The reformation of a hater

[klausien]

Well, I finally jumped on the bandwagon, and I must say that I am wholly satisfied.

I have never been a FPS kind of guy. The tunnel vision that I associate with the genre, as well as the difficult learning curve of dual stick control associated with the console iterations has kept me from truly enjoying any game since Quake. Basically, I was too lazy to put in the time necessary to learn how to aim my weapon. Today, this has changed.

I picked up Halo 2 on launch day since I was working the midnight opening. I regretted it. Sitting down to play it, I felt thrown to the lions. I couldn't do anything, handicapped by the frustrating control and unrelenting enemy hordes. I was ready to give up, but I decided that, since this seems to be the apex of the current generation of gaming (a time I have come to call the "age of superconsoles" due to all of the current machines' proficiency in all types of gameplay and graphics), I better pay my dues and step into the light. So I picked up the original Halo to work my way into it.

What a game. I was such a hater on Halo, due to the above, as well as the seemingly universal love and fanaticism for the game. Ever the activist am I. The current glut of FPS's is still a bane to gaming in my opinion due to the "me too" nature of seemingly every other title released, but there are always diamonds in the rough. I no longer regret getting Halo 2, as I am now working my way towards it. I now regret taking so long to join the crowd.

I guess what I am saying is that I have underestimated the current era of console gaming, clinging to the past in a way that is very regressive. I will never love sports games, especially those involving basketball, nor will I ever have the time and patience to againg devote my life to a dry, 60 hour quest through RPG monotony, but I will never judge a book by its cover again when it comes to gaming.

So, my parting question to all of you who have had the patience to read through my zealous musings is:

What game or games have shown you the light in a genre that you had previously looked upon with disdain?

This may have a bunch of threads already associated with this, but i wanted to share my recent awakening with everyone in a new topic. Thanks for listening!

[Avatard]

Sadly, when I first bought Mario RPG I was so pissed. It wasn't at all what I expected, I was thinking it was more action, like Zelda 2, and not turn based. I hated it for a while. But then I kept playing it and loved it. Now I still play it from time to time too this day. Now its a classic, I'm glad I gave it a chance when I did.

[slip81]

I'm not really against any type of game, nor do I hate a game before playing just based on it's genre. I'm not a big FPS fan, but there are some that I like, mainly I don't play them on consoles because of the control, but I realize that this is a problem with me and one that could be reversed with practice.

3D Platformers also tend to annoy me with bad cameras, but not all 3D games are like this, so I don't hate that genrea either. I think the only games I won't play without trying are Basketball and Hockey, only because the sports do not interest me at all.

I say don't hate a game untill you try it, and if the only thing that turns you off from a certain genre is the control scheme then at least give a game a fair chance and allow yourself to adapt to it instead of immediately dismissing it. And then if you still don't like it, that's fine, but at least you gave it a shot.

As for Halo 2, I like the game, but the content, options and story are nothing spectacular as far as FPS go IMO. I haven't played throught the whole game yet, but to me it doesn't really seem to add anything new to the genre.

[Ernster]

Id say the most recet turn aronds for me are:

Metroid (NES)
Kid Icarus (NES)

In the past, I never thought much about them as I couldnt pass the first levels, but once I finaly overcame that obstacles the games grew on me...Kid Icarus more so.

RPG's is one genre I am sure I will never like. Zelda is the closest I'll go near an RPG.

[Lady Jaye]

Well, I was a relative late-comer to the world of 3D gaming. I didn't think I could really adapt to the gameplay perspective. My first 3D gaming console was the PSOne, which I bought about 3 years ago, not long after the release of the PS2. Nowadays, I switch back and forth between 2D and 3D gaming (I now own a PS2 and a GameCube), but I almost skipped the 64-bit generation.

[Ed Oscuro]

If you have a PSOne and no N64 etc...then you still have skipped the 64-bit generation :P

Well, I've never really had bad feelings towards a whole genre that were turned around. I still think most Qix games are pretty bad, and I'm still not that big on racing or football games. Working on it though.

[bargora]

I will never aspire to like things that suck.

Like, for example... [/troll]

[jdc]

For me it's the 3 most recent Grand Theft Auto games.

I was so tired of people blathering on about how awesome the violence in the game was. Not my idea of a good time, so I vowed to ignore the crap.

Well.....there came a day when I was in the mood to buy something different. There on the wall was the Greatest Hits GTA3. It was cheap, so if I hated it then I wouldn't be out much. I took it home, began to play and soon realized that most of the people who professed to "play" the game DIDN'T. It's great fun and the game is only as violent as you choose it to be.

