I love a good hot take, served up hot and thrown to the masses. Sometimes an opinion can come from out of nowhere like a Randy Orton RKO and result in a global double-take, either because of the world-shaking revelation within it or the dangerous amount of stupidity unleashed. There’s no shortage of controversial opinions in film for instance, like declaring Rocky V to be better than Rocky IV, X-Men: Dark Phoenix is actually a well-directed entry in the mutant movie franchise, and Ernest films deserve credit for being fun junk food.
Usually saying something like that, results in a few less than kind responses like this or the image above:
What about video games though? With millions of people playing them at any given time, it’s safe to say that a few rebellious opinions exist. A lot of them are bad! Like the stuff of raving lunatics who genuinely have no idea what they’re talking about and prefer to fire from the hip. Some takes are good though and once all the guns have been put away, there’s some great debate to be had.
For example Kervyn believes that Anthem deserves some more credit for what it got right, Brad believes only the first 20 minutes of a Super Mario Bros. game is worthwhile before it gets boring, and Gavin reckons that the brilliant gameplay mechanics of Dead or Alive 3 was overshadowed by a fixation on digital titillation.
What about you though? Which game do you reckon is actually great stuff despite what the critical consensus has to say, or what has received universal acclaim but won’t stand the test of time in your books? Sound off below, and please guys, do keep it civil.
The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of Critical Hit as an organisation.
Last Updated: October 9, 2020
For the Emperor!
October 9, 2020 at 11:09
Gears of War and Halo. Overrated games. https://media1.giphy.com/media/Wq9FdlLUmrKcIvuGBh/giphy.gif
For the Emperor!
October 9, 2020 at 11:09
For Halo, I think I could have liked it on PC had I ever gotten it there.
For Gears, Space Marine was a FAR superior game!! Cover is for *word for little cats starting with a p*
Gavin Mannion
October 9, 2020 at 11:09
Gears of War was amazing…
You just hate Xbox
For the Emperor!
October 9, 2020 at 11:09
I have XBox 360 (currently at my sister so she can play Dead or Alive), and I have the XBone that I enjoyed playing NBA2K and Assassins Creed Odyssey on. So nope. Now had you said I just sucked at the game, then I could not argue 🙂
Mark Treloar
October 9, 2020 at 13:16
Honestly, Gears was fun,, but what destroys it as a Great game for me is crouch running. Its, a very special kind of WTF is this
Gavin Mannion
October 9, 2020 at 13:16
lol I loved the crouch running and diving.. it was so much fun
Mark Treloar
October 9, 2020 at 15:25
It bothers the hell out of me
RinceThis
October 9, 2020 at 13:16
It was my favourite franchise on the 360. SOOO much fun
Banana Jim
October 9, 2020 at 16:50
First two was amazing. The third one was terrible. Arguably one of the worst of the series, except for Judgement … (which was utter trash). The 4th one was surprisingly fun, and the 5th one was ok.
https://media1.giphy.com/media/STTLsH2TO1bHwZZIVq/giphy.gif
Original Heretic
October 9, 2020 at 11:17
I cannot count how many hours I’ve spent in Gears of War, 1-3. 3 especially. 5-man Horde Mode.
My fondest X360 memories by far.
For the Emperor!
October 9, 2020 at 11:27
That is because people who liked Gears cannot count https://media1.giphy.com/media/l0K4n2kd6Erue9XLq/giphy.gif
For the Emperor!
October 9, 2020 at 11:27
That is because people who liked Gears cannot count https://media1.giphy.com/media/l0K4n2kd6Erue9XLq/giphy.gif
Du4098
October 9, 2020 at 11:46
Aaah man I cannot count how many hours I invested into GOW 2 Horde mode… good times indeed.
RinceThis
October 9, 2020 at 13:16
agreed, loved it
Iskape
October 9, 2020 at 11:41
Agreed. They are enjoyable to play though, but I would never place them as one of the top 5 greatest franchises.
Du4098
October 9, 2020 at 11:46
I agree and disagree… classic Halo up until Halo 3 was fun and interesting. After that they ran out of story and the game-play just isn’t fresh anymore. GOW is treading the same path.
Banana Jim
October 9, 2020 at 12:17
O…v..e..r..a..t..e.d!!! Mic drop
HvR
October 9, 2020 at 16:42
GoW maybe to a lesser degree, but definitely Halo.
Halo is the most generic space FPS ever made; the only “unique” thing about it was that it was one of the first Xbox exclusive properties and the only thing you could play on the Xbox.
Banana Jim
October 9, 2020 at 16:42
Halo’s appeal was always the multiplayer. It’s what made it a phenomenon. I don’t think I’ve ever met anyone who lauded the storyline. They probably exist somewhere, hiding in their parents’ basement, and surrounded by batman figurines.
