DrBloodmoney's Super Scientific Ranking of Games!

[Slava]

That Jak II opinion scientific analysis is not even that controversial. A lot of people dislike this game (especially on Vita). Even most people who liked it still think it's the worst game from Naughty Dog. I think, the real unpopular opinion incorrectly calculated result would be if you put Jak II in your TOP-5 ?.

 

I kinda expected original Pac-Man games to end up higher, but that gap in ranks between Championship Edition DX and them only makes me more interested in the former.

[DrBloodmoney]

14 minutes ago, Alderriz said:

 

I kinda expected original Pac-Man games to end up higher, but that gap in ranks between Championship Edition DX and them only makes me more interested in the former.

You know, I’m definitely finding the older arcade games to be some of the hardest ones to rank appropriately.

 

One the one hand, the reason they are even available and being rereleased so many years later is precisely because they are the cream of the crop of their era, but on the other hand, games were very different then, and what makes a great game on a quarter-per-play arcade machine is not always suited to a home console, where you can restart over and over for free, and where other games they are competing with enjoy the fruits of 40 years of progress in the industry.

 

It would be easy to simply say “well, these games are too simple comparatively” and have them all end up at the bottom of the list, since on any kind of 1-to-1 comparison of graphical/ technical/ writing etc., they pale in comparison to even poor quality modern games...

 

 ...but equally easy to say “well, these are the classics” and have them all end up on the top of the list, since they have endured for 40-odd years, and no modern game can say that!

 

I’m forced to have a kind of ‘adjusted scale’ for those games - I treat the games not just as ‘pure’ games, but in terms of how well they are presented comparative to other releases, what their place is in a modern context and how well they work on home console, and offset that little against how great the actual base game was, and was perceived as at the time...

 

...but yeah, it makes for a much more difficult time that just comparing the more modern fare!

[YaManSmevz]

I hesitate to bring this game up as I feel I'll get numerous eye rolls, but I'm curious about your thoughts on Cities. I got it while drunk on Sim City nostalgia (right before its infamous inclusion on ps plus, naturally) and it's been in the backlog ever since. Is it worth tackling, Doctor Bojack?

[DrBloodmoney]

1 minute ago, YaManSmevz said:

I hesitate to bring this game up as I feel I'll get numerous eye rolls, but I'm curious about your thoughts on Cities. I got it while drunk on Sim City nostalgia (right before its infamous inclusion on ps plus, naturally) and it's been in the backlog ever since. Is it worth tackling, Doctor Bojack?

 

We shall just have to see what the science says then, my friend!

Cities: Skylines shall be flagged for Priority Assessment, post-haste! ?

[Conor]

Hit the nail on the head with your Jak II analysis. Dear god what a piece of crap. Definitely ND's worst game by a long stretch, dunno how I stomached it as a kid. 

 

I love this idea, can't believe I'm only seeing it now. I have no requests yet but I'll see how your next few rounds go.

[GraniteSnake]

On 28/04/2021 at 8:36 AM, DrBloodmoney said:

SPECIAL NOTE

 

If there are any specific games anyone wants to see get ranked sooner rather than later - drop a message, and I'll mark them for 'Priority Ranking'! 

Great read! I’d love to hear your thoughts on SOMA ?

[AJ_Radio]

I don't exactly feel compelled to write my opinion here since you specifically stalked my profile for a while and disagreed with a lot of my points regarding trophy philosophy, etiquette and whatever the fuck I was ranting about. Regardless, this topic is a pretty interesting one, and shows you have a vested interest in trophy hunting.

 

3 hours ago, DrBloodmoney said:

You know, I’m definitely finding the older arcade games to be some of the hardest ones to rank appropriately.

 

One the one hand, the reason they are even available and being rereleased so many years later is precisely because they are the cream of the crop of their era, but on the other hand, games were very different then, and what makes a great game on a quarter-per-play arcade machine is not always suited to a home console, where you can restart over and over for free, and where other games they are competing with enjoy the fruits of 40 years of progress in the industry.

 

It would be easy to simply say “well, these games are too simple comparatively” and have them all end up at the bottom of the list, since on any kind of 1-to-1 comparison of graphical/ technical/ writing etc., they pale in comparison to even poor quality modern games...

 

 ...but equally easy to say “well, these are the classics” and have them all end up on the top of the list, since they have endured for 40-odd years, and no modern game can say that!

 

I’m forced to have a kind of ‘adjusted scale’ for those games - I treat the games not just as ‘pure’ games, but in terms of how well they are presented comparative to other releases, what their place is in a modern context and how well they work on home console, and offset that little against how great the actual base game was, and was perceived as at the time...

 

...but yeah, it makes for a much more difficult time that just comparing the more modern fare!

