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

Yakuza: Dead Souls ( I fucking loved that game with every fiber of my being)

Disaster: Day of Crisis for Wii is an underrated gem.
 
Yeah, Dead Souls is SUCH a fun game; I reviewed it at 8/10 in 2013 on Gamefaqs and replaying it a few years ago, it was still that and thensome; people criticized the shooting mechanics, but for someone who DOESN'T play 3PSs at all, it was super easy to pick up and play and I had a lot of fun.

That 50 level Subterrania trophy was AGONISING though, holy crap. First time, I got to 49, then died, after 1 hour, 50 minutes or so.

Second time, cleared the 50th, trophy popped and exited immediately lol.

Playing Kamuro of the Dead on Judge Eyes was awesome too, no doubt because it was set in Dead Souls'... game.
 
A bunch that people have already said, namely Omikron, Deadly Premonition, and Resident Evil 6.

I'd add Shadow of Memories/Time. It's a really unique, curious sort of game that features time travel and several branching paths as you try to solve your own murder. Interestingly, the various paths give both conflicting information and information that helps fill out the wider story.

I also really enjoyed Suikoden IV. I know it really hurt the series, but something about the wide, open oceans, nautical themes and musics, and some of the characters arcs (Snowe still has one of the better arcs I've seen in a PS2-or-earlier RPG) really resonated with me.

Both Blue Stinger and Illbleed are favorite horror games of mine. I guess I like the cheesy ones (and something about the Christmas backdrop in Blue Stinger is extra fun).

Speaking of Christmas backdrops to horror games, Lifeline for PS2 holds a place in my heart as well. The premise is that you were trapped in a control room on a space station after monsters start appearing during a Christmas party. You control the game solely via voice commands, using a headset and your own voice, with the in-game explanation being that you've establish contacted with one of the survivors and are using the station's cameras and facilities to help guide her along.

There was just something about talking directly to--and hearing responses from--the main character of a video game that it's stuck with me for years. She's one of my favorite gaming heroines heavily because she's the only one I've actually had a conversation with.

I guess you say it's Seaman, but with an intense story where you communicate with an actual "human".

You could add in any Rot3K, Dynasty Warriors, or pro wrestling game to my list as well.
 
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Dragon Ball Gt Final Bout.
Back in 1997, IGN gave this game a 3/10.
Played this game everyday after school with my school friends. We enjoyed it so thats all that matters in the end.
Me too. Maybe the gameplay it's not the best but we had fun and we loved the graphics. A 7/10 for me.
 
Legacy of Kain: Defiance. It got a 74/75 and it had the best story of that year ( 2003 ). It's my opinion that the series had the best over-arching story of that gen and one of the greatest series ( story, writing, characters, voice acting and lore ) of all time👑 It was way, WAY ahead of its time in those areas. Only the combat let it down a little bit, but it was so, so phenomenal in every other area it didn't matter.

If anyone likes a good story and hasn't played this series before then give it a bash. Start at SoulReaver1 (ps1 original or get the Dreamcast port=60fps ) from then on and your good to go. You'll be glad you did. Man, that game blew me away as an 11 year old in 2000. I would include BloodOmen ( the first in the series ) but it's a little bit dated ( still amazing voice and story, though, for 1996).

I hope Square-Enix revive the series or do a remake of BO or SR1. If they did then I'd have my Huber ( Shenmue 3 reaction vid ) moment and lose my shit:flushed:

Almost forgot the music......It's fucking awesome too. If you haven't heard it: check out Ozar Midrashim on youtube ( the song name ). If that doesn't get the hairs on your neck standing or give you an amazing buzz then you're dead inside, just like the main character:LOL:
 
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The Legacy of Kain games might actually have the best plots in any game series ever. Well, maybe filter out Blood Omen 2 and that statement is true! I loved how Defiance ended, it wasn't a complete ending to the series, but I still remember how powerful Kain's monologue at the end was. Loved the series, loved Kain as both a protagonist and antagonist.

Yakuza: Dead Souls ( I fucking loved that game with every fiber of my being)

Disaster: Day of Crisis for Wii is an underrated gem.
DS is a game I really enjoy despite its blatantly obvious issues. You take Yakuza's base formula and content and pretty much any game in the series would be amazing. Plus Majima is amazing in that game.

Glad to see Disaster mentioned. I love the Disaster Report games, and DoC basically feels like an American sitcom version of that (something like 24). Its dumb, but damn if the obstacles aren't varied and a blast to deal with. Combat was actually decent thanks to being a Time Crisis style of game. Loved it.

