# Video games that are popular and well known, but that you didn't like. **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [May 28, 2017, 5:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/video-games-that-are-popular-and-well-known-but-that-you-didnt-like/787583 "2017-05-28T05:56:35Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Idle\_Thoughts](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/838e76/32.png) [@Idle\_Thoughts](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Idle_Thoughts)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2017, 5:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/video-games-that-are-popular-and-well-known-but-that-you-didnt-like/787583/1 "2017-05-28T05:56:35Z")
Sorry, but I didn’t like ANY of the Fallouts. I hated Fallout 3. Same for New Vegas. People have been on me to try Fallout 4–and I will–but I bet them that I will dislike it too. I also hated all of The Elder Scrolls games. Skyrim was just so boring to me. What unpopular opinions do you have regarding games? What have you disliked even though everyone and their mother loves? Portal? Half-Life? Tomb Raider? This is your safe place. No judgement here. Confess. ---
**Author:** ![Kobal2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kobal2/32/20_2.png) [@Kobal2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kobal2)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2017, 6:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/video-games-that-are-popular-and-well-known-but-that-you-didnt-like/787583/2 "2017-05-28T06:22:49Z")
I love strategy games, empire building games, games that are 80% spreadsheets and optimization. I like complexity and depth at the cost of accessibility or a UI that is there to help the player instead of viciously undermining him at every step… hell, I love Dominions 4, and if you know that game you know what I’m talking about. But the Paradox games can go die in a fire. Crusader Kings, Europa Universalis, Stellaris, Hearts of Iron, it’s all the same “dick around aimlessly with nothing you do whatsoever mattering” soup to me. ---
**Author:** ![magnusblitz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b4bc9f/32.png) [@magnusblitz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/magnusblitz)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2017, 7:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/video-games-that-are-popular-and-well-known-but-that-you-didnt-like/787583/3 "2017-05-28T07:38:16Z")
While I won’t say I _dislike_ it, I think Half-Life 2 is overrated, even adjusting expectations for the time it was released in. It feels like they came up with a cool engine, and lots of cool moments they wanted to include, but for me it failed to ever come together into a cohesive whole. The fact that they really slow-played the storyline (which they then never finished) didn’t help either. As a genre, I have trouble getting into open world games. That includes games like Fallout 3 and Skyrim, and also survival games like DayZ and such. Given a whole world to play with and being told to find my own motivation just doesn’t do much for me… I like having a tight plot and progression to play through. ---
**Author:** ![coremelt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/4491bb/32.png) [@coremelt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/coremelt)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2017, 8:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/video-games-that-are-popular-and-well-known-but-that-you-didnt-like/787583/4 "2017-05-28T08:47:13Z")
The new doom. Read the reviews and it sounded great, downloaded the demo and just ugh. They’ve gone from ridiculously dark (Doom3) to the other extreme, everything is candy glow neon. Just nope. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2017, 8:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/video-games-that-are-popular-and-well-known-but-that-you-didnt-like/787583/5 "2017-05-28T08:52:46Z")
Any of the \*Grand Theft Auto \*games. I like the genre - \*Saint’s Row 3 \*and _4_, _Just Cause 2_ and _Sleeping Dogs_ were all great - but something about GTA just rubs me the wrong way. ---
**Author:** ![Santelia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/eb9ed0/32.png) [@Santelia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Santelia)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2017, 9:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/video-games-that-are-popular-and-well-known-but-that-you-didnt-like/787583/6 "2017-05-28T09:14:52Z")
I much prefer the more challenging Pro Evolution Soccer series to the flashier FIFA. ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2017, 2:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/video-games-that-are-popular-and-well-known-but-that-you-didnt-like/787583/7 "2017-05-28T14:41:30Z")
