10 most diappointing games of this year

You know what disappointed me the most this year, and not for regular gameplay or 'teh shineys' reasons.

Soul Calibur 4

They sold out massively to Lucas Arts and their newest game, Force Unleashed.

That game physically hurts me when I see the star wars stages in it, yet you see review sites claiming that it was this major 'nerdgasm'

I admit I was never a rabid Star Wars fan, but I never hated it so adamantly as I did after this debauchery, it wouldn't have been so bad if they had been put into the extra character menu like the rest of the cameo / guest characters.

But no way was that happening, not only are they in there, they get their own stages AND they occupy the top row, usually reserved for the main characters of the game.

Honestly that was the biggest let down this year, we all saw FO3's letdown a mile away (at least we pessimists amongst the masses) but this one blindsided me, stabbed me in the back, and twisted three times over, stabbed again elsewhere, and broke the blade off.
 
I used to BE a hard core Star Wars fan, it took George Lucas a lot of effort to destroy the love I had for the franchise but he managed it. What little was left Lucasarts games finished off for him. I don't want Force Unleashed, I want Full Throttle 2.
 
TheRatKing said:
IIRC, they were almost exactly the same. Unless System Shock had a weight limit (I don't think it did, but it might have), then it was virtually the same.

Hmm, unless you mean that the items were sized better in SS2, like armor. The armor in Deus Ex was only one square big, while in SS2 they were 4 squares big. Man, I really gotta go play SS2 again.
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Same principle but SS2's layout as in the equipped slots, size of items and just general design was far better.

Mord_Sith said:
You know what disappointed me the most this year, and not for regular gameplay or 'teh shineys' reasons.

Soul Calibur 4

They sold out massively to Lucas Arts and their newest game, Force Unleashed.
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Oh yeah I'd blanked it out of my mind but the Force Unleashed itself was a major disappointment.
 
SupermanOctopus said:
What? What's the difficult choice in Mass Effect? The one which you have no almost no stake in, and which results in nothing happening?
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I don't know what everyone else was talking about, but I was talking about the part where [spoiler:bbdb5d9c95]you get to choose which one of your allies to sacrifice.[/spoiler:bbdb5d9c95]
 
Spore definitely deserves the top rank on that list. The editor is fun for a while, the rest of the game fails to deliver anything but boredom.

On inventory systems:
The best I've seen is the one from Brigade E5: New Jagged Union, which also has the best thought-out RtwP combat engine so far. You actually have to buy backpacks, tactical vests, ammo-belts and cartouches to increase your inventory space and hold all your weapons, grenades and stuff. Of course there's also a weight limit plus your movements are slowed down if you carry more, independent of the weight limit. You can overload, but then you can only sprint (or move in other strenuous ways, i.e crawl) a short distance without getting exhausted, which will affect your combat efficiency. It's almost a perfect implementation.
 
maximaz said:
SupermanOctopus said:
What? What's the difficult choice in Mass Effect? The one which you have no almost no stake in, and which results in nothing happening?
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I don't know what everyone else was talking about, but I was talking about the part where [spoiler:fc9c20135d]you get to choose which one of your allies to sacrifice.[/spoiler:fc9c20135d]
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I don't even remember when that happens, isn't it at the end of the game anyway?

I was thinking of the final ending choice, which was completely laughable.
 
TheRatKing said:
It seems that all of the studios have their own little niche that they are too afraid to leave. Bethesda makes FPPARGPs with massive worlds, Bioware is how you describe. It seems developers are lacking in courage, and that is what makes good games great, the courage to make them different and original.
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I think it's kinda interesting how unlike many games of the past which were hailed by and large to be classic good games, games nowadays are more often than not polarizing and very few games can be agreed by the majority to be excellent games. The small glimmer of hope I see is that sick (as the kids like to say) graphics are no longer as entrancing & hypnotizing to some anymore which is positively hopeful.

Maybe more and more devs will face rejection of their shallow ways and start to come back to what makes a game a "game" and a classic *hint* it's called "gameplay". That good ole thing that used to exist before photorealistic graphics came along and people incorrectly confused good graphics with good "games". Back then graphics weren't a crutch, they were the engine to execute the game not the main attraction.
 
SupermanOctopus said:
I don't even remember when that happens, isn't it at the end of the game anyway?
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Not really but it is well into the game. Other choices are not as important but do make a little difference.
 
Jebus said:
I dunno, maybe I'm getting to old for mainstream games. They all cater to the same 14-year olds anyway...
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I feel the same for a couple of years now. This doesn't need to be a bad thing since it sparkled my (lost) interest in reading and excercising again.
 
