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Biggest disappointment of last gen
- Thread starter Mondy
- Start date
Dorsal Axe
Member
I'd say SimCity, but I figured early on that the game would turn out to be trash. Still a shame though.
Spore is definitely one of the biggest video game disappointments of all time. If only because it isn't a result of hype and unrealistic expectations. The game was at one point this incredibly unique game full of potential. It existed. We saw it. Will Wright waxed lyrical about it. Then they went and gutted everything compelling about the game. What we got was a completely different husk of the game they had shown us. Coupled with the EA's handling of the game, it was a disaster. Absolutely unforgivable.
But christ, how the mighty have fallen. Between those two games, Maxis seem to have followed the same trajectory as Rare last gen. Hopefully things work out better for them in the post-Riccitiello era.
Oof, almost forgot about that one. That game was bad. Stings even more considering it's the only Hitman game we got all gen. The Glacier engine has a lot of potential for a really good Hitman game though, so hopefully the next one is something actually resembling...a Hitman game.
Spore is definitely one of the biggest video game disappointments of all time. If only because it isn't a result of hype and unrealistic expectations. The game was at one point this incredibly unique game full of potential. It existed. We saw it. Will Wright waxed lyrical about it. Then they went and gutted everything compelling about the game. What we got was a completely different husk of the game they had shown us. Coupled with the EA's handling of the game, it was a disaster. Absolutely unforgivable.
But christ, how the mighty have fallen. Between those two games, Maxis seem to have followed the same trajectory as Rare last gen. Hopefully things work out better for them in the post-Riccitiello era.
Oof, almost forgot about that one. That game was bad. Stings even more considering it's the only Hitman game we got all gen. The Glacier engine has a lot of potential for a really good Hitman game though, so hopefully the next one is something actually resembling...a Hitman game.
Lone_Prodigy
Member
Metroid Other M
Diablo III
Diablo III
Rodney McKay
Member
My sleeper hit of last gen was Red Faction Guerrilla so my most disappointing game of last gen was Red Faction Armageddon.
I don't think I was as hyped for any other game the entire generation as I was for RF:A. Then I saw the trailer with aliens and I was a little worried, but not enough to not preorder it at full price on Steam. Hoo boy, what a disappointment. Turn an amazing openworld destruction simulator into a linear corridor shooter with very little structures to destroy. Smart.
Banjo Kazooie Nuts and Bolts was a bit of a disappointment (because BK1 is one of my all time favorite games), but I was still able to enjoy the game for what it was and it had some of my favorite graphics and music in a game for the entire gen.
I don't think I was as hyped for any other game the entire generation as I was for RF:A. Then I saw the trailer with aliens and I was a little worried, but not enough to not preorder it at full price on Steam. Hoo boy, what a disappointment. Turn an amazing openworld destruction simulator into a linear corridor shooter with very little structures to destroy. Smart.
Banjo Kazooie Nuts and Bolts was a bit of a disappointment (because BK1 is one of my all time favorite games), but I was still able to enjoy the game for what it was and it had some of my favorite graphics and music in a game for the entire gen.
I can't decide between Mass Effect 3 and FXIII. One is a 40 hour tutorial with a half-baked endgame tacked on, the other is a straightforward corridor shooter with a dreadful story and a feeling that it was cobbled together in 12 months. I felt insulted by both games.
This right down to the letter. One of the few games i have ever pre-ordered, I was honestly expecting ME3 to be the game-to-end-all-games for me, and I was so mad after completing it that I sold it less than a month after buying.
Fortunately, a lot of those feelings passed, and with the game's formidable DLC library complete, I decided to rebuy the game 2 months ago. I accept it for what it is now and i am also thankful for the inspiration it gave me to write my own ME scripts on all the different ways I thought the series could (should) have ended.
So yes, ME3 disappointed me immensely, but some good came out of that hype train-crash as well.
backflip10019
Member
I'll jump on the Halo 4 hate train. I was a HUGE fan of Halo 3 (probably played over a thousand hours of the multiplayer), and enjoyed Reach, but completely lost interest in Halo 4.
Insomniac Games have let me down this past generation. Yes, ACiT and Resistance 3 were great games, but I don't think any of their recent outings have even come close to the masterpieces that were the original Spyro and R&C games on their platforms of origin.
On the flipside, Naughty Dog and Sucker Punch absolutely hit it out of the park on the PS3. It was the best generation for both of those studios, in my opinion.
On the flipside, Naughty Dog and Sucker Punch absolutely hit it out of the park on the PS3. It was the best generation for both of those studios, in my opinion.
