It's happened to all of us: there's a hot-looking new game coming out, and we can't wait to play it! We've read the glowing reviews, our friends have told us how great the game is, and the guy at the store says we were lucky to even find a copy. But when we get it home, tear off the shiny wrapping, pop it in and start it up, something just doesn't "click" for us. What happened?

There are more games out there than ever before, and a lot of them are really good. But sometimes, no matter how good a game is, we just... don't like it. Something about the experience, mechanically or aesthetically, doesn't sit right with us. And the game is not at fault. It's us.

So have a look now, as seven of us here at Game Rant tell you about the good games that we just don't like. Be prepared, as some of our opinions may prove controversial. And please remember, each author's opinion is his own, and does not necessarily represent the views of Game Rant as a whole.

splinter-cell-conviction-bathroom

Splinter Cell: Conviction

Jeff Schille on the Splinter Cell series.

Way, way back, I was lucky enough to get a look at the first Splinter Cell before it was released. The Xbox was still fairly new, and had a lot of power that had yet to be shown off. When a Ubisoft rep demonstrated the game, suffice it to say, I was impressed. Even in its unfinished state, Splinter Cell looked "next-gen" to me in a way that nothing else had up to that point.

When the finished game came out about six months later, I snatched it right up. It fully delivered on all the pre-release promises, and then some. The graphics looked amazing. Sam's arsenal was varried and extensive. Even the voice acting was good! There was really only one problem: I hated it. No game had ever made me feel like I was "playing it wrong" as much as Splinter Cell (though a few JRPGs have come close). I hid when I should have fought. I fought when I should have run away. And I died, and died, and died some more.

Splinter Cell taught me that I don't like stealth in games. Waiting to do something is, for me, not as fun as actually doing something. It also made clear to me that I'm not so fond of realistic, military-themed games. (That's right - I'm no fan of Modern Warfare, either.) Give me a space marine or an anthropomorphic cartoon animal any day, and keep the covert military assasinations for yourself. Now, you should know that my friends loved the game, and thought I was nuts. Through the years, I've given the game a few more chances. (I still need to check out Conviction. I hear it's good.) I know it's a good series. But I don't like it, and I doubt I ever will.

Bayonetta

Bayonetta

James B. Eldred on Bayonetta.

When a game like Bayonetta is launched to near-universal acclaim and becomes a blockbuster best-seller, I have to wonder: am I just losing touch? Because nothing about that game appealed to me, and its runaway success near-offended me.

I couldn't understand it on the most rudimentary of levels. Why was I killing angels? Who was this Rodin guy? Why do I need halos, special ingredients for potions, and golden LPs? What the hell is going on? I beat the level with high health and without dieing once, so why did I get a C? What is with that music? And seriously, what the hell is going on?

Nothing in that game makes sense, from the wonky combo system (just pound n the buttons, it works just as well) to the bizarre series of barely connected events that that was supposed to be a story. Yes, it sure was beautiful, and Bayonetta herself sure is pretty, but I need a bit more than that. And the real annoying thing is that I'm sure there is more to this game than that, I just can't find it.

Click here to continue reading about the great games we just don't like.

Dead Space

Dead Space

Evan Jacobs on Dead Space.

Although Dead Space was highly regarded for its unique play style and similarities to the best aspects of the Resident Evil series, I found it repulsive and offensive. Now, you might find these reasons to be superficial, but they were enough to keep me from caring about the game enough to play past the first couple hours.

My biggest concern was the character design. Isaac, our hero, wears a suit that can only be described as ugly, with a matching face-mask that looks like it is concealing a monster with three rows of eyes. I mean, sure, Mario wears overalls, but it's hard to get drawn into something when you're busy thinking, "is there an Old Navy on this derelict space-craft?"

Also, the aliens/monsters were downright ugly. And not ugly in that good, alien/monster kind of way, like say your Predator or your Klingon, but ugly in the way watching bowel surgery is ugly. I didn't like looking at them. And, beyond just being ugly, the character design didn't make any sense from a biological point of view. It would seem that whoever designed these creatures equated long, fleshy limbs with skin blades as the ultimate in terror, but it just ended up looking fake.

My second issue was the fighting mechanics. Shooting off limbs, while a refreshing departure from headshots, was tedious and hard to perform. Why should I be frustrated at what is supposedly the most fun part of any game? What's so bad about headshots anyway? Trying to find joints and limbs while surrounded by several of these creatures wasn't a breathtaking adventure, it was a repetitive, boring mess. And don't get me started on the weak melee or the slow-paced upgrade system. Perhaps I will give Dead Space another shot in the future, but right now, there are too many other, better games out there that I want to play, rather than one that everyone else wants me to play.

Metroid Prime

Metroid PrimeDonald McDowell on the Metroid Prime series.

The Metroid Prime series maybe be highly rated by the mass majority of gamers, but I cannot tolerate it for one reason alone, and that is....... BACKTRACKING. It puzzles me why game developers find it attractive to force players to go back through levels they have already experienced. I'm well aware that backtracking is a commonly used game mechanic, but that doesn't make it right.