Seriously. Mario Kart for Wii was #3. Not Mario Golf...not Carnival Games...not Wii Fit... or any of the other games that actualy made me want to throw my wii out the window, but Mario Kart. One of the only games for the Wii that was actualy FUN. Screw that.

I'll make mine simple. pick 10 of the how many freakin games that Nintendo came out with in the last year. You know, the ones that make Nintendo fans die a little inside just by looking at the cover.

pool_party.jpg


Yeah.
 
Hmm....
Interesting list (from the OP's article link).
I only played 2 of the games there (Age of Conan and, via a friend's console, Dead Space...didn't finish it).
I kinda have to agree with those two, tho'.
There were 2 other games that I did want to try out: the new Prince of Persia and Mirror's Edge. And, despite that review, I probably will still get 'em (style over substance is ok, IMHO, once in a while...tho' it's kinda sad that a lot of the newer games are of that mold)

Most disappointing game for me, this year, would be Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning. IMHO, it was just another 'typical MMO' dressed up to look like Warhammer (of which I'm a fan. IMHO, they butchered the lore and failed to do anything solid for the atmosphere. The game may look visually appealing, but even it's presentation has inconsistencies)
Other disappointments would be Call of Duty: World at War (I don't care if it's WW2, but the game feels rather unresponsive when compared to CoD 4:MW) and, to some extent, Fallout 3.

Re: Mass Effect (PC)
I enjoyed it, but the combat and the treks on the various 'generic' worlds on the Mako was rather tedious and looked/felt uninspired.
Still, I was actually playing it a second time around (even printed out a 'checklist' and was aiming for a 'perfect' character using multiple playthroughs) when the game became 'crappy' due to the Bring Down the Sky DLC (which introduced, at least on my end, performance bugs, I think).

Re: Fallout 3
As a fan of the second game (liked it better than the first one), the lack of depth, for the most part, was disappointing (this mainly pertains to the way quests are handled, especially the Main Quest).
Gameplay is so-so: I like FPSs in general, so the feel of the combat for FO 3 is usually annoying. Perhaps it's also pride kicking in, but I'd rather not use VATS to resolve combat when stuff gets hairy.
The graphics are pretty. IMHO, it helps w/ the immersion, but it's not really enough.
It's kinda annoying that I spend more time now refreshing my browser on Fallout Nexus 'today's mods' page, than actually playing the game. I guess that's where this game will eventually start to 'pick up': the modding.
Hopefully the upcoming DLCs will be worthwhile. *crosses fingers*
All that said, it's still one of the better CRPGs of the year (for the PC, anyway...*sigh* I want a PS 3 for Valkyria Chronicles), and I'd still recommend it to folks (tho' with a less than gentle nudge towards FO Nexus).
 
Fallout 3: Even worse than I thought it would be. Empty, humorless, devoid of meaning. Full of sound and fury, signifying nothing.

Left 4 Dead: Not nearly enough maps. Repetitive even with the director AI. Gameplay too hectic. Not really a zombie game, since they are technically infected and not zombies. Still waiting for that real zombie FPS.

GTA IV PC: Real letdown and a step back for the franchise. Adding realism to the game made it a lot less fun. Although technically still very impressive, the performance issues, bugs, and comparatively poor graphics can't be ignored. Also, lacks much of the humor that defined the franchise.

Spore: Wasn't really expecting much, but it was still very disappointing. Too simplified and too boring. You'd be better of just playing the games Spore attempts to emulate.
 
DirtyDreamDesigner said:
GTA IV PC: Real letdown and a step back for the franchise. Adding realism to the game made it a lot less fun. Although technically still very impressive, the performance issues, bugs, and comparatively poor graphics can't be ignored. Also, lacks much of the humor that defined the franchise.
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I thought the same thing about it. But i think we should wait for the PC version of Saints Row 2.
 
It wasn't the realism that sucked the fun out of GTA IV for me. Once I adjusted my driving style to the newer physics it wasn't that bad. What irritated the living hell out of me was the friendship simulator bullshit. Drive all the way across town, prep for a mission and then *ring ring* "Cousin, let us go bowling!" How about not Roman? How about you ram that bowling ball up your ass and never call my cell phone again?
 
Saint's Row 2 is fun, but it got boring a lot faster than GTA IV did.

Saint's Row 2's combat system is a lot better for massive all-out gunfights, but it's woefully boring at other times.

Maybe when Saint's Row 3 comes along they'll be better matched, but I still think Volition needs to improve it's formula more.
 
I haven't tried Saints Row beyond a demo of the first one. I think I'll try renting 2 next weekend and test drive it.
 
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