 

You have to remember there was a lot of shit back then. Atari 2600 had a lot of stinkers, ET lead to the video game crash of 1983 - 1984 in which Atari games were being dumped at landfills. The rise of Nintendo, notably with Super Mario Bros and a good offering of decent NES games helped propel the video game industry out of the crash. My real fondness was the Super Nintendo and N64 generations. A lot of all time classics spawned from that time period. The entire Metroidvania genre as we know it today spawned from Super Metroid, the all time classic from 1994 which introduced everything we know about Metroidvania games.

 

Personally I don't have much of a fondness for games before Super Mario Bros. I found Pac Man incredibly difficult to get into. Asteroids, Defender, Space Invaders and Galaga were just okay. Then again, these were all before my time. Perhaps somebody over the age of 40 has a real fondness for these old games. The NES generation was to me to first generation when games really became fun and exciting. Anything before that is too archaic.

 

And obviously, graphics/writing/technical capabilities were nothing compared to today's games. Gaming was incredibly niche back then. Every adult I knew when I was growing up as a kid thought gaming was just some stupid hobby that geeks and nerds got into. Today it is the most profitable and successful entertainment medium, easily dethroning the movie and music industries.

 

As much as I bitch, I have to say I appreciate the choices we have available. Having to wait for new releases and then rent those games at Blockbuster is never something I want to experience ever again.

[DrBloodmoney]

17 hours ago, GraniteSnake said:

Great read! I’d love to hear your thoughts on SOMA 

 

I'be added SOMA to the Priority Assessment list, with your name on it! ??

 

 

☢️☢️SPECIAL NOTE☢️☢️

 

On a note to all game submitters - @YaManSmevz, @Copanele, @The_Kopite, @Together_Comic, @Soraking1991 and any other science-loving folks who flag games for priority - I am now getting quite a few bigger games put forward, and I am likely going to spread some of these out a little bit, just to make sure a broad spectrum is getting covered as we go.

 

The games people put forward for priority assessment are generally the 'bigger' more popular games (which makes sense of course), and I am wary of covering too many of them all at once - partly because there is often a lot more to say on them and these assessments are quite labour intensive at times(!), but also because I don't want to end up in a situation where the latter half of this grand endeavour features only the more obscure stuff, and becomes less interesting or fun as a result!

 

I will certainly get to the submitted games quickly, and they will take priority over any other 'big' games on the lists - and absolutely keep them coming of course people! ☺️ - but just letting y'all know, if your submitted game doesn't appear on the first new list after you put it forward, that doesn't mean I've forgotten it, I promise ?, and it will be likely on the next one or the one after that! 

 

❤️⚛️☮️

Edited May 3, 2021 by DrBloodmoney

[DrBloodmoney]

 

 ?? NEW SCIENTIFIC RESULTS ARE IN! ??

 

Hello Science-chums and Science-Chumesses, as promised (and in some cases requested), here are the latest results of our great scientific endeavour!

60 games on the list already! Where does the time, and my sanity, go? ?

 

 

 

A Plague Tale: Innocence

 

Summary: 

Ostensibly a 'B-Game' as marketed, A Plague Tale: Innocence is one of the most consistently mentioned games on this site any time a topic covers 'underrated', 'under-appreciated' or 'underplayed' games - and with good reason!

A slightly awkward and rather unmemorable title disguises a real gem of a 3rd person, narrative focussed, historically set stealth game. 

Effective (if never technically wow-ing) visuals are on show, along with well-researched design of medieval provincial France, a tone that is sombre, yet hopeful in the face of overwhelming odds, an extremely likeable protagonist in Amicia, and some very good voice-work. 
(Its worth noting - I played this one entirely with French Audio and English Subtitles for authenticity, but I have heard from others that the English Audio track is well done too!)

 

Some pretty impressive fire-tech, and really impressive and artistic 'swarms of plague-rats' tech compliment the visuals.
Those rat swarms are not for the squeamish!
Winston Smith would have crapped his pants and given up everything to Big Brother after 5 minutes of this game!

 

The Ranking:

Makes a hell of a showing for a lower budget new IP, and the attention to detail in the visuals, and the simple, yet effective stealth mechanics make for some real tension, which carries the game up past some tough competition in the mid-range of the current list, but ultimately, limited replayability makes it a tough sell against something like Alpha Protocol's varied story paths and multiple approaches (even if some of them are a bit broken in that game) and it comes to rest in a comfortably high spot, just below that game.

 

 

 

 

Arcade Archives: Renegade

 

Summary: 

One of a handful of progenitors that would eventually lead to the rather more popular, more famous, and markedly better, Streets of Rage franchise, Renegade may have been a serviceable brawler in 1986, but time has been far less kind to it than some of its peers.

