Discussion: what popular game do you dislike and why?

Just because a game is popular doesn’t mean everyone likes it. Have you ever had that one game or series that everyone else loves but you just can’t seen to get into? We have.

Charlie: The Halo games. I’ll admit that I had some fun playing Halo 2 and 3 multiplayer split-screen with friends, but the single-player in those games was abysmal. Lots of very generic “sci-fi” looking rooms and a plot that quickly went so far off the rails that it included the talking plant from Little Shop of Horrors (more or less). And for a shooter, I never found the shooting in Halo to be all that satisfying. There were a few cool sci-fi guns — the needler was always fun — but most of them felt and sounded more like plastic toys than true weapons to me.

Mary-Anne: MOBA games. Sorry, I know it’s a big deal now, but I personally don’t think you need to be very smart to pick up a MOBA game like Dota 2 or League of Legends. You certainly need brains to become very good at it and to play on a professional level, but the demographics the games attract are testament to how accessible they can be to people who lack basic intelligence. That being said, I do enjoy the occasional game of Dota 2. I just don’t like the majority of its player base.

Chris: The Dragon Quest series. I love a good JRPG. I love the beautiful worlds, music, story, and characters that go into them. That being said, I’ve never been able to get into the Dragon Quest series. The games always come off really bland to me. Everything from the characters to the music is often forgettable. I really don’t understand its massive popularity at all.

Xairylle: The Sims series. The whole gameplay does not appeal to me. I wanted to say ‘dating and social simulation games’ in general, but I believe that a good story can keep me in a game so I’m still hoping to find a dating and social sim that I can enjoy. However, The Sims series doesn’t seem to have a story I can latch onto and I feel like I’m doing a bunch of things with no goal. I’m one of those people who play games to experience something else, so making me play what goes on in normal life isn’t my idea of fun.