Shack Ten: Games That Got a Bad Rap

Welcome to another Shack Ten, our bi-weekly breakdown of the best, worst, weirdest, or other-est of video games. This week is all about the okay-est! As always, we shoved the Shacknews staff into a room with the Hamster Dance on loop, and wouldn't let them out until they made a list of ten games that may or may not be great, but at least aren't as bad as the community seems to think. This time, though, we enlisted the help of the Chatty, so check out their thoughts for these and many more Games That Got a Bad Rap.

10. Super Mario Sunshine

Super Mario Sunshine certainly isn't looked down upon critically. Like just about every Mario game, it was pretty praised as of the time of release. But in the intervening years the collective fan opinion on it has turned sour, and nowadays it's regarded as "lesser Mario." That may be because of its water accessory gimmick, FLUD, but Mario Sunshine had a lot to like. The acapela Shadow Mario stages were impeccably designed platforming challenges that led philosophically to Super Mario Galaxy. It lent some much-needed personality to Bowser Jr. The island was crackling with secret nooks and crannies. And even the widely derided FLUD itself was just a clever way to introduce some new mechanics to the tried and true wah!-whoohoo! Mario jumping action.

9. Alpha Protocol

Let's be clear: Alpha Protocol was a buggy mess of a game at launch, and as a result it passed by largely unnoticed into the dustbin of gaming history. Those who tolerated the bugs, or waited for its patches, were rewarded with a rich near-future spy setting, a dialogue system that emphasized different pop culture spy archtypes--nicknamed Bond, Bauer, and Borne--and snappy stealth combat mechanics. It was an RPG that eschewed the hard science-fiction or fantasy settings, and that alone made it unique in the space.

"Playing stealth and pistol made the game much more fun. When I played it, I didn't run into too many bugs, and it was such a great game that it was easy to overlook the flaws." - Matt Burris

8. Syndicate

The fact that it shares a name with a classic PC strategy game probably didn't do this plucky shooter any favors. Which is a shame, because it's a pretty solid game. Fun gunplay, bosses with varied abilities and attacks, a bizarre future world, and cool hacking mechanics used to take over a person's mind all made Syndicate a smash-and-grab shooter with some very undervalued features.

7. Binary Domain

Binary Domain is the best '80s action movie that was never made. A game about evil corporations and a robot takeover, it includes a great sequence where a man who doesn't realize he's a robot begins peels his own face off in a moment of horror, like something out of a bizarre Terminator sequel. From there, it's non-stop shooting with a great variety of level design and modes ranging from third-person cover action to on-rails sequences and awesome boss fights. It's silly, it's cheesy, and it's more fun than anyone truly gives it credit for. 

6. God Hand

It's easy to write off Shinji Mikami's PS2 beat-'em-up God Hand because of its lower production value and hilarious interludes, but it's actually quite entertaining and full of the silliness that pervades the genre. As a matter of fact, it released to pretty decent scores across the board from critics, whose main complaints were related to its production values. Grit, hilarity, and engaging gameplay are all you really need, however, especially when Clover Studio is involved. 

5. BioShock 2

BioShock was hailed as a masterpiece of interactive storytelling, setting nearly impossible expectations for its sequel. The word that original creative director Ken Levine wasn't involved made it seem like a B-team cash-grab. It was met with a ho-hum reception from the community, but removed from its predecessor's long shadow, it's a solid shooter in its own right. It expanded and refined on the combat mechanics, presented another thoughtful story, and gave us more of the creepy underwater dystopia of Rapture. Plus, it was the catalyst for the Minerva's Den DLC, which remains one of the best BioShock stories ever told.

"This game got Bioshock combat right for the first time. Yeah, the environment wasn't quite as fun to explore because you knew what to expect, but the visuals and environmental quality was still there. While collectivism did not make for as nearly an interesting philosophy antagonist as objectivisim did in the first game, the voice work, the father/daughter dynamic, and the importance of choices in the game were solid and deserve a lot more credit." - TraptNSuit

4. Mass Effect 3

The epic conclusion to a sci-fi drama three games in the making continually receives bad press for the narrative decisions made by BioWare and the lack of player choice or input to arrive there. Player outrage led to BioWare implementing brand new content to cater to those with complaints, but the game as a whole was an engaging, if not dreamlike romp that acted as a fitting end for the series. And saying goodbye to one of the game's fan favorite characters wasn't an easy task at all. 

3. The Order 1886

We may have been one of the few outlets to give The Order: 1886 a positive review, and that’s with good reason. The game featured a unique story with an equally interesting backstory and successfully blurred the line between in-game action and cut-scene footage. We were also very impressed with how it resembled an Uncharted game as its cover-based shooting mechanics were done very well. We appreciated the lack of unnecessary fluff, such as side missions and collectibles that don’t further the narrative, and encourage developers to offer more unique experiences like this.

2. No Man’s Sky

The controversy surrounding No Man’s Sky is bound to be one of the top news stories of 2016. On one hand, the developers can reasonably be accused of making certain implications about the game that didn't turn up in the final product. On the other hand, it is still an incredibly ambitious project, and impressive for such a small team. It was a victim of its own hype, partially brought on by the developers themselves, but the game as it actually exists is still a great science-fiction exploration game.

"People have a hard time accepting it for what it is (which is quite good) because they're so caught up in what they thought it would be (which is largely Hello Games' fault for miscommunicating). You have to separate the game from the drama, then you can enjoy it." - Rehevkor

1. Too Human 

Too Human’s spotty development history did it no favors, ambitious as it was, with its striking combination of Norse mythology and science-fiction. What made it shine in the eyes of the players who appreciated it was its use of cinematic theory to tell its story, making it one of the first games to take on game design with the seriousness that had been reserved for movies and television shows to that point. Unfortunately, after lackluster reviews and the closing of Silicon Knights in 2014, it’s unlikely the trilogy will ever continue. But it's still very much going back and revisiting, and doesn't deserve the negativity heaped upon it. 

"I think a big part of why it got dumped on was because of people expecting a conventional ARPG combat system or, at most, brawler combat like in God of War. In actuality, the combat system had a lot in common with tournament fighters, with extensive and complex move lists, combos, and super attacks. Once you wrapped your head around that, the game became vastly more interesting. Unfortunately, it takes a while for that to click, and the death sequences still sucked regardless." - Arcanum

Shack Staff

Shack Staff stories are a collective effort with multiple staff members contributing. Many of our lists often involve entires from several editors, and our weekly Shack Chat is something we all contribute to as a group.