Lacking any real story beyond the paint-by-numbers "stolen girlfriend" theme so common to early brawlers - bosses and locations don't have names, and there is little distinguishing the various gangs from one another - and missing much of the personality that would come to define better entries in the genre, Renegade gets some points for being early, but in a modern context, feels very rudimentary.

Also worth noting - the only version included here is the re-skinned 'Western' version. Arguably the better version, as I recall, with visuals heavily inspired by classic movie The Warriors (a personal favourite,) but from a preservationist point of view - which is ostensibly the focus of Hamster's hefty stable of rereleased Arcade Classics - it would have been nice to include the original Japanese version too.
A particularly egregious oversight, considering they actually did include both on the Nintendo Switch version of the same game.

 

The Ranking:

Renegade was never a game I had much nostalgia attached to, (to be honest, the side-scrolling brawler is a genre I can appreciate a good entry in, but am not an aficionado of,) and Renegade doesn't reach even close to the level it would need to to break through that.

 

Starting point on the list is similarly Hamster-released-and-later-usurped-by-better-genre-entries Arcade Archives: Moon Cresta, but Hamster's failure to include both versions of the game, coupled with the rudimentary and dull mechanics mean it cannot compete, even despite The Warriors inspired visuals! 
Slides down past SAW, and even Kung-Fu Rabbit, to rest just above the laborious and un-fun Jak II.

 

 

BioShock

 

Summary: 

The System Shock successor is sometimes derided by purists of the Immersive-Sim genre for losing some of the variability and multi-path nature of those two games - which it did - but what it lost in those areas, it more than made up for in an incredibly rich, fertile, detailed and unique narrative and setting.

 

Bioshock is a game that really proves how effective narrative in games can be, and tells its excellent, Ayn Rand-inspired and politically philosophical story in a way that would only work in videogames, providing several "Oh my God!" narrative twists that are expertly crafted and impactful. 

 

The world of Rapture is an absolute triumph of both narrative and art design, and the art-deco underwater city remains breathtaking to behold, even 14 years later, and while the traversal and narrative aspects of the game are quite linear, the scope for experimentation and customisation within combat provides more than enough variability to support numerous playthroughs. 
Combat is of the combat-puzzle variety, rather than out-and-out FPS, and the skill-tree speccing allowed by the limitations of ADAM availability and plentiful types of weaponry and Plasmids (powers) means fighting one of the signature 'Big Daddy's' is always a fun, treacherous and exciting prospect... that one just has to do!
Gotta get that ADAM from the Little Sister after all!

 

The Ranking:

Immersive Sims are one of the most exciting genre's out there, and while Bioshock will not be competing for the crown of 'most variable', it would certainly feature on any list of 'best narrative' among them - and I could see an argument for it winning that category!

 

Storms up the charts like a rampaging Big Daddy wielding a Drill and a Rivet Gun, smashing and blasting other power-house games in it's watery wake! 

Starting point is the already highly-ranked, (and heavily BioShock-inspired) Singularity, BioShock's phenomenal story blasts past that game's lesser one, beating out some of the smaller indie darlings above it, and even storming past impressive newer fare such as Horizon: Zero Dawn and the brilliant Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice, but comes to rest just below the equally narrative-rich, but ultimately more technically impressive The Last of Us (another game in which a male protagonist is invested in defending his own metaphorical 'Little Sister'!)

 

 

 

Chronovolt

 

Summary: 

A vita Marble Madness-inspired outing is a fun proposition, and the inclusion of 'powers' and a rewind mechanic are good ideas, but the game is bogged down considerably by a lacklustre story, too-short levels in an too-long game, some very ropey camera controls (who thought it was a good idea to control via face-buttons?), and the blindingly stupid idea of including micro-transactions.

 

 

The Ranking:

I'm a big fan of Marble Madness, but in this case, the comparison hurts, rather than helps. At a time when vita games were few and far between, this one managed to hold my attention, but only just, and my memory is more of frustration and annoyance than fun or enjoyment.

 

Makes it up past most of the genuine stinkers due to some early fun, and inclusion on the under-served Vita, but comes to a halt at Adventures of Mana, which was similarly flawed and at times frustrating, but was also on Vita, and did not pad its difficulty just to allow for the inclusion of our old buddy Michael Transaction.

 

 

 

 

Dear Esther: Landmark Edition

 

Summary: 

The game that invented the 'Walking Sim' genre, what began as an experimental oddity using the Half-Life 2 mod tools ended up becoming a thoroughly engaging, poetic, wistful and sad hymn to the bleak and beautiful Hebridean island landscape and the written language and spoke eulogy of mourning a lost love.

