Biggest Disappointments 2008

[diablopath]

Title says it all.

What games were you entirely stoked for, but completely let down by?

I'd have to say the highest ones on my list are DMC4 and GTA4. Neither game really did what earlier iterations of each title did for me. I never did complete either one due to lack of interest and feeling let down.

I should also include Soul Calibur 4 in it, but I do still get some fun play out of it with my buddies, so it kinda evens out.

EDIT: Please, God, somebody edit my title to levels of non idiocy.

[Blue]

MGS4.

It had been a while since I played the first games and after this was announced I was incredibly excited and the commercials only fueled that. This was the title that made me finally break down and get a PS3.

I was bored to tears. Didn't even make it 4 hours in. I think it's more of a personal thing and not entirely the game itself, but I do feel as though I've outgrown the series. Beautiful movie, though.

[Primus]

GTA4. I got bored of it instantly. Huge waste of money.

Soul Calibur 4. My main character had no changes to his moveset so I felt I was playing SC3. Nothing challenging or fun to master, it got old quick.

Fable 2. I just felt there weren't that many steps forward, and a few steps backwards.

I have a feeling Fallout 3 will end up joining the list of games that won't hold my interest to completion, as Oblivon before it.

[NoName]

Spore. I had looked forward to it for a long time.

[Telefrog]

Spore. I had looked forward to it for a long time.

Seconded. Spore was a terrible disappointment.

[Gorvi]

The lack of any real FFXIII info. I have no hope in me that the game will see a release over here any time in 2009. The console delay of Sacred 2 was also pretty disappointing, I'd really been looking forward to some co-op Diablo style gaming.

Otherwise, I can't think of anything. Every game I've been looking forward to this year has either met or surpassed my expectations. Granted, that's not many games, but I've been happy with what I've got.

EDIT: I forgot the biggest disappointment: The lack of anything truly compelling coming for the Wii, now or in the near future. I love the little console, but I sure as hell can't think of an announced game for the thing (that's definitely coming to the US) that I'm really excited for.

[Goronmon]

GTA4...Fable 2...Fallout 3Just to be clear, you do actually like gaming...right? ;)

I'd have to go with Spore. The initial phase was the best part of the game, and it's also the shortest. Not to mention that the design of creatures is completely superficial.

[Re3x]

Burnout. They managed to screw up a pefrect game.

I would also say Spore, but once I saw the new direction about a year ago I was already setting myself up for a let down.

[Mortis]

It's still a bit early since there are a few big games that haven't hit yet, but I would say GTA4. The game wasn't fun and the story did not impress me.

[Wolvie]

Guitar Hero: World Tour, I was so excited to get it home... and one sitting later I was so underwhelmed I haven't been back for more since.

[TheFlyingOrc]

Guitar Hero: World Tour, I was so excited to get it home... and one sitting later I was so underwhelmed I haven't been back for more since.
What in the world did you think would be so great about world tour?

Also, the correct answer is GTA4.

[Wolvie]

What in the world did you think would be so great about world tour?

Also, the correct answer is GTA4.

Oh only the fact that it was supposed to be everything RB is only better, and with more stuff to play with. But it turned out to not even be as good as RB1, and the extra stuff RB didn't have wasn't that great.

Thus my disappointment.

[J Arcane]

Oh only the fact that it was supposed to be everything RB is only better, and with more stuff to play with. But it turned out to not even be as good as RB1, and the extra stuff RB didn't have wasn't that great.

Thus my disappointment.
Doesn't surprise me at all, considering GHIII was one of my biggest disappointments of 2007. It's very, very fucking obvious Neversoft never wanted this project, and the hate ActiBlizz and Neversoft displayed for their fans in the design attitude of that game pretty much put me off anything with the GH name on it forever.

Rock Band and Harmonix for the win. Can't wait to see that Beatles game.

[Blue]

What in the world did you think would be so great about world tour?

Also, the correct answer is GTA4.

It's hard for GTA4 to be the "correct" answer when it's possibly my second favorite game of the year. To each their own.

[KingGorilla]

The third iteration of Company of Heroes slipping to 2009. Guaranteed money here Relic.

Probably how alienating Sins of a Solar Empire is. It is tough for me to allot 4 or 5 hours in a row to one game. It happens accidentally, but the forethought needed for Sins means I only have time for bots, shame.

[TheFlyingOrc]

It's hard for GTA4 to be the "correct" answer when it's possibly my second favorite game of the year. To each their own.

You are objectively wrong. ;)

[Re3x]

It's hard for GTA4 to be the "correct" answer when it's possibly my second favorite game of the year. To each their own.

Agreed, I thought it was the GTA made. I loved GTA 4.

[violent]

You are objectively wrong. ;)

So are you. The right answer is Castle Crashers.

[KingGorilla]

2008 may be the year of " have you even played a 'series X' game before?" The reactions to Spore or Fan backlash to GTA is like knocking Dragon Sword for being a bad shooter.

[Restlessavenger]

Burnout. They managed to screw up a pefrect game.

I still don't understand that particular train of thought. I thought Burnout Paradise was a great evolution of the series, and the continued support puts the game into contention for my personal Game of the Year.

I would have to say that DMC4 and Force Unleashed were my biggest disappointments. I had such hopes for both games.

[Xydarc]

Spore, hands down. Madden NFL 09 is a close second.

Edit: BTW Violent, I think it's spelled "biggest."

[TheFlyingOrc]

So are you. The right answer is Castle Crashers.

Oh, you just go die in a fire.

(I understand if you wanted to play online, but it was a blast local)

[violent]

Oh, you just go die in a fire.

(I understand if you wanted to play online, but it was a blast local)

I was actually one of those. I was more interested playing with you goons than my local friends. I drink with those guys.

[violent]

Edit: BTW Violent, I think it's spelled "biggest."

I agree 100%.

[TheFlyingOrc]

My biggest disappointment is the thread title.

[LongStepMantis]

I was actually one of those. I was more interested playing with you goons than my local friends. I drink with those guys.

Excuse my ignorance, I don't own a 360.
But they never patched/addressed the online issues? Really?

[violent]

My biggest disappointment is the thread title.

I was totally gonna do that but decided the magic was lost after my first post. Way to keep the magic alive.

Excuse my ignorance, I don't own a 360.
But they never patched/addressed the online issues? Really?

That sir, would be a big, sweaty no.