HvR
October 9, 2020 at 16:46
True but again because there was nothing else to pay on the system. I unreal was released earlier or Quake port was made I doubt we would have seen a Halo 3
Banana Jim
October 9, 2020 at 16:46
And counter strike.. let’s never forget the game that defined a generation.
Du4098
October 9, 2020 at 11:41
The Last of Us 1&2 are not the groundbreaking experiences people make them out to be… Average game-play and a depressing narrative doth not a good video game make.
Banana Jim
October 9, 2020 at 16:45
Can’t disagree with you on this one… although, while I absolutely dislike the second one, the Last of Us 1 was a technical masterpiece on the PS3. It was a great send-off for the George Foreman grill…
Caveshen Rajman
October 9, 2020 at 10:44
On the other side of Anthem deserving more praise, I feel that Avengers tries the same dodgy tricks but isn’t called out nearly as much as Anthem was. Maybe it’s just a case of more stuff going on right now, but still.
Anyway, my most recent of these controversial takes is that a game having a white male protagonist is not automatically bad because of it, and people need to stop that shit because they’re doing the same thing they hated when execs felt that way about anything that wasn’t a white male protagonist. Some of my favourite games have white male protagonists lol. We’ve got diverse protagonists now, and we’re getting even more in future, find something else to be angry about.
Banana Jim
October 9, 2020 at 17:01
Does Anthem really deserve any praise? :p If you want a cool game with mechanised body suits, there’s always Warframe.
Caveshen Rajman
October 10, 2020 at 22:36
Oh for sure! I mean it was pretty but Anthem deserved every criticism and more. Likewise Avengers should have receieved as much, but didn’t. Or hasn’t been, anyway. The campaign is better, so perhaps it’s not an entirely fair comparison, but the live service stuff is like-for-like down to the gating of campaign progress through random pointless objectives.
Gavin Mannion
October 9, 2020 at 11:09
Well that’s not what I said but it does prove the point I guess.
My exact words were “Dead or Alive 3 was a fantastic fighting game with the best co-op mechanic out of all fighting games”
And all you took from that is that DoA 3 had jiggle physics….
For the Emperor!
October 9, 2020 at 11:27
Mass Effect 3 ending was great! Mind you I had most of the DLC when I got there including the extended cut, as I only started playing ME1 when 3 came out.
Insomnia is fun
October 9, 2020 at 12:58
Wasn’t that great for us that playesld the first month. Your decision matters they said. Yeah right. Ended about as well as GOT season 8
Umar
October 9, 2020 at 11:33
Hideo Kojima makes boundary pushing games, but people are too afraid to embrace anything wildly different from what they’re used to. We complain about games being stale, but when something is radically different there’s massive pushback, evident by the constant cries for Kojima to go back to making Metal Gear Solid.
Du4098
October 9, 2020 at 12:01
I’m all for new idea’s and experiences but Courier Simulator is not exactly what I had in mind. At least he tried something different and he deserves credit for that. I think people have gotten so use to playing the same things over and over that we’ve forgotten the thrill of having a new experience. Developers on the other hand are scared to take risks. One poor performing game can put a company out of business so I guess they stick to what they know sells games.
Insomnia is fun
October 9, 2020 at 12:58
Blame the COD sheep. Bang bang, tea bag, how’s your mom?
Banana Jim
October 9, 2020 at 16:18
Never understood the hate he receives, his games always pushes the genres forward – every single generation.
Umar
October 9, 2020 at 16:24
After MGS V, even though I love the gameplay, I started to kind of dislike him for the way he ended off that story. Playing Death Stranding however made me realize how much of a visionary he can be. I think people mostly bag on him because of the way he’s lauded by industry folks and fans alike, but regardless of that, I really respect and appreciate that he’s always trying to push the medium forward and do new and crazy things.
Banana Jim
October 9, 2020 at 16:24
I think the issue with MGS V is that he couldn’t complete it, and a lot of the later parts of that game reeks of interference from konami.
Banana Jim
October 9, 2020 at 16:29
My issue with how Hideo Kojima is treated is that a lot of people seems to forget that his track record on promises is a lot more healthy than Uncle Fable, Peter Molyneux or developer-turned scammer, Chris Roberts.
Banana Jim
October 9, 2020 at 16:29
My issue with how Hideo Kojima is treated is that a lot of people seem to forget that his track record on promises is a lot more healthy than Uncle Fable, Peter Molyneux or developer-turned scammer, Chris Roberts.
Umar
October 9, 2020 at 16:35
Oh hell yeah for sure. I don’t think he should ever put on that same level.
Umar
October 9, 2020 at 16:35
I agree to some extent. While it’s clear there were parts of the game’s story that felt rushed, there were also clear directorial decisions he himself made that just didn’t sit well with me. I think the biggest thing for me was the final twist. That was something that was planned most likely from the start. That said, looking at things like Liquid’s back story, I wish he had the time and probably budget to flesh it out.
