Do You Have The Most Fun With The Highest-Rated Games?

"Best" and "favorite" are two very different terms for gamers (even if they don't all understand that).

Video games still have the distinction of seeing the best products - i.e., the ones with the highest critical praise - top sales charts on a frequent basis. For the most part, a game that scores 9+ is going to sell well; the same cannot be said of most any other entertainment genre. If inferior products weren't rewarded in other venues, "Hot Tub Time Machine" would've flopped and "50 Shades of Gray" would be gathering dust in a Barnes & Nobles warehouse.

But do you typically have the most fun playing the top-rated games? In other words, if you had to list your "funnest" experiences of the generation, would that list look like a typical "best" list from a critic or source? Would you say the Uncharteds, Assassin's Creeds, and Gears of Wars gave you the most fun-filled entertainment? Grand Theft Auto IV? Heavy Rain? Red Dead Redemption? Demon's Souls? There are plenty of fantastic games out there and in general, they really do offer us the most compelling experiences. But hey, we all define "fun" differently.

Maybe you're the type of gamer who really adores one or two particular genres and regardless of what critics give titles in those genres, you're still gonna play 'em. Or maybe you got hooked on a few less-than-impressive titles by reviewer standards, and you're constantly playing them in your free time. What are the games you find yourself playing when nothing new is out that you want? Do you return to the best of the best, or do you gravitate toward those guilty pleasures?

Tags: video games, best games, fun games, gaming industry, gamers

8/20/2012 8:51:32 PM Ben Dutka

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Comments (51 posts)

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Zemus101
Monday, August 20, 2012 @ 9:08:21 PM
Reply

I think most of the games I've played in the past few years have been highly rated.

Games like NHL12, Borderlands, Skyrim, and Battlefield3.

The only guilty pleasure I can think of, at least recently, is when I pull out the plastic guitar for some Guitar Hero.

Last edited by Zemus101 on 8/20/2012 9:09:01 PM

1 up, 0 down

maxpontiac
Monday, August 20, 2012 @ 9:22:53 PM
Reply

Absolutely not. While titles such as Uncharted bring a smile to my face, anything that receives around a 7.0 (or above) in a genre I love has a tendency to make me love it.

Plus, certain games have grabbed me when the review here at PSX tells me not to.

Alpha Protocol anyone?

7 up, 0 down

WorldEndsWithMe
Monday, August 20, 2012 @ 10:02:41 PM

I wanna get back to AP one of these days because it has a special something.

3 up, 0 down

xenris
Monday, August 20, 2012 @ 10:11:07 PM

I also loved Alpha Protocol. I don't know why, but I just enjoyed every second of it. Played through it twice lol. With the right stat building you could make it just like a 3rd person shooter :P

It definitely had a special something, maybe the fact that its the only Spy RPG ever made?

1 up, 0 down

maxpontiac
Monday, August 20, 2012 @ 11:28:48 PM

World - Really it did. I was addicted to the game.

xenris - Same here. I beat the game twice and enjoyed the second playthrough as much if not more than the first.

I wouldn't mind a sequel at all!

1 up, 0 down

Highlander
Monday, August 20, 2012 @ 9:36:39 PM
Reply

I think everyone here knows of my love for White Knight Chronicles, which got - aside from reputable sources like PSX - pretty nasty reviews. My friends and I that play the game love it.

11 up, 1 down

Temjin001
Monday, August 20, 2012 @ 9:55:20 PM

Did you ever think you'd be a online gamer, Highlander?

0 up, 0 down

WorldEndsWithMe
Monday, August 20, 2012 @ 10:03:42 PM

IGN said some things about the battle system of Ni No Kuni being worrisome because they may be too much like WKC, but that just tells me that I will really enjoy it :)

3 up, 1 down

Temjin001
Monday, August 20, 2012 @ 10:11:59 PM

Ni No Kuni will be awesome. I didn't realize it right off, but I do have Princess Mononoke and Spirited Away in my small DVD collection. Cool, eh? I remember Princess Monooke pretty well. It was cool and wasn't your typical anime.