[Tayaya]

I'm going to have to set up a tent in camp Spore on this one. I really, really, really wanted to like Spore, but I didn't even finish all 5 phases because it just felt so shallow, and the creature parts, even after collecting them all, didn't allow me to create the creatures that I envisioned going into the game. I even bought the Galactic Edition, and have nothing but regret over the purchase.

Silver trophy goes to Infinite Undiscovery, but I will give that game a chance to redeem itself someday.

[Blue]

You are objectively wrong. ;)

That made me smile/laugh and the acoustics in my office boom. So now my wife is confused.

[Wedge]

Hard to tell. Pretty much every game I've bought gave me what I expected, or more.

Ah, now I remember: Rainbow Six: Vegas 2. Either I remember Vegas 1 wrong, or Vegas 2 was a far worse game. Didn't finish it, and was totally underwhelmed by the multiplayer.

Pro Evolution Soccer 2009. Konami promised to fix some longtime problems. They fixed some, added some new ones, and kept quite a few. First PES game (in the main series) I haven't bought in almost a decade (including when it was known as ISS).

Oh oh! Controversy! Little Big Planet (beta). A mediocre platformer with a fantastic level builder does not equal a great game. It does not help that the levels are great when it simply isn't all that fun to play. I'm still getting it, but it was bumped way back in the line after playing the beta.

[LongStepMantis]

That sir, would be a big, sweaty no.

That sucks. I know a lot of people who were stoked for the online specifically. No wonder my buddies with 360s don't talk about the game anymore.

[Dukefrukem]

great thread...

1. Assassins Creed (are we counting this for last year?, it was towards the end)

2. GTAIV

3. Spore

4. SOCOM: Confrontation

5. Star Wars the Force Unleashed.

[Dukefrukem]

Spore, hands down. Madden NFL 09 is a close second.

Edit: BTW Violent, I think it's spelled "biggest."

huh? What's wrong with Madden 09? Its WAY better than 08 and 07.

[quidmonkey]

You all fail.

The biggest disappoint is SSBB. It's too bad many of you don't play Smash Bros, because if you did, you would all be agreeing with me.

[Goronmon]

The biggest disappoint is SSBB. It's too bad many of you don't play Smash Bros, because if you did, you would all be agreeing with me.I never actually played it enough to make a determination. I can however say that the original is still as awesome as ever.

[Primus]

You all fail.

The biggest disappoint is SSBB. It's too bad many of you don't play Smash Bros, because if you did, you would all be agreeing with me.

Huge fan of the series and I loved it!!

What exactly did you not like?

[crazyD]

I would have to say Uncharted. Yes, I know it came out last year, but I didn't play it until '08. After hearing so many good things about it, I became annoyed by the terrible plot, and frustrating gun play.

I would say Spore, but I really didn't have high hopes for it, and I did have some fun building cool vehicles.

You all fail.

The biggest disappoint is SSBB. It's too bad many of you don't play Smash Bros, because if you did, you would all be agreeing with me.

Another big fan of the previous versions that loved this one. Subspace Emissary was shit, but I didn't really care about that anyway.

[Dukefrukem]

You all fail.

The biggest disappoint is SSBB. It's too bad many of you don't play Smash Bros, because if you did, you would all be agreeing with me.

I've played it. I love it.

[J Arcane]

You all fail.

The biggest disappoint is SSBB. It's too bad many of you don't play Smash Bros, because if you did, you would all be agreeing with me.
Man do I ever concur on that one.

I was never a huge fan of the previous games, they were mostly a novelty to me, but they were still fun.

The new one though is just an awful fucking mess, just one giant goddamn spamfest, because the controls are so sloppy and so imprecise it's practically pure luck, like those cheap kids toys you shake around to try and get all the balls to line up in the little dimples.

[Dukefrukem]

Controls are sloppy? What??

Each SSB game is better than the previous. No idea why you guys are complaining.

[Purple Santa]

Up till this point I haven't been disappointed. I haven't played some of the biggest titles though so that could change. Although what I am reading about FO 3 etc, i'm going to like them enough to not warrant disappointment.

And it's nice to see the trendy thing to bash GTA IV still is strong...

[J Arcane]

Up till this point I haven't been disappointed. I haven't played some of the biggest titles though so that could change. Although what I am reading about FO 3 etc, i'm going to like them enough to not warrant disappointment.

And it's nice to see the trendy thing to bash GTA IV still is strong...
As is the Spore bashing.

[Dukefrukem]

And it's nice to see the trendy thing to bash GTA IV still is strong...

I should repost my thread on EA over here...

[Primus]

And it's nice to see the trendy thing to bash GTA IV still is strong...

For me, Crackdown ruined it... I kept looking to the rooftops. :cool:

[LongStepMantis]

As is the Spore bashing.

I have only played little bits at a friend's house, but it seems pretty clear to me that most of the disappointment came from the hype. Hype is a harsh mistress.

[quidmonkey]

Some things Melee did better, other things Brawl did better. Be aware, fanboy rant follows, so proceed at your own risk:

1) Online sucks
2) Roster is too small
3) Subspace sucks
4) They dumbed down Nintendo's most hardcore game for "casuals"
5) Game is too slow
6) Final Smashes suck, appear too often and are unbalanced
7) Level Editor sucks
8) The twitchy controls problem J Arcane referred, which is most noticeable when rolling and you end up facing the wrong way vs. facing your opponent.
9) Tripping
10) Doesn't contain the omphf of Melee when you Smash someone; or to put it another way, you hit like a little bitch in Brawl vs. Melee.

There are other more technical things I could go into, as well as a comparison to Melee, but you enjoyment of Brawl hinges on how much you've played of Melee. If there is another Smash, I hope to God that it takes the best elements of both, they make the series hardcore again and online doesn't suck.

[crazyD]

There are other more technical things I could go into, as well as a comparison to Melee, but you enjoyment of Brawl hinges on how much you've played of Melee. If there is another Smash, I hope to God that it takes the best elements of both, they make the series hardcore again and online doesn't suck.

I played a ton of Melee, and loved Brawl. Maybe you are just too picky.

[TheFlyingOrc]

And it's nice to see the trendy thing to bash GTA IV still is strong...
Surely it's a trend, not the fact that it was a devolution from San Andreas in every way except graphically.

[quidmonkey]

I played a ton of Melee, and loved Brawl. Maybe you are just too picky.

