darthdevidem01 on 30 October 2009
The Most Over-Hyped & Disappointing Games This Generation.
I'm going to list here, the most awfully disappointing and over-hyped games this generation. It isn't a hard list to write, and you all probably have your own game to add on here too. Tell me what you agree/disagree with over on our forums. Now lets get started with a more than obvious one!
Halo 3 - Xbox 360.
A let down.
Now I won't be really, really mean to bungie and include the second one too. But seriously, who actually thought these sequels, although epic in their own right, lived up to their almost god-like expectations? It was such a shame that Bungie failed to deliver, as the first Halo was an amazing achievement, putting the Xbox and FPS back on to the gaming market.
Halo's second and third outing were fantastic, don't get me wrong. They just weren't worth all the purely ridiculous hype that was created. Obviously Bungie and Microsoft didn't mind all the attention, lapping it up with outstanding viral advertising and thus bigging the game up even more. Although with hype comes insane responsibility to deliver, as if the game is anything but A+ material it will be shunned.
Xbox gamers who enjoyed Halo's multiplayer weren't as let down. Because most agree that as Halo developed further on, the multiplayer got better. Albeit that the first Halo had a pistol miles better than the second and third, thus Bungie had to re-instate it in ODST! Yay!
Halo's second and third outing were fantastic, don't get me wrong. They just weren't worth all the purely ridiculous hype that was created. Obviously Bungie and Microsoft didn't mind all the attention, lapping it up with outstanding viral advertising and thus bigging the game up even more. Although with hype comes insane responsibility to deliver, as if the game is anything but A+ material it will be shunned.
Xbox gamers who enjoyed Halo's multiplayer weren't as let down. Because most agree that as Halo developed further on, the multiplayer got better. Albeit that the first Halo had a pistol miles better than the second and third, thus Bungie had to re-instate it in ODST! Yay!
Saints Row - Xbox 360.
Not in the same league.
Don't worry Xbox 360, you now have a GTA! It was excellent news, and the game had (then) excellent graphics. Unfortunately, Saints Row was absoute naff in comparison to Rockstar's Grand Theft Auto. I was sat there playing it, thinking I might as well stick on San Andreas. I did eventually. Okay, it wasn't bad for a laugh, but if you have ever played a Grand Theft Auto game you will know there is 100% more character in the city and cast. It was a good filler for the gap between San Andreas and GTA IV.
When GTA IV eventually did come out, on both consoles you then realised how absymal Saints Row was. The only good thing I can remember about it now was the avatar customization.
When GTA IV eventually did come out, on both consoles you then realised how absymal Saints Row was. The only good thing I can remember about it now was the avatar customization.
Killzone 2 - PS3
Anyone not a medic?
Alright, enough Xbox bashing. This is is a big one right here, and I know alot of you will disagree with me but I still hold this opinion strong enough to list it. Killzone 2 recieved hype unlike any other game in the universe. I can't think, off the top of my head, another game in any genre that recieved this much attention. It also happened to come out relatively close to Bungie's FPS, which caused a huge amount of bickering and banter among fanboys of each console.
Killzone 2 wasn't actually that bad at first, after playing it quite alot I can't deny that I did enjoy it. Though after much contemplation and thought I realised, and I know I'm not the only one here, that Killzone 2 did nothing new for the FPS genre at all. Multiplayer-wise it did throw in a fancy 'rolling' objectives based mode, which was default. This was new, but still not enough to satisfy alot of people. They had years and years of production and all they could think of was that? Get out. Shiny graphics can't hide everything.
Killzone 2 wasn't actually that bad at first, after playing it quite alot I can't deny that I did enjoy it. Though after much contemplation and thought I realised, and I know I'm not the only one here, that Killzone 2 did nothing new for the FPS genre at all. Multiplayer-wise it did throw in a fancy 'rolling' objectives based mode, which was default. This was new, but still not enough to satisfy alot of people. They had years and years of production and all they could think of was that? Get out. Shiny graphics can't hide everything.