The only game I can think of where backtracking was semi-enjoyable is Super Mario 64, and that's only because the levels only lasted for short bursts in the first place (which left you with unfulfilled curiosity). The problem for Metroid is that backtracking seems to be its "meat and potatoes" gameplay. Backtracking also gives one huge "middle finger" to innovation, and yells "laziness" on the part of the developers.

The backtracking method of game design may have been needed in the 8- bit days of gaming in order to conserve cartridge memory, but with this current generation of consoles, that is no longer needed. Being forced to backtrack is not only tedious, but it also kills any replay value the game may have had. I acknowledge the abundant amount of the Metroid Prime series' other good qualities, but the backtracking is too huge of a hurdle, and one that I can not see myself overcoming to enjoy the games.

Dead Rising

Dead Rising

Steven Pendlebury on Dead Rising.

You'd think a game about escaping a zombie-infested shopping mall would be close to gaming perfection. For a lot of people this is the case, but not me.

I love the idea: Spend a couple of days trapped in a mall teeming with zombies. Rescue people trapped within their own barricades at various locations within the mall. Use almost every game object as a weapon. These game loops, with a little refinement and expansion, are gaming gold. Unfortunately, I find the other mechanics within the game completely out of place, unnecessary, and a total game-breaker.

In a game about surviving a zombie apocalypse, surely there are better ways to evoke tension and pressure on the player other than via an old man barking objectives at you on a walkie-talkie every five minutes - objectives that usually require you to be elsewhere in the mall within an unreasonable time-limit. The drink-mixing looked to have depth, and yet I was never encouraged to take time to explore this loop, because all the places drinks can be found are always covered in zombies.

Providing only 2 save locations in the entire game stifled my desire to experiment and explore. Weapons degraded all too quickly, again stifling my desire to experiment by going off on a killing spree with an unproven new find. I could take or leave the photography system. I didn't like it, but I respect its inclusion.

Overall, for every good idea in the game I feel there are five bad ones. Where's my ability to construct barricades in certain places, so I can create choke points and reroute zombies in any way I see fit? Here's hoping to Dead Rising 2 goes some way to normalizing the gameplay and opening it up so that I can do more of what I want.

Click here to continue reading about the great games we just don't like.

BioShock

Bioshock

Rory Young on Bioshock.

If there is one 'good' game that I absolutely did not enjoy, it is Bioshock. Touted for its writing and art direction, I found BioShock to be dismally contradictory. It's own purported strengths did more to show the divide between story-telling and gameplay than improve the game. Ultimately, that separation and the lackluster gameplay at BioShock's heart create a very poor experience.

The biggest example of contradiction is at the game's penultimate moment. You encounter a man with a golf club who lectures you on choice and control, and the entire sequence is a cut-scene. A cut scene! For a game built on choice and the idea of control, its most engaging portions don't require you to be involved. You listen to every important development in the story through tapes or radio communication. Your interaction with Rapture is minimal beyond your run-and-gun FPS mechanics.

And there's my main gripe with BioShock: it's just another FPS. Feeling a disconnect with the story and immersion of BioShock, I looked to the gameplay, but was disappointed that it felt flat and repetitive. Fight some Splicers; fight a Big Daddy; fight some Splicers; fight two Big Daddies. A plethora of creative weapons is great, but even those eventually become boring.

Oh yeah, I have similar feelings about Fallout 3.

Halo 3

Halo 3

Sid Williams on Halo, Gears of War, and Modern Warfare.

All of these games have been so highly rated, so highly anticipated, and so well received that it seems EVERYONE and their dog loves them. In fact, people can't get enough of them. I, however, could not give a flying… well, you know.

It's not the game's fault. Not really, anyway. I mean, there are some simple things, like I find it difficult to play FPSs on a console, that prevent me from enjoying Halo or Modern Warfare. But my gripe with these games is not the mechanics, not the story, and not the gameplay. It's the fans. It may seem a little petty, but in all honestly, I feel like playing these games would reflect badly on who I am, because of the kind of person these games sometimes attract.

Ok, I know I may offend a few people, but seriously, the way people get worked up for these games is sickening to me. It's like all these guys care about is the violence. I'm not saying I don't like a bit of violence (I do love the God of War series), but the people who play these games seem to have no concept of great story, or character development, or innovative design, or art direction. To me, these are hugely important things in a video game.

Online, the people playing these games are often rude, mindless idiots who only care about "p0wning n00bs." Unless they get shot up by that n00b, in which case all they want to do is call the offending player the most bigoted, ignorant, immature names imaginable. I know, I know, not everyone who plays these games is like that, but I honestly believe they're the vast majority.

Conclusion

And there you have it. From setting to mechanics, from art direction to theme, almost anything -- even the crowd that is playing -- can keep us from enjoying a game, no matter how good that game may be. Here at Game Rant, this topic stirred up a lot of debate. No doubt there are many more games we haven't begun to touch on. That's where you come in! Take a minute now and tell us: what great games do you just not like?