Games you don't know why you like

[Tupin]

I have a few games that I play that I enjoy for some reason even unknown to me. They're games that aren't spectacularly good, but for some reason they've got a sort of charm that makes me not want to put the game down.

One game comes to mind on the Wii specifically. EA Playground.



A very early (2007) Wii release that is a minigame collection? One that was done by EA and occasionally has stiff controls? Sure, but that doesn't mean I can't stop playing it. I have no clue why. It's just plain fun.

Another more obvious choice is Deadly Premonition. God, I love this game so much. It's hilarious, but in a MST3K way. If only the PC version weren't a terrible port. Anyone else have games like these?

[8-Bit Archeology]

For the longest time mine was Viva Pinata. Now its Animal Crossing New Leaf. I know these are well known and popular, but in no way where either of these my style. For some reason i got heavily addicted to both. I think its all about collecting and upgrading. I spent hours digging out a map on VP just to get the hippo. After i did I said how could i have done something so monotonous* for a hippo. That is when I stopped playing. For ACNL I cant stop. I need the store upstairs with the designer furniture. Dont ask me why. I just do.


*possible spelling destruction.

[Daria]

After reading 8-bit's post I immediately related with Harvest Moon (although honestly I've cracked out on both Viva Pinata and Animal Crossing). Sure it's fun but try explaining a tedious farming game with dating sim elements to anyone normal. The closest I ever came was when everyone was absorbed in the farm-ville craze. At least Harvest Moon only forces the player to wait 24 minutes or so to harvest crops, instead of 24 hours.

[Robocop2]

Sneak King comes to mind. Stupid premise, stupid marketing tie in but, playing a game as one of the creepier mascots in recent history where you sneak up and give people Burger King is just hilarious.

[Lictalon]

After reading 8-bit's post I immediately related with Harvest Moon (although honestly I've cracked out on both Viva Pinata and Animal Crossing). Sure it's fun but try explaining a tedious farming game with dating sim elements to anyone normal. The closest I ever came was when everyone was absorbed in the farm-ville craze. At least Harvest Moon only forces the player to wait 24 minutes or so to harvest crops, instead of 24 hours.

Ditto. I'll admit games from the Harvest Moon series have got to be the most repetitive I ever played (sample algorithm: wake up, water crops, talk to all townfolks to up their friend levels, give gift to your bf, etc.).

I still like it, although if it were on a PC, you could practically write a macro to play the thing.

[SpaceHarrier]

Metroid: Other M

This game gets a lot of hate. I'll admit that objectively, it's largely warranted. The plot is nonsense, Samus is a wuss, talky talky talky, the control is a little wonky, pixel hunts are ridiculous, bosses are derivative.

It's also the first Metroid game I actually felt compelled to play all the way through. No idea why. I even recorded to DVD the movie mode you unlock after you beat it. I just like it. Maybe it's simply because I'd been wanting a 3rd person 3D Metroid adventure for some time. Or I have the bar set really low for what I consider entertaining.

Who knows.

[Nebagram]

Banjo Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts immediately springs to mind. I love the original two games on the N64, and like others, I was wary when the third game was announced as being vehicle-based, but I gave it a chance and thought it was really, really fun.

[Gregger]

Mine's a bit weird, but I love the Madden games. I know a lot of people buy these games, but the reason it's weird for me is because I don't watch football and am generally disinterested in it for the most part. The game is fun to me though for some reason, even though I'm not usually sure who the players are.

[Daria]

Going to add Civilization to my list. Now I know it's a great series but truthfully I don't even play them correctly. I've sunk thousands of hours into the series since Civ II and I still can't win a domination campaign to save my life. I don't even care about winning. I just like to sequester my civilization to a single continent and grow a peaceful, utopian nation. EVERY game.

I also enjoy the Sims solely for building houses and generating families. Actually playing the game gets dull... Fast.

[Tanooki]

You know I have to agree with that. I hate tactical rpg/simulation games which is what Civilization is, yet I really love to death the first two and I had some time on the 5th and it was nice enough as well.

I can never ever win it unless I play it on the two easiest difficulties and I can only win by pounding people to death, sometimes rushing the space race, or just wearing out the clock to 2100. Peace I've never nailed down or anything else. I think it's my high interest and love of history as I'll usually enjoy using the Babylonians and having the oldest civ paste all the others, or I'll use the Americans and often I stick with a despotism government so I can smash people without nagging or begged permission.