Aion: Tower of Eternity - PC
Tower of Restriction.
You can disagree all you like, this very Asian MMORPG by NCSoft (Guild Wars) was abdominable. Its punch line was akin to Red Bull's, 'We can give you wings! You can fly everywhere and anytime!' they boasted. You get these aformentioned angelic wings while reaching level 10 and becoming a Deva, becoming an immortal guardian in short. You flew around with utter joy written across your face, dodging trees and passing flora and fauna at blurring speed.
All well and good, until a message pops up saying your time flying had expired and that you need to land asap or risk falling to your death and demise. Even more of an issue is the fact that you can only fly in certain zones, it is such a game-breaking restriction that forces you to ask, why did they bother? Mounts do exactly the same in other MMORPGs, we were all fooled.
All well and good, until a message pops up saying your time flying had expired and that you need to land asap or risk falling to your death and demise. Even more of an issue is the fact that you can only fly in certain zones, it is such a game-breaking restriction that forces you to ask, why did they bother? Mounts do exactly the same in other MMORPGs, we were all fooled.
Haze - PS3
No Timesplitters - No fun.
Ah Free Radical, you painted your own masterpiece with the Timesplitter series. That old PS2 multiplayer mayhem and total carnage of a single player campaign, it was fantastic. With the PS3's powerful graphics beckoning Free Radical to do something different and most importantly, more mature, it answered in a horrible fashion.
Haze was well, hazey on details at first but after a while we all found it to be a FPS revovlved around a futuristic, dystopian world where Private Military Companies roamed freely and...well you need not know anymore because it's on this list. The voice acting was an atrocity in comparison to even the average game. Multiplayer was pants too, with the focus on the drug that the PMC's use to enhance their senses. Playing either the rebels or PMC troops respectively, you sabotaged and hunted each other down in usual FPS fashion. We didn't like it, we all wanted Timesplitters! Free Radical, one of the former most respected and fascinating British Developers is now in Administration. Damn, if there is a morale for this story, it's stick to what you know, even if you're bored.
Haze was well, hazey on details at first but after a while we all found it to be a FPS revovlved around a futuristic, dystopian world where Private Military Companies roamed freely and...well you need not know anymore because it's on this list. The voice acting was an atrocity in comparison to even the average game. Multiplayer was pants too, with the focus on the drug that the PMC's use to enhance their senses. Playing either the rebels or PMC troops respectively, you sabotaged and hunted each other down in usual FPS fashion. We didn't like it, we all wanted Timesplitters! Free Radical, one of the former most respected and fascinating British Developers is now in Administration. Damn, if there is a morale for this story, it's stick to what you know, even if you're bored.
Far Cry 2 - PS3/Xbox 360/PC
Wait...some...more.
I'm not going to say 'Far Cry 2 wasn't what it could have been...' because it damn well tried hard to be good. I still think the map editor is extraordinary. I can spend hours on there creating, or trying valiantly, to conjure anything out of it remotely interesting. Unfortunately, the game itself isn't amazing. I think there was a little too much hype and not enough substance. After the most boring taxi journey ever concieved, you're thrusted into this beautiful FPS and away you go, with the exhiliration of exploration and sandbox gameplay at its best, or worst.
I'm a male, so multi-tasking is not my forte. Reading that map and driving that jeep is one of the most boring and frustrating game experiences ever. Not to mention if you hit a rock, or a poor Zebra you can damage your car and have to fix it with your magic spanner, get back inside and drive off speedily while getting shot at by some randoms that respawn every five minutes. Oh and if you don't have your own vehicule, go wait for the bus. Yeah you heard right...
I'm a male, so multi-tasking is not my forte. Reading that map and driving that jeep is one of the most boring and frustrating game experiences ever. Not to mention if you hit a rock, or a poor Zebra you can damage your car and have to fix it with your magic spanner, get back inside and drive off speedily while getting shot at by some randoms that respawn every five minutes. Oh and if you don't have your own vehicule, go wait for the bus. Yeah you heard right...
