉]

Some of my personal underrated fav:

1.) Devil Summoner 2.[79/29]

Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Summoner 2: Raidou Kuzunoha vs. King Abaddon critic reviews

Metacritic aggregates music, game, tv, and movie reviews from the leading critics. Only Metacritic.com uses METASCORES, which let you know at a glance how each item was reviewed.

www.metacritic.com

I just love how the story unfolds and the horror slowly reveals itself in a slow burn pacing detective type game. Shoji Meguro of Persona fame also composed the Soundtrack and made it quite enjoyable as well. Easily rivals Persona 4 imo. I can listen to these two tracks for hours:

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2.) Jade Cocoon



One of my fav underrated coming of age story with a rpg/collect-a-thon gameplay loop.(Ie. PokemonXMonster rancher hybrid)
Fun trivia: The character designer was from Studio Ghibli. [Kiki's Delivery Service/I Can Hear the Sea]

Jade Cocoon: Story of the Tamamayu - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

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3.) Drakengard 2

Tho it was panned heavily...

Drakengard 2

Drakengard 2 for PlayStation 2 game reviews & Metacritic score: Drakengard 2 is a role-playing action game featuring knights and dragons that builds on the scenario of the original title. Drakengard 2 takes place 18 years af...

www.metacritic.com

I freakin love it. It really does have tensed Rail shooter x Hack&Slash moments and the story does have some of the best lows and highs of all Yoko Taro's projects. Ontop of that...this track is so calming even tho when it kicked in was during the most emotional moment in the game.

 

[DigitalDuck]

I did think about posting a lot here, but I narrowed it down to four.

After Burner Climax - 75 (my 3rd favourite game of all time)
BLiNX: The Time Sweeper - 71 (5th)
Sonic Colours - 78 (7th)
Sonic Unleashed - 54 (top 20)

None of these games deserve less than a 90. Sonic Unleashed I could maybe be haggled down to 80s if you insist on punishing it for the tedious beat-'em-up sections you'll ignore once you've beaten them and replay the day stages.

 

[xatruio]

Most of my favorite games since Dreamcast--including Dreamcast itself--were/are underrated. Most journalists at the time were sucked into Sony's hype for PS2.

Omikron: Deep game with some features easily ignored. Very Shenmue-esque, but smaller budget and less experienced developers.
Evil Twin: Rushed out at end of DC life, but was far enough along it is fairly glitch free and worthwhile to experience an enthralling, gorgeous Henry Selick-esque work in a game.
D2: Kenji Eno.
Floigan Bros: Short and late, but great and semi-open.
Prince of Persia 3D
Tokyo Xtreme Racer 2: grinding RPG with racing, rather than turn based spawns. FUcking love it and i don't particularly like RPGs or racers better than platformers, puzzles, adventures or sneaking.

Others
Mega Man Legends 1+2: If a 3D version of a classic 2D game wasn't Mario 64, usually didn't review well.
Syberia 1-3: Much like Y2K era beginning an insatiable thirst for cinematic single player console games rather than arcade or unique DC ideas, games were moving away from puzzle adventures.
Mega Man 4-7: Easily forgotten and ignored.
Yakuza 2: Same treament as first game, but a year even later on an already aged platform without a dub.

 

[shadowman16]

Others
Mega Man Legends 1+2: If a 3D version of a classic 2D game wasn't Mario 64, usually didn't review well.
Syberia 1-3: Much like Y2K era beginning an insatiable thirst for cinematic single player console games rather than arcade or unique DC ideas, games were moving away from puzzle adventures.
Mega Man 4-7: Easily forgotten and ignored.
Yakuza 2: Same treament as first game, but a year even later on an already aged platform without a dub.

I remember Yakuza 2 getting a 6/10 in Games TM once upon a time with one of the main complaints being the fact that it launched after the PS3. Which was weird when it improved (gameplay wise) every aspect of the first game.

