Flawed games you absolutely love!

Here, think of a game that has a lot of flaws - be they bugs, bad production value, awkward design - yet you absolutely love.

My personal favourite is S.T.A.L.K.E.R., all 3 of them - though really they are all pieces of one big, still somewhat unfinished game - which is one of the primary flaws with the series. As unique and amazing as their design can be at times, there's no beating around the bush: GSC Gameworld was not a company talented enough to fully pull off such an ambitious and quixotic project. While the original, "Shadow of Chernobyl" is still my favourite for having the most memorable set pieces (X-18. 'nuff said.) I admit that Call of Pripyat is improved in many ways and is closest to the game GSC Gameworld wanted to create, it is also the least buggy. Clear Sky is a hideous frankenstein's monster of a game, they tried to cram in tons of features that were cut from SoC that they wanted to hang on to - but didn't have the talent to program right. The game is still good.... if you mod the hell out of it, which is sad really. But I love them because they are unique, genuinely scary, atmospheric, and they even have great combat outside of the mutant arena due to a deeper ballistics system and the fact that you have to take into account that even with some of the strongest armour - you are susceptible to wounds that bleed you out and the like.

One I could name would be the Turok-Reboot. Almost all reviews I saw of this were pretty bad with ratings like 52/100 etc. Two of the problems were the really bad controls (It was a console-port) and the repetitive Gameplay.
It took me awhile to get used to the controls, but then I had a really great blast throughout the whole game. The Dinosaur-Designs and the Animations are just awesome and fluid and I just couldn't get enough of killing raptors with nothing than a single knife or sniping soldiers with the composite bow. You also get to battle some Tyrannosaurs and the last boss is some kind of Cyborg T-Rex...can't ask for more.

theGerman wrote:

One I could name would be the Turok-Reboot. Almost all reviews I saw of this were pretty bad with ratings like 52/100 etc. Two of the problems were the really bad controls (It was a console-port) and the repetitive Gameplay.
It took me awhile to get used to the controls, but then I had a really great blast throughout the whole game. The Dinosaur-Designs and the Animations are just awesome and fluid and I just couldn't get enough of killing raptors with nothing than a single knife or sniping soldiers with the composite bow. You also get to battle some Tyrannosaurs and the last boss is some kind of Cyborg T-Rex...can't ask for more.

I actually skipped that one because the previews didn't appeal to me; guess I was looking more forward to something like the old games, but I might give it a try some time. Not sure if it's been released out here officially - but I can check the import shops. NTSC-J is a wonderful thing, makes it easy to play games from America.

UnknownKadath wrote:

I actually skipped that one because the previews didn't appeal to me; guess I was looking more forward to something like the old games, but I might give it a try some time. Not sure if it's been released out here officially - but I can check the import shops. NTSC-J is a wonderful thing, makes it easy to play games from America.

It really depends on what you are after. I played this game at a time when I also played a lot of RPGs or Turn Based Strategy etc. So after some time a just wanted to relax a little and play something that's not really deep or challenging. Turok was perfect for that.

Another deeply flawed game I love is a game called "Harvester." The game is stupid, confusing, weird, insane, inane, surreal, offensive, ugly, poorly programmed and I fucking love it. Maybe it is because I love trashy movies as much as I love genuinely great film, and "Harvester" is essentially a trashy, surreal cult film in video game form. The game is fucked up beyond belief - You see a baby's eyes pop out, and when the mother puts them back in the baby is all cross eyed. There's a general with no lower body who has a button on his underside that sets off the towns nukes (Yes, the town has nukes.) should he stop hand standing and have it hit the floor. There's a woman lives in a house turned beehive and gains sexual pleasure from the sting of the bees, and claims that bees themselves have an orgasm when the stinger is ripped from their body and die. There are gay firemen that have a pink dalmation and constantly paint figure art; and at night, they just put a tarp over the model who never moves though you can hear him snoring under the tarp. In one genuinely kinda scary scene, you discover a woman who is being eaten alive by her own children, and enjoying it as part of a cult "Mystery" - the joy of giving selflessly. It's the only adventure game that I know of where you can whip out a shovel and flat out murder someone; granted, you'll be fried on the electric chair if it wasn't part of the story - but it's still... different for a point and click. It is easily the most fucked up game I've played, but despite all the crashy bugs, the terrible graphics - even for the time - (Though they kind of add to the B-Movie charm.) and the stupidity of adding a fighting system to a point and click, I fucking love the game. The most normal thing in the game, btw, is a clown with a chainsaw.

theGerman wrote:

UnknownKadath wrote:

I actually skipped that one because the previews didn't appeal to me; guess I was looking more forward to something like the old games, but I might give it a try some time. Not sure if it's been released out here officially - but I can check the import shops. NTSC-J is a wonderful thing, makes it easy to play games from America.