 

Short, by Walking Sim standards, though gets a pass on that, as, having invented the genre, it had no comparison to base its length on at the time, and with a script that is mesmerisingly well written, though occasionally a little too hifalutin in its language to be appropriately appreciated in spoken form. Having sought out a written copy of the script, and read all the way through, I can vouch for the beauty of it, but freely admit that some nuance can be lost a little when heard while navigating the unforgiving, bleak landscape of the game.

 

Perhaps not the very best in the Walking Sim genre, but arguably the best written, and still holding its own among the pack, and for the first one? That is extremely impressive!

 

The Ranking:

Starting point is similarly tonally-sad-yet-hopeful indie game Rain, but Dear Esther's incredible command of language and Hebridean setting is enough to drive it well above that game.

Next reasonable comparison is Limbo, which also sets a bleak tone across a short game, but in the case of that game, the lack of any challenge or puzzles etc in Dear Esther (while, of course, deliberate and fitting the genre it created,) does hamper it slightly in replayability and on the list, and it can't move past it.

 

 

 

 

 

Gem Smashers

 

Summary: 

A curious take on Breakout, in which you control the X-axis movement of the ball, rather than a paddle, as it auto-glides back and forth on the Y-axis. 
A simple and effective concept, but hampered by lack of real challenge, lack of any leaderboard-type incentive to 'better' your personal scores, and, unfortunately, numerous crash-to-desktop glitches and unjustifiable load times (on Vita).

 

The 'action arcade puzzler' is a genre I like, and one that done well, can keep you coming back for years and years, but this game is unlikely to ever pull anyone back in after they achieve the easy platinum from it. 
Not terrible by any stretch, but not good either.

 

The Ranking:

Can't compete with much on the list, limps up past Kung Fu Rabbit and Saw based on the simple fun, but I'd still rather engage with Arcade Archives: Moon Cresta's infuriating difficulty before engaging with Gem Smasher's infuriating lack of difficulty, so there it stays!

 

 

 

 

 

Hotline Miami

 

Summary: 

It's difficult to overstate just how appallingly addictive, endlessly repeatable, desperately fast, and mind-blowingly chaotic a blast on top-down indie blood-and-gore-fest Hotline Miami can be!

Featuring one of, if not the, most fantastically cultivated synth-wave soundtracks in gaming history - and taking the remarkably simple, yet brilliant design choice to keep the soundtrack going with each (instantly loading) restart of a level - makes successfully racking a full-level kill-combo in each of the very difficult levels a treat, rather than a chore!

 

Doing things with pixel-art that make most other games blush, and capturing the drug-fulled haze of exploitation cinema of the 80's with an incredible eye for detail, playing Hotline Miami actually feels like a cocaine-bender gone wrong - in just the right way!

 

The Ranking:

Another serious contender here!
With frenetic action, a perfectly nailed visual and musical style and high level of challenge, starting point is Cuphead.
Hotline Miami manages to slip past it, owing thanks primarily to that soundtrack which - again - is virtually unparalleled across all of gaming, with only the possible exception of Furi (a game that I have not S-Ranked, so it won't have to fight... for now!), and its incredible gun-factor even takes it into the upper echelons, beating out Pac Man Championship Edition DX and massive open world treat Horizon: Zero Dawn, coming to an incredible finish, just behind FROM powerhouse Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice.

 

 

 

 

Kingmaker: Rise to the Throne

 

Summary: 

Another Artifex Mundi crafted, relaxing, picture-hunting / puzzle game, Kingmaker: Rise to the Throne is pretty much standard fare as those games go. 
A simple story, even by Artifex Mundi standards, this one is a pretty straight-forward game with nice, but not stand-out visuals, and a bit of a lack of more interesting or unique puzzles. Does have some of the better picture-hunt screens. 

Gains some points for the inclusion of a bonus chapter (as only some AM games do,) and in this case, it's a fairly meaty and good one, but loses some due to the inclusion of 'boss battles' which is a trope I really don't have much time for in Mundi titles, and always tend to be a bit boring and unnecessary.

 

The Ranking:

Better than Eventide: Slavic Fable, but not quite beating out Enigmatis: The Ghosts of Maple Creek, this one nestles just below that game - and above Adventure of Mana.

 

 

 

 

 

Lollipop Chainsaw

 

Summary: 

Genuinely unique and exciting visuals, comedy that actually works (unusual in games), a decent, if a little rote, soundtrack, a likably bat-shit crazy story and protagonist, and a well-realised Grindhouse tone do a lot to disguise what is essentially a 3D arcade combat brawler with not-very-good-or-interesting combat.