Simcity.
I wanted to love this game. The first few hours were bliss, and then I had finally peeled back amazing audio/visual package to discover that there wasn't really a working simulation - and that the restrictions in place in city size utterly destroyed the fundamental point of Simcity.
Runner up has to be Crysis 2. They took everything that made Crysis 1 an amazing game, stripped it all out and replaced it with a linear shooter. What's even worse is that the fairly bare-bones story from 1 is completely manhandled in the second game, where the game both acknowledges the first while completely contradicting every major plot-point it made.
Both games were incredibly attractive pieces of shit.
I wanted to love this game. The first few hours were bliss, and then I had finally peeled back amazing audio/visual package to discover that there wasn't really a working simulation - and that the restrictions in place in city size utterly destroyed the fundamental point of Simcity.
Runner up has to be Crysis 2. They took everything that made Crysis 1 an amazing game, stripped it all out and replaced it with a linear shooter. What's even worse is that the fairly bare-bones story from 1 is completely manhandled in the second game, where the game both acknowledges the first while completely contradicting every major plot-point it made.
Both games were incredibly attractive pieces of shit.
Halo 4 was better than Reach in most ways. BR FTW. It just didn't have the maps. But it did get rid of Armor Lock.
Ray Wonder
Founder of the Wounded Tagless Children
Shadowrun for 360.. Complete disgrace of the shadowrun name. I tried so hard to get into it, but it was too painful. Just an absolute bastardization of the classic RPG.
Markitron
Is currently staging a hunger strike outside Gearbox HQ while trying to hate them to death
I didnt feel let down too much this gen tbh, I enjoyed all my anticipated games about as much as I expected to.
What I am sad about is the very low number of Star Wars games released, particularly the inexplicable lack of a Battlefront in a time when multiplayer shooters exploded and still no space sim or Republic Commando sequel. I only recall Force Unleashed 1/2 and SWTOR, all of which I enjoyed.
What I am sad about is the very low number of Star Wars games released, particularly the inexplicable lack of a Battlefront in a time when multiplayer shooters exploded and still no space sim or Republic Commando sequel. I only recall Force Unleashed 1/2 and SWTOR, all of which I enjoyed.
HyperCubed4
Member
Loads to choose from.
Assassin's Creed 3
LA Noire
GTA IV
Far Cry 3 (console-version)
I'd say LA Noire if I had to choose one, but many other open-world games I played this gen were pretty disappointing. AC3 didn't allow much free-running like its predecessors, LA Noire was hideously linear for an open-world game, GTA IV's physics fought with what most people wanted to do and Far Cry 3 was pretty poor on consoles (with an uninspired story to boot).
I have a feeling this gen will be the year of open-world indie games. Hopefully they can breathe some life into the genre.
Assassin's Creed 3
LA Noire
GTA IV
Far Cry 3 (console-version)
I'd say LA Noire if I had to choose one, but many other open-world games I played this gen were pretty disappointing. AC3 didn't allow much free-running like its predecessors, LA Noire was hideously linear for an open-world game, GTA IV's physics fought with what most people wanted to do and Far Cry 3 was pretty poor on consoles (with an uninspired story to boot).
I have a feeling this gen will be the year of open-world indie games. Hopefully they can breathe some life into the genre.
GenericJoe
Member
L.A. Noire for me.
Metroid: Other M and Assassin's Creed III are both up there too, but still less of a disappointment for me than L.A. Noire. I was already braced for Asscreed being terrible after playing Revelations for the first time a week before III was released. And for whatever reason I never had any hype for Other M being good in the first place.
Metroid: Other M and Assassin's Creed III are both up there too, but still less of a disappointment for me than L.A. Noire. I was already braced for Asscreed being terrible after playing Revelations for the first time a week before III was released. And for whatever reason I never had any hype for Other M being good in the first place.
Markitron
Is currently staging a hunger strike outside Gearbox HQ while trying to hate them to death
You should, 2 is a masterpiece and 3 is nowhere near as bad as its made out. The ending is a bit janky but the 30 hours before it is pretty good.
Alan Wake was definitely disappointing for me.
Also I've been playing through TLoU, and so far it hasn't really been my cup of tea. Maybe this style of game just isn't for me, but it's been rather disappointing so far after hearing so much positivity here. Especially the intro, which impressed a lot of people and just did nothing for me.
Also I've been playing through TLoU, and so far it hasn't really been my cup of tea. Maybe this style of game just isn't for me, but it's been rather disappointing so far after hearing so much positivity here. Especially the intro, which impressed a lot of people and just did nothing for me.