Oh, I like Brawl well enough, and some of the changes are for the better, but had they taken the time to fix the online and not dumbed the game down for casuals, Brawl would be up there with TF2 for how much multiplayer action it got this year.

[TheFlyingOrc]

Oh, I like Brawl well enough, and some of the changes are for the better, but had they taken the time to fix the online and not dumbed the game down for casuals, Brawl would be up there with TF2 for how much multiplayer action it got this year.
I do not think they dumbed it down for casuals. Melee was never meant to be hardcore, people made it that way.

[crazyD]

I do not think they dumbed it down for casuals. Melee was never meant to be hardcore, people made it that way.

Ditto, I don't see how it is even a bit dumbed down from the previous games in the series.

[quidmonkey]

I do not think they dumbed it down for casuals. Melee was never meant to be hardcore, people made it that way.

Smash is a party game by design. But Brawl was made more accessible by slowing down the match pace, final smashes, much larger timing windows, increased aerial recovery, an emphasis on time matches over stock (i.e. online), etc. Above all is tripping, which has to be one of the most subversive game design decisions ever. There's no way you can tell me tripping wasn't thrown in there specifically to thwart the hardcore.

[Maskatron]

I guess I would also be regarded as a Spore "basher". Biggest disappointment by far for me.

And GTA4, flawed as it was, was still my second favorite of the year.

[Telefrog]

Awesome. I knew this thread would never make it past the third page without becoming a "You're opinion is wrong!" and "Convince me!" argument.

[johnperkins21]

I'd have to say Madden 2009. I was really hoping they'd get back to making a decent football game, but it's still horrible.

[quidmonkey]

Ditto, I don't see how it is even a bit dumbed down from the previous games in the series.

Okay, instead of me restating why I think Brawl sucked (see my above posts), why don't you and Orc convince me why you think Brawl wasn't a disappointment.

[TheFlyingOrc]

Smash is a party game by design. But Brawl was made more accessible by slowing down the match pace, final smashes, much larger timing windows, increased aerial recovery, an emphasis on time matches over stock (i.e. online), etc. Above all is tripping, which has to be one of the most subversive game design decisions ever. There's no way you can tell me tripping wasn't thrown in there specifically to thwart the hardcore.
I hated the hardcore smash scene because all they wanted to do was take one of the most unpredictable games ever and make it formulaic. Tripping making this difficult is fine by me.

Time matches have always been the default for some reason.

edit: I'm a little disappointed because I don't think it really introduced anything new, and there's so many stages I never felt like I got good at any of them.

[crazyD]

Okay, instead of me restating why I think Brawl sucked (see my above posts), why don't you and Orc convince me why you think Brawl wasn't a disappointment.

Because it is a great party game that is a lot of fun to play? It has a lot of interesting non-clone characters, controls are tight, final smashes are interesting and fun, etc.

It's kind of hard to explain why something didn't disappoint me. How about, "The game didn't disappoint me because it met and exceeded my expectations."

[Re3x]

I still don't understand that particular train of thought. I thought Burnout Paradise was a great evolution of the series, and the continued support puts the game into contention for my personal Game of the Year.

I would have to say that DMC4 and Force Unleashed were my biggest disappointments. I had such hopes for both games.

Too much racing and the reconstruction of the greatest game mode ever created are really at the head of the issues with Paradise. i thought the open world would have made things better but it seems like they took the destructive charm from the game.

[Wraith]

Spore. I like customizing my creature, but... the gameplay was pretty disappointing (at least the first four levels), and the environments kinda bland. It's not a horrible game, but it got a ton of reviews in the 85-95 range, and it doesn't feel like it's on that level.

People are mentioning GTA IV. I guess I didn't really have much in the way of expectations for it. I wasn't even planning on buying it, up until maybe a couple weeks before release. It's not perfect, but I really enjoyed it.

[quidmonkey]

I hated the hardcore smash scene because all they wanted to do was take one of the most unpredictable games ever and make it formulaic. Tripping making this difficult is fine by me.

Time matches have always been the default for some reason.

edit: I'm a little disappointed because I don't think it really introduced anything new, and there's so many stages I never felt like I got good at any of them.

You should remember that I don't like the tourney scene either: Fox, Final D, 5 Stock, no items is boring. But Brawl removed too much skill in favor of mayhem, and what made it so attractive as a gamer's game in the first place. When I play Brawl, it's still polished, but it doesn't have that same sort of edge-of-your-seat grip that Melee did. And yes, other than some tweaks to the timing and aerial game, Brawl didn't evolve the series.

EDIT

It's kind of hard to explain why something didn't disappoint me. How about, "The game didn't disappoint me because it met and exceeded my expectations."

And your expectations were?

[Variable Gear]

Brawl, GTAIV, Braid, and tons of other shit.
edit: I'm a little disappointed because I don't think it really introduced anything new, and there's so many stages I never felt like I got good at any of them.
They also fucked things up for no good reason. The controls are far looser in Brawl than in Melee, they added more clones, and there is tripping. Just so you know, I prefer to play with items on. I also prefer to not play online, because of the massive lag.

[menage]

Surely it's a trend, not the fact that it was a devolution from San Andreas in every way except graphically.

Well, you didn't have 400km2 of meadow and empty forest to plow through.

I liked GTA4 for what it was, not bad by any means, not GOTY either. Just what I expected honestly, GTA with better graphics. I really don't get why the story was Oscar worthy though. Seen way better than that. So that was dissapointing. And the phone was more of an negative than a positive, just like real life:P

My biggest dissapointments

- Ninja Gaiden 2 (not bad as a game, but fucking flawed on so many levels, not really a step forward at all)

- DMC4 - I've seen that boss already, I've seen this level already, didn't ever think DMC cutscenes could be so boring. Huge step back from 3. Worst female character love interest since Aeris (and ugliest dress award).

- Quest for Booty - Cramming a explore and collect a thon like Ratchet into a 3 hour episode just doesn't work. Boring and no replay value. Insomniac needs to get back to the drawing table and adapt it to something more 2008 instead of playing 1 again with better graphics. That udders dry.

- Fallout 3 on PS3, just looked like crap.

[tombofsoldier]

Spore, it was an eh game that could have been incredible. Can't believe how much it got screwed over.

[quidmonkey]

Spore, it was an eh game that could have been incredible. Can't believe how much it got screwed over.

I believe the phrase is "n00bed up." Expect more in 2009.

