Games you like that people DESPISE

I have my fair share of games I like that many gamers hate.

.hack
I didn't realise the .hack games were that unpopular. I've been a fan of the series, including the games, but I must admit a lot of the love stemmed from what the .hack//SIGN anime set up.

The .hack games were pretty repetitive and had a lot of padding, and I think that put off some of my friends who were fans of the original anime. But I was always hooked by the games' characters, art design, music, premise and storytelling. I did like the first game series more though; it had more likeable characters than the second one.

Might have helped if CyberConnect released each series as a single game instead of a few titles, or added more significant improvements to each entry, like what Digital Devil Saga did.

Ultima VIII
Many gamers derided U8 as the Mario Ultima and hated on it. True, the platforming could get very finicky and the action-based combat system was pretty unforgiving. U8's world was also very dreary and bleak, unlike previous Ultima titles.

But I was still fascinated by this horror RPG (yes, it's quite macabre). I guess it helped that I didn't have prior experience with the previous Ultima games.

U8 had a terrific cast of NPCs, and the gameplay was surprisingly varied. I also loved its eery and dark setting and atmosphere, from the gritty environments to the skin scrawling groans of zombies clawing their way from the ground.

Kinect Star Wars
Okay, I must be one of the few crazy people who got the game and liked it enough.

The core light sabre swinging part of the game wasn't the super epic affair it was originally hyped up to be. Part of the reason had to do with the somewhat imprecise Kinect controls. There's no real intrigue nor super exciting fights either. But it was not terrible and there's still fun to be had.

Then there's the fairly competent pod racing. The Kinect controls worked pretty well, surprisingly.

But my favourite part of the Star Wars spin off was the dancing mini game. It's downright campy, with lyrics of pop tunes given the Star Wars parody treatment. The dance moves I had to take cues from a grooving Hans Solo or Darth Vader were pretty silly, too (the Chewie Hug, anyone?). Hardcore fans were mortified, but it's incredibly hilarious, for me anyways.

Jam it back in, in the dark.