Speaking of amazing games in stories though, I do have a great love for the Mafia series. Not sure how they reviewed, but I know they don't get near the amount of respect they deserved. The first game hands down beats any other crime based game story wise with ease, its voice acting, plot, twists, ending etc. are amazing. The setting is wonderful, I've always liked Godfather style Gangster games and this is the best of the best. 2 and 3 while not being as great still had fantastic voice acting, plots and settings, though I do wish 3 didn't go down a more arcadey route, I liked the realism that 1 especially had with its police system.

Doom 3 is another game I think is unfairly judged, especially with how FPS games are these days. I replayed it not too long ago on the PS4 and felt it held up really well - big enough campaign, awesome weapons, all the Doom enemies I love. I miss games like this :( I don't like the online/hero shooter/BR crowd. That's just not what does it for me. Glad Eternal is coming soon and looks amazing.

Marvel Vs Capcom Infinite is another game I feel gets a bit of a bad rap because it looks fugly. The actual gameplay is something I legit love, I love the switch back to classic 2on2 fights, no assists etc. If it had a bigger roster and better graphics at launch I feel it could have been more warmly received, where all we wanted as MvC3 with more characters. We did get some legit great ones in the DLC - Venom's return rocks, Winter Soldier is actually pretty great as is MH and Black Panther.
Hey, at least I got both Sigma and MMX included, this is actually a great love letter to the X series and bodes well for when the next X game is unveiled (which is looking more likely)

Speaking of MMX - X8 doesn't have the best rep despite being a solid game. It has some issues (vehicle level design, move away from cell shaded graphics) but the bosses and overall gameplay is excellent. Heck, even X6 has some great music and sprite work, that game isn't terrible by itself, if the nightmare system didn't break the game it'd have been above average at worst... X7 totally sucks though, only thing I like on that game is the graphics, and that Guizhang/Solid Snake/Adachi voices Red in the Japanese version of the game.
 
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A bunch that people have already said, namely Omikron, Deadly Premonition, and Resident Evil 6.

I'd add Shadow of Memories/Time. It's a really unique, curious sort of game that features time travel and several branching paths as you try to solve your own murder. Interestingly, the various paths give both conflicting information and information that helps fill out the wider store.
YES! I adore this game - easily one of my favourite games of all time! I've recommended this to Shenmue fans before, as I think it resembles that shenmue one experience of having such an iconic location - I always found exploring the same area in different periods interesting. But it was my first experience with a game that fulfills an interactive narrative.
 
YES! I adore this game - easily one of my favourite games of all time! I've recommended this to Shenmue fans before, as I think it resembles that shenmue one experience of having such an iconic location - I always found exploring the same area in different periods interesting. But it was my first experience with a game that fulfills an interactive narrative.
It's one I recommend to Shenmue fans as well, and I don't think it's because it has all that much to do (directly) with Shenmue. It's just one of those games where, if you "get" it, it's great. I'm not sure I've met someone who has played Shadow of Memories/Time and Shenmue and disliked one, but not the other!
 
I. Batman Arkham Origins (Metacritic Score: 76) - Being a lifelong Batman fan the Arkham series were the first Batman games that felt to me like Batman. However, this entry seems to be the black sheep of series. Copy/paste job and glitches aside, this entry has a great story, fantastic atmosphere, competent voice acting (since Kevin Conroy and Mark Hamill did not voice Batman and Joker in this game), and unique boss battles.


II. I am Setsuna (Metacritic Score: 75) - In this day and age of increasing action roleplaying games, it is nice to go back to a simpler time. The gameplay reminds me of Chrono Trigger, I love the winter-like atmosphere and the piano soundtrack.


III. Mitsurugi Kamui Hikae (Metacritic Score: 58) - To me the most important aspect of any video game is its gameplay. The deep combat system featuring a Japanese shrine maiden armed with a katana is good enough for me.


IV. Metroid Other M (Metacritic Score: 79) - The most divisive title in the Metroid series. Speaking for myself, outside of one or two moments the story never really bothered me. The gameplay is solid (albeit linear), great atmosphere, and solid music.


V. Sonic the Hedgehog 2006 (P-06 Version) (Metacritic Score: 46) - When seeing what the fan community has done with this game my opinion on it has changed. For me, it went from being one of the worst games in existence, to a game with wasted potential. All because SEGA just had to rush the game out for Christmas and divide the development team in half. This game could have easily been as well-loved as Sonic Adventure 2 if given more time. Also, the Adventure formula did not need to be abandoned because of one bad decision.