[Wraith]

I believe the phrase is "n00bed up." Expect more in 2009.You're saying it got a n00bjob?

[pomeroy]

Burnout Paradise and Soulcalibur IV. I'm done with these franchises...they're dead. Burnout fucking ruined what made the series fun, and Soulcalibur IV was just pointless.

I also think Guitar Hero needs to stop and think about what it's doing. Although it looks like the DLC for World Tour is going to be awesome for a bit.

[Dukefrukem]

Man sometimes I wonder what you guys expect. What was wrong with Burnout Paradise???

[Kelegacy]

I would have to say Uncharted. Yes, I know it came out last year, but I didn't play it until '08. After hearing so many good things about it, I became annoyed by the terrible plot, and frustrating gun play.


Wrong answer. It was a great game.

If we were picking games we PLAYED this year, I'd say Mass Effect. But for games released in 2008, I don't know. I don't think I've played much this year that has disappointed me.

And for the record, I thought GTA4 was excellent. Fuck you haters.

[Variable Gear]

And for the record, I thought GTA4 was excellent. Fuck you haters.
So, you like to play the same damn game over and over again?

[violent]

So, you like to play the same damn game over and over again?

These days everything seems to be more of the same. In GTA4's defense, we knew that going in. I'm another that doesn't see why GTA4 specifically gets so much hate. It's like you said, it's the same game as those we praised.

[menage]

Soulcalibur IV was just pointless.


It was my first online fighter worth my time (seeing as DOA and VF5 are to hardcore and technical for me). I still suck at it but at least I had fun. Also the character create mode was a hoot. But yeah, I did expect more of it.

I seriously hope SF4 has a decent story mode. If there's one thing a fighter can score big in my book at this point is in a more RPG aproach of the story mode. You can still have a Arcade mode, Vs mode whatever, but at least make the storymode what the name implies.

[quidmonkey]

You're saying it got a n00bjob?

lol

Fuck that, that shit is as fake as hell. Remember that infamous quote from Chris about the Wii being 2 GC's duct-taped together? Well Spore is 2 copies of the Sims duct-taped together.

[biosc1]

If it didn't come out in November 2007 for the PC, I would have said UT3...but, considering I purchased it this year, I'm going to say UT3.

I'm not saying I'm disappointed because I knew what I was getting when I bought it, but it's really devastating that there is next to no online community to really play against when the mood strikes me. I keep thinking life may be better if I just re-install UT2004, but I stare at that 6 disc installation and cringe (yah, they were sold out of the DVD when I bought it on the day it came out).

[pomeroy]

Man sometimes I wonder what you guys expect. What was wrong with Burnout Paradise???

Removal of the honest to God crash mode. No race restart option. And, as much of a heretic as this will brand me, fuck the open-world scenario. That shit is not why I play Burnout, and if you're going to make it suck as much as you did...just don't do it.

They just fucking took everything that made Burnout 3 and Revenge what they were.

[menage]

Also, Prince of Persia is going to be a big contender, but seeing as I'm already prepared, it's not a real dissapointement (well, a bit)

[Variable Gear]

Also, Prince of Persia is going to be a big contender, but seeing as I'm already prepared, it's not a real dissapointement (well, a bit)
I really hated the first Prince of Persia for the GC, PS2 and Xbox, so I'm probably not the best person to ask this question, but what's wrong with the reboot?

[menage]

I really hated the first Prince of Persia for the GC, PS2 and Xbox, so I'm probably not the best person to ask this question, but what's wrong with the reboot?

From what I've read and heard. He speaks like an idiot with a hefty American accent (no offense btw, but in this game I want no dudespeak, they already called him Prince of Pasadena:P). The game seems to take away a lot of control from the player like AC, but seeing as PoP was always a platformer instead of a freeroamer that doesn't bode too well. Fighting is automated a lot as well. I

And it's from Ubisoft, who are great at graphics and creating worlds lately but filling them with absolutely nothing to do.

[Widgetcraft]

Spore is the biggest disappointment of the decade; it's garbage. SSBB's shitty online multiplayer was pretty disappointing, but I liked everything else about the game. Castle Crashers shouldn't have been released in the state that it was in. I adore Fable 2, but it's co-op is a joke. Fallout 3 seems pretty mediocre all around.

Pleasant Surprises of 2008:


That I liked Fable 2 at all
No More Heroes
Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia actually made significant improvements to the franchise
SSBB's soundtrack
The Chrono Trigger DS announcement and soon-to-be release
Fan translations for Soma Bringer, Mother 3 and Persona 2: Innocent Sin came out
The World Ends With You was better than expected
Penny-Arcade Adventures being such a success
Braid
Mirror's Edge looks to be a legitimately fun game

[Cyrillus]

Wow, so many "wrong opinions" in here...seriously, how could you possibly say that someone's level of disappointment is "wrong"?

As for me, Ninja Gaiden 2 was a big disappointment. It was just, underwhelming.

Also, with the amount of excitement I had for Castle Crashers before its release, the amount of frustration I had with it (both online problems and weird freezing issues) disappointed me alot. If they ever do patch it, though, hopefully I'll be able to finish it.

[crazyD]

And your expectations were?

My expectations were a solid Smash Bro's title that added some new stuff to Melee. Met, and exceeded.

Wrong answer. It was a great game.

I'd say the first couple hours could be breaching great territory, but, for me at least, it got old fast. The more I played it, the worse it got. The interesting platforming I liked faded into an afterthought, the combat became frustrating, then stupid, then frustrating again. The game had potential, and I would be interested in a sequel, but I thought the original was just a few great points muddled in a cloud of crap.

And for the record, I thought GTA4 was excellent. Fuck you haters.

I agree. GTA IV was a damn fine GTA game.

[Kelegacy]

Wow, so many "wrong opinions" in here...seriously, how could you possibly say that someone's level of disappointment is "wrong"?

As for me, Ninja Gaiden 2 was a big disappointment. It was just, underwhelming.

Also, with the amount of excitement I had for Castle Crashers before its release, the amount of frustration I had with it (both online problems and weird freezing issues) disappointed me alot. If they ever do patch it, though, hopefully I'll be able to finish it.

Sorry, but you're wrong.

[quidmonkey]

Sorry, but you're wrong.

Sorry, but your mom's wrong.

[TheFlyingOrc]

Wow, so many "wrong opinions" in here...seriously, how could you possibly say that someone's level of disappointment is "wrong"?