2 up, 1 down

Highlander
Tuesday, August 21, 2012 @ 11:45:54 AM

Not really Temjin, I didn't think I would fall into the 'trap'. I guess the hundreds of hours I spent online with Burnout Paradise should have been my clue....

Sadly, Level 5's (Namco/D3 and Sony too) uncaring attitude towards WKC2 outside Japan leaves me completely ambivalent with regard to Ni No Kuni. It's sad because that was a day 1 purchase for me before.

1 up, 0 down

Temjin001
Monday, August 20, 2012 @ 9:52:35 PM
Reply

I most always go out of my way to try out, usually with anticipation, the highest rated games. But looking back, my playing habits usually are spent most with what I enjoy most, which has shown to be anything on a critics scale.

I pretty much think the difference between 8's and 9's anymore comes down to details and a players perception of quality. This is evident just looking at any Metacritic breakdown for basically any game.

Over the last 12 months, or so, I've far and away spent the most time with Ninja Gaiden 3 and Virtua Fighter 5 FS.
Whereas, games like Uncharted 3 were played for about 2 weeks before having moved on. And I still haven't finished Heavy Rain. I will say the story is uncomfortable for me so I don't necessarily look forward to playing it more. With the exception of ME3, I'd say Darksiders 2 and DOA5 (probably won't make even an 80 from metacritic, me thinks) are my most anticipated for the year, with hopefully the short little trek through Journey by the year's end.

Anyhow, I will say ME2 really left a very strong impression with me, probably making it the most valued critically acclaimed experience I've encountered this gen.

btw, IGN has a top 25 PS3 games feature going on. I'm pretty certain PSXe wouldn't have ME2 second only to the last two Uncharted games ;)
We gonna see a top 25 from PSXe anytime soon, Ben?

Last edited by Temjin001 on 8/20/2012 9:53:34 PM

1 up, 0 down

Temjin001
Monday, August 20, 2012 @ 10:04:04 PM

oh, I will say Batman Arkham City was easily my third most played game over the last 12 months.

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xenris
Monday, August 20, 2012 @ 10:15:05 PM

I read the top 25 ps3 games, it is astounding they left out MGS4 :
I actually think Darksiders 2 is gonna do fine on metacritic. Unless some jerk website like EDGE gives them a 4 to really pull it down they are sitting around mid 80s right now I think? Unless your just talking about DOA5 in which you might be correct :P Hurry up and get DS2 ...its really great :D

0 up, 0 down

Temjin001
Monday, August 20, 2012 @ 10:43:13 PM

yea, just DOA5, Xenris. Last I checked DSII gots a 85.

1 up, 0 down

Drake_RB3
Monday, August 20, 2012 @ 10:01:24 PM
Reply

I have a great time with current AAA games. But when I have nothing on the current radar, I fall back to PS1 games I have not sold, mostly RPGs.

I don't think I've replayed any new game that has come out since 2006. I do wanna go back and get trophies for MGS4, though

1 up, 0 down

WorldEndsWithMe
Monday, August 20, 2012 @ 10:13:16 PM
Reply

Moreover I enjoy titles that don't necessarily review very well. AAA games are usually very uniform and predictable and thus I have no reason to play it beyond the first campaign playthrough. I loved all the Uncharted games but the one time I tried to replay one of them I just lost interest. Tried to play GOWIII a second time and it just felt purposeless.

There's just usually more bold and ambitious ideas in the dark horse titles that, while not executed perfectly, are more fun for me.

Now and then though there are high scoring games that I could play a hundred times like Fallout 3 and Bioshock.

2 up, 0 down

xenris
Monday, August 20, 2012 @ 10:16:45 PM

Bioshock still remains one of the most interesting games I have played in terms of atmosphere, gameplay and story. I have been letting my friend play it on my steam account as he still hasn't played it, and he got two hours in and was like...why didn't you force me to play this sooner lol.

