An open letter: I’m a hater, not a lover

By Mitchell Dyer

Dear haters,

I get a lot of guff, perhaps rightfully so, from folks who think I’m a plain hater. I’m not a negative person, but I happen to be very vocal about things I don’t like. As a result, people get the impression that I simply dislike everything. This isn’t true, but I can certainly see why they would get that impression: the things I don’t care for happen to be the same things everyone goes ga-ga for.

I also catch crap for disliking what’s popular for the sake of being cool. Not true. I just happen to think that Metroid isn’t fun; that most Final Fantasy games are garbage; that God of War is boring; and that Grand Theft Auto gets way more attention than it deserves. So sue me.

I’m not advocating my correctness or anything when I explain to an irate reader or peer that I don’t like the combat in God of War. No matter how many times I’m told that it’s incredibly deep, I can’t get past the fact that I finished the entirety of Chains of Olympus with square-button combos and insta-kill circle-button grabs. It’s not like I’m trying to bash something you love — it just does nothing for me. Even when you tell me that Heavenly Sword has depth, it doesn’t make it less-true that I finished it using heavy attacks and nothing else. And no, I’m not “making the game boring on purpose.” It’s simply the most effective means of completing the game. Why should I bother with crappy combos? That sucks.

This does not mean your favorite Final Fantasy game sucks (even though I think Final Fantasy VII totally sucks). I’ve tried to love a ton of things people are into. A lot of it just isn’t for me.

This does not make me wrong.

Love,

Mitch

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7 Responses to “An open letter: I’m a hater, not a lover”

  1. Samit Sarkar Says:

    “This does not make me wrong.”

    FALSE WHY DO YOU HATE GOD OF WAR IT HURTS ME PERSONALLY WEN U SAY DAT

  2. Joshkdmw Says:

    The first volley has been loosed.

    The Hater wars have begun, Gentlemen.

  3. Elliot Page Says:

    I must be the complete contrary of the audience for this article as I agree with you entirely.

    I have never understood the love FF7 that has recieved. Ever.

  4. Derrek Lucas Says:

    God of War was a fun game, once. Developers realized they succeeded it, then made the same game once more for ps2, then again for PSP. It is completely over rated.

    The only reason the forementioned games have gotten all the fame they have, is because a majority of the people who play them, start the game with the mindset that it’s already the greatest game EVER.

    But I hate everything, so what do I know?

  5. Ezilylost13 Says:

    I agree whole-heartedly with most of what you are saying. Though I did enjoy FF IV and FF IX and GTA: Vice City was awesome. My reason for hate though is to seem cooler than I actually am.

  6. T Monny Says:

    In high school, I had a teacher whose class was based mainly on discussion. He would constantly tell us, “stop prefacing your comments with ‘I think.’ Of course you think it. You’re saying it!”

    So, I don’t think this disclaimer is totally necessary, but I see where you’re coming from. People read others’ opinions as an absolute declaration, and feel that responding is as imperative as stopping Nazi-zombie-baby-eaters.

    Based on previous comments, though, this site seems to have an uncanny knack for attracting people who apparently understand this.

  7. Down Write Daily – April 1, 2010 « Down Write Fierce Says:

    [...] wrote a little letter recently about all the grief I get for disliking certain games. As you might expect, it brought [...]

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