Totaly a Duder
Banned
Banjo Nuts & Bolts.
The N64 games are still a prime example of what a perfect platform game should be.
The N64 games are still a prime example of what a perfect platform game should be.
MetalGearOnlineK
Member
Paper Mario: Sticker Star (It was released during last gen, does that count?) They basically took everything I liked about Paper Mario games, and removed it. Badges, EXP, partners, etc. 
that post about Japanese culture still is funny to this day
LightofRohan
Member
Assassins Creed 1 was probably my biggest one. I still very much enjoy the game and its style, but I was beyond hyped for that game. Its repetitiveness killed it...
Also GTAIV is a good choice for this! I was so bummed. But probably Diablo 3 takes the crown, because it was suppose to take over my life like no other game could... it did not. Still excited for the PS4 version (with expansion!), going to be fun doing couch coop with the GF.
Also GTAIV is a good choice for this! I was so bummed. But probably Diablo 3 takes the crown, because it was suppose to take over my life like no other game could... it did not. Still excited for the PS4 version (with expansion!), going to be fun doing couch coop with the GF.
Ooccoo
Member
I hear ya. Bought a 360, wi-fi adapter ($160 at the time), Xbox Live Gold + SEGA pass bs for this shitty game. I still play Blue Burst to this day so imagine my disappointment with the game.
Darkmakaimura
Can You Imagine What SureAI Is Going To Do With Garfield?
I dare say fan fiction would have done a better job at the ending than Bioware did.
Andrew Korenchkin
Member
BioShock Infinite in certain ways, although it's still probably my second favorite game of the generation. I do hold Irrational to almost ungodly standards, though, considering how much ambition the team always has. I think that the game is terrific, but the team's ambition was not realized in this game. Well, I just hope that they use everything they accomplished and push themselves into oblivion next generation. With superior hardware that may let them accomplish god knows what, my expectations for them is super high.
Green Yoshi
Member
I can't understand the hate for AC III. Only AC in which I picked up every single collectible. I liked it a lot more than Brotherhood and AC I.
My disappointment of the gen:
My disappointment of the gen:
biggersmaller
Banned
Nintendo broke my heart when Wii was announced as a SD system. After loving the GameCube I was really looking forward to HD Nintendo, though I was part of the problem in buying the thing for drunken bowling.
Now I am enjoying a WiiU - the system that should've launched in 2006.
Now I am enjoying a WiiU - the system that should've launched in 2006.
Later Alligator
Member
aliens: colonial marines
TheJollyCorner
Member
Going into last gen I had three major 'wants'... and all three disappointed me tremendously.
In no particular order.
The Want: Next Gen Silent Hill showing off what Imamura and Co. could do with more powerful hardware via the 360 & PS3.
What Happened: The two Japanese divisions of 'Team Silent' are mysteriously spread to the wind and future SH games are outsourced by various Western studios (everywhere from US based, to UK based, to the Czech Republic) with mixed results, ranging from ok to horrible.
Now What?: The IP seems dead. There's some talk of Kojima Pro being interested in it, but Kojima has said a lot of crazy shit. Outlook is bleak.
The Want: New Fumido Ueda games for the PS3. He made two of PS2's best, surely he can only go up from here.
What Happened: PS3 released in 2006. It is now the end of 2013. Nothing. Oh... we saw it. It looked wonderful and true to Ueda's style. Then things went dark. Rumors swirled of development problems, followed by production assistance coming from the West, followed by news that Ueda has 'quit' Sony but is still working to finish his one game announced since SotC. Nothing new has been shown in years.
Now What?: It seems the new "worst kept secret" in gaming now is Ueda's game, The Last Guardian, has transitioned to PS4 and it will be a major exclusive for the new platform. The question is- how much longer do we have to wait; not only to play it, but to even see it in its new form? Regardless, it seems Ueda's destiny might be tied to an inevitable 'mobile game' purgatory after this... but at least we get one more potential masterpiece to round-out a beautiful trilogy, right?
The Want: a next generation of top-quality Final Fantasy games, once again taking advantage of new, impressive hardware.
What Happened: absolute chaos within Square-Enix. Seemingly horrible internal management, leading to a mainline FF with tons of wasted potential (FFXIII), embarrassing "make-up" sequels to try to appease fans who were so disappointed by the central game, an online FF that was so poorly planned and rushed that it took a ton of money, hours, and man-power to fix (leading to other Japanese-based productions being scrapped), finally leading to an ambitious 'action-based' FF via the Kingdom Hearts team with VersusXIII... which became a running joke due to little being shown of it or even talked about.