We MIGHT be joking. MAYBE.

[menage]

Forum debating at it's finest:p

[Purple Santa]

I should repost my thread on EA over here...
Please, keep your trash over there...give a hoot don't pollute :p
For me, Crackdown ruined it... I kept looking to the rooftops. :cool:
Hey now...I loved Crackdown...but that doesn't mean GTA IV was a bad game cause I didn't jump like some superhero :D

[Kelegacy]

I'm surprised more people haven't said The Force Unleashed. I know there are a lot of Star Wars fans here. I haven't played the full game, so I don't know. Don't really care to much either.

One big disappointment is the lack of respect Alone in the Dark received. It had some issues, yes, mostly control. But it still became one of my favorite games of this year. It's my sleeper hit, as I overlooked it completely and bought into the negativity until GoGamer sold it for 9.90. I'm so glad I bought it.

[TheFlyingOrc]

Hey now...I loved Crackdown...but that doesn't mean GTA IV was a bad game cause I didn't jump like some superhero :D
It doesn't have to be a BAD game to be disappointing.

I was just frustrated that there was LESS to do than in San Andreas.

[Gorvi]

You're all wrong, all games suck, go play outside. And get off my lawn. Bastards.

[TheFlyingOrc]

My biggest disappointment of 08 is probably Evil Avatar.

[menage]

I'm surprised more people haven't said The Force Unleashed. I know there are a lot of Star Wars fans here. I haven't played the full game, so I don't know. Don't really care to much either.


Was anybody not expecting it to dissappoint is what I wanna know.

[crazyD]

I'm surprised more people haven't said The Force Unleashed. I know there are a lot of Star Wars fans here. I haven't played the full game, so I don't know. Don't really care to much either.

Eh, it's a modern day Lucasarts game. If you didn't expect it to suck, you aren't very observant.

[Variable Gear]

My expectations were a solid Smash Bro's title that added some new stuff to Melee. Met, and exceeded.
New stuff doesn't mean good stuff. Nothing is solid about Brawl. The controls are sloppy and the Subspace Emissary mode is an experience in frustration. The soundtrack is my favorite thing about the game, and I don't need to play Brawl to listen to that.
I'm surprised more people haven't said The Force Unleashed. I know there are a lot of Star Wars fans here. I haven't played the full game, so I don't know. Don't really care to much either.
I think this is because the majority of us didn't buy or rent The Force Unleashed.

[LongStepMantis]

My biggest disappointment of 08 is probably Evil Avatar.

/thread. You are the winrar.

[Dukefrukem]

Please, keep your trash over there...give a hoot don't pollute :p

Hey now...I loved Crackdown...but that doesn't mean GTA IV was a bad game cause I didn't jump like some superhero :D

Hey my thread wasn't trash. It was a good convo started about GTAIV.

[Dukefrukem]

I'm surprised more people haven't said The Force Unleashed. I know there are a lot of Star Wars fans here. I haven't played the full game, so I don't know. Don't really care to much either.

One big disappointment is the lack of respect Alone in the Dark received. It had some issues, yes, mostly control. But it still became one of my favorite games of this year. It's my sleeper hit, as I overlooked it completely and bought into the negativity until GoGamer sold it for 9.90. I'm so glad I bought it.

I did say SWFU. here (http://www.colonyofgamers.com/cogforums/showpost.php?p=60115&postcount=32).

And I also agree with Alone in the Dark. :(

[crazyD]

New stuff doesn't mean good stuff. Nothing is solid about Brawl. The controls are sloppy and the Subspace Emissary mode is an experience in frustration. The soundtrack is my favorite thing about the game, and I don't need to play Brawl to listen to that.

I thought the controls were rock solid, and never had a problem with them. Dunno what control method you used, but I found controls with the classic controller to be excellent. I agree that Subspace Emissary sucks, but I didn't really waste my time playing it, so I don't care. All I really want is versus battles, and I was more then satisfied with that.

[J Arcane]

I have only played little bits at a friend's house, but it seems pretty clear to me that most of the disappointment came from the hype. Hype is a harsh mistress.
It's not the game's fault if people ran out and invented their own fantasies of what the game would be. I got everything I expected and more, and while I am eager to see the later expansions flesh out the gameplay, by and large I got one damn impressive piece of work that I am not at all ashamed or disappointed with.

[Druxk]

Too Human and SSBB

[LongStepMantis]

It's not the game's fault if people ran out and invented their own fantasies of what the game would be.

I didn't say it was a shit game. I said it was crushed under it's own hype.
Whether it was fan-manufactured or not doesn't really matter, it doesn't have to be the game's fault...people will still assume it was. Add in the DRM debacle and people were foaming at the mouth in no time.

[Widgetcraft]

I thought the controls were rock solid, and never had a problem with them. Dunno what control method you used, but I found controls with the classic controller to be excellent. I agree that Subspace Emissary sucks, but I didn't really waste my time playing it, so I don't care. All I really want is versus battles, and I was more then satisfied with that.

I only found the controls to be sloppy when using the Classic Controller, because the analog stick has more of a dead zone than the GC controller. So I switched to the GC controller, and everything was awesome again.

[LarsenNET]

MGS4.


I did not expect that to show up. I just played all 4 games pretty much in a row (took a few months) and MGS4 is by far the best in the series. I really enjoyed it. You probably never got to the boss fights which were all pretty good. And visually the game is stunning.

[Variable Gear]

I only found the controls to be sloppy when using the Classic Controller, because the analog stick has more of a dead zone than the GC controller. So I switched to the GC controller, and everything was awesome again.
The controls in Brawl aren't as tight as Melee, no matter what controller you're using.

[biosc1]

Too Human

I always heard it was a love it or hate it type of game. I have yet to give it a go, but apparently you liked it enough to go 995/1000 on the achievements on it...must have been torture to play a game that disappointed you so much ;)

Sorry, I'm an a-hole sometimes...and just bored enough to look stuff like that up :o

[crazyD]

The controls in Brawl aren't as tight as Melee, no matter what controller you're using.

I think that's kind of a subjective statement. I found them to be very tight and responsive.

[Variable Gear]

I think that's kind of a subjective statement. I found them to be very tight and responsive.
How many times have you rolled in Brawl and accidentally faced the wrong direction?

Additionally, how many times did this happen to you in Melee?

The controls in Brawl are pretty loose. It's a fucking shame, but the rest of the game isn't that great so...

