Why Do Some People Hate These Games?

Zen Bounds fun, but boring at the same time.

Canabalt is overpriced for a simple arcade game like itself.

And I can't sepak about Eliss and Enviro-Bear 2010 considering I don't own them.

 

Not my opinion but:

1. Graphics, and they don't understand how to play.

2. I don't know.

3. The price.

4. The difficulty.

Those are the general knocks off those games. Although I like them all.

 

eliss is one of my favorite games, but the difficulty turns people away. zen bound is pretty good, but some people simple gameplay boring. canabalt is over priced and i played the online version: its just so one dimensional, its boring. envirobear is a joke.

 

A bit of a deeper response:

1: Enviro-Bear 2010 is, in many ways, the "snakes on a plane" of games. It is a game that is so nonsensical and ridiculous that it automatically appeals to many people as refreshing in the world of monotonous tower defense games that is the appstore. It is the physical incarnation of an in-joke, where players who have purchased the game rave about it with knowing smiles to get wide-eyed saps to buy it.
True, there is actually an interesting physics and puzzle engine at work in the game, but if the game were measured on mechanics alone, and not overly-terrible (and thus appealing) graphics and ridiculous story, it would fail miserably short of par.

2: Zen Bound is a game that appeals to a very specific group. This is great - for that group. For twitch gamers who live off N.O.V.A. and COD, it just doesn't gel. Likewise with the RPG niche (who are having miserable times atm on the idevices, due to the lack of good rpgs) and, yes, even some of the hardcare "purist" puzzle people.

3: Canabalt's price is really what prevents it from being more popular. It is difficult to justify charging over $1 for a game that truly has no more depth than the 1-button-press. A beautiful game, with rich music...but a 1-button game, nontheless.

4: Eliss is confusing and difficult. Many people who DLed the lite still haven't truly figured out HOW to play. Others give up at sector 15 and write terrible reviews out of frustration, or tell people never to play.
The fact that it happens to be one of the most engrossing and strangely satisfying games on the idevice - and, more specifically, one that feels PERFECT on the idevice - isn't enough to compensate for it's steep learning curve when it comes to the general populace. Everything about Eliss screams indie, from it's psychedelic colors to it's genre-defying playstyle. /Gush.

 

Every game gets a bad review or 10. That's all.

 

Why do you care if people don't like them?
Just because you like a game doesn't mean anyone else should like it. Period. There's nothing in the world that is "universally" liked.

 

I am universally liked

 

Just because you like something doesn't mean everybody else should ...

Some people like pie, some people don't.

I know someone who doesn't like chocolate. Is his taste invalid? No, he just doesn't like it!

 

1. These people think graphics make a game, and don't have enough brain power to discern which parts of the awful control scheme are intentional and which are not. They've also never heard of experimentation within game creation.

2. It's more of a relaxing toy than a game.

3. They think $2.99 is a lot of money.

4. It's hard and they can't appreciate the minimalist art style.

@Aurora + one f jef: he didn't say they had to like the games, he was just inquiring as to their reasoning behind their opinion. I find it slightly amusing that you two would be the ones to contest his post, I guess the criticism towards your previous posts has made you both a little edgy...

 

His taste is invalid.

 

I think that Midian GTX, Zincous and Nullroar nailed it.
I think from memory 99% of complaints were as described above.

Another game that was bashed unfairly was Aera. There were so many people who dived in without reading the instructions and then complained that the controls are crap/too difficult, etc. It can be really annoying when a great game gets bashed by ignoramuses!

 

Shoo, shoo. We embrace capitalism here.

 

Actually that was my initial reaction too, until I realized ... MORE CHOCOLATE FOR ME YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY!

 

Tell me about it, I spent the whole time wondering whether or not they'd tried inverting the controls. It transformed the game 100% for me, and I think a lot more people would have liked it had they done the same.

 

It's not a lot of money. But, for a stripped down Mirror's Edge clone, it is.

If I could go back in time, I would have saved my money for the real deal.

 

Exactly, its not much money at all.

 

yep. i mean nope lol. its a lot for a single touch iphone game. but in the real world, its nothing.

EDIT: but of course, there are much better games for 2.99 out there, battle blasters, spider or beneath a steel sky. compared to those, canabalt is crap really.