I played the first hour of both **Mass Effect** and **Mass Effect 2** and neither one hooked me or even came close. Loved Dragon Age (well, not DA2) but Bioware couldn’t keep me interested in space. I kept waiting for **Half Life 2** to feel extraordinary and match its hype and it never did. Levels that were supposedly great failed to impress me and I got bored with the game. I started a thread on here about it and most people admitted it was a “You had to be there” moment in gaming rather than a product that stands the test of time. Plus those airboats in the canals… ugh. I won’t ever be trying it again just to avoid that level. **Skyrim** was okay but I don’t know how people can lose a thousand hours in it. I couldn’t tell you a single solid plot point from the main quest (there’s, uh, dragons?) and some of the world building was immersion-breaking nonsense. Yeah, sure, mods but Skyrim as published never got much better than “Let me finish this off”. Much preferred the Fallout titles for open world RP adventure. A few other popular games I didn’t like but I think they deserve a second try: I played **Dishonored** after finishing two other stealth games so I think I was just burnt out on crouch-walking everywhere. **Sleeping Dogs** and **Batman** never kept me interested and I found the combat a chore but then I liked Mad Max & Shadow of Mordor which has the same combat so maybe I just hadn’t found my groove with the previous games. ---
**Author:** ![Spice\_Weasel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spice_weasel/32/5435_2.png) [@Spice\_Weasel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spice_Weasel)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2017, 2:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/video-games-that-are-popular-and-well-known-but-that-you-didnt-like/787583/8 "2017-05-28T14:46:19Z")
Zelda. That shit is too fucking hard. ---
**Author:** ![RivkahChaya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rivkahchaya/32/8919_2.png) [@RivkahChaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RivkahChaya)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2017, 2:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/video-games-that-are-popular-and-well-known-but-that-you-didnt-like/787583/9 "2017-05-28T14:47:51Z")
I like RPGs, especially ones that replicate the tabletop D&D experience. I hated The Legend of Zelda, though, and as a result, I never tried any of the sequels. People keep telling me to give the sequels a chance but there are always other games to play. ---
**Author:** ![madsircool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madsircool/32/3432_2.png) [@madsircool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madsircool)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2017, 2:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/video-games-that-are-popular-and-well-known-but-that-you-didnt-like/787583/10 "2017-05-28T14:58:22Z")
> [@Santelia](#): > > I much prefer the more challenging Pro Evolution Soccer series to the flashier FIFA. Pro Ev is now available for phones/tablets. ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2017, 2:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/video-games-that-are-popular-and-well-known-but-that-you-didnt-like/787583/11 "2017-05-28T14:58:22Z")
Oh and a recent gamer’s darling: **MGSV: The Phantom Pain**. There might be a game in there but it doesn’t show itself in the first couple tedious hours. Some people asked me “Well, have you played the other MGS games?” which was less a “This continues the proud MGS tradition” moment for me than “Wait, so they’re all this boring? How did they get to No. 5?” ---
**Author:** ![Spice\_Weasel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spice_weasel/32/5435_2.png) [@Spice\_Weasel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spice_Weasel)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2017, 3:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/video-games-that-are-popular-and-well-known-but-that-you-didnt-like/787583/12 "2017-05-28T15:12:28Z")
I wanted to love _The Witcher_, but I couldn’t get over the ‘‘collect trading cards for every woman you bone’’ part of it. It was so beneath a game of that caliber, it felt like it was taking every single thing seriously _except_ women. So I quit playing it and haven’t played any of the sequels, either. ---
**Author:** ![Munch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/munch/32/5281_2.png) [@Munch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Munch)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2017, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/video-games-that-are-popular-and-well-known-but-that-you-didnt-like/787583/13 "2017-05-28T15:49:05Z")
I really enjoy Zelda games, but Wind Waker is a steaming pile of boring crap. I don’t understand why it gets so much love. ---
**Author:** ![hogarth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hogarth/32/1773_2.png) [@hogarth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hogarth)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2017, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/video-games-that-are-popular-and-well-known-but-that-you-didnt-like/787583/14 "2017-05-28T16:04:13Z")
I’ve never met a sports game that I liked, and some of those are pretty popular. I loved the original Baldur’s Gate, but I was disappointed by Baldur’s Gate 2 (which many people think is superior). Likewise, Mass Effect 2 is my least favourite of that series. ---