[JayK47]

Soul Caliber 4 which I wasted $60 on.

Force Unleashed which I wanted to waste $60 on. Perhaps for $30. But I would much rather borrow from a friend.

Mercenaries 2. Maybe I will pick up on PC when it inevitably goes down to $10 or less.

[Fubl]

GTA 4, i liked vice city san andreas had the problem of having to play mini games to get through the story as the actual missions. So i had a good idea of what i was getting into. But then i met niko bellic..... and the most fun i had with this charchter who I just could not stand, dont get me started on his cousin either, was starting a fight infront of a police station then getting sniped from a helicopter and watching the slow motion death of Niko. I have never hated a charchter in a game as much as niko..... and for some reason i dont think i ever will. Honestly i think we need to go back to mute main charchters in GTA.

Too human somehow i could just not get into it. I loved the story and the ideas behind it but for some reason the game play never clicked with me.

Force unleashed wasnt as much of a disapointment to me as some others. I thought it was a decent 5 -7 hour diversion that by the end you could say you at least accomplished something.

[crazyD]

How many times have you rolled in Brawl and accidentally faced the wrong direction?

Additionally, how many times did this happen to you in Melee?

The controls in Brawl are pretty loose. It's a fucking shame, but the rest of the game isn't that great so...

Not often enough for me to notice it as a problem. If this is your only complaint about the controls, then I guess we will have to agree to disagree about how "loose" they are.

[Ondo]

SSBB was my biggest disappointment, even though I thought it was a good game. It just should have been much better.

My biggest issue with it was not letting you play custom stages online with friends. I still can't imagine why they left that out.

The rest of the online is fairly frustrating as well. It was aggravating to compare interviews with the SSBB and Mario Kart Wii design teams - both say online rankings are only fun for the top few people - in SSBB they left out rankings because of that, in Mario Kart they outline the things they did to change that.

And looking at it now, they would have been better off delaying the game until about now. The lineup then was fairly good - it came out between Galaxy and Mario Kart, and now there's nothing. They've said they wanted more characters and cut some because of lack of time. Also, if they weren't morally opposed to competitors talking to each other, the delay would have let them add WiiSpeak support.

[Gorvi]

I did not expect that to show up. I just played all 4 games pretty much in a row (took a few months) and MGS4 is by far the best in the series. I really enjoyed it. You probably never got to the boss fights which were all pretty good. And visually the game is stunning.
I loved MGS4, it's easily one of the best games of the year, if not the best. It did not, however, surpass the sheer brilliance that was MGS3. Not much, if anything, has.

[KamaItachi]

Not that I think there was that much wrong with it, but GTA4 just didn't grab me like before. It felt like a huge city, but the actual activities available felt a little truncated.

Still, not too bad a year when that's my biggest gripe.

[Virtual Machine]

Wall O Text warning (skip the first part, it's better for us all):

First things first - Jesus H Christ with the contrarian "It's cool to hate" attitude. And don't give me that "I just didn't like it." bullshit either you miserable bastards! I effing LOVED Assassin's Creed, but that one i can understand, same goes for Mass Effect, both games were flawed, but in my mind both pushed the medium forward, blah blah blah... and on and on... Still, i get WHY someone could cite Assassin's Creed and/or Mass Effect as disappointments. I feel the same about Burnout Paradise - i LOVE the game, but then, i wasn't a huge fan of the series before that particular entry, so i can dig what people are saying.

But Calling GTA 4 a disappointment? Really? Calling MGS 4 a disappointment? Fallout 3? I can't legitimately get behind that sentiment at all. Will everyone be ganging up on Gears of War 2 next week? I just don't understand. I know it's subjective, and i'm really not trying to sway opinions, this is a "biggest disappointments" thread, and, sure, i guess some of you were legitimately disappointed, but goddamn man, we're talking about three of the highest rated titles so far this generation! I'm obviously missing something.

Sorry - not to derail the whole ball o wax or start shit - i apologize. Please refrain from violence.

Disappointments for me:

Soul Calibur IV - I used to love this series, and there was nothing "wrong" with this one per se, but i REALLY feel the inclusion of the Star Wars characters (and making them so awesome) killed my joy of the game. Why would anyone want to play as Yoshimitsu or Mitsurugi or any other one of the less than sparkling personalities with unpronouncable names when you could pick Darth FREAKIN Vader or the bad ass looking apprentice? It just made me want a game FULL of Star Wars badasses complete with stages and music. whenever a soulcalibur character popped back up i dropped my head and sighed, remembering i wasn't playing Star Wars: Jedi Ass-Whoopin', and found myself just wondering why a bunch of dorks have been chasing some goofy looking sword for what feels like three decades (and how the hell they manage to move around in those incredibly retarded looking costumes). What makes matters worse is that the gameplay was actually Soul Calibur's typically awesome gameplay. The whole shebang just felt soulless.

Mercenaries 2 - Decent, if a little Xbox 1-ish intro gives way to AWESOME tutorial section, that, while being visually impressive was also fun as hell. Unfortunately the game immediately shat itself afterwards and became an ugly, tired, dull, buggy mess of an effort. This one was right up there with Driv3r (or are we calling it Driver 3 now?). My god Pandemic, what the hell happened to you?

Saint's Row 2 - I know this one is a divisive son of a bitch, but i was horribly let down with it. More grainy and artistically "ugly" than the first, with no focus, a horribly scripted single player game (with indoor environments that look right out of Max Payne 2), and tons of technical issues. I found the original compelling enough to warrant a playthrough, while the mean-spirited, over the top poor excuse for plot in this one was compelling enough for me to quit altogether after the third mission.

Fable 2 - This is the big enchilada. First things first, to get the air clean, i DO LOVE THIS GAME! There, it's out there. However, every time i fire it up, it frustrates me to no end. Everything about the game screams "created for the casual player". From the bread crumb trail, to the tacked on social aspects, to the anemic story campaign, to the base combat. It doesn't feel as tight or cohesive as the first game to me, and that probably makes me insane. The big one, though, the thing that really boils my blood, is the sick, twisted, severely gimped co-op play. Who do i need to kill? Really? I have TWO FUCKING XBOX360'S IN MY GODDAMN HOUSE! TWO! A second system that was bought SPECIFICALLY for co-op in this effing game! And the co-op blows! It's probably for the best, that way only one of us is sucked in and our kids have the benefit of at least one parent, while my wife spends all her time with braid, crying into a glass of ginger ale over what MIGHT have been. Her evil minx and my noble knight - roaming the wide open (NOT!) country-sides of Albion. Speaking of which - go anywhere? Really? anywhere except the miles of road and country side connecting the zones it would seem. Why do i keep coming back? Because i effing love the art style! I love the clothing! the Weapons! The enemies! The goddamn Dog! I love you Lionhead, I love you Peter Molineaux, and yet, at the same time i want to slash your lower stomach open and toss you from a church balcony with a noose twixt your neck. How the hell did you manage to stir such strong feelings in me? You bastards.

