Games That Most People Love, But I Don’t



Going to start out with an old classic…

























































  • Shadow of the Colossus: Everything about this game is awful. I couldn’t even stomach the thought of finishing it.


  • Fatal Frame series: What a horrible mess these games are. They are definitely playable, but they are just too annoying to fully enjoy.








Solo Is Fantastic!!! (No Spoilers)

As the title says, it is amazing, though if you have not seen the Clone Wars and Rebels shows, there are going to be some very confusing moments and you’ll miss some cool shout outs and nods to the shows.

But the movie gives you almost everything one would want to see in a movie about Han Solo and it is an intense, wild ride. Probably my third favorite Star Wars movie.

What Do You Look For In a Gaming Review?

This is something I am rather curious about, for it is amazing how diverse and critical game reviews are…that is…game reviews written by the players, not the critics and what not.

I personally don’t care about others opinions on games, but I browse through reviews to get a general gist of what the game is like, and most importantly, in terms of PC games, if there are frequent crashes and other errors on certain OS’ and such.

The reviews vary from short and sweet to big drawn out, extremely detailed stories.

The short ones essentially say… “Fun game” or “Do not buy” where as the long ones just tell you everything you will experience from beginning to end with no spoilers.

I find it best not to take any review seriously, for they are that person’s opinion, and therefore one must be aware that yours will likely differ on more than a few matters. It is because of this that I quite often buy games with bad reviews, and I usually wind up enjoying them in the same way I sometimes hate highly praised games…it’s all up to what you think, so I never look at reviews for movies or pretty much anything in the entertainment biz.

But gamers are so critical on games. Many expect every game to be AAA masterpieces and if it isn’t then they tear it to shreds. This even goes for obvious, low budgeted games that couldn’t possibly stand a chance against Call of Duty, Mario or Halo and the likes.

The first thing most gamers mention is graphics. I stop reading a review at this point and try another one. To me, graphics should not even be mentioned. I get that it is the most obvious thing to start with because it is really what you see first, but a game is meant to be played, so shouldn’t the review focus on how the game plays? I want to know if it is fun, not how pretty it is. And I’ve seen plenty of great games get murdered online by gamers due to poor graphics. This makes no sense to me.

Length is another one people gripe about. I understand if you spend 50-60 bucks on a game, you want a good investment of time to justify the purchase, but again, these low budget developers who make games for under 10 bucks that give you 3-5 hours of gameplay are always ripped to shreds. Gamers need to understand that not everything is going to live up to your favorite, high budget AAA title, and given the huge diversity in development teams and funds, reviews should really only answer one thing…is the game fun?

That is all we need to know. Does it work, is it playable, is it fun. That’s that. It’s okay if they briefly mention some other things, but the meat should be all about how fun it is, and no, bad graphics, a poorly written story and bad voice acting don’t take away from the fun of a game, just the overall quality…though speaking of bad voice acting, I’m not sure what people consider good voice acting, because literally every game I have ever seen has been criticized for bad voice acting. There is just no pleasing people…

If gamers adjust their expectations, I feel they would enjoy games a lot more frequently and thus avoid steering other gamers away from potentially good games. After all, I am usually pleasantly surprised by games that have terrible reviews.

But anyway, this is all just my opinion, just like game reviews. Other people may want different things out of reviews, and if graphics are really what makes games fun for someone, than who am I to tell them differently?

The point of a review is to state your opinion and experience of the game, so naturally all of them should be taken with a grain of salt as they say.

Lastly, while we are on the subject of opinions, I must say how I am constantly under attack because my opinions differ from that which the majority of people feel. This goes for things outside of video games as well. I have been told many times that I am stupid or this or that because I wrote a review or voiced my opinion and then I’m told something along the lines of “The rest of the world likes this, so why would you even consider it being bad?”

This gets me every time. So because the rest of the world likes it, I have no choice but to fall in line? And the sad part is, there are countless people that do. It’s baffling how afraid people are of stepping outside of the “in” circle. It makes me wonder how many people actually like something or are just trying to fit in with everyone else.

But I think I’m getting a bit too deep into this. These are my thoughts, and I’m just curious what other people look for in reviews or what they put into their own.



Pixar Movies Ranked



#18- Monsters Inc. (2001)



#17- The Incredibles (2004)









#16- The Good Dinosaur (2015)


A nice, heart warming and at times weird tale. This is the classic personal growth adventure where enemies become friends. The only issue is the main character is a bit too whiny and annoying.


#15- Brave (2012)



#14- A Bug’s Life (1998)

bugs life

The entertaining tale of an outcasted oddball turned hero. Very good movie.


