What are your "guilty pleasure" games?

[Grayswandir]

You know you have them, games that are "terrible" in the eyes of critics and the general public, and yet, they're one of those games you can't put down. So, share your "guilty pleasures" with the Wolfire forums. Maybe you can convince someone to try it and suffer with you.

I'll start with one of my favorites:

Operation Darkness (Xbox 360) -
I guess Operation Darkness is technically a dueling game with Valkyria Chronicles. Which also, unfortunately didn't sell well, even though it got decent ratings. However, Operation Darkness is not one of those sleeper hits. No, this game got 2.0 and 3.0 ratings from IGN and Gamespot and has a a Metacritic rating of 46. Why did this game get terrible reviews? The camera controls are terrible, the game doesn't explain half the mechanics and the ones it does explain aren't always described correctly. About half-way through the game the difficulty spikes and unless you already know what you're doing, you're going to get destroyed by the AI. Also, there's a permanent death system with all your units that really wouldn't be that bad except that there is one character who can revive and he's not narrative important, so if you already have no idea what he can do and let him die, you have no way of reviving anyone else. Ever. The game is also pretty damn ugly.

So what makes this game awesome enough to play? The characters and plot are taken so seriously by the game that its an utter joy just to see what happens next. And once you figure out all the game mechanics the tutorial doesn't tell you about, it becomes much easier to play.



The "heroic" lead character is this British SAS soldier named Edward (you can rename him) and this is about his ventures in World War II. The game starts off as a regular game about a regular World War II.

[+] Regular WWII

Then it throws in werewolves, vampires, undead, fire magic, Frankenstein, Herbert West, Van Hellsing, and Jack the Ripper. Yes, Jack the Ripper. Oh, and just wait until you meet Adolf HItler.

SERIOUS DRAMA.

[adwuga]

I was going to post some porn video games based on the title, but then I read the thread. I don't really have any, but if you use the general public based on first impressions, a few indie games, such as cortex command, with bad graphics, are considered bad, but I like them,

[Freshbite]

I have wanted to reply to this thread for a day or so, but I honestly could not think of a game that fits your description. I guess I'm more of a casual gamer than I'd like to think.

I have some other guilty pleasures though, like how I have not played the original Baldur's Gate series, but have played (and loved) the Dark Alliance story.

[underthedeep]

hatoful boyfriend

[adwuga]

Forgot about that, that is definitely my guilty pleasure game.

[Jacktheawesome]

hatoful boyfriend

I remember this...

Mine would probably be MarbleBlast Gold. Still trying to beat that game.

[Grayswandir]

It doesn't have to be an extremely terrible game to be a "guilty pleasure". I was throwing out Operation Darkness as an example. Something like Earth Defense Force 2017 or a niché game would count as well.

[Glabbit]

Would Wario Land II or III count? I've just picked them up again recently. I am so glad I still have my compatible systems for these lovely pieces of nostalgia.

I don't know what anyone thinks of Zoombinis, either, but I definitely had fun with them back in the day.

[Freshbite]

Hm. Now that I come to think of it, I have some games that would fit the guidelines.

Timeshift: A time-bending shooter from 2007.
F.E.A.R. Expansions: One of which appeared to be very poorly received.

I actually come to think of this thread when I got an urge to play Timeshift again.

[Glabbit]

Timeshift? That actually looks interesting. I'm going to have to look into that.

Edit: Woops. I mean I just bought it.

[Zhukov]

All of them.

[Freshbite]

Edit: Woops. I mean I just bought it.

I'm unsure of what you mean. If you actually bought it, I approve, but I don't think anyone's going to blame you for pirating an old game that has mediocre reviews before purchasing it.

[Glabbit]

No, I actually mean I just unthinkingly ordered a second-hand ps3 retail version for a tenner before actually looking up gameplay vids or anything out of simple trust.

Should have it within the week.

[Korban3]

Wait, how did TimeShift get mediocre reviews? That looked like the bad-assenest game ever when it came out. I thought it was gonna go big. Weird crap, this society is.

[Glabbit]

That it verily is.