0 up, 0 down

Axe99
Monday, August 20, 2012 @ 10:13:53 PM
Reply

Now that games rated in the 7/8 range are so much better than they used to be, it's less and less the case that my favourite games are the highest rated. For example, BIRDS OF STEEL is my fave game this year, followed by Starhawk. Mass Effect 3 gets an honourable mention, and is all class. RUSE also got middling reviews, as did MAG and SOCOM:SF (and SOCOM Confrontation, although at launch it deserved those reviews!), and all are amongst my fave games this gen. I enjoy the highly-rated games as well, when I think of my fave games this gen, outside of the original Bioshock, Uncharted 2/3 and the Batmans, they tend to be in the second tier of review scores, rather than the first.

I reckon part of this is because very well-produced niche games often don't get reviewed well simply because most reviewers only play mainstream games, rather than because of the game itself (BIRDS OF STEEL and RUSE are great examples of this), and so many 6.5-8.5 rated games are actually excellent niche games.

Last edited by Axe99 on 8/20/2012 10:15:35 PM

1 up, 0 down

WorldEndsWithMe
Monday, August 20, 2012 @ 11:10:13 PM

It seems like some reviewers these days aren't even qualified to review niche games.

2 up, 0 down

maxpontiac
Monday, August 20, 2012 @ 11:30:26 PM

Axe99 -

You play Birds of Steel? Nice. It is a great game. I just can't get the hang of Simulation mode. LOL

1 up, 0 down

Axe99
Tuesday, August 21, 2012 @ 12:33:55 AM

Top stuff Max, glad to see another flyer :). I'm a sucker for a good WW2 flight game (I loved IL-2 back in the day, then IL-2:BoP on PS3), and think that BIRDS OF STEEL is very well put together. Plenty of options for online (while it's not being done much, the custom game options are very good), coop is exceptional (any mission you can design in the custom mission designer is playable in coop - plus many of the one-off and DLC missions), the flight model and AI generally excellent (with some exceptions when the AI goes all one-eyed for the human player), and the choice of planes and roles brilliant. I could go on, and on, and on....

That this game didn't review that well simply because many people don't appreciate the gameplay of a flight sim was just dumb. The quality of the core gameplay and the variety of options was outstanding, it just wasn't trendy enough to score well.

Good luck with sim as well - I play with a T-Flight Hotas X, and the fine throttle control you get with a flight helps a fair bit. If you're having trouble with the sensitivity with a controller, you can go into the control customisation options and tweak all sorts of things, from sensitivity to acceleration to deadzone and the like (BIRDS has the best controller customisation available on console, by some margin).

Best stop now, or I'll fill this comment thread - BIRDS FTW!

1 up, 0 down

xenris
Monday, August 20, 2012 @ 10:25:41 PM
Reply

Some of my favourite games of any Gen have been low rated games. Dragon Valor for the PSX got terrible reviews but I loved it, Ape escape was loved by some hated by others... I loved it hard.

As for this gen, Alpha protocol, Darksiders 1, Way of the Samurai 3, Tenchu Z, Alice, MAG, Army of Two, Alone in the Dark inferno, Binary domain(seriously so under rated) and probably more that I'm forgetting, come to mind for games that didn't score terribly high but that I enjoyed either a super duper lot, or was just pleasantly surprised by.

2 up, 0 down

WorldEndsWithMe
Monday, August 20, 2012 @ 11:10:53 PM

Alice 2 was creatively awesome.

5 up, 0 down

Beamboom
Tuesday, August 21, 2012 @ 3:36:30 AM

Alice was sweet, but it should never have been released as a full priced game. It was like a time travel back to how gaming used to be back in the days.

1 up, 0 down

Riku994
Monday, August 20, 2012 @ 10:47:15 PM
Reply

This year I've had the most fun with... Rainbow Moon... And Sonic 4 episode 2. I think those are the only PS3 games I bought this year so far :/

1 up, 0 down

DazeOfWar
Monday, August 20, 2012 @ 10:49:56 PM
Reply

I have fun with almost every game I play. That's what gaming is all about right?