Sickens me stupid win7 64bit won't let me install Civ for Windows and I know Civ2 is also too old as well so I just use the speedy 'Revolution' on PS3 at this rate. I know there's freeciv but for some reason I can't explain it doesn't do it for me and I can't figure it other than I don't like hacks and knockoffs.

[kupomogli]

Earth Defense Force 2017. Graphics suck and you're repeatedly shooting ants or robots every stage with mostly the same but more powerful weapons. It's the kind of game that I don't ever want to play unless a friend asks, but when I do play it I have a lot of fun with it.

[Rickstilwell1]

For me every game I like has a reason, just there are a few that I like for only stupid reasons.

I like The Great Waldo Search for Super Nintendo just because it was one of the first games I got for the system. It's too easy and simplistic for an adult who didn't play it as a child to appreciate it but someone like me who grew up with it realizes it is a solid game for a young kid to play. Much better than those educational Mario games.

I like Bible Adventures and Exodus for NES only because they were the first time my grandpa actually wanted to buy a video game for me, which later led to him getting me more. I was lucky he got the action based games and not that board game or I would have been bored. He found them at a Catholic bookstore of all places. I'm surprised they didn't consider these games a mockery of the religion and choose not to carry them. As slippery and redundant the action is in these games, they're by no means unplayable. I beat Bible Adventures and Exodus has some pretty challenging puzzles.

[GaucheXI]

Iruna online the mmorpg phone game :/
It's very tedious tbh and recently the newest players are all leachers. When I started playing I figured everything out with very little help. I explored everywhere and died constantly x_c nowadays I see a disturbing population of newbs in kleya and around megaroches begging to leach exp :/ wtf It annoys me to death. When I get on I have 0 motivation to lvl, I tried crafting and gave up, I tried grinding for money and exp and gave up. Now I just get on and walk around trolling people of all genders ._.

[Tanooki]

I figure I'll throw another one down, console based this time. Ogre Battle (SNES.) I have no idea at all why I like it, maybe it's the story or aesthetics of it, but the genre I hate to death because you have no control over combat and you're at the mercy of stupid AI at every turn. Something about it compels me to own it and dabble with it so I keep the game around. Recently I rebought it because I found the big guy Atlus stepped up to have done for it both for SNES and PSX and figured maybe it would help me get farther too. I had OB64 but I just sold the guide and the game I'm working on selling now because I can't get into that one at all so it's some mystery one off I can't even understand.

[PizzaKat]

huge fan of Deadly Premonition as well. I honestly couldn't put it down in the summer of 2010. I also like the Dance games like Just Dance and Dance Dance Revolution. Back when there were arcades in my area I always use to play DDR while I was waiting for my turn in Marvel vs Capcom 2 or Capcom vs SNK. I was also in that whole Electronica rave scene in the late 90s. the Kinect games like Kinect adventure are fun too.

[Gamevet]

World Series of Poker on the Xbox 360. I'm not really into the gambling scene, yet I feel compelled to win the Player of the Year by playing through many different tournaments. It's not really a fun game to play, but there is some sort of addiction about trying to best the competition.

[Atarileaf]

I also enjoy the Sims solely for building houses and generating families. Actually playing the game gets dull... Fast.

I go through bouts where I play the hell outta the Sims games for a couple of months then completely ignore it for a few months. Don't know if I'll get the 4th one. I know I'll need a more powerful PC and Sims isn't worth it.

[Satoshi_Matrix]

Well, I don't know if this really counts, as I do know why I like it, but my answer to this is Action 52 for NES.

I like it because everything about it is absurd. From how bad the games are to the fact that it cost $199 in 1991, making it $304.24 in today's money.I also love the fact that Active Enterprises thought that they were going to turn it into a tv show and toy line!

I also like it because I found it for a decent price.

[crazygamie1]

payday and viva pinata

[FlyingSpacePenguin]

Even Animal Crossing's biggest fans are unable to explain why the hell it's even slightly entertaining. Recommending a game in which your main goal is to pay of your mortgage to a raccoon, almost all the NPC interactions come down to fetch quests, and you often have to wait multiple real-life days for something interesting to happen is a hard sell. And yet, I was utterly addicted the first time I played Wild World on the DS.