 

Lollipop Chainsaw does all the things a good game needs to do around its gameplay to be great, but unfortunately, the core game is pretty lacking, and so it never really reaches those heights, and all those trappings can do is bring it up from 'middling' to 'worth a play'.

Never terrible, and often a lot of dumb fun, and carried by it's art design and tone - and let's not beat about the bush: the title "Lollipop Chainsaw" is a fan-fucking-tastic name for a game!

 

Also, in a seeming sign of psychic fore-knowledge of this very list, gains some points for the answer Juliet gives, when asked where the rainbows that spout from her chainsaw come from...

"From Awesome!" ?

 

The Ranking:

The first 3D brawler to be ranked, so starting point is 2D brawler Dragon's Crown. Personality carries Lollipop Chainsaw well above that game's bland story, and, in contrast to that games 'Witch' character, Juliet Starling proves that you can do 'PG-13 sexy' in a character really well, without it seeming seedy.

Next comparison is another 2D brawler, Castle Crashers, and this game can''t really compete there, due to that game's similarly well realised personality, coupled with a co-op multiplayer component, but it handily beats out Until Dawn below it, so there it finds it's spot!

 

 

 

 

 

The Walking Dead

 

Summary: 

The game that rewrote Telltale's point-and-click adventure game format, eschewing much of the esoteric and challenging puzzles, in favour of more comprehensive, engaging and dynamic storytelling, and defining what their output would be for the remainder of their tenure as a going concern.

 

The Walking Dead took a comic book and TV franchise I was never particularly fond of, and turned it into a narrative focussed, choice based game which really held my attention all the way through. Choices in these games might not actually be as impactful as they seem when presented, and the story always finds a way to circle back to a main, unchanging thread, but the emotional investment with the likeable bunch of characters makes every little choice feel important in the moment, and that is impressive.

A few questionable 'action' sections aside, the gameplay is solid, the story well told, and the game got me at the end - there may not have been out-and-out tears, but it did get a little misty in my living room, and that is a hell of a testament to the writing.

 

The Ranking:

Starting point is similarly point-and-click adventure entry Grim Fandango Remastered, The Walking Dead's emotional investment is a harder thing to nail than Grim's comedic peculiarity, and so it slips by it, and a few games above, including A Plague Tale: Innocence, owing to its confident (and successful) refusal to include unnecessarily 'gamified' sections where it doesn't need them, and rely solely on the writing.

Outdoes Alpha Protocol's jankiness, but can't quite slip by Trine, whose co-op fun and smart puzzle platforming ultimately hold out in The Walking Dead's face, forcing it to come to a stop in a deservedly high spot.

 

 

 

 

 

 

So there we have it Y'all!

 

Thanks to @Together_Comic for putting in a request - hope my reviews is acceptable, or at least not to gushing / harsh!

 

Science remains a fickle mistress, and these latest subjects make some admirable showings and certainly made the top dog sweat, but Dark Souls remains top dog for the moment!

 

The Mysteries of Little Riddle is looking awfully sad down there at the bottom for yet another round!

 

What games will be coming along next time to challenge for the perfect finish... or the face-plant?

 

That's up to randomness, me.... and YOU!

 

Remember:

 

 

 

 

SPECIAL NOTE

 

If there are any specific games anyone wants to see get ranked sooner rather than later - drop a message, and I'll mark them for 'Priority Ranking'! 

 

The only stipulation is that they must be on my profile, at 100% (S-Rank)....

 and aren't already on the Rankings! 

 

 

 

 

Catch y'all later my Scientific Brothers and Sisters! ☮️

[FilmFanatic]

I was going to nominate Cities: Skylines as it’s a game I’m going to get at some point as I have been wanting to play another city building sim since playing Tropico 5 a few years back and absolutely loving it but since that’s already been nominated I’m going to go with Prey (not sure if you consider it a big game or not). I’m already well aware of how much you love the game and rightly so because it’s fantastic which is why I’m more interested in where it will get ranked.

 

I’m enjoying the rankings so far and it’s certainly an unenviable task given that so many games are so completely different to so many other games.

 

And lastly, to anyone who hasn’t heard of Transistor or is on the fence about playing it. Just go for it. There’s a reason (well several actually) why it’s rated so high on this list. Gorgeous graphics, one of the best gaming soundtracks ever and combat is a heap of fun once you unlock the best functions.

[DrBloodmoney]

12 minutes ago, FilmFanatic said:

I was going to nominate Cities: Skylines as it’s a game I’m going to get at some point as I have been wanting to play another city building sim since playing Tropico 5 a few years back and absolutely loving it but since that’s already been nominated I’m going to go with Prey (not sure if you consider it a big game or not). I’m already well aware of how much you love the game and rightly so because it’s fantastic which is why I’m more interested in where it will get ranked.

