Overrated and underrated are terms that were ruined by confusing "critical acclaim" with "popularity". Most games people say are overrated are usually only barely so, at worst. The only games that I truly feel are overrated are the broken, mediocre, boring, micro-transaction focused, Destiny wannabe garbage games that inexplicably sometimes get good review scores, because people are scared of not receiving review copies from companies who ironically barely ever even make new game anymore. Which is honestly happening less than it would have a few years ago, but still way too often to be ok with.
ahem But all that being said, if I were to think of games I think truly didn't deserve the acclaim they got, I never got the appeal of Xbox 360 era 3rd person cover shooters. Not games that have 3rd person cover shooters, but ones where that is the main focus of the game. Especially Gears of War. Considering how I'm always told I'm playing them wrong when I actually use cover instead of mastering the game to a point of not needing to, I feel like its the most embarrassing, self-defeating genre that doesn't need to exist. Or at least the type that became a thing thanks to Gears.
Underrated would mostly go towards N64 games that are less than highly beloved. And there's valid reasons to a point, but I play something like Jet Force Gemini, which I'm told has aged terribly. And I understand with the controls,. but when my modern options includes something like Gears, I vastly prefer this type of 3rd person shooting by default. I dunno, I think I'm just good at dealing with questionable and weird controls, as I rarely understand people's issues with controls in various games. Or I play something like Megaman Legends, which is unquestionably dated, but does things I like that most 3D games don't anymore, and thus those newer games are worse to me. Though the irony is that most of these games were rated well at the time...
I gotta be honest, Vanquish is just Gears of War made by Platinum. Which means its better but every single aspect of it would be better if it didn't feel obligated to work around being a cover shooter.
Overrated and underrated are terms that were ruined by confusing "critical acclaim" with "popularity".
They're tightly related though, the highest rated things are almost universally "overrated". It's just maths. Think of it like a set of stats for a character in an RPG. The "rating" of anything will be a combination of multiple variables. That includes how good it actually is but also cultural biases, critic biases, genre biases, nostalgia goggles and so on.
A certain music review aggregate site has OK Computer as the #1 album of all time. Of course it deserves that kind of praise, it's a great album, but it only gets #1 because all of the stats are maxed out. As a result it almost has to be overrated..... although maybe not to me because I genuinely do believe it's almost a perfect album
They're tightly related though, the highest rated things are almost universally "overrated". It's just maths. Think of it like a set of stats for a character in an RPG. The "rating" of anything will be a combination of multiple variables. That includes how good it actually is but also cultural biases, critic biases, genre biases, nostalgia goggles and so on.
A certain music review aggregate site has OK Computer as the #1 album of all time. Of course it deserves that kind of praise, it's a great album, but it only gets #1 because all of the stats are maxed out. As a result it almost has to be overrated..... although maybe not to me because I genuinely do believe it's almost a perfect album
Radiohead are ones of those bands that do feel over rated though. Their fans scream about their artistic greatness, you can't make legit criticism about their live shows without being shouted down etc.
Oh didn't realize i had to have played them. Okay then overrated, every call of duty. I didn't play em all but I've played a few and way more of them get glowing reviews from places like IGN with almost every release. Enough already! Whoo hoo i can shoot stuff I'm such a hardcore gamer. NOT!
As for underrated i still stand by Star fox zero. Those bad control complaints everybody talks about are like i said rendered invalid with a simple press of the select button. Duh there's you're cockpit view!
Now you don't have to get a sore neck from looking up and down at the TV screen and then Wii U gamepad to aim your shots. Maybe learn all the buttons before you write up reviews bashing the controls.
I remember one reviewer in particular said he refused to play anymore because of the awkward aiming with the gamepad. Fine don't play a good game because of your own ignorance.
Overrated (not a fan of the term) - Overwatch: The concept of online only games are very popular but I really dislike it, at least have a small campaign like Splatoon has to give the game some value when the servers are shutdown. The situation is made worse with Overwatch by there trying to be some kind of lore by other means, if you want some kind of meaningful game universe create a single player and/or co-op campaign to explore it.
Underrated - Fire Emblem Path of Radiance or Radiant Dawn: Very good games with some of the best stories in the Fire Emblem franchise. The thing is though that these games are rare and expensive so even if Ike in Smash makes you want to check out his games, you can't unless you're willing to pay a lot of money from Ebay/Amazon. On top of this there's Japan exclusives still present that haven't gotten remakes (Genealogy of the Holy War, Thracia 776, Binding Blade) so a Tellius HD collection is extremely unlikely.