#13- Finding Dory (2016)

finding dory


#12- Finding Nemo (2003)

finding nemo


#11- Up (2009)



#10- WALL-E (2008)



#9- Inside Out (2015)

inside out


#8- Cars 2 (2011)

cars 2

They really changed the pace of this movie, making it a James Bond movie…but with motor vehicles. It’s still got some charm and a whole lot of action. Very different from the first one.

#7- Cars 3 (2017)


This one goes back to more the style of the first one, but easily makes it it’s own movie. It is really a great film and I love the direction they went with it.

#6- Cars (2006)



#5- Monsters University (2013)



#4- Ratatouille (2007)



#3- Toy Story 2 (1999)

toy story 2


#2- Toy Story (1995)

toy story


#1- Toy Story 3 (2010)

toy story 3




Here’s to more great films in the future!


My Top 10 Genesis Games

I absolutely love the Sega Genesis. But unfortunately I have not played nearly any of the games I have for it for some reason, and most of the ones I did play as a child, I no longer own. So this list will be comprised between a mixture of games I own and used to own. Not that that really matters.

So here we go, my favorite games for my favorite Sega console!


royal rumbleRoyal Rumble

Sculptured Software/ Flying Edge





I was a huge fan of wrestling as a kid, so the cover alone of this game got me pumped. As for the game, I hated it first because I couldn’t figure out the controls. After studying the manual and practicing, I finally got it down and the game turned out to be a lot of fun. My brothers and I would play this all the time.


Golden_AxeGolden Axe






I got this because I was a huge fan of King of Dragons for SNES and this looked to be about the same. It’s just as hard, and almost as fun. I was much older when I got this so I didn’t really put a lot of time into it, but I loved the time I did.


Sonic_Spinball_BoxSonic The Hedgehog Spinball

Sega Technical Institute/ Sega




This is a phenomenal and extremely challenging pinball game, one of the best ever made probably. For being completely out of Sonic’s element, it manages to feel like a Sonic game.



Sonic 3D Blast

Traveller’s Tales/ Sega





I remember being so excited for this when I first heard about Sonic being in 3D! It was like a dream come true. I remember also being immediately disappointed with it, but it was something new and risky, and I respect it for that. It’s quite fun anyway.


garfield-caught-in-the-act-usa-europeGarfield: Caught in the Act

Sega Interactive/Sega





I was never a big fan of the show, but I did really enjoy this game. You went through different movie sets trying to stop Ottie I think…it’s been like 2 decades since I’ve played it. But the level design was fantastic and there was some great platforming. It’s a very difficult game, but I managed to get further and further every time, though I never did beat it.


joeandmacJoe & Mac

Eden Entertainment Software/ Takara





This game is rather similar to Super Adventure Island, but on crack and I immediately fell in love with it. And it has co-op, so my brothers and I would play this all the time, just having a blast. I don’t think any of us ever beat it, but that didn’t matter, it was all about the journey man. Good stuff.


Sonic_the_Hedgehog_1_Genesis_box_artSonic The Hedgehog

Sonic Team/ Sega





At long last a game emerged that could rival Mario. This fast paced platformer was something new and done to perfection. You always wanted to run fast, but had to show restraint or else you would most likely wind up dying. But the game would give you plenty of all out running moments as well, and with multiple paths to take from beginning to end, it is just one of the greatest games out there.


Sonic2-coverSonic The Hedgehog 2

Sonic Team/ Sega





This game takes everything amazing about the first game and just builds upon it, making it far better.


Sonic3-box-us-225Sonic The Hedgehog 3

Sonic Team/ Sega





Again, this just improves upon the second game, even giving it a deeper story. I still remember how I felt playing this for the first time.

And my favorite Genesis game of all time is…I bet you know…


Sonic_&amp;_Knuckles_coverSonic & Knuckles

Sonic Team/ Sega




I remember being in awe just from the sight of the cover. But that was nothing to when I actually played it. Getting to play as a way cooler character than Sonic was just mind blowing, but to have them play through separate story lines that connected with Sonic 3 was even more mind blowing.

The greatest thing was the unusual cartridge that allowed you to plug Sonic 2 and 3 into the top of it to play the full games they were intended to be, and with Knuckles now playable. This game basically gave us everything we ever wanted and I still play this game as often as I can today.

And that’s it. My 10 favorite games on the amazing Genesis console. Of these 10, I unfortunately only have 7 still in my possession, and of the 43 Genesis games I currently own I’ve only played a small handful of them, and none of them very extensively. I fully plan to get around to it one day in my lifetime…and you can bet this list will most likely change.