It really depends on what you are after. I played this game at a time when I also played a lot of RPGs or Turn Based Strategy etc. So after some time a just wanted to relax a little and play something that's not really deep or challenging. Turok was perfect for that.

Well when it comes to the genre, I'm actually a huge FPS guy. "Doom" is probably my favourite game of all time, and I still play it a lot thanks to the community which is still thriving. I do think shooters are an oversatured market again like they were in 1997 (Come on VALVe, we don't just want another Half-Life... we NEED one to change the game again. You've done it twice, you can do it a third.) what with everyone feeling samey and essentially following either Halo or Call of Duty, but when a good FPS comes out I'll usually play it. I guess I just wasn't pleased that they decided Turok should be "Space marines!" cause I'm not into the whole Space marine thing that keeps showing up in the market right now. Like I stated, I wanted it to look more like the old games when it came to having the mind boggingly stupid - but somewhat cool - concept of a time traveling Native American. It could potentially feel fresh again since Space Marines are so bloody prevalent - them or regular old soldiers. Still, I might give the new one a try anyways - at least it still has Dinosaurs. Hunting Dinos is still an awesome concept.

UnknownKadath wrote:

Another deeply flawed game I love is a game called "Harvester."

The second I read the first line of this thread, 'Harvester' was the first game that came to my mind. I loved that game when I was a kid...I had a massive fixation with all forms of early/mid-1990s horror-themed PC games, which was strange since I was playing them in the early/mid-2000s.

It's useless trying to describe 'Harvester'. It speaks for itself:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2JIfxSaMmgI

I'll have to dig through my CD-ROMs to recall some other titles, but nothing was as immediately striking as that one.

Skibz wrote:

UnknownKadath wrote:

Another deeply flawed game I love is a game called "Harvester."

The second I read the first line of this thread, 'Harvester' was the first game that came to my mind. I loved that game when I was a kid...I had a massive fixation with all forms of early/mid-1990s horror-themed PC games, which was strange since I was playing them in the early/mid-2000s.

It's useless trying to describe 'Harvester'. It speaks for itself:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2JIfxSaMmgI

I'll have to dig through my CD-ROMs to recall some other titles, but nothing was as immediately striking as that one.

Haha, good to find another fan. I intend to do a "Let's Play" of it, since I found my old Harvester CD's when I visited my parents in the UK last month. All my old games were in their attic, and when I saw Harvester I was like "Fuck yes, I have to live it again!" and since I enjoy doing LP videos, I think I'll play it that way - even if DOsBox won't render some scenes without crashing; but the scenes that matter don't seem to crash.

Also, you have Nic Cage in your avatar. I approve.

Lands of Lore 3. Buggy as hell. Most people hate it, but i just love it for some reason.

Lester the Unlikely (SNES). The game really isn't that bad if you put effort into it, the issues early on actually do create a story ark for Lester as he grows some balls and becomes strong.

Final Fantasy Mystic Quest (SNES). An insultingly easy RPG for Americans, meant to help get more people into the genre...the effort failed and the RPG stayed niche till Final Fantasy VII on the PS1. A better beginners RPG is Super Mario RPG on the SNES.

Silent Hill Downpour (360/PS3). Its mediocre at best, but I like the atmosphere of the game, I genuinely felt unnerved while playing it.

Blue Stinger (Dreamcast). Its too silly to be taken seriously. You can kill dinosaurs with your bare hands.

Shenmue (Dreamcast). A great game, but the controls are clunky, the voice acting is bad, and the pacing is grueling in the first game.

The new Splatterhouse game that came out over a year ago. I loved it !