Legends 1&2 hilarious enough are two PS1 gen 3D games that have aged the best (aside from Legends 1 lack of second analogue stick aiming). The graphical style they used for the characters, and esepcially faces meant the game has actually aged pretty darn well, especially impressive when you look at something like Final Fantasy VII or Metal Gear Solid which have pretty bad character models looking back at them.
Also, in terms of game design is was a smart move by Capcom to not make it just like a 3D MM game, instead making it its own thing, as I still think a 3D MM game wouldn't translate well enough for it to be great (not to say it can't work, I've played some games that show me that its possible, but 2D classic MM will always just be the better option for me).


Anyway, choices for me (too lazy to look up review scores so I'm going on what I remember, so I may be wrong with some of these...):
Most Dynasty Warriors games - Warriors Orochi 1/3 and Dynasty Warriors 5 are in my opinion amazing games, got 100s of hours in them yet reviews for the series all end up lukewarm and I just don't agree with that. They are dumb fun. Likewise the EDF series isn't revolutionary in terms of gameplay but its damn fun all the same.

Fist of the North Star (aka Hokuto Ga Gotoku). In my opinion the best combat (and Amon) in the entire Yakuza series, its got its faults but the combat easily makes up for them. And it actually has some semblance of difficulty, which was nice. I really gotta replay it when I get the chance.

Yakuza Dead Souls - Its not good honestly, but I love it. Best Majima in the series (crazy Majima = best Majima), some hilarious side stories, some surprisingly touching side stories, tons of content in general, Ryuuji is badass as well and amazing Karaoke for all four characters. Gameplay is janky but content is king. So I can look over some of its issues.

Drive Club - it had some terrible issues at launch and needed to be patched many times over to get it where it is today, but its fantastic. Great graphics, handling I can actually enjoy in a racer, a huge variety of content with all the free DLC tracks and even a Bikes DLC. My favourite racer this gen no doubt.

Resident Evil 6 - Ok, this one had both good and bad reviews, but I think critically its in the "bad" half. Honestly, its the combat - its brilliant. If you take time to learn all the different moves the game has to offer it plays amazing, and Mercs mode shines a spotlight on this fact. Its just the game basically teaches you 0 of this stuff. I love the enemy variety in the game, it dynamically chances depending on where damaged for the non zombie goons, and while it does feel too much like an action movie at points, I still like most of the set pieces, aside from the vehicle stuff.

Oh, and the entire Disaster Report series. Can't imagine that reviewed higher than a 7/10 but its such a unique and interesting series.

 

[RyoHazuki84]

Tobal 2. It’s a Japanese exclusive fighting game by Square.

Magic Knight Rayearth. A great adventure RPG for those that love the anime and old school Zelda games.

X-Men Vs. Street Fighter for Saturn. The best way to experience the original arcade game on consoles.

Dragon Ball Z Legends. It hasn’t aged well, but for some reason, I still enjoy it because it was the best DBZ game I first played that felt like the anime.

 

[Bule]

Rainbow Cotton (Dreamcast) - arcade rail shooter with alternate pathways, lovely graphics and brilliant music.


Cursed Mountain (Wii) - adventure game set in Tibet, you go and climb a mountain looking for your brother, who went looking for an artifact. Amazingly, the Wiimote controls actually enhance the experience.


Doshin The Giant (Gamecube) - god game. Help villagers build monuments, then get angry, transform and destroy everything. Cathartic.


Virtua Striker 2 (Dreamcast) - The best arcade football game featuring a tortoise, a snowman, a ghost, Eskimos, Flamenco dudes and a squirrel. Ever.


Fragile Dreams: Farewell Ruins of the Moon (Wii) - poignant action RPG set in a broken world. Creates a marvellous feeling of loneliness.


Shadowman (Dreamcast, N64, PS1) - engaging story, great controls, and the atmosphere created is immersive. Running around London Underground to Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata was genius.

 

[Truck_1_0_1_]

Speed Devils for the DC is one of those; it isn't super-powered in terms of graphics and the FMV is HORRIFIC lol, but the game plays PHENOMENALLY and is a shit-ton of fun; an arcade racer that plays significantly longer than arcade racing (one lap is sometimes as long as an entire race in Rush 2049).

Seconded Omikron; a wonderful title and fantastic concept, plus David Bowie is boss.