 

Good shout - I will be certainly including Cities Skyline soon, so that's covered - I will flag Prey for priority assessment with your name on it, however, I've been thinking about Prey for a little bit, and I think in order to get the proper context for it, I really need to get at least one of the Dishonoured games onto the list first, so it may be a couple more rounds before I get to it. ?

 

12 minutes ago, FilmFanatic said:

 

I’m enjoying the rankings so far and it’s certainly an unenviable task given that so many games are so completely different to so many other games.

 

Glad you're enjoying so far - it's certainly getting more and more difficult now, but still fun to do ☺️

Edited May 3, 2021 by DrBloodmoney

[Grotz99]

Pretty good reviews so far, mostly agree with them and I'm happy where TLOU landed. Jak II would be very close to the bottom of my list as well, it killed my motivation to play Jak III. 

[EcoShifter]

Not at all surprising, but Jak II is most certainly not Naughty Dog's weakest game. Real Naughty Dog followers know they've made a number of objectively worse games before they were acquired by Sony, and no I'm not implying on secondhand that all their later games are better either.

 

On 5/1/2021 at 4:12 PM, DrBloodmoney said:

 

Jak II

 

Summary: 

So...
then came the sequel...

...and holy FUCKING hell, did Naughty Dog shit the bed on this one.

 

Where the other character action platformers (Sly / Crash / Ratchet and Clank / Spyro etc.) opted for iterative improvement of a consistent fundamental game design, Naughty Dog decided to throw out the design doc of the first game and completely switch gears. 

 

That is an admirable strategy - and a brave one...

...Unfortunately, here, it did not pay off.

 

In the intervening time, Grand Theft Auto III and Vice City had become the biggest games in the world, and had upended the industry. 
Naughty Dog, it seems, were not the creative powerhouse they are now, and decided to simply follow in GTA's wake, and try to ape it, to appalling results.

 

What started as a fun, colourful, happy-go-lucky platformer with a ton of charm, became a third rate GTA knock-off. All charm was replaced with cringe-inducing grundge-y, '90's 'tude' and dude-bro edginess, all of which has aged like a fine milk.

 

Gone was the fun platforming, replaced with mission-based checkpoint racing round a bland, sci-fi city with terrible controls and over-sensitive 'cops' chasing you all the time, or shooting heavy missions with little in the way of variety or fun, and made artificially difficult due to horrendously limited checkpointing.

 

Jak lost every single bit of charm or class that the first game had banked for him, and was turned into the videogame equivelent of that whiney, full-of-himself-but-actually-stupid douchebag you remember from school, who walked about with his skateboard under his arm, but never actually rode it, for fear of faceplanting and getting blood on his frosted tips or his wallet chain.

 

An unmitigated travesty of a game.

(and, yes, I am aware, an inexplicably well-reviewed one - which only rubs further salt in the wound!)

 

The Ranking:

Trying not to give in to personal hatred with this one (there is a part of me that wants to slam it on the bottom of the list and be done with it!)  but the science must not be clouded by personal sentiment, however strong it might be!

 

Jak II might be someone's game, it just is very much not mine - and it's difficult to sufficiently quantify the staggering gulf in enjoyment between the first game and this one.

 

That description is absolutely abysmal, repugnant, and disingenuous, incredibly far from being anywhere near "highly scientific" and "non-subjective". Straight up, it's objectively inaccurate and exaggerative, especially considering the complete absence of the game's plenteous improvements over its predecessor, from boss fights to story to characters to graphics to voicework to themes to worldbuilding and more.

 

Referencing Ratchet & Clank 2, Sly 2, and Spyro 2 for their "improvement of consistent fundamental game design" and especially anything beyond against Jak II is extremely disingenuous and ridiculous, for so many reasons. One day the majority of it might be worth the time going over. Even with its improvements, which every sequel regardless of its quality has, R&C2 gets a lot of heat and is occasionally labeled as the weakest in the trilogy for legitimate reasons. Contrary to this particular site's beliefs, that is also in stark contrast to J2 which definitely has been rivaling The Precursor Legacy in being labeled as the best in the Jak trilogy for almost two decades now. Spyro 2 is in a similar situation to R&C2 but not as widely agreed upon. I've seen indepth and true "scientific" explanations on why R&C2 and especially Sp2 are the weakest in their trilogy, covering various design angles. Sly 2 is a bit different. First is the glaring fact that you've omitted to include or allude to your far stronger hatred and explanative reasons for why Sly 2 is so terrible and worse than Jak II. One other is the common obliviousness to the fact that Sly 2 evidently is either slightly more or similarly as experimental as JII. But the majority of players suck at true game analyses, so much can't really be done about that. Thank god for (the few) youtube reviewers like ACG.

