One of the questions I feel I can always ask just about any gamer out there is "Remember that game that everyone liked that you absolutely hated?" Whether you hated every part of it or saw the merit in it but still didn't want to play it, it seems we all have those few games that boggle our minds with their popularity. The two that came to mind for me when I started thinking about this post are Warhammer 40K: Dawn of War II and Red Dead Redemption. Both had gameplay systems in place that really turned me off: Warhammer's RTS-ness (not my favorite genre) and the very archaic mission structure of Red Dead.
I have always been really bummed out by my dislike of these two games in particular because so many people are so positive about the experiences they had with them. As an aspiring game journalist, I feel the need to play everything that I feel has merit, needing to know where newer games are coming from. Because of this, I actually have finished Red Dead and am in the process of finishing Warhammer. In the case of Warhammer, I am really struggling to get through it. Even with the interesting universe and the neat concept of loot in an RTS, it's still an RTS. The prospect of finishing it and getting it off my "games to beat" list is all that is sustaining me at this point.
On the other hand, I truly enjoyed the narrative and character development in Red Dead Redemption. Rockstar's stories always shine through the somewhat shoddy gameplay and make me truly enjoy the experience. Of course, to reach the finale of this story, I had to play repetitive mission after repetitive mission in order to achieve my goal, something that nearly drove me mad. I had this same experience with Grand Theft Auto IV, taking about five restarts until I set my chin and charged straight through. Rockstar's brand of open-world irritates me but I can do it for the story.
Old games are another tricky beast; if you haven't played older PC games (in particular), it can be really hard to go back to that. They are much more brutal in difficulty, don't explain much, and can look really ugly (not the biggest issue, by far). However, some of these experiences are defining in video game history and need to be known about. Deus Ex constantly tops best game lists and can be extremely challenging for a new player to hop in to today, expecting a long tutorial and waypoint objectives. It is really a sign of just how much games have changed.
My advice to you is if you don't like a game, just don't play it. Most of the time the experience you MAY get out of it, if the game doesn't just piss you off to no end, is not worth the hassle. Weigh the value of what you want from the game (gameplay, story, etc.) and determine if it is something you might want to to do. As I said in my last post, games are meant to be fun, and just because a game is highly praised it doesn't mean you will necessarily like it (or vice-versa).
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