Fanboy Rehab 101: Overcoming the "little things" that tarnish great games.

When reading game reviews I often find myself thinking that some writers are hyper-critical of game flaws, and thus (what I feel to be) a great game, gets a mediocre review. That being said, there have been a few occasions where a small flaw in a "great game" has bothered me like an itch that you can't scratch, to the point that I just can't stand it anymore. And in a world where great games are everywhere, and time is the limiting factor... why should we waste our time with such games? I don't expect anyone to agree with me (this kind of thing is so individual), but here are some of my personal game "pet peeves" that have caused me to "shelf" a few games...

1. Alan Wake:

Ah yes, do we all remember early 2010 when everyone was hyping this game to the roof? 5 years in the making, would put the PS3 exclusives to shame... all that crap. I remember when IGN gave it a "9.0" and PS3 fanboys were having a field-day trolling 360 xBots. Admittedly, I was curious about Alan Wake, but was too busy playing Red Dead at the time to bother. That being said, I did pick Alan Wake up this winter for 20$ new. I popped it in my 360 to see what I thought, and my first impression was that this was a GREAT game. You see, I love games with atmosphere, and Alan Wake had tons of atmosphere. The thing was, I started to notice that the lip-syncing was off. The more I played, the more I focused on it, and the worse it bothered me. This game was in development for 5 or so years and they couldn't do proper lip-syncing??? In the end I played a few levels and moved on to other games. I am sure I will finish it someday, but the lip-syncing killed it for me. I know the DLC fixed the issue, but I also now what they say about first impressions...

2. GT5:

Yet another game that has been in development for years. As a huge GT3/4 fan, this was THE game I was waiting for in the next gen consoles. I held onto my PS2 for a long time waiting for this game. I am a big car guy (Porsche especially), and was heartbroken every time this game got delayed. When I heard that Porsche was to be excluded yet again, I took solace that Porsche after-market tuner Ruf would be present. When I found out that the Ruf cars in the game would be the same ones from GT3/4... in "standard" form with no dashboard, I was heartbroken. As great as this game is, it is missing something big for me. After driving the standard Rufs I just felt like I was back in GT4, and all of the other standard cars just began to annoy me. Why bother with the standard cars? Who would choose one over a premium car anyway? To me it was just marketing to get the car list over 1000. I think I would have preferred the game had they stuck with the 300 premium cars. The 13 Honda Civics and 41 Nissan Skylines were just mocking me.

Another petty beef? No breaks upgrades. For a racing sim that is so dependent on upgrades and tuning... why no breaks upgrades? In the real sim called life, break upgrades are some of the easiest you can do. Needless to say, this great game came up short of my expectations and I still find myself playing GT5's "evil nemesis" to get my Porsche and tuning fix.

3. Fallout New Vegas:

Fallout 3 was an amazing game, and it's DLC is some of the best for any game. As such, New Vegas was a high priority game for me in 2010, especially with it's "hardcore" mode. Sadly this was a broken game at release. My favorite bug was a merc who ducked behind a barrel to avoid my shots, and then began to levitate 40 feet in the air while crouching. Needless to say I shot him and he did not fall. In the end, numerous bugs made me shelf my copy of New Vegas until more patches came out. I understand many of the mission breaking bugs have been patched, but the first impression lasts, and I have far too many other great games left to finish first before I re-introduce myself to New-Vegas.

4: Gears of War:

The Gears series is impressive, and one of the flagship titles for the 360. I have Gears 1 and 2, and I completed them both... on a lower difficulty setting because at the end of the day, this was not really my kind of game. Story? Not so much. Characters? Pretty empty. Color? Hope you like grey and brown (a popular color palate from many games these days...). Speaking of characters, what really got to me was the fact that their necks were about as thick as their chests. Still I give the Gears series props for keeping a strong style and aesthetic, and for having top notch gameplay and presentation.

5. JRPG's:

I think I better stop while I am ahead... because I could easily start assaulting the aesthetics of just about every JRPG with their men who look like girls, and girls who look like idealized 12 year old hookers. And don't get me going with the over-sized swords...

FINAL THOUGHTS

Let me be blunt: My issues with these games are all very nit-picky. Yes these are all great games, and yes, me not playing some of them fully, due to my own personal holdups, is my loss. I know that. The thing is, there were a TON of great games that came out across all gaming systems last year. This year looks even better. I have not even finished Starcraft II, or Assassins Creed II!!! So when a something comes along in a game that bothers me, I have no issue putting it down... I have lots of top shelf games left to finish, and more new ones on the horizon. Time is my main limiting factor.

I guess the lesson here is that we all have pet-peeves, things in games that just rub us the wrong way. If we can overlook them, we will win by being able to enjoy a great (but not perfect) game. If I can overlook the poor lip-syncing in Alan Wake, it is a solid Game. GT5 may not have Porsche, but it has many other great cars that are a blast to drive. Fallout New Vagas is still a lot of fun to explore. Gears is a great game. JRPG's... well... um... some people like effeminate guys.

I take it back. I tried, and still can't overlook the terrible lip-syncing in Alan Wake. ;-) I guess my new lesson is... try and overcome your petty complaints, but if you repeatedly fail, let the game developer know in a polite fashion (official forums are a great place to do so). Then move on. No need to troll the gamers that can rise above your idiosyncratic issues, and actually enjoy themselves.

Feel free to share your overly-picky "little things" that tarnish a great game for you...