[DrBloodmoney]

? Love your passion m'dude 

 

20 minutes ago, EcoShifter said:

First is the glaring fact that you've omitted to include or allude to your far stronger hatred and explanative reasons for why Sly 2 is so terrible and worse than Jak II. One other is the common obliviousness to the fact that Sly 2 evidently is either slightly more or similarly as experimental as JII. 

 

Yup, Sly 2 hasn't been subjected to the sweet science yet, but its time shall come, and I am confident the science will have more than plenty to say about it!

 

TBH, I reckon I'm still on pretty solid ground stating that - in opposition to the philosophy of Jak II -  Sly's developer stuck with a plan of "iterative improvement of a consistent fundamental game design" with Sly 2...

...whether I think it was successful, or resulted in a good game or not is a different question entirely...

...and one that only the science can confirm when it's turn comes around ?

Edited May 3, 2021 by DrBloodmoney

[DaivRules]

I'd love to see two lines added to your scientific list: One line where the top of the list starts with Like/Recommend to Meh. Then the line that goes from Meh to Avoid This Game.

 

It'd be great to see the lowest game on your like list and the hard line that designates where your likes end, but more interestingly, where your indifferent list goes to active dislike.

 

I plan to eventually rate all my games not necessarily as scientifically as you with your objective metrics and all, but just into the three categories I mentioned above.

[DrBloodmoney]

17 minutes ago, DaivRules said:

I'd love to see two lines added to your scientific list: One line where the top of the list starts with Like/Recommend to Meh. Then the line that goes from Meh to Avoid This Game.

 

It'd be great to see the lowest game on your like list and the hard line that designates where your likes end, but more interestingly, where your indifferent list goes to active dislike.

 

I plan to eventually rate all my games not necessarily as scientifically as you with your objective metrics and all, but just into the three categories I mentioned above.

Haha - behind the scenes, “how the sausage is made” alert - there actually was some!

 

With the first few packs of games I did try keeping a set of lines in there - the break from Good/Great, Okay/Good, Dull/Okay & Terrible/Dull...

 

...but frankly, its already become too blurry to really use - and we’re only 60 games deep ?

 

The differing genres and ages of the games really does make that a tough sell - although, by the time we’re done, I may be able to do some kind of gradient-style colour bar showing a blurred change from bad to okay to good to great, with the ones that straddle the lines just being discretionary to the reader - I’ll need to see how it all shakes out... Science-wise ?

Edited May 3, 2021 by DrBloodmoney

[The_Kopite]

 

1 hour ago, DrBloodmoney said:

 Love your passion m'dude 

 

 

Yup, Sly 2 hasn't been subjected to the sweet science yet, but its time shall come, and I am confident the science will have more than plenty to say about it!

 

TBH, I reckon I'm still on pretty solid ground stating that - in opposition to the philosophy of Jak II -  Sly's developer stuck with a plan of "iterative improvement of a consistent fundamental game design" with Sly 2...

...whether I think it was successful, or resulted in a good game or not is a different question entirely...

...and one that only the science can confirm when it's turn comes around 

I'm in the minority in that I preferred Sly 1's style and the way it setup the game itself with it's structure more than 2, 3 and 4

[DrBloodmoney]

Just now, The_Kopite said:

 

I'm in the minority in that I preferred Sly 1's style and the way it setup the game itself with it's structure more than 2, 3 and 4

well, I don’t want to pre-judge the science...

 

... but over here in my head, that’s not a minority opinion...  

[EcoShifter]

1 hour ago, DrBloodmoney said:

TBH, I reckon I'm still on pretty solid ground stating that - in opposition to the philosophy of Jak II -  Sly's developer stuck with a plan of "iterative improvement of a consistent fundamental game design" with Sly 2...

 

That's still vague, unlike- Like Jak II, Sly 2 abandoned the collectathon system. Like Jak II, Sly 2 features a much darker tone. Like Jak II, Sly 2 changed to mission based gameplay design. Unlike Jak II that actually sticks to but improves upon the immature openworld in The Precursor Legacy (--and actually uses the openworld the way it's supposed to be used--), Sly 2 ditched its small hubs with interconnected levels in favor for large open-level design per episode. Etc.