Now What? A glimmer of hope after A Realm Reborn: FFXIV (which is excellent) and confirmation that VersusXIII has transitioned into a next-gen FFXV... and it looks stunning. Regardless, it's going to take a lot for S-E to get back in good-graces with FF fans. Last gen was an absolute disaster for the franchise; damn near back-breaking. It's an uphill battle, but FF can still survive last gen.
In no particular order.
The Want: Next Gen Silent Hill showing off what Imamura and Co. could do with more powerful hardware via the 360 & PS3.
What Happened: The two Japanese divisions of 'Team Silent' are mysteriously spread to the wind and future SH games are outsourced by various Western studios (everywhere from US based, to UK based, to the Czech Republic) with mixed results, ranging from ok to horrible.
Now What?: The IP seems dead. There's some talk of Kojima Pro being interested in it, but Kojima has said a lot of crazy shit. Outlook is bleak.
The Want: New Fumido Ueda games for the PS3. He made two of PS2's best, surely he can only go up from here.
What Happened: PS3 released in 2006. It is now the end of 2013. Nothing. Oh... we saw it. It looked wonderful and true to Ueda's style. Then things went dark. Rumors swirled of development problems, followed by production assistance coming from the West, followed by news that Ueda has 'quit' Sony but is still working to finish his one game announced since SotC. Nothing new has been shown in years.
Now What?: It seems the new "worst kept secret" in gaming now is Ueda's game, The Last Guardian, has transitioned to PS4 and it will be a major exclusive for the new platform. The question is- how much longer do we have to wait; not only to play it, but to even see it in its new form? Regardless, it seems Ueda's destiny might be tied to an inevitable 'mobile game' purgatory after this... but at least we get one more potential masterpiece to round-out a beautiful trilogy, right?
The Want: a next generation of top-quality Final Fantasy games, once again taking advantage of new, impressive hardware.
What Happened: absolute chaos within Square-Enix. Seemingly horrible internal management, leading to a mainline FF with tons of wasted potential (FFXIII), embarrassing "make-up" sequels to try to appease fans who were so disappointed by the central game, an online FF that was so poorly planned and rushed that it took a ton of money, hours, and man-power to fix (leading to other Japanese-based productions being scrapped), finally leading to an ambitious 'action-based' FF via the Kingdom Hearts team with VersusXIII... which became a running joke due to little being shown of it or even talked about.
Now What? A glimmer of hope after A Realm Reborn: FFXIV (which is excellent) and confirmation that VersusXIII has transitioned into a next-gen FFXV... and it looks stunning. Regardless, it's going to take a lot for S-E to get back in good-graces with FF fans. Last gen was an absolute disaster for the franchise; damn near back-breaking. It's an uphill battle, but FF can still survive last gen.
I kinda share the same opinion, even though the "main" Ratchet games were awesome. The problem is they wanted to do something "different" with A4O and FFA because many reviewers said "they're doing too much of the same thing". And unfortunately, they didn't manage to find the good formula for both games. Nexus is good, but is too short to be a full-sized Ratchet experience. I hope the future PS4 episodes will really stand out of the ground.
And let's say it, they clearly f---ed up with Fuse.
I disagree, but I can see why people wouldn't like it. I'm playing through it right now (I just beat the fifth Grigori, the Armaros Manifest on Aeos) and I'm enjoying it more than Till the End of Time (but not as much as The Second Story). The characters...yeah, I'll give you that. I only really like Edge, Reimi, Myuria, Bacchus, and Sarah. I could live without the others.
For me...hmmm. NiGHTS: Journey of Dreams. Sure I enjoyed it, but it wasn't nearly as good as the original. Not even close.
Space Runaway
Member
RAGE: I enjoyed it but overall it was very disappointing and the idea of it possibly being id's final game is just sad.
Gears of War 2 MP: I enjoyed SP but the MP portion is what I was looking forward to most and they totally botched it. Such a shame.
The King of Fighters XII: $60 shareware with busted online.
Final Fantasy XIII: I was hoping this would somehow rekindle my lack of interest in the modern FF series but it just buried it further.
Uncharted 3: Loved 1+2 and beat each of them multiple times. Beat U3 once and have never felt the urge to play it again. The odd shooting mechanics, the "I no longer care when I'm shot" ai, all the hallucination stuff... Bleh.
Ninja Gaiden 3: What the fuck
Gears of War 2 MP: I enjoyed SP but the MP portion is what I was looking forward to most and they totally botched it. Such a shame.