Lair - PS3
Whip crack.
At the time, its graphics were outstanding. Visually it was madness, we haden't seen much like it before. Hundreds of individual soldiers fighting a chaotic battle while raging dragons swoop overhead, fire bubbling in their stomachs. All in all, if you ever played Lair when it first shipped out, you had to play with the Sixaxis motion control and pretty much everyone hated it after a few minutes contemplated novelty. Now, with normal controls available for Lair it is a better game, albeit by a very small margin.
Shallow, repetitive and downright boredom-inducing, Lair isn't what it could of been, or should have been. It was apalling on the behalf of everyone involved with it.
Shallow, repetitive and downright boredom-inducing, Lair isn't what it could of been, or should have been. It was apalling on the behalf of everyone involved with it.
Resident Evil 5 - PS3/Xbox 360/PC
Oh noes!
It just wasn't as good as its former counterpart. Resident Evil 4 changed the face of one of the most well-known survival horror franchises forever. Oh we missed that awkward camera angle and fast depletion of ammunition. Nah, we didn't really we were having way too much fun shotgunning poor Cows and rescuing an annoying young women around an enviroment that couldn't be more depressing if it tried.
It revived survival horror for the majority of gamers, with more jumps and spooks than I could handle. Can you remember the Regenerators? Jesus they were creepy. Alas, we recieve this very Hollywood action game for our next-gen consoles. It looked good, real good. But that's about all it had going for it if I were to be brutal. Online co-op was okay but I never bothered with it as it's just generally more fun to have someone beside you, in the same room when you are surrounded with those go-fast zombies. Yeah I said zombies.
In the end though, Resident Evil 5 didn't do as much as its predecessor did. It didn't develop on it enough to pass off as having been worth the amount of hype it had. Sorry Capcom, really. This has nothing to do with the fact that I hate Sheva. Kinda.
It revived survival horror for the majority of gamers, with more jumps and spooks than I could handle. Can you remember the Regenerators? Jesus they were creepy. Alas, we recieve this very Hollywood action game for our next-gen consoles. It looked good, real good. But that's about all it had going for it if I were to be brutal. Online co-op was okay but I never bothered with it as it's just generally more fun to have someone beside you, in the same room when you are surrounded with those go-fast zombies. Yeah I said zombies.
In the end though, Resident Evil 5 didn't do as much as its predecessor did. It didn't develop on it enough to pass off as having been worth the amount of hype it had. Sorry Capcom, really. This has nothing to do with the fact that I hate Sheva. Kinda.
Tomb Raider: Legend/Underworld - Xbox 360/PC/PS3
Thinking about retirement?
Especially with Uncharted 2: Among Thieves just dominating action-adventure games. Tomb Raider should give up. Well, they should have given up a long time ago, remember the dreadful Angel Of Darkness? It has been downhill since there to be honest. The combat is old and clunky and Lara has about as much character as a scarcely dressed manakin.
We can hold on to Lara as a very fond memory of a grand British execution of sexy, heart-pumping Indiana Jones-esque action. But Naughty Dog has wiped the floor with this series. Nate is simply choking Ms Croft out of any last, adventurous breath that she has. It's sad, but a necessity.
We can hold on to Lara as a very fond memory of a grand British execution of sexy, heart-pumping Indiana Jones-esque action. But Naughty Dog has wiped the floor with this series. Nate is simply choking Ms Croft out of any last, adventurous breath that she has. It's sad, but a necessity.
I hope you enjoyed my take on the most over-hyped and/or disappointing games this generation so far. There is more but I simply wanted to keep it as short as sweet as I possibly could. Want to agree/disagree? Head over to the forums.
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Thats Vg Sensations list
Here's mine:
in no order ----- GTA4, HAZE, Zelda Twilight Princess, RE5
Do you agree with em? If not what would you Add/Take away?