 

Some people prefer Spyro the Dragon and Sly Cooper and the Thievius Raccoonus for the same exact reason they do The Precursor Legacy, and that is because of a significant change in the gameplay formula the following game, whether it's average/good/bad. Every first game in these series were all simplistic collectathon platformers that threw that out the window and did something radically different in their sequel. Sly 2 was already briefly touched on. Spyro 2 with its mini games and their design, the challenges and their design, a new metroidvania element in the levels, and all of that being forced to progress, among other things. Jak II in all-comparison was completely misjudged, when in reality it still retained both the prominent platforming and designated sectioned-off levels visits and exploration from The Precursor Legacy, while also deciding to give purpose to its openworld and not just use it to flex technical prowess/achievement. While that is a gameplay and design negative for The Precursor Legacy, one thing I will give it is beating Sonic and Mario technically to at least creating their own seamless openworld.

 

Edited May 3, 2021 by EcoShifter

[DrBloodmoney]

12 hours ago, EcoShifter said:

 

Snip

Sounds like you would enjoy doing your own scientific ranking list, my friend ☺️ - you want a lot more wordiness per game than I can be doing.

 

When you’ve got 500-plus games to get through, you need to rely on brevity, and in the end, a game I found to be as staggeringly dull, bitterly irritating and desperately disappointing as Jak II, isn’t that much fun to write about, so it gets a quick review and a ranking - but comparative to the others, I think it got it’s fair share of my thoughts and time ?

I stand by every word of what I said about Jak lI - as with all these reviews, I am putting in plenty of though to what I say, these aren’t off the cuff remarks.

Having S-Ranked every one of these games, I feel perfectly comfortable and well within my rights to say what I say about all of them, and to stand by it.

 

Can’t win ‘em all though, and as I said at the top of that post - I had an inkling Jak II would be a controversial one ? 

To be honest, I’m surprised you are the first dissenting voice to castigate me on it - but I’m sure you won’t be the last to take issue with a scientific analysis before I retire my labcoat! ?
 

☮️

Edited May 4, 2021 by DrBloodmoney

[Slava]

2 hours ago, EcoShifter said:

Real Naughty Dog followers know they've made a number of objectively worse games before they were acquired by Sony

 

I mean, we do, but usually we just don't count those titles. Very few people played them compared to, let's say, Crash Bandicoot.

 

 

[DrBloodmoney]

11 hours ago, Alderriz said:

I mean, we do, but usually we just don't count those titles. Very few people played them compared to, let's say, Crash Bandicoot.

I didn’t actually ever state that it was their worst game, did I?

I mean, I do think that, but I’m not actually sure where I stated it explicitly, for the statement to reference ?

 

Still, even going with the issue as framed, I think it’s a bit pedantic to want to go as far back as the pre-Sony days, just to try and prove Jak II isn’t technically their worst game...

 

I mean, at that point, you are delving so far into history that I’d be surprised if any more than a tiny handful of personnel - if any - from that era are still within the company.

 

If someone made some grievous error in their life, and described it as ‘the stupidest thing they had ever done’, you wouldn’t rush in with an old photo album and shout “um well, actually, when you were a 1 year old, you covered yourself in peanut butter and then fell over, so...”

 

I mean, sure, that might be technically correct, but that hardly whitewashes the stupid thing they did as a grown adult ?

Edited May 4, 2021 by DrBloodmoney

[The_Kopite]

11 hours ago, DrBloodmoney said:

well, I don’t want to pre-judge the science...

 

... but over here in my head, that’s not a minority opinion...  

Haha, nice to hear someone thinks the same lol

[DrBloodmoney]

 

⚛️!!SCIENCE UPDATE!!⚛️

 

 

The next 10 (somewhat) randomly selected games to be submitted for scientific analysis shall be:

 

 

Cities: Skylines
Detroit: Become Human
Headlander
LEGO Movie: The Videogame (PS4)
Resident Evil 2 Remake
Serial Cleaner
Split/Second
Terminator Salvation
Watchmen: The End Is Nigh
Zero Zero Zero Zero 

 

 

Subjects in RED marked for ❎PRIORITY ASSIGNEMENT❎

[Care of @YaManSmevz, @The_Kopite & @Soraking1991 ]

 

 

 

Can 'Current Most Awesome' game, Dark Souls, fend off another round of challengers?

 

Is The Mysteries of Little Riddle really destined to remain 'Least Awesome Game' for ever and ever and ever?

 

Let's find out!

Edited May 4, 2021 by DrBloodmoney
priority assignment mistake corrected! :-S

[Slava]

4 hours ago, DrBloodmoney said:

I didn’t actually ever state that it was their worst game, did I?

I mean, I do think that, but I’m not actually sure where I stated it explicitly, for the statement to reference. 

 

That part of the post was more directed to me, then. Because I did postulate that for most Naughty Dog fans Jak 2 was the least favourite. I could be wrong of course, I don't have any global statistics. 

 

Split/Second is the most interesting game from the next batch for me. I liked it a lot back when I played it on PC, but since then I've seen some mixed opinions. Interested to see where it lands on the chart according to science.