[Blue]

Surely it's a trend, not the fact that it was a devolution from San Andreas in every way except graphically.

I don't mean to keep quoting you (promise), but how is it a devolution? San Andreas was my least favorite in the 3 series and while it added more crap and a bigger world, so what. Bigger doesn't necessarily mean it's a step in the right direction.

What was in SA that makes it so much better than the others? I would much rather have a fully realized city and 'burbs than 3 cities with no real personality to them and a wide open sprawl that equally feels disconnected.

Maybe I just can't quite see how more focused makes something less evolved.

[RandoM51]

GTA IV, easily.

People need to realize that just because somebody finds a game disappointing doesn't automagically mean the game is bad or something.

GTA IV did not live up to the expectations given to me by the developers and reinforced by a seemingly brain dead review community.

Doesn't mean it is a bad game though, does it?

Another one I would put on the list is Mass Effect. Great game but there are parts of it I found very disappointing like the cut&paste side missions/worlds. Bioware goes on and on about how "huge" the game world is but anything outside of the main mission planets is pure crap. Was Mass Effect this year?

[Karak]

Can't say I expected much from most of what came out. I guess I did not enjoy; Assassin's Creed, MGS4, Nights into Dreams, LBP or Spore as much as I hoped.

[Blue]

Another one I would put on the list is Mass Effect. Great game but there are parts of it I found very disappointing like the cut&paste side missions/worlds. Bioware goes on and on about how "huge" the game world is but anything outside of the main mission planets is pure crap. Was Mass Effect this year?

Came out November 20th last year. The only reason I know this is because my wife got it 2 weeks before my birthday for me. So it's almost a year old. Not that your point doesn't still have truth.

[J Arcane]

Came out November 20th last year. The only reason I know this is because my wife got it 2 weeks before my birthday for me. So it's almost a year old. Not that your point doesn't still have truth.
PC version was this year, and apparently improved enough that I'd consider it a seperate judgement.

[Blue]

PC version was this year, and apparently improved enough that I'd consider it a seperate judgement.

Ah, touche.

[J Arcane]

Ah, touche.
By and large, I can also sort of agree with his sentiment. I absolutely loved Mass Effect, I felt it was a return to form for Bioware, and it's the first time in a long time I've actually given a flying fuck about the story in a game.

But by and large the sidequest stuff? Not so hot. While some of the fluff text attached was neat, the actual gameplay pretty much entailed going to the same randomly generated planet, finding the same warehouse, full of the same generic guys with guns, killing them, then looting the room at the end for the quest item.

It was fun for a little bit to do the surveying and stuff, but after a point I just sort of ignored the sidequests and stuck to the main road, which is unfortunate, because a more interesting free sandbox kind of world would've been awesome as fuck.

[Blue]

By and large, I can also sort of agree with his sentiment. I absolutely loved Mass Effect, I felt it was a return to form for Bioware, and it's the first time in a long time I've actually given a flying fuck about the story in a game.

But by and large the sidequest stuff? Not so hot. While some of the fluff text attached was neat, the actual gameplay pretty much entailed going to the same randomly generated planet, finding the same warehouse, full of the same generic guys with guns, killing them, then looting the room at the end for the quest item.

It was fun for a little bit to do the surveying and stuff, but after a point I just sort of ignored the sidequests and stuck to the main road, which is unfortunate, because a more interesting free sandbox kind of world would've been awesome as fuck.

I agree. I honestly played through the side quests just because I wanted the game to last longer but that certainly isn't the right reason for doing so. When I can go into a station on a planet I've never been to and I already know the layout, there's a problem. And while I still thoroughly enjoyed the game and cannot wait for ME2, the repetitive nature of the "unimportant" planets is a glaring mark on what I think is an otherwise incredible experience.

[King3567]

Brawl. Seriously, this was the final nail in the coffin for my respect of Nintendo.

Hey guys, remember when we said there would be no clones? Or how about that there would be two more third party characters?

Fuck, I have never been so insulted by a game in my life. Nintendo took the last thing I thought that made them relevant in my eyes and fucked it up on "Sega on Sonic next gen" levels. I love how the game is a slideshow when I play someone TWO BLOCKS AWAY. Fuck that.

Three Star Fox characters!? What the hell!? The roster was the biggest slap in the face ever. I mean, why have a character poll then ignore virtually everything your most beloved fans have to say? And ROB....FUCKING ROB!? What the hell?!

Fuck whoever though of tripping. I have spent hundreds of hours mastering Melee's techniques and improving myself and while I really tried to do this with Brawl, I came up with one conclusion that made all my effort moot: Brawl takes no skill. I fought till the bitter end defending Smash before Brawl saying you can't win by mashing buttons. But now, you really can. The recovery system is a fucking joke and you can get back from a ridiculously long length, tripping....well that fucker speaks for himself, Final Smashes are lame and unbalanced, the roster is monotonous, the roster is even more unbalanced, it's just so stupid.

So yeah, Brawl is not only my biggest disappointment this year, it's my biggest gaming disappointment EVER. Nintendo managed to ear rape their one franchise that gave me hope. But instead, here I am Wii-less and a pocket that is $200 fatter. Fuck you Nintendo. I doubt I will ever come back.

Oh yeah, and GTA4 kinda got stale but I'll admit I had a lot of fun for the first week or so. Vegas 2 also didn't last nearly as long as I thought it would.

[Ondo]

Hey guys, remember when we said there would be no clones? Or how about that there would be two more third party characters?
Your other gripes may be legitimate, but this is pure bullshit. While people may "remember" them saying those things, it never fucking happened. No clones was one of many made up rumors, based entirely on wishful thinking. As far as number of third-party characters, here's the actual translation of what Sakurai said "Anyways, at most we'll add another 1-2 characters [after Snake], maybe?" To somehow get from that a promise of 2 more is complete bullshit - and typical of Smash fans, most of whom just got the bullshit version and never looked for a source.