I've had a lot of fun playing Start the Party and Eye Pet with my kids. Some of my other favorites have been Dead Space 1 & 2, Darksiders 1 & 2, BF3, and even COD.

4 up, 0 down

Jalex
Monday, August 20, 2012 @ 10:57:21 PM
Reply

Generally, the majority of games I play average an 8(0) or above, but some of my favorite games dip slightly below that ('Steambot Chronicles', 'The Godfather', 'Folklore'), and a few have some pretty poor reviews ('Rule of Rose', 'White Knight Chronicles', 'Lost: Via Domus'). Still love them. Nothing guilty about it.

2 up, 0 down

CanadianGuy420
Monday, August 20, 2012 @ 11:51:24 PM
Reply

one of my favorite games i've played recently was the cult classic 360 game called Deadly Premonition. it got horrible reviews rightfully so every technical aspect of the game was awful beyond belief.

but i kept hearing about this cult following it had and i'm always interested in games like that so i picked it up and at first i just couldn't believe how bad it was. but i kept playing and before i knew it i was hook. it has a real interesting "twin peaks" inspired story. and the lead character was just so funny.

its really one of those games thats so bad it actually becomes good in a weird sort'a way

Last edited by CanadianGuy420 on 8/20/2012 11:53:15 PM

2 up, 0 down

bigrailer19
Tuesday, August 21, 2012 @ 12:41:14 AM
Reply

Typically the games I have the most fun with are higher rated. But I also have had some fun with lower rated games. I actually really enjoyed LAIR and I didn't have a problem with the six-axis controls. I'm just very patient I guess. I also really enjoyed playing Darksector. The story as I remember was decent and the gameplay was actually very entertaining. Sacred 2 was also a blast with friends and alone, but it's a shame the online saving could only be done by the host.

I'm not sure what kind of scores Modnation racers got, but that game was such a blast for me. I actually played a lot of that game.

So that's a weird question to answer because it just depends.

2 up, 0 down

Kevin555
Tuesday, August 21, 2012 @ 12:51:48 AM
Reply

Certainly not, these are the PS2 games i own that were ranked below the 80 mark.

The Bouncer 66
Shadow of Memories (Shadow of Destiny) 78
Oni 69
Winback 66
Bloody Roar 4 59
Bloody Roar 3 71
SOS The Final Escape (Disaster Report) 66
Primal 73
Clock Tower 3 69
Chaos Legion 65
Ghosthunter 69
Forbidden Siren 72
Forbidden Siren 2 74
Resident Evil Outbreak 71
Resident Evil Outbreak File 2 58
Tenchu Wrath of Heaven 79
Tenchu Fatal Shadows 58
Shadow of Rome 75
Haunting Ground (Demento) 67
Kuon 57
Rule of Rose 59
Death By Degrees 51
The Getaway 72
Devil May Cry 2 68
Silent Hill 4 The Room 76

Sure, some of those may be good solid 7+ scores but overall that averages out to a pretty decent to average ratio. Regardless, i don't give a shite & love these games! :)

Speaking of which, i haven't touched some of these in bloody years.

Last edited by Kevin555 on 8/21/2012 12:57:10 AM

3 up, 0 down

Ultimadesires
Tuesday, August 21, 2012 @ 3:28:34 AM

The Bouncer is a fantastic little game, my only gripe is that it does not have co-op play, there are only one or two moments that require you to play a single character, so I really would have wanted this. But I love everything else about it. Shadow of Memories is easily in my top 10 favourite games.

2 up, 0 down

xenris
Tuesday, August 21, 2012 @ 8:46:19 AM

Thanks for reminding me of a bunch of PS2 games that I loved that were also low scored. I didn't realize that Tenchu wrath of heaven was just under 80. I really loved that game, as well as a good portion of your list there.