Star Wars-Practical Effects Vs. CGI

I know I talked about Star Wars last week, but I’ve just got to say something about the war that seems to be going on with the effect preferences for the films. When the original trilogy came out, CGI didn’t really exist, so naturally, everything was made by the extremely talented crew, and it looked astonishing, every costume, creature, set piece, etc. This is one of the reasons the films became so popular. The special effects for the time were practically unheard of.


The prequels were made sometime later and used basically all CGI. This caused a great outcry by many people, no doubt because it insulted the awe the fans experienced the first time they saw the originals, thus irritating their nostalgia. Never mind the fact that 99% of the movie looked far better, it wasn’t the same as the beloved originals.


The difference in effects I happen to like very much however. Each trilogy has a unique feel to it, largely in part by their special effects. The original trilogy had a much darker feel, and all the man made things fit that theme perfectly. You got the vibe that the world was a lousy place to live in due to the emperor’s rule and the dark magic around Darth Vader, who himself was completely black. Everything meshed together and made the movies very enjoyable.

The prequels were the opposite. Here we had the Republic in control, everyone seemed happy and less danger was scattered throughout the worlds. The galaxy seemed to be thriving and all the beautiful CGI effects added to this just as the physical effects played to the originals. The colors are all so vibrant, the world’s gorgeous, the lightsabers looked a whole lot better. Again, the effects worked so well for the theme of the movie that it came as a shock to me that so many people were complaining. CGI made everything look so much more alive as well.


Look at Yoda in the original version of Episode 1. He was a horrendous looking puppet that had to go around in a flying chair. But when it was redone, he was CGI and looks amazing. Thanks to CGI, one can now believe Yoda to be a powerful Jedi warrior.

But not every can come to terms with change and technological advancements.. Though personally, I feel if you are going to judge a movie by it’s effects, then I feel you aren’t really enjoying the movies at all, good effects or bad, it means if so much of your attention is focused on such things, the story itself, the chunk of the movie to say, has failed to grip you.

But anyway. Disney buys Lucasfilm and the Star Wars franchise and then answers the cries of the fans and the solution we get is a horrible mish mash of CGI and practical effects. And it is just awful. The CGI looks great. I would say 90% of the movie is CGI, because sorry practical lovers, the world has moved beyond slow, costly practical effects and film makers are restricted badly due to the limits of human construction and all that. With CGI, literally anything is possible. So obviously, in the evermore competitive world we live in, movies have, particularly in the genre that is Star Wars, filled with intense battles, diverse worlds and creatures, and all sorts of flashy things going on, have advanced to a stage not possible with practical effects. It is not hard to see that CGI is a must to make these movies the most they can be. That is why George Lucas made 4-6 first afterall. The lack of CGI made his visions for 1-3 impossible.

So as I said, we have a mish mash in 7 and 8. For the most part, it is fine, but there are so many puppets I noticed when I just watched episode 8 for the second time that just look so terrible and out of place. You can’t place puppets in a CGI world with more than half the surrounding creatures CGI as well. They stand out like a very, very sore thumb. Plus, they don’t even look good. At least in the original trilogy, mostly everything looked believable and amazing. In the casino scene in episode 8, there’s just puppets sitting at tables that look like they were just pulled from a ventriloquist’s arm and plopped at a table. They look SO BAD and it pulls you out of the fantasy that is Star Wars.


Another horrid example that comes to the front of my mind is some stupid bird on Jakku in episode 7. It looks good when standing still but when it moves, dear God does it look bad.  It moves like a stupid puppet and not a bird, leaving you with a disgusted feeling because you are pulled out of the world thanks to such horrid “effects.” If you want to makes practical effects, great, but they have to act, move and feel real. They failed here and several other places.

This brings me to my next point. CGI really does make everything look more alive. Animators can make things move more realistically, this doesn’t go just for creatures but for the X-Wings and other ships. A model of a ship is limited vastly on how it can move, but with CGI you can do whatever you want, and the ships look better too.

Sure older CGI doesn’t age well usually, but it still looks better than the crap practical ones they are making now. And that’s not to say practical effects don’t age well either, because many don’t as well.

So I ask what is the point of holding on to nostalgic feelings and all that if it means hindering the potential that a film could truly be? These companies are going out of their way to please fans like this, but these fans are never going to be happy anyway because obviously they are so absorbed by the originals that nothing anyone can ever do will ever please them! This all wraps around back to my nostalgia prevents progression post.

But don’t get me wrong, some stuff still looks great, but it still for the most part seems so out of place in today’s world.