I liked Duke Nukem Forever. I make no apologies for liking Duke Nukem Forever. Angry Joe can take his One-trick-pony of a show and blow it out his ass.

I like all three Fable games, even if they can never make a game that will live up to the insane hype-machine that is Peter Molyneux.

I like Silver Surfer (NES), absurdly difficult though it may be.

There are probably more. I'll get to them as they come to me.

The Dude wrote:

I liked Duke Nukem Forever. I make no apologies for liking Duke Nukem Forever. Angry Joe can take his One-trick-pony of a show and blow it out his ass.

I like all three Fable games, even if they can never make a game that will live up to the insane hype-machine that is Peter Molyneux.

I like Silver Surfer (NES), absurdly difficult though it may be.

There are probably more. I'll get to them as they come to me.

Why should you apologize? DNF was fun if not over hyped. No, a game can not live up for 15+ years of hype...especially since what we got has been in development for only 2 years. His one liners are great as always...my sides were splitting when I shot down a flying octopus and Duke belted out "Go back to Japan you tentacled freak!"

thatguyontheright1 wrote:

The Dude wrote:

I liked Duke Nukem Forever. I make no apologies for liking Duke Nukem Forever. Angry Joe can take his One-trick-pony of a show and blow it out his ass.

I like all three Fable games, even if they can never make a game that will live up to the insane hype-machine that is Peter Molyneux.

I like Silver Surfer (NES), absurdly difficult though it may be.

There are probably more. I'll get to them as they come to me.

Why should you apologize? DNF was fun if not over hyped. No, a game can not live up for 15+ years of hype...especially since what we got has been in development for only 2 years. His one liners are great as always...my sides were splitting when I shot down a flying octopus and Duke belted out "Go back to Japan you tentacled freak!"

I know, it was a fun was to kill a few hours. Apparently though, you're not aloud to laugh at the sort of stuff Duke is known for anymore.

The Dude wrote:

thatguyontheright1 wrote:

The Dude wrote:

I liked Duke Nukem Forever. I make no apologies for liking Duke Nukem Forever. Angry Joe can take his One-trick-pony of a show and blow it out his ass.

I like all three Fable games, even if they can never make a game that will live up to the insane hype-machine that is Peter Molyneux.

I like Silver Surfer (NES), absurdly difficult though it may be.

There are probably more. I'll get to them as they come to me.

Why should you apologize? DNF was fun if not over hyped. No, a game can not live up for 15+ years of hype...especially since what we got has been in development for only 2 years. His one liners are great as always...my sides were splitting when I shot down a flying octopus and Duke belted out "Go back to Japan you tentacled freak!"

I know, it was a fun was to kill a few hours. Apparently though, you're not aloud to laugh at the sort of stuff Duke is known for anymore.

I will admit, I too was a little bugged by the "Looks like you are fucked" bit with the whole rape implications, but otherwise - I was glad to have Duke back. Yes, the game was "mediocre" but the same could be said for many shooters these days like Call of Duty, but at least Duke Nukem was trying to have some god damn fun. I miss shooters that were about shooting aliens, demons from hell, and other insane scenarios. I'm bored stiffless of FPSes like CoD that just wank the military might over other countries; and are increasingly depressing by showing torture and what not. Can I please go back to using a voodoo doll to slay my foes like in "Blood" or hearing the satisfying hum of a BFG being shot at the general of Lucifers army? Duke Nukem Forever was still a little disappointing, and I will admit that I want it to be a better game - but considering it was essentially a "Frankenstein" job - it was better then it had to be. Plus - I still believe in Duke. Gearbox is a talented developer, and I think they can continue Duke into the modern age with superior Duke games. Duke Nukem Forever was a disappointment, albeit fun while it lasted, but dammit - I still believe that Duke can do something awesome in the near future.

Also I loved your comment on Angry Joes show. I'm glad I'm not the only one that finds him somewhat annoying -_-

Supposedly, as soon as Gearbox (finally) gets Alines: Colonial Marines out the door, they're going to start work on Duke Begins, which is either a prequel or a reboot of the series, too early to say which. Who knows? Maybe a fresh start is what Duke needs to get back on his feet?