**Author:** ![madsircool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madsircool/32/3432_2.png) [@madsircool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madsircool)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2017, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/video-games-that-are-popular-and-well-known-but-that-you-didnt-like/787583/15 "2017-05-28T16:38:26Z")
> [@hogarth](#): > > I’ve never met a sports game that I liked, and some of those are pretty popular. > > I loved the original Baldur’s Gate, but I was disappointed by Baldur’s Gate 2 (which many people think is superior). Likewise, Mass Effect 2 is my least favourite of that series. Have you tried the sports management games like Football Manager or Out of the Park baseball? ---
**Author:** ![Kobal2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kobal2/32/20_2.png) [@Kobal2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kobal2)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2017, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/video-games-that-are-popular-and-well-known-but-that-you-didnt-like/787583/16 "2017-05-28T17:19:58Z")
> [@Spice\_Weasel](#): > > I wanted to love _The Witcher_, but I couldn’t get over the ‘‘collect trading cards for every woman you bone’’ part of it. It was so beneath a game of that caliber, it felt like it was taking every single thing seriously _except_ women. So I quit playing it and haven’t played any of the sequels, either. FWIW, there’s no such nonsense in the two later games, and the gratuitous sex & innuendo is lessened also. I mean, OK, so _Witcher 2_ _still_ starts off with gratuitous witch tits (then gratuitous noblewoman tits soonish after, depending on your choices) to grab the average 15 year old’s attention. But do get past that, and you’ll find they’re **really** good games and real quantum breaks compared to _Witcher 1_ (which, besides the sex card thing, was already quite ahead of its time). ---
**Author:** ![Kobal2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kobal2/32/20_2.png) [@Kobal2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kobal2)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2017, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/video-games-that-are-popular-and-well-known-but-that-you-didnt-like/787583/17 "2017-05-28T17:31:15Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > Any of the \*Grand Theft Auto \*games. I like the genre - \*Saint’s Row 3 \*and _4_, _Just Cause 2_ and _Sleeping Dogs_ were all great - but something about GTA just rubs me the wrong way. Yeah, same here. I think it’s due to a sort of disconnect, or GTA wanting to have its cake and eat it too. Saint’s Row and Just Cause never take themselves seriously in the least ; Sleeping Dogs OTOH is never really cartoonish and keeps itself grounded (in over-the-top Hong Kong movies, maybe, but grounded). GTA OTOH tries to both be gritty serious AND stupid funtimes in turn ; and you get sore from the mood whiplash I find. I did have some fun with Trevor in V though. The whole sarcastic erudite impulsive methhead thing worked for me, I dunno. ---
**Author:** ![Uosdwis\_R.Dewoh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Uosdwis\_R.Dewoh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Uosdwis_R.Dewoh)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2017, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/video-games-that-are-popular-and-well-known-but-that-you-didnt-like/787583/18 "2017-05-28T17:48:26Z")
Sleeping Dogs was plenty cartoonish if you tried to max your cop level. The game had system where you leveled up your criminal and cop levels by either staying lawful or committing crimes. Higher levels gave you new moves and skills. Getting lawful points was harder than criminal, so if you wanted to max it in one playthrough you had to wear clothes that increases your lawful points. Best lawful clothes being the police uniform. Your clothes of choice appearing in cutscenes made for some pretty cartoonish moments. There’s an intense scene where your fellow gang members are trying to figure out who’s the mole that’s slightly undercut by your character wearing a police uniform with the hat and cop radio included. ---
**Author:** ![Brodi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/cc9497/32.png) [@Brodi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Brodi)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2017, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/video-games-that-are-popular-and-well-known-but-that-you-didnt-like/787583/19 "2017-05-28T17:58:22Z")
Wolfenstein: New World Order was good for awhile before it became too hard and repetitive for me. ---
**Author:** ![furryman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/furryman/32/99_2.png) [@furryman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/furryman)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2017, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/video-games-that-are-popular-and-well-known-but-that-you-didnt-like/787583/20 "2017-05-28T18:00:34Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > Any of the \*Grand Theft Auto \*games. I like the genre - \*Saint’s Row 3 \*and _4_, _Just Cause 2_ and _Sleeping Dogs_ were all great - but something about GTA just rubs me the wrong way. I don’t like any of these games. Never played any sports related game either. I’ll never understand why MMO’s are popular. Radiata ,Shining Force EXE and Persona 3 all had great reviews but I thought they were all boring as hell. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/video-games-that-are-popular-and-well-known-but-that-you-didnt-like/787583.md?page=2)