In the end….NEVER BE GAME OVER.
Insomnia is fun
October 12, 2020 at 09:37
Blame Konami. Also FucKonami.
Alien Emperor Trevor
October 9, 2020 at 11:41
Gaming subscription services will be bad for you in the long run, no matter how cheap and full of “value” they are now.
Umar
October 9, 2020 at 11:46
Actually agree with you. Whew, 2020 is one hell of a weird year.
Alien Emperor Trevor
October 9, 2020 at 11:46
And I agree with yours about boundary-pushing games? What’s happening!?
Banana Jim
October 9, 2020 at 16:24
You’re either merging into one being or the simulation divided by zero. 2020 is truly the end times.
https://media4.giphy.com/media/5TC1o3oRE68Mg/giphy.gif
setzor
October 9, 2020 at 11:46
Why? Sorry not trying to be a dunce (or start a debate) just curious about your opinion?
Alien Emperor Trevor
October 9, 2020 at 11:57
Well to be brief, my concern is that ownership and consumer rights are being even further eroded than they are already are, and we’re handing even more control of our hobby to the corporations running the show.
Gavin Mannion
October 9, 2020 at 14:17
already happened, you don’t own anything anymore, you just rent a licence
Alien Emperor Trevor
October 9, 2020 at 14:17
“even further eroded than they are already are”
For the Emperor!
October 9, 2020 at 14:17
Yup, that is all digital sales are. They can take it away at any time for any reason. “Oh, the owner of this company made off-colour remarks? Remove game for everyone” *just a hypothetical example, I have no real world example*
Some disk sales too. “Oh, you want you save game for NBA2K18? Sorry, we turned off the servers and wiped out your save. Start over from scratch. Oh, you were close to Hall of Fame? Too bad, how about NBA2K21? It will be up for at least 18 more months”
If only 2K would release a patch before dumping the servers so those games transfer nicely into offline mode 🙁
Oops, went off topic.
Banana Jim
October 9, 2020 at 16:24
At least up until now, if you “owned” a copy of that “licence”, you could resell it, trade it or throw it in the bin. You can’t do that when everything is tied to some online service, and definitely not when all of it is tied to some subscription service.
miaau
October 9, 2020 at 15:57
Funnily enough, this does not bother me that much, to be honest. I have loads of other things to worry about than concern myself with this. As @lazygamers:disqus said, in reply to this as well, it is already here.
Krabby Paddy
October 9, 2020 at 12:08
Unfortunately people tend to like things that are bad for them in the long run. We’re simply not as smart as we’d like to think we are.
RinceThis
October 9, 2020 at 12:21
This. People are forgetting how they raged about DRM just a few years ago now. That gaslightining has led to the ‘I love all things that are DRM, because cheaper.’
Insomnia is fun
October 9, 2020 at 12:49
This is true
miaau
October 9, 2020 at 15:57
I agree.
That said, I will continue to pay for my Xbox Game Pass thingy, as it makes my life easier for not a lot per month. My theory is that if you are going to buy two AAA games, that are on gamepass, a year than you are sorted. trouble is…. I will never do that, in any case, buy new Triple AAA games, I mean, so…..
I pay for convivence and some cool checking things out and whatnot.
Banana Jim
October 9, 2020 at 16:18
100% it’s the biggest bait and switch ever.
Iskape
October 9, 2020 at 11:41
Conan Exiles deserves more love from the survival game community than it gets. The building mechanics are amazing, the content is interesting, the world is expansive and varied and… – I will admit though, the combat is a bit mediocre!
Jac7
October 9, 2020 at 12:01
Mad Max is simply one of the most underrated games of this generation and it did not deserve the mundane reviews it received.
Gavin Mannion
October 9, 2020 at 12:21
That latest Mad Max movie was garbage and I hate that it got such good reviews. Artistic nonsense
Du4098
October 9, 2020 at 12:49
It was filmed in my back yard and therefor I have to tell people I thought it was good (even though it was actually nonsense).
Jac7
October 9, 2020 at 12:49
Hey, you live in Nam?
Du4098
October 9, 2020 at 12:49
Yes sir I do… In the town where they filmed the majority of the film. Even had a few friends working on the production.
Jac7
October 9, 2020 at 12:58
I’m a Nam boy too. Windhoek based. I wouldn’t be surprised if we actually know each other haha
Du4098
October 9, 2020 at 12:58
Haha no way man. The chances of finding another Nambian online is smaller than actually catching Covid.
Jac7
October 9, 2020 at 12:59
We are a rare breed, indeed. Friendly and debaucheries
Gavin Mannion
October 9, 2020 at 13:16
it was utter garbage, I hate it so much.. maybe more than I should 😉
Jac7
October 9, 2020 at 13:17
Maybe I’m more subjective because I grew up in this desolate wonderscape
Jac7
October 9, 2020 at 12:49
I actually loved the film, but then again, I only watched it once and I was on an action high.