The Dude wrote:

Supposedly, as soon as Gearbox (finally) gets Alines: Colonial Marines out the door, they're going to start work on Duke Begins, which is either a prequel or a reboot of the series, too early to say which. Who knows? Maybe a fresh start is what Duke needs to get back on his feet?

Maybe. My main worry is taking things too seriously, but I think that worry is kind of mild since Gearbox have proven themselves to be very funny in the past and since the title is clearly a riff on "Batman Begins" there's probably still going to be a sort of Action spoof motif. Oh and mentioning the "Spoof" factor - that is one thing that a lot of rants regarding how awful DN:F was bugged me, they seemed to take the game so damn seriously and almost never brought up the fact it was meant to be a joke game. Sure, humour is subjective - but I read so many reviews that decided that it had to be more serious or some bullshit like that.


I imagine GearBox might try to update certain elements of Duke for a reboot, maybe to spoof more modern action heroes - since Duke was meant to spoof the action heroes of his time. I will be upset if they throw away some of his Duke-ness; mainly the voice of John St. Jon, his womanizing ways, and the way that he's sort of an egotistical jerk; a clever enough writer could keep those elements while managing to spoof more modern style action heroes - and maybe then I can stop hearing people whine about how "Irrelevant" Duke is now. I know that humour is subjective, and I can agree that Duke isn't exactly "high brow" humour - but I don't want it to be "high-brow." Duke Nukem: Forever was not a great game, but what made me enjoy it is the fact that it at least tried to have fun with itself, and wasn't so fucking serious.

*Rant incoming*

Shooters are depressing me these days, even though I enjoy the online element of Battlefield 3 I couldn't finish the single player campaign when it got to that bit after the tank section where you are forced into the perspective of a soldier in a terrorist execution video. I understand the game was using a modern, real world scenario based on modern conflict - but there are certain things you simply don't put into a video game. When I play a video game, even one based on real conflict, I don't want to be reminded of people like Nick Berg or the Zarqawi group and I certainly don't want the game to put me into the shoes of someone suffering like they did; and although I'm not easily offended, it made me a little sick. Speaking of Nick Berg or the Zarqawi group - how do you think their families, or the families of any other innocent men or women in such a scenario would feel that there's a game that forces you to be put into their situation? I know that modern military shooters can be fun and have a sense of humour... in fact speaking of Battlefield, look at fucking Battlefield Bad Company. That game was funny as hell! And while #2 was sadly not as funny, it still had some levity. This is why I could tolerate Duke Nukem: Forever despite its flaws, this is why I loved the hell out of Bulletstorm (And am sad they cancelled #2 because of poor sales.) - they may have been immature and stupid and over the top - but they were trying to have some motherfucking fun.

I think Bulletstorm is another game I can put on this list. I reviewed it on this forum so you can check that out, I've already typed enough in this message though I guess the short version is that it was too short (About 5 hours) and yeah, sometimes the cock jokes got old and General Sarrano drove me up a fucking wall on the Annoy-o-meter - but it was one of my favourite shooters of 2011.

Well, they say the premise of Duke Begins is telling the story of how Duke became the absurd, ego-driven pop-culture parody we know him as, so I don't think the intend to really rewrite the character in terms of personality. Based on the premise, he'll probably act more like an ordinary guy in the beginning, and then "mature" into his familair form.

I don't really play a whole lot of FPS's these days. In fact, I think DNF is probably the most recent on I've played. I kind of look down my nose at Call of Duty, since at this point it's basically become the Madden of the shooter market; they shove a new game out the door every year or two and I'll be damned if I can tell one from the other. Though, I am looking forward to new Rainbow Six. Of the Military simulator style games, those are easily my favorite.

The Dude wrote:

Well, they say the premise of Duke Begins is telling the story of how Duke became the absurd, ego-driven pop-culture parody we know him as, so I don't think the intend to really rewrite the character in terms of personality. Based on the premise, he'll probably act more like an ordinary guy in the beginning, and then "mature" into his familair form.

I don't really play a whole lot of FPS's these days. In fact, I think DNF is probably the most recent on I've played. I kind of look down my nose at Call of Duty, since at this point it's basically become the Madden of the shooter market; they shove a new game out the door every year or two and I'll be damned if I can tell one from the other. Though, I am looking forward to new Rainbow Six. Of the Military simulator style games, those are easily my favorite.