Seconded MKR for the Saturn as well, though this reviewed quite well in Japan, AFAIR. It only got bashed here for being a 1995 game, released in 1998 and for its localization (which was AWESOME to begin with, so I don't know why it was bashed). Made me go buy the first season of the anime (of which the game is based on and it is a GREAT show).

TXR2 is my favourite racing game of all-time; brilliant game.

 

[Guppy]

There are so many on my list... from old to modern games:

Gunvalkyrie (2002) - Metacritic 73. This is one of a kind action game you will unlikely find anywhere else.
Illbleed (2001) - Metacritic 61. Before Fatal Frame, there was Illbleed, but with humor and quirkiness.
Pathfinder: Kingmaker (2018) - Metacritic 73. Gamers are waiting for Baldur's Gate 3, but its true successor has already been made.
Planetary Annihilation (2013) - Metacritic 62. Why limit oneself on world dominance when claim for an entire solar system is within grasp. The scope alone is off the charts.
Rust (2018) - Metacritic 69. This is what the Minecraft creator hoped to make.

 

[Truck_1_0_1_]

@Guppy, Total Annihilation is my #1 favourite game of all-time and as such, I've been on the up and up with the series and spinoffs since, well, forever lol.

But never played PA; I know about it well-enough, but how well does it play and is it based more around micro or macro management?

 

[Guppy]

@Guppy, Total Annihilation is my #1 favourite game of all-time and as such, I've been on the up and up with the series and spinoffs since, well, forever lol.

But never played PA; I know about it well-enough, but how well does it play and is it based more around micro or macro management?

It's been a long time since I played it but I believe the engine is the best one developed for a strategy game I've ever seen, scope wise, not graphically. I think it can support up to 40 players versus matches and basically unlimited units onscreen simultaneously, so likely your PC will hit a limit before the game does. It's definitely more of a macro management, as the focus of the game is on multiple fronts, from inside planets battles to other asteroids and moons, all at real time. The main mechanic used is the strategic zoom from SC to able viewing and management of all the battle fronts, but now at orbital level. The micro is not really a highlight from the base game, as there are no factions or unit level trees, but I bet there are mods for it.

 

[Hermit]

I did think about posting a lot here, but I narrowed it down to four.

After Burner Climax - 75 (my 3rd favourite game of all time)
BLiNX: The Time Sweeper - 71 (5th)
Sonic Colours - 78 (7th)
Sonic Unleashed - 54 (top 20)

None of these games deserve less than a 90. Sonic Unleashed I could maybe be haggled down to 80s if you insist on punishing it for the tedious beat-'em-up sections you'll ignore once you've beaten them and replay the day stages.

The reaction to anything Sonic at the time of Unleashed's release was at it's worse. Sonic had become the number one target to laugh at and make jokes about, even when the games were actually pretty good. I didn't really like the Werehog stages in Sonic Unleashed, but I didn't hate them either, and Unleashed's day time stages are still the best of Sonic's boost era in my opinion. People are entitled to their opinion, but I don't understand how so many reviewers can dislike this game so much. Things seemed to change after Sonic Adventure 2. Once Sega had stopped making consoles and went multi platform, it was like Sonic became hated. Since those days, it's like people refuse to let the series evolve. The constant nostalgia for 2D Sonic games has hindered the series in my opinion. Fans and casual Sonic fans need to let the series have it's own identity again.

So if I was to answer the question to this topic, most Sonic games since Sonic Heroes would be on my list of average and low rated games that I enjoyed.

 

[DigitalDuck]

The constant nostalgia for 2D Sonic games has hindered the series in my opinion. Fans and casual Sonic fans need to let the series have it's own identity again.

I don't think that's the thing - Sonic Mania is great and well overdue.

The problem is that there are three major groups of fans - those who liked the original Mega Drive games, those who liked the Adventure-style games, and those who liked the boost-style games. And while there's some overlap (I like the originals and the boost-style games myself), in reality these are three different series.

SEGA often struggles to realise that they're three different series, and tries to make each game satisfy all three groups, with the end result of pleasing none of them. Sonic Forces is a prime example of this - it's a shallow interpretation of the classic and boost styles of gameplay while throwing in cheap Adventure nostalgia in the form of Chaos (and I guess Shadow) and a dark story, while also trying to appeal to the part of the fanbase that likes to create their own Original the Characters.

