Do you believe in an "IT" factor when it comes to games?

Some of our favorite games that we hold near and dear are games we tend to defend with basic bullet points. "The gameplay is awesome" "The story is magnificent" "The pacing was excellent" etc. However, have you ever played a game and thought that the game was awesome or excellent but you never could really put your finger on why?

As in sure you had your basic bullet points why it's good, but never could really explain why it's an excellent game. I personally feel that quite few times some games were just good because they had some "spark". In other words an X-factor, an It factor. Something that was an intangible but whatever it was it took a good/great concept and made it an exceptional experience.

SO I ask you system wars. Do you believe games can have an "IT" factor? If so what games do you think have an It factor and why?

Not really. Most of the time I'm able to discern why I like a game, and find it very enjoyable. I cannot think of any specific example where I like a game and can't explain why. I've always been very good at putting these reasons into words.

It might be un-finished and grossly unpolished, but damn it it was amazing. The combat was amazing and I beat it on every difficulty. Every time I died, I kept saying "just one more time" and overcoming a very difficult sequence is one of the most satisfying things in gaming.

Halo: CE had the "IT" factor for me, it gave me endless enjoyment and i was never a big FPS fan and to this day i still couldnt explain why i loved that game, it was just exceptional.

KOTOR would be another one.

Nintendo nailed the IT factor (or as Ironbass said the "funfactor") with alot of their franchises in the past (Zelda, Mario etc.), so yeah its definitely real.

GTA (the original, PS1). Terrible graphics, terrible save system, terrible...well, darn near everything. But that game really sucked up a good amount of my life, lol

Yep, but I call it "lack of proper wording" instead.

Too Human. That game was awful. Yet Excellent,

[QUOTE="SaltyMeatballs"]Uh, yeah. Since 1994 in fact. Super Metroid. I tell my friends who haven't played it to play it (can't discuss how the play it), and they always seem to agree it's a brilliant game. Though I could also give reasons as to why it's good, it's better to play.jg4xchamp

Uber game indeed. It came in a huge box aswell iirc, well the version i bought did.

[QUOTE="IronBass"]I thought the existence of the "it-factor" was universally accepted. Some people call it "fun factor", the well-known "more than the sum of its parts", etc.jg4xchamp

Sowwie :oops:

I'd say Contra 4. It does nothing that previous Contras (and many sidescrollers) have done before, but everything in that game just clicks.

I could list all what makes it good (the tight controls, the brilliant boss battles, the challenge, etc), but there's also a special something in that game.

No. But i have an interest in game design. I can logically break down any game into why its good or bad. If anything they generally fall under just a few variations of basic principles.

While I don't deny the existence of an "It" factor, I can't say I've experienced something good in gaming that I can't describe to a certain degree.

I think that more often than not the "It" factor is confused with an inability to express oneself.

no i have for everything reasons but sometimes art design appears to me over everything else

I'm not so sure about an "IT" factor but I definitely believe there are games out there that are guilty pleasures for people.

No.

Just good 'ol hard work makes a good game.

Sure, happens all the time. Usually with some lower scoring flawed gem that may have some issues, but just has something about it that makes me love it. Be it the atmosphere or whatever. Sometimes a game just does it for me period.

S.T.A.L.K.E.R. Shadow of Chernobyl is that way with me

the AI is buggy

the environments are kind of samey

the production values aren't really there (although Complete 2009 helps a ton)

the story is somewhat confusing to me

a lot of enemies drop the same stuff

it's really easy to die

*BUT* i love the game, even though i complain about the same issues in Fallout 3, for whatever reason STALKER is just way more fun and likable

Sorry I revise my descission, talented game devs and hard work make good games. :)

Yes, and I'll give an example.

Batman AA

It's the only hack n slash/beat em up game I've ever played where during heated fights I imagine myself as an incredibly ripped superhero with a hot babe in each arm.

Luckily I don't fall into depression when I exit the game, and see that I'm just a wimpy kid with no muscles, no girls, no life, no money

But seriously. Can I explain why I feel that way? Not really. If I just say "epic fights" nobody would understand what that means.

One of my friends played it though, and he came to me and said he imagined the same thing. A big smile came across my face.

No, I know why I like my games.

I don't recall having moments where I was thinking "I don't know why, but this is so much fun"

The closest I have been to that was Wii sports. I got the 'aha' feeling after playing it; "Now I get it"

Is an "it" factor when a game has heart and wants it more?

No, I know why I like my games.

felipebo