I don't really play Call of Duty much. The Battlefield 3 clan I'm in bought me a copy of Black Ops since they wanted me to be "full circle" in their games (They also play Diablo 2/3 and TF2 and now Counter Strike GO.) and I don't turn down free games and it is the only CoD I've really played since the first (Which just felt like a Medal of Honor: Allied Assault mod.), and just online. It's a pretty imbalanced and reckless game honestly, it's as shameless as a headless chicken can be - but it can be fun with friends in short bursts. I'm not going to go out of my way to buy CoD though since yeah, it all looks the damn same. I haven't really played many Rainbow Six games - but the two I did play, Vegas 1 & 2, I liked a lot. I co-oped them with my wife and we kind of got addicted to the point we sounded like complete tools using military Jargon.

UnknownKadath wrote:

The Dude wrote:

Well, they say the premise of Duke Begins is telling the story of how Duke became the absurd, ego-driven pop-culture parody we know him as, so I don't think the intend to really rewrite the character in terms of personality. Based on the premise, he'll probably act more like an ordinary guy in the beginning, and then "mature" into his familair form.

I don't really play a whole lot of FPS's these days. In fact, I think DNF is probably the most recent on I've played. I kind of look down my nose at Call of Duty, since at this point it's basically become the Madden of the shooter market; they shove a new game out the door every year or two and I'll be damned if I can tell one from the other. Though, I am looking forward to new Rainbow Six. Of the Military simulator style games, those are easily my favorite.

I don't really play Call of Duty much. The Battlefield 3 clan I'm in bought me a copy of Black Ops since they wanted me to be "full circle" in their games (They also play Diablo 2/3 and TF2 and now Counter Strike GO.) and I don't turn down free games and it is the only CoD I've really played since the first (Which just felt like a Medal of Honor: Allied Assault mod.), and just online. It's a pretty imbalanced and reckless game honestly, it's as shameless as a headless chicken can be - but it can be fun with friends in short bursts. I'm not going to go out of my way to buy CoD though since yeah, it all looks the damn same. I haven't really played many Rainbow Six games - but the two I did play, Vegas 1 & 2, I liked a lot. I co-oped them with my wife and we kind of got addicted to the point we sounded like complete tools using military Jargon.

Military-themed role play with the wife, you say? All the more proof that the Rainbow Six games are awesome.

I'm gonna ignore the words "totally love" a bit in the following text. Let's say: Even though the games are flawed/not loved in some way or other I enjoy(ed) them.

I can't think of many games that are heavily flawed or are flops that I enjoy. I guess it's just a coincidence

But I think of one game that sort of wasn't a big hit and treated as a bad game by many - and that I enjoy a lot. That is "Black & White" (PC).
It's the game where you are a god and controll an island of people who worship you. You can be a good or a bad god and there are other gods that either are your allies or enemies.
I don't know...sure it looks dated now and may not be perfect but I don't care. I like to play as I like to play the sequel.

Another game I can think of is the old "The Lion King" game (PC/SNES/Sega Genesis). In my case: PC version.
What is the flaw? The game is way too freaking hard in the last two or three levels. Especially the lava level with all the lepards, bats and lava drives me nuts. Dying is so easy here (remember: In those days saving options were rare). But to be fair, I managed to play this through as a kid and the game is still so good that there are enough things that draw me to it. It's a fun game but later on it can be very frustrating.

Oh, another one: Mario is missing (PC)
I'd like to stress out that I only know the PC version. It looks a bit different and when I'm correct it also sounds a bit different.
Do I love this game? Not exactly, but in my youth I still enjoyed it. It was nice collecting the items and passing city after city. But I always knew that the "good Mario games" were still unbeatable and way more fun.