1 up, 0 down

Ben Dutka PSXE [Administrator]
Tuesday, August 21, 2012 @ 9:20:50 AM

The Bouncer, Clock Tower, Rule of Rose, Oni, and DMC2 really weren't bad games at all. I thought Rule of Rose really TRIED to be excellent and I LOVED The Bouncer. I will defend that to anyone dumb enough to attack it. ;)

2 up, 0 down

WorldEndsWithMe
Tuesday, August 21, 2012 @ 11:09:11 AM

The only thing that bummed me out about the Bouncer was that it felt short.

0 up, 0 down

Temjin001
Tuesday, August 21, 2012 @ 11:50:08 AM

felt. it was ;)
The cost of interactive movies, I suppose. $50 for some punches and kicks pasted into a cheap anime plot =p

0 up, 0 down

WorldEndsWithMe
Tuesday, August 21, 2012 @ 12:07:05 PM

I had to hedge my statement because my memory isn't what it used to be. By today's standards a 5 hour game is normal so if it was like 8 I'd feel retarded.

0 up, 0 down

Temjin001
Tuesday, August 21, 2012 @ 12:17:26 PM

it was a really good looking game, both CG and in-game.
I played it through several times, actually. I liked it. I had some good fun with it's competitive 1vs1 stuff with a friend. It shouldve got a sequel. High production brawlers just don't exist anymore.
The closest thing to The Bouncer on PS3 is Tekken 6's Story Mode. Same sort of ideas. Lots of repetitive brawling. Character building. Silly cutscenes. Heck, Alissa is sort of like the robot girl in The Bouncer.

0 up, 0 down

Kevin555
Wednesday, August 22, 2012 @ 1:40:59 AM

@Ben Dutka & Ultimadream,

Fully agree with you guys. The Bouncer was massively hard done by imo. No game in the PS2 first year blew me away like The Bouncer did & playing it with a multitap was an absolute blast, reminded me of the good ole Streets of Rage days.

@Xenris,

No worries man glad i could refresh some memories on some of the classics. Yeah Tenchu Wrath of Heaven was an 85 for me atleast.

The biggest travesty score of all them games is Primal for me. Primal was an incredible experience with quality voice acting, good story & some innovative ideas, the fact that this game failed to reach the 80+ mark is a tragedy that is beyond me.

Hunt some of these games down guys & buy them back. They're a blast.

0 up, 0 down

Fane1024
Wednesday, August 22, 2012 @ 11:23:37 PM

Primal was awesome.

0 up, 0 down

kraygen
Tuesday, August 21, 2012 @ 2:22:47 AM
Reply

A lot of my favorite games this gen have had mediocre ratings at best.

Majin and the Forsaken Kingdom
Just Cause 2
WKC

For example.

4 up, 0 down

Lawless SXE
Tuesday, August 21, 2012 @ 2:24:22 AM
Reply

Difference between best and favourite.
Also a difference between favourite and most fun, IMO.

I mean, I consider Valkyria Chronicles and Heavy Rain among my favourite games, but I wouldn't say that I strictly had fun with them. It was more the way that they were intelligent, with the former giving you something akin to a chess game while the latter gave you a really great story.

Putting that aside, I wouldn't say that I necessarily have the most fun with the highest rated games. I found the climbing segments of Catherine fun. I found inFamous fun. Ratchet and Clank, Sly and LBP were all fun. I suppose it's more just the type of game actually. In retrospect, I do seem to stick almost exclusively to 80+ games, even though there are plenty of lesser titles that I would absolutely love to try out.

0 up, 0 down

Beamboom
Tuesday, August 21, 2012 @ 3:30:32 AM
Reply

Even if a game is not a perfect match with my personal preferences there's just no denying the obvious qualities of a game with a meta of 90+. They should be experienced, every single one of them.

There have been a few mediocre games over the years that I've really enjoyed at first, but typically the reason for why they received mediocre ratings shines through once the initial joy wears off.

So the short answer is: Yes, I do have the most fun with the highest rated games.