 
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IV. Metroid Other M (Metacritic Score: 79) - The most divisive title in the Metroid series. Speaking for myself, outside of one or two moments the story never really bothered me. The gameplay is solid (albeit linear), great atmosphere, and solid music.
I despised the story but enjoyed the game non-the-less (although I didn't care for the aiming mechanic requiring flipping the Wiimote's direction in your hand). I really can't complain about the gameplay, atmosphere, or music. Really, they could rerelease the game with HD visuals and a new story told through new cutscenes, and it would be a solid (if still not the best) entry in the series.
 
Phantasy Star Universe. It's my favourite game after Shenmue 1 and 2. Metactic scores are, 68 for 360, 64 for PS2 and 59 for pc.

The servers for it shut down in 2012, it was the only online game that I was sad to see die. It's since been revived with a private server though and I have put nearly 1000 hours into it (more if you include the character wipes from updates) It's the only online game I have ever put a ton of hours into. I love it, it's much more fun than PSO2 in my opinion, I just can't get into that game.
 
The Bouncer - PS2
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A lot of people ÂŁ$%& 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.

YES. I remember seeing the previews for this in EGM. Much like with Shenmue, it was really the screenshots of these previews that got me going. Wasn’t really sure what to expect, but I was excited nonetheless.The Bouncer was one of the reasons I got a PS2.

I love beat’em ups and I love cinematic storytelling, so this was a win-win for me, even if it was a loss for almost everyone else. I still love the art direction, graphics, characters, and atmosphere. Strangely enough, I didn’t REALLY like the combat, but it was still fun. Fun enough for me to beat this like,10 times in a single day.
 
Phantasy Star Universe. It's my favourite game after Shenmue 1 and 2. Metactic scores are, 68 for 360, 64 for PS2 and 59 for pc.

The servers for it shut down in 2012, it was the only online game that I was sad to see die. It's since been revived with a private server though and I have put nearly 1000 hours into it (more if you include the character wipes from updates) It's the only online game I have ever put a ton of hours into. I love it, it's much more fun than PSO2 in my opinion, I just can't get into that game.
How could I have forgotten this one?! It was my go-to game between 2007 and 2010, when the PC/PS2 servers shut down. Oh, that hurt so badly!

I'm stoked for PSO2, but I loved PSU far more than PSO (although I spent thousands of hours with the various versions as well). I was watching Clementine really closely at first but progress seemed slow (no disrespect to the devs, having to recreate EVERYTHING is an immense task) and I've been out of the loop. How's progress?
 
How could I have forgotten this one?! It was my go-to game between 2007 and 2010, when the PC/PS2 servers shut down. Oh, that hurt so badly!

I'm stoked for PSO2, but I loved PSU far more than PSO (although I spent thousands of hours with the various versions as well). I was watching Clementine really closely at first but progress seemed slow (no disrespect to the devs, having to recreate EVERYTHING is an immense task) and I've been out of the loop. How's progress?

They moved to a new server in March (or April) and progress is so much smoother now. Most missions works flawlessly. Rare missions are in the game, event missions are in the game. Bosses work as they should. Rooms are up and people are selling items in their shops. You can even customise your room too and feed your partner machine. Most of the weapons are in the game, including a load of weapons that were only available on the Japanese server. SUV weapons work (humans can also equip them now) Beasts can now use nanoblast. Character customisation has most of the clothes only Japanese players had access too. Weapon grinding works, but it's different compared to how it used to be, you can now repair items that break. Weapon, money and items drops are available from boxes and enemies. All photon arts are in the game, all classes are in the game.

Item synthesis, NPC's (Ethan, Leia, Karen, etc) and story missions aren't in the game yet, but I know they are working on synthesis right now. NPC and story missions may never happen though because I'm not sure they have the data for it. It may be possible way down the line for them to make missions of their own though, so it may be possible to bring back.

To sum up, the game is in a very good state right now and is perfectly playable except for a few things missing here and there.
 
Godzilla (PS4)

I’ve been a Godzilla fan way longer than a Shenmue fan, so when I heard that the Godzilla game was being brought over to the west on the PS4, I decided to buy a PS4. The reviews were TERRIBLE, with one outlet claiming it to be either the worst PS4 game ever or one of the worst games ever made (or both).

For me, this game was everything I could ever want in a Godzilla game. I really wanted to get Godzilla Generations for the Dreamcast, but never did. That one reviewed poorly too, and I think for the same reasons (terrible gameplay, graphics, and controls). Godzilla (PS4) is a blast to play, especially when all I wanted to ever do is take control of Godzilla (or any of his rogues gallery) and destroy cities. The controls make sense for a game like this, the slow gameplay works since you’re controlling a big-ass monster and a great sense of weight is given to everything, and the graphics do the job well enough. I was never a fan of those Godzilla Melee games on the Gamecube because they didn’t really capture that Godzilla “spirit” for me. But with this game, spirit is about the only thing it does perfectly.
 
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