Banana Jim
October 9, 2020 at 17:02
Are we finally agreeing on something? Christ… Yeah, I absolutely hated that movie. Why call it Mad Max when he plays second fiddle. I think watching it once was more than enough for me, and I’ll never touch it ever again. It’s like Bad Boys 2 – another movie where every copy should be thrown into a volcano.
Insomnia is fun
October 9, 2020 at 12:49
Gotta agree. Could’ve used with some Immortan Joe Doc maybe
Mark Treloar
October 9, 2020 at 13:17
I disagree it got what it deserved. The whole premise of the game is that you are rebuilding you interceptor, then as soon as you are done getting the last part, its game over thanks for playing. There was no incentive to keep going after you get the car
Banana Jim
October 9, 2020 at 16:41
I also enjoyed the Mad Max, and another truly underrated game is Spec Ops the Line. It will always be one of the best games to come out of the early 10s.
RinceThis
October 9, 2020 at 12:27
Gamepass is going to change the landscape of gaming forever. And not in a good way. Yes, it gives us access to cheaper games, but it completely strips the idea that we own games. Right now I can still turn my router off and play horizon zero dawn, that isn’t going to be possible after gen 5 on any platform. Not when companies know they can charge you to rent time with their game.
Gavin Mannion
October 9, 2020 at 12:38
This is only a problem if you care about owning games… I personally don’t. Once I’m done with it I couldn’t care less what happens with it
Du4098
October 9, 2020 at 12:49
I’m the same way and I only buy digital nowadays anyway. The only worry would be if all gaming moves to a subscription based service or even worse… games as a service.
RinceThis
October 9, 2020 at 12:49
I do care about owning them though. Just like I care about owning movies, digital or real. I like to pop something in when the urge calls, also true with games and movies. https://media.giphy.com/media/dhCx7EyeGYD7O/giphy.gif
For the Emperor!
October 9, 2020 at 12:58
“when the urge calls” – few things as bad as getting home after a rough day, wanting to watch or play something alone/SP, and then you first have to wait for the console or game to update before you are allowed to play. Looking at you Diablows 3 and XBone!
RinceThis
October 9, 2020 at 12:58
This!^ Also, I believe that with the gamepass, you HAVE to be online all the time. You can’t play the game if your connection is down (based on what a mate has told me, haven’t tried it)
Mark Treloar
October 9, 2020 at 13:17
Microsoft games downloads is also a huge problem. I have not been able to just install a game and walk away from my PC. there is always an error somewhere along the way that requires me to click a button. I don’t like having to manage 100GB installs manually
Caveshen Rajman
October 9, 2020 at 14:27
To be clear, you already don’t own the games you play on Steam etc. as per the EULA, nor do you own the consoles you purchase. They’re all licensed to you by the companies you paid for the privilege of using those products.
RinceThis
October 9, 2020 at 16:35
Que? You saying SONY can come and take my PS4 away if it wanted to?
Caveshen Rajman
October 10, 2020 at 22:36
Technicall yes hahaha, but I wouldn’t stay up waiting for Jim Ryan to personally come collect. It’s typically enforced when people attempt to mod the console (and they find out). They reserve the right to stop you from tinkering with the console in any way because you don’t own it, you paid for the license to use it. Etc. etc.
Insomnia is fun
October 9, 2020 at 12:49
Tlou2 getting a perfect score from nearly damn everyone. No game is and can be perfect. Biggest joke this year other than Covid, the lockdown and Trump getting sick yet still endangering the people around him.
Yozzie
October 9, 2020 at 12:58
The Legend of Zelda : BoTW weapon durability mechanic sucked so damn much that it ruined the game.
The D
October 9, 2020 at 12:59
YAS PREACH BRUTHA
Jbumi
October 9, 2020 at 13:48
I only recently picked it up – not even halfway through yet, but I’m enjoying the hell out of Mass Effect: Andromeda!! Got it for $5 – now, before you think that’s why I’m liking it so much, a few years ago I picked up Sacred 3 (because I adored Sacred 2) for less than $5, & to this day, I still feel as though I was mugged – that game is awful!!!!
Yozzie
October 9, 2020 at 13:58
I am still waiting for a fire hot enough that I can throw my copy of Sacred 3 in.
miaau
October 9, 2020 at 15:57
Master of Orion 3 was not as bad as so many people, website’s, comments and all and all made it out to be!
Ok, it was not great, but not as bad as the peeps would have had you believe
Banana Jim
October 9, 2020 at 16:26
Genshin Impact is a phenomenal open world rpg… I think I’m doing this wrong… :/