Last edited by Beamboom on 8/21/2012 3:32:33 AM

1 up, 0 down

Ultimadesires
Tuesday, August 21, 2012 @ 3:35:05 AM
Reply

Not all the time, many games this game which have got praise - Borderlands, Resistance 3, Dark/Demon's Souls, Call of Duty etc. I just could never get into.

I admit the majority of my PS3 games are ranked over 7+/10 However I do have to say Catherine is a game which has been left out in the cold by the majority, I still class it as the best gaming experience this gen.

Another game which surprised me which I have mentioned a few times before is Siren: Blood Curse, it's a PSN game in the US but here in the UK you could get it on disc. The game takes a stealth approach to horror requiring you to hide and sneak past enemies. It's just refreshing from the over the top action gameplay most horror games take nowadays.

0 up, 0 down

___________
Tuesday, August 21, 2012 @ 3:40:52 AM
Reply

HEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEELLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL NO!
quite the opposite actually, simply because FUN is illegal in todays industry.
you have to be realistic, have NO sense of humor, be repetitive as hell, and be boring as hell to get good scores!
cough GTAIV...........
ill take the cheesy poorly made just cause 2 any day of the week thank you very much!

2 up, 0 down

Ludicrous_Liam
Tuesday, August 21, 2012 @ 5:52:27 AM
Reply

Well, my most enjoyable games this generation (and any other generation for that matter) would have to be: Uncharted, LittleBiGPlanet, MGS4, Killzone, and maybes a tie between FIFA10 & Skate 2. All of them so happen to be in the top 20 highest reviewed games of the generation.

But it's not that I buy games based on their reception - I'm just very diligent when it comes to buying games. It's almost as if I have a third eye for whether a game will be enjoyable to me or not :P

1 up, 1 down

BikerSaint
Tuesday, August 21, 2012 @ 10:50:10 AM
Reply

I'll play a game no matter how low the score, but just as long as it hold's my interest......Haze anyone?

Hell, as much as I hated the demo(& the graphics), I'll even take my copy of Quantum Theory down off the shelf to play....some day.

2 up, 0 down

xenris
Tuesday, August 21, 2012 @ 11:14:53 AM

I actually really liked Haze. It was fun to play split screen, and online was surprisingly fun. I only wish it had have been more polished and sold better.

2 up, 0 down

WorldEndsWithMe
Tuesday, August 21, 2012 @ 12:08:11 PM

Good luck with Quantum Theory, as far as I know I'm the only one in the world that beat it. I didn't keep playing because it held my interest but because it continually pissed me off and thus I had to show it who was boss.

2 up, 0 down

Fabi
Tuesday, August 21, 2012 @ 12:24:44 PM
Reply

As much as I love these highly rated games, I usually have the rawest fun with games that get decent review scores, but get knocked down for having tech issues or story issues.

I had a blast this generation with Bulletstorm, Binary Domain, Prototype 2, WWE All Stars & Vanquish.

I love me some Uncharted, God of War and Killzone. But once I finish those games, I almost never go back to them. Now with the other games, I find myself throwing them on for the sake of just fun.

1 up, 0 down

telly
Tuesday, August 21, 2012 @ 3:00:37 PM
Reply

I'm sure I could think of a few exceptions if I really sat down and considered the question, but honestly, there's a really strong correlation between a game's rating and my enjoyment of it almost all the time. I'm trying to think of the last highly rated game I didn't like and I'm drawing a blank. I'm trying to think of the last poorly-reviewed game I played and liked, and I can't think of one.

0 up, 0 down

Gordo
Wednesday, August 22, 2012 @ 4:42:34 AM
Reply

This generation Uncharted 2, Fallout 3, Killzone 2, MGS4, Heavy Rain and Mass Effect 2 have been my favourite games. So yes, good review marks have correlated with my fun levels.

Guilty pleasure? By a long stretch Nier. Fell in love with that game. Got some really dodgy review scores. A mad metaphysical masterpiece.

0 up, 0 down

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