I wouldn't say that I'm a hardcore GTA fan....but I do like them. I'm very slow at them though. I'm still only on the second city in GTA3. I've put Vice City on my Christmas list......where as most GTA fans in the world are asking for San Andreas! LOL I'm a year behind.

[Habeeb Hamusta]

Well, I gave Halo a chance. I beat it and still didn't enjoy it. I haven't played a really great FPS since Goldeneye 64. Metroid Prime was ok but it did get quite redundant. I've heard mixed things about about Metroid Prime 2 but almost everyonse has said it is a great game, so I might pick that up and give it a chance too.

Anyways, I used to hate bust-a-move a few years back; but when a friend of mine asked me to try it out again, I got really into it. Now it's one of my favorites. Puzzles always seem pointless to me at first but when I play them for long enough I really start to enjoy them. Man do I love Magical Drop 2. :)

Right now I am working on that Gusson Oyoyo game or whatever it's called.( I can never remember how to spell it because it's all in Japanease :P ). Anyways it's fun but hard. Still trying to get use to it.

[demented-yoshi]

Jdc

If I were you I'd skip Gta vice city I got bored of that game quick Gta 3 I still consider a great game so don't say I hate the old. In San andreas theres just so much more to do all Vice city really does is throw a couple new features at you and a smaller city im sad to say.

I always hated Perfect dark but recently my friend wanted my to play it and I'm enjoying it.

[max 330 mega]

im pretty narrow minded with gaming, i can honestly say ive never changed my view on a game I initially hated. An immediate turn off in games for me is the game being incredibly popular and everyone loving it, that generally automatically makes me want to have nothing to do with it. I dont like castlevania, zelda, metroid, halo, final fantasy, GTA, and probably a few more super popular series that im forgetting to mention.

[motley6]

Please don't use the term "hater". You aren't in the part of the Wu Tang Clan.

[swlovinist]

I once hated Halo or should I say the fanboys that claimed it was "the best game ever". I sucked at it and all my friends would do was rub it in my face when I got beat down. Boy, that really makes me want to play more LOL

I gave Halo 2 a shot and signed up for Xbox Live, something else that I was resistant to.

While I am very far from saying Halo 2 is the best game ever, its a dam great game, and playing online is excellent.....even though I still suck at it.

I also warmed up to my Xbox this year, for I feel that it FINALLY recieved some niche titles it needed so badly.

[JesterDev]

For me it was Quake II. I never really liked the idea of a FPS in the first place but one day while out looking for some 'newer' games I came across Quake II for $10. I figured what the hell. I got it home and after what seemed like for ever installing it, I loaded it up and started playing. After a few hours I couldn't get enough. Although I was getting my guts splattered all over the walls (Multiplayer on Heat.. Man I miss Heat.. Still have my shirt!!).

So anyway, I actually tried several combonations of controls. Let's see there was..

Keyboard only
Mouse and gamepad (hard as hell)
Keyboard and gamepad (what was I thinking?)
Gamepad only..

I was just being stubbern about using e,s,d,f and the mouse. But man once I got the hang of it I was fragging like crazy!

Still not a big fan of console FPS games. It's just not the same I guess.

[Nature Boy]

I hate the haterz sometimes. Mostly because they'll have a big hate on for something like Madden, and vilify people for enjoying it, and then go on and on about something like Katamari Damacy, and vilify anybody who doesn't immediately love it and laud it as the best game ever.

I used to hate the C64, because we had an Atari. Or the PS1 because I had the N64. But not anymore. I still play my Atari more than my C64, but I also play my PS1 way more than my N64. With age came the realization that all that hating was stupid - they're just games on computers, and I can like and dislike whatever I want, but to dismiss something out of hand without really getting to know it (or without knowing what a fan is looking for in a title) was foolish.

[JesterDev]

I agree completly. I used to hate the NES because I had a SMS. Then I played Super Mario Bros. Then I hated the Genesis, because I had a SNES and I saw some Sega comercials making fun of the SNES. That continued on with PS1, and N64.. Still not a fan of any of the PS's but there are some really good games out there that have changed my mind. That sort of thing didn't bother me with the 2600 era..

It was all just rather childish now that I look back at. However those emotions that were so strong back then still linger so some systems get more love then others; but then again that will always be the case. I guess it just gives us a way to feel superior because we have a certain system and feel it's better then the other. When all along we are missing out on some great games.