@cryptologous When I saw this thread, I thought of Ghost Trick immediately. One of the best puzzle/adventure games this decade along with Obra Dinn and Device 6.
@Jump Yeah Radiohead are one of those groups I feel have great songs, but most of it I find boring. I’d put Loveless, Bee Thousand, and Spiderland as the best alt records of 90s. The Bends would be in the top 20, but not OK Computer.
@kkslider5552000 this isn't me trying to be pretentious in relation to your first comment but the point of Vanquish was, in large part, to take the piss out of cover shooters. You quite literally can't earn a solid percentage of the game's achievements if you rely on the cover system. While I can understand getting frustrated at people saying you are playing something like Gears wrong if you use cover (even though entire segments of every gears game are built around cover and it just doesn't have abilities that facilitate avoiding taking damage when in the open), you not only can complete Vanquish in its entirety without cover, but it's also the only way to earn decent scores in game, and especially on higher difficulties. It's movement mechanics and chaining together lengthy combo sequences not possible from behind a wall were the entire appeal of the game, and a big reason why so many people consider the first completion of the campaign a tutorial. If you played the game from behind cover, I can't blame you given the gaming landscape at the time (I feel most people did which no doubt contributed to its relative lack of commercial success) but I would implore you to find a copy and give it a crack without using the cover system if you are able to. It's honestly an entirely different experience and the game makes so much sense when you abandon the walls (unlike any other cover shooter I can think of).
overrated: God of War. You just press square. Unless quicktime. I had my fun with the first one, but midway through number 2, I was done pressing square.
underrated: Shadow Hearts: From The New World. Funny writing, solid combat. Neat twists. I had great fun with it.
XBox/Steam/Epic: owendershot | Switch friend code: I don't remember, these codes are crazy, I'll check later.
Playstations are fine, but I don't have one.
Overrated: Smash Bros. While I think it is a fun party game, I dont understand the legions of fans foaming at the mouth when this series is mentioned. I have and played them all but it just never clicked with me.
Underrated: Enslaved Odyssey to the West. One of the best games I played of last generation that I hardly ever hear talked about. Combat was fun, had a good story, script was funny, and the ending had me choked up.
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Most underrated will probably be Castlevania Harmony of Dissonance. I liked almost everything about it. Most people and Castlevania fans hate it.
As someone who grew up with Harmony of Dissonance, I'm not too surprised. If you love the other games in the series, Harmony of Dissonance is relatively easy and the music arguably disappoints (which is only true because a lot of GBA music disappoints tbh). Parts of it a little more basic compared to the weirder directions other Castlevania games go towards. But that didn't matter to me since it was the first Castlevania I really got into, so I love it.
Overrated:
Batman: Arkham Asylum & Batman: Arkham City. I don't see the immense love for these games. The story and gameplay are not particularly great.
Underrated:
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Smash Up: A Smash knockoff, but it knows it. There are major flaws in the roster, but I really dig the gameplay. A sequel would be nice.
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Radiohead are ones of those bands that do feel over rated though.
Kinda my point. They're rated so highly by so many people they HAVE to be overrated. By definition. It's just an odd thing for me to be saying this when I myself also rate them fairly highly. In that hypothetical "deserted island" scenario where you can only take 5 albums one of their albums would be in that pile. Probably OK Computer.
Overrated:
Five Nights At Freddy's, and partially Undertale due to both fandoms' tendency to reference them in all unrelated comment sections online, resulting in their strong points - which they don't lack by any means - being blown way out of proportion.
Underrated:
DeStrega and Hogs Of War, both on PlayStation 1, and Capcom's Power Stone. All games should be alive and well even today, but for some reason those plans fell flat.
I don't quite have lots o' loot, because I'm from the Boot.
Overrated:
Suikoden II (It's very good but not $100+ used good)
Tomb Raider reboot
Assassin's Creed
The Last of Us (boring gameplay,cliche story that is very acclaimed for some reason)
Smash Bros. Probably more fun if you're not playing it by yourself.
GTA series in general
Underrated, or at least "more people should give these a chance":
StarTropics
Adventure of Link
SaGa series, in general, though I realize it can be very love-it or hate-it
Dino Crisis 2
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Topic: What is your one most overrated and one most underrated games you've ever played?
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