I thought with Sonic Mania they were finally recognising that these are three different things, but I guess not.

 

[Vivi-gamer]

The Bouncer - PS2

A lot of people £$%& all over Squaresoft/Dream Factory's The Bouncer, but for me it is one of my favourites! It really brings that Triple-A Production value to s Beat Em'Up styled game I have always wanted. Nowadays the only entries in this genre we see are usually indie-titles, even Streets of Rage 4 looks kinda Mobile-ish.

The Bouncer delivers on that compelling Squaresoft story, which will not majorly in-depth is more than serviceable. While one of the biggest complaints about the game is it's 3-4 hour length the cool thing is before each battle you choose which character your want to fight as and depending on who you choose you see the next story point from their perspective - Each character adding more insight into the story as a whole. So really you'll want to playthrough the story 3 times to get every detail + On your 3rd playthrough there more content added to the end part of the game.

But really, I find this game really accessible and great to switch on if I want to experience something short in an afternoon. If I had to offer improvements, I'd say I wish the game had co-op but understand how that conflicts with the idea of seeing the story from the characters perspectives. Overall I love this game! & would love to see a similar project where we get a Beat Em' Up done with triple-A Production value.

 

[shadowman16]

Sonic just doesn't stick with one thing in Sonic, they are always changing the damn thing, which hinders them. Look at Yakuza - older entries are sure janky by todays standards but playing each of them in succession shows how they continue to refine the games over and over until you get something like 5 or 0 which is arguably the pinnacle of the template.

Sonic had that with Unleashed, its daytime stages were excellent and Generations iterated nicely on that. But then instead of building further they chuck it in the bin for Lost World (which again had some good ideas but unrefined) and then that was chucked in the bin for Forces which was basically a bizarrely inferior version of Generations and Unleashed. Not to mention stuff like jumping physics in Forces being awful (especially for classic Sonic). They need focus, the boost formula can actually work...

 

[Vivi-gamer]

Resident Evil 6 - Ok, this one had both good and bad reviews, but I think critically its in the "bad" half. Honestly, its the combat - its brilliant. If you take time to learn all the different moves the game has to offer it plays amazing, and Mercs mode shines a spotlight on this fact. Its just the game basically teaches you 0 of this stuff. I love the enemy variety in the game, it dynamically chances depending on where damaged for the non zombie goons, and while it does feel too much like an action movie at points, I still like most of the set pieces, aside from the vehicle stuff.

I'm glad you mentioned this, while I think Resident Evil 5 & 6 make terrible RE games, they more than make up for it in their Multiplayer! I find this is one of my go-to games when I have friends around as there really aren't many good couch-co-op games this generation. I've gone through all the Mercs modes in Split-Screen and I've also found playing the story mode in Online Co-op with a friend to be one of the best game experiences I've had. More people should be playing these online.

The one downside is I think they made the inventory system far to complicated! Having to transfer health powder into actual consumable items while in the heat of combat really isn't practical! But still very fond of the game.

 

[shadowman16]

Yeah, 5 especially is ace in co op, 6 is good but the Ada quest (which was never supposed to be co op) feels real bad to play in co op because of that.

 

[Truck_1_0_1_]

It's been a long time since I played it but I believe the engine is the best one developed for a strategy game I've ever seen, scope wise, not graphically. I think it can support up to 40 players versus matches and basically unlimited units onscreen simultaneously, so likely your PC will hit a limit before the game does. It's definitely more of a macro management, as the focus of the game is on multiple fronts, from inside planets battles to other asteroids and moons, all at real time. The main mechanic used is the strategic zoom from SC to able viewing and management of all the battle fronts, but now at orbital level. The micro is not really a highlight from the base game, as there are no factions or unit level trees, but I bet there are mods for it.

Thanks for that! I'll see about picking it up, once I get a new laptop

 

[SCQ]

Hard mode: it cant have above an 8.5 user score.

Tai fu: rise of the tiger. It doesnt even have a metacritic page. But other outlets rated it between 6 and 7.5