The King of Fighters XII: $60 shareware with busted online.
Final Fantasy XIII: I was hoping this would somehow rekindle my lack of interest in the modern FF series but it just buried it further.
Uncharted 3: Loved 1+2 and beat each of them multiple times. Beat U3 once and have never felt the urge to play it again. The odd shooting mechanics, the "I no longer care when I'm shot" ai, all the hallucination stuff... Bleh.
Ninja Gaiden 3: What the fuck
Robot Pants
Member
Oh what am I saying.
Of course it's Gears 2 MP
Of course it's Gears 2 MP
Resident Evil 5: RE4 is one of my all-time favorite games, but I didn't want the next part in the series to be a safe sequel... which was exactly what RE5 was. Finished it once, never gave it a second look.
Resistance 2: with Fall of Man, Insomniac proved they could make a great fps. The sequel on the other hand was a complete mess, one of the worst sp campaigns I've played in a shooter. Luckily they redeemed themselves with 3.
Batman: Arkham City: AA came out of nowhere and surprised many. What I loved about it was its Metroid-like design. It was a lot of fun to explore the asylum and turn over every nook and cranny, while getting cool new upgrades. City on the other hand felt very unfocused, trying too many things at once. There was a bigger rogue gallery, but none of the villians were fleshed out and weren't memorable at all. Nothing like the Scarecrow fight in this game. The design in general paled in comparison to the original. Very disappointed by City.
Prince of Persia 08: I remember seeing the first screens of this game, it looked incredible. To this day it still looks insane, but it's a chore to play through. PoP had repetitive 'platform' and traversal sections which were pretty much long qte's and required no precision. There was a lack of engagement in combat, because you couldn''t die. The mechanics fit a game with fail states, but by removing those, you remove what makes these games fun. It's easy to get what they were going for. They wanted to make something everyone could play through and enjoy, they just approached it the wrong way. Later this gen, a game like Journey got it right.
Resistance 2: with Fall of Man, Insomniac proved they could make a great fps. The sequel on the other hand was a complete mess, one of the worst sp campaigns I've played in a shooter. Luckily they redeemed themselves with 3.
Batman: Arkham City: AA came out of nowhere and surprised many. What I loved about it was its Metroid-like design. It was a lot of fun to explore the asylum and turn over every nook and cranny, while getting cool new upgrades. City on the other hand felt very unfocused, trying too many things at once. There was a bigger rogue gallery, but none of the villians were fleshed out and weren't memorable at all. Nothing like the Scarecrow fight in this game. The design in general paled in comparison to the original. Very disappointed by City.
Prince of Persia 08: I remember seeing the first screens of this game, it looked incredible. To this day it still looks insane, but it's a chore to play through. PoP had repetitive 'platform' and traversal sections which were pretty much long qte's and required no precision. There was a lack of engagement in combat, because you couldn''t die. The mechanics fit a game with fail states, but by removing those, you remove what makes these games fun. It's easy to get what they were going for. They wanted to make something everyone could play through and enjoy, they just approached it the wrong way. Later this gen, a game like Journey got it right.
Darksiders 2 I guess for me.
There were definitely worse games this gen, like say, Assassins Creed 3, but for most of them I saw that coming a mile away. It probably helped that I'm mostly a PC gamer and with PC versions often coming out a bit later means you generally already know about a games pros and cons before you get it.
I thought MGS 4 was at least an interesting train-wreck.
There were definitely worse games this gen, like say, Assassins Creed 3, but for most of them I saw that coming a mile away. It probably helped that I'm mostly a PC gamer and with PC versions often coming out a bit later means you generally already know about a games pros and cons before you get it.
I thought MGS 4 was at least an interesting train-wreck.
Skid 4 Dead
Member
Yeah, I may have over exaggerated a bit, being a bit of a fanboy and all. Everything they added, in my mind, was a step back. The character, melee weapons, and even though I wanted/the sequel should have new infected, I really did not like playing the jokey
and even though it's on me, couldn't play the charger for the life of me
supervillain
Member
alan wake & gta 4 for me.
Multiplayer I assume? Campaign and horde mode were just fine out of the gate. Never played proper versus myself, though.
Over a decade of anticipation
It doesn't matter how good that game turned out, we would have hated it regardless. It was built up as the holy grail. There is no possible way it wouldn't have been a disappointment.
That's not to defend a totally average game though.
Hipster Cthulhu
Banned
The Moment you
kill Andrew Ryan