When it comes to SYSTEMS I think of Tiger Electronic Games that I liked back then.
The point is that the Tiger Electronic Games consoles only had one particular game in them and not even real graphics: just a moving display and a few peeps as a "soundtracks".
I owned only one such console (with a disc shooting game) - and I freaking loved it. I even wanted to own more of those things, especially whenever I saw them in a toy story.
Before you think "Poor stupid kid, why not playing Gameboy?"...my parents never gave me one. Whenever I was at an uncle's or friend's house I might have had the lucky opportunity to play Gameboy games but at home I had only Tiger Electronic Games as a handheld. Yeah, not even a Sega Game Gear

Tabascofanatikerin wrote:

Another game I can think of is the old "The Lion King" game (PC/SNES/Sega Genesis). In my case: PC version.
What is the flaw? The game is way too freaking hard in the last two or three levels. Especially the lava level with all the lepards, bats and lava drives me nuts. Dying is so easy here (remember: In those days saving options were rare). But to be fair, I managed to play this through as a kid and the game is still so good that there are enough things that draw me to it. It's a fun game but later on it can be very frustrating.

Oh man...I had that game for the genesis. Great game, but it also had that really hard lava level. Another stage that wasn't peticularly hard, but annoyed the hell out of me was the Cave-labyrinth one where you had to find your way to the end by going into caves which would randomly lead you out of another cave.

theGerman wrote:

Tabascofanatikerin wrote:

Another game I can think of is the old "The Lion King" game (PC/SNES/Sega Genesis). In my case: PC version.
What is the flaw? The game is way too freaking hard in the last two or three levels. Especially the lava level with all the lepards, bats and lava drives me nuts. Dying is so easy here (remember: In those days saving options were rare). But to be fair, I managed to play this through as a kid and the game is still so good that there are enough things that draw me to it. It's a fun game but later on it can be very frustrating.

Oh man...I had that game for the genesis. Great game, but it also had that really hard lava level. Another stage that wasn't peticularly hard, but annoyed the hell out of me was the Cave-labyrinth one where you had to find your way to the end by going into caves which would randomly lead you out of another cave.

You know...like in the movie!
But I admit: When I got myself a Sega Genesis years later I bought "The Lion King" for it, too. Nostalgia and stuff

Having played it after seeing The Nerd's review, Big Rigs. There's just something incredibly entertaining about saying fuck you to the race and driving all over the place. That and going backwards at ridiculous god damn speeds.

thatguyontheright1 wrote:

Silent Hill Downpour (360/PS3). Its mediocre at best, but I like the atmosphere of the game, I genuinely felt unnerved while playing it.

Blue Stinger (Dreamcast). Its too silly to be taken seriously. You can kill dinosaurs with your bare hands.

Shenmue (Dreamcast). A great game, but the controls are clunky, the voice acting is bad, and the pacing is grueling in the first game.

I loved all 3 of these. I love all the Silent Hill games (People take themselves too seriously with this franchise to be honest) and Downpour was no exception. I remember when that one came out I took the day off work and my friend Lea and I spent the entire day playing it to completion in one sitting. Blue Stinger I’ve not played in forever but I remember it being a million times more fun that Resident Evil (Which I’ve never understood the hype for, I thought the games actually suck with the exception of 4 and Revelations). And finally I *LOVE* Shenmue. It seems kind of odd to me that there’s so much vitriolic hatred for that series online. All my personal friends that played Shenmue loved it. Granted the voice acting isn’t very good, but at least with my copy you can put the voices back into Japanese, which saves your ears.

Alyxx wrote:

Daikatana - Consider it very underrated actually. It did a lot of groundbreaking stuff for its time..

I liked JonTron's review of Daikatana, not actually played the game though. Never been an N64 fan. I remember I got mine at a Garage sale for $12, came with 2 controllers, and 4 games.

My personal picks for favorite flawed games?

Thief 3: Deadly Shadows (PC/Xbox) – The stealth gameplay was great and the AI buggy as shit. Allowed for some hilarious moments like hitting a torch carrying guard in the face with a water arrow to dowse his torch, him drawing his sword running around looking for you, only to eventually give up, sheath his sword saying ‘must have been my own echo’. Yes, your echo sprayed you in the face with water…

Spawn: In the Demon’s Hand (Arcade/Dreamcast) – This game is a fun as hell party game. The only snag is the directional controls are on the D-pad on the Dreamcast controller and not the analog stick. If that one thing were changed and Capcom marketed it outside of Image comics, it would be a classic among the Dreamcast’s legions of other games.