Metal Gear Solid V :
Yes, the game is flawed. Yes, the story has issues, the game world feels barren and not as interactive as I would've wanted and the ending is very unsatisfying. But the sheer amount of player agency and fun you can have in it, finding different ways to mess with enemy guards and taking out enemy checkpoints makes it a very fun and enjoyable experience. I spent a lot of time just going around the combat environments finding better soldiers to extract and testing out researched weapons and equipment etc.
Resident Evil 5 :
I was apprehensive about the game since the common consensus among many is to skip 5 and 6 entirely, but I gave it a shot and I found it like a very entertaining horror-themed action game. The gameplay feels less clunky than RE4 to accommodate it being more action-oriented and despite some issues relating to managing the AI partner, I actually enjoyed having Sheva along for the ride. It was a great simulation of co-op even when playing alone. The inventory management is a bit of a hassle because of how so very tight it is and you can't to my knowledge transfer weapons mid-level. And the DLCs were also fun additions, as was the Mercenaries mode.
Max Payne 3 :
Max Payne 1 will always style-wise be my favorite Max Payne. The music, the comic-book cutscenes, the just-perfect mix of silly / serious style, the Sam Lake-constipation face Max and the setting of a New York in the middle of a snow storm are impossible to compete with.
That said, I think that Max Payne 3 does the right thing of taking Max into a different setting because imo MP2 treaded the same path as MP1 too much, and despite being very different in style from Max Payne 1 and 2, I think Max Payne 3 really nails the feel of being a playable action movie. And the vastly improved gunplay (taking cover, better functioning shoot dodge that allows you to stay on the floor after a shoot dodge) and level of detail in gunplay feedback (the gore, the kill cams, environment destruction) make Max Payne 3 very satisfying game to play.
While these games were decently popular, even would say "hits", I think within their respective fandoms they've been in imo opinion really really hated. While I understand a lot of the reasonings why some would dislike them, I think that missing out on these titles would've been a big mistake.