[King3567]

Your other gripes may be legitimate, but this is pure bullshit. While people may "remember" them saying those things, it never fucking happened. No clones was one of many made up rumors, based entirely on wishful thinking. As far as number of third-party characters, here's the actual translation of what Sakurai said "Anyways, at most we'll add another 1-2 characters [after Snake], maybe?" To somehow get from that a promise of 2 more is complete bullshit - and typical of Smash fans, most of whom just got the bullshit version and never looked for a source.

I remember him saying the only one OR two thing (I just was pissed off by the game so much that I often just say they promised two more :p) but I am almost sure that Sakurai said there would be no more clones in an early interview. I can't tell you a source, but I am positive he addressed clones and said something along those lines.

[muddi900]

DMC4. No Team Ico announcement. Saints row 2.

[Ondo]

but I am almost sure that Sakurai said there would be no more clones in an early interview. I can't tell you a source, but I am positive he addressed clones and said something along those lines.
I know there are other people who are convinced he said it as well, but I spent hours looking for all solid info from Sakurai on Brawl and I never found it. The roster was pretty much finalized in 2005 (source (http://www.gamasutra.com/php-bin/news_index.php?story=17593)), so it's not like he could have said it and changed his mind. Given the amount of misinformation flying around before the release, without a source I don't think there's any reason to believe Sakurai lied.

[violent]

That may be the first time I hear something bad about Saint's Row 2. People tend to rave about it.

[Crowe]

I've played every GTA multiple times. I love Vice City and San Andreas and GTA IV was fantastic at first. I loved the story and the new action mechanics but I didn't think much of the new phone system and now that I think about it I'm not a huge fan of the driving I thought I was. After finishing the game I never played it again and I don't think I ever will, it doesn't have the charm of the previous games and I can only think of one memorable moment, Bas Rutten on the Men's Gallery.

And I would have to give a special mention to Spore. I was pumped for Spore, I bought into the hype only a little, but even so, the game is not very fun.

[KingGorilla]

If we were picking games we PLAYED this year, I'd say Mass Effect. But for games released in 2008, I don't know.

Read Ender's Game and buy Advent Rising(it is like 5 bucks on Steam). Bask in the Glory of Orson Scott Card ans see why Bioware is not fit to gaze upon his mighty, literary, visage.

[J Arcane]

Read Ender's Game and buy Advent Rising(it is like 5 bucks on Steam). Bask in the Glory of Orson Scott Card ans see why Bioware is not fit to gaze upon his mighty, literary, visage.
Eh. I didn't get Card from it.

Now, Doctor Who, definitely. Those fuckers have been watching the new show, and taking notes. That bit with that weird bug alien queen especially could've been a scene ripped straight out of new Who.

[menage]

Fable 2 - This is the big enchilada. First things first, to get the air clean, i DO LOVE THIS GAME! There, it's out there. However, every time i fire it up, it frustrates me to no end. Everything about the game screams "created for the casual player". From the bread crumb trail, to the tacked on social aspects, to the anemic story campaign, to the base combat. It doesn't feel as tight or cohesive as the first game to me, and that probably makes me insane. The big one, though, the thing that really boils my blood, is the sick, twisted, severely gimped co-op play. Who do i need to kill? Really? I have TWO FUCKING XBOX360'S IN MY GODDAMN HOUSE! TWO! A second system that was bought SPECIFICALLY for co-op in this effing game! And the co-op blows! It's probably for the best, that way only one of us is sucked in and our kids have the benefit of at least one parent, while my wife spends all her time with braid, crying into a glass of ginger ale over what MIGHT have been. Her evil minx and my noble knight - roaming the wide open (NOT!) country-sides of Albion. Speaking of which - go anywhere? Really? anywhere except the miles of road and country side connecting the zones it would seem. Why do i keep coming back? Because i effing love the art style! I love the clothing! the Weapons! The enemies! The goddamn Dog! I love you Lionhead, I love you Peter Molineaux, and yet, at the same time i want to slash your lower stomach open and toss you from a church balcony with a noose twixt your neck. How the hell did you manage to stir such strong feelings in me? You bastards.

Seriously, I get the hating on the co-op, but I never thought it should have been there in the first place. All your other arguments are pretty much your fault for expecting something different instead at looking what Peter said for 10 times already. Social interactions have always been a core in Fable. Combat was never very deep and actually is very well done in 2, and he said it would be 1 button all the time, what did you expect. The bread crumb trail was there in the first demo ever I believe.

The way things are going for me it's my GOTY, and only because it allows me to have fun without any frustration whatsoever (apart from a few bugs, but every big game has that at the moment), no brickwall where I get stuck, no grinding, tons of stuff to do, and it does have tons of replay value.

[violent]

Biggest disappointment? No Team ICO announcement.

[Heresyte]

I have spent hundreds of hours mastering Melee's techniques and improving myself and while I really tried to do this with Brawl...
The list of people who want to do this is very very small. Most people play games (http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/game) to have fun.

[menage]

The list of people who want to do this is very very small. Most people play games (http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/game) to have fun.

Bullshit.

Of course they play to have fun, but by removing depth from it it doesn't make it more fun. You would never be able to get better at a game, which after a while becomes boring and get's tossed aside. That's why people still play chess and stopped playing snakes and ladders when they we're 5.

"a physical or mental competition conducted according to rules with the participants in direct opposition to each other"

Exactly the reason why I don't like the new Mario kart or Smash Brothers. Pure luck, no fucking skill.

[Virtual Machine]

Seriously, I get the hating on the co-op, but I never thought it should have been there in the first place. All your other arguments are pretty much your fault for expecting something different instead at looking what Peter said for 10 times already. Social interactions have always been a core in Fable. Combat was never very deep and actually is very well done in 2, and he said it would be 1 button all the time, what did you expect. The bread crumb trail was there in the first demo ever I believe.

The way things are going for me it's my GOTY, and only because it allows me to have fun without any frustration whatsoever (apart from a few bugs, but every big game has that at the moment), no brickwall where I get stuck, no grinding, tons of stuff to do, and it does have tons of replay value.

Oh i know it's all on me. But i can't help but feel that the game has lost a step from the original because they went and made it more "casual friendly". It's not that the original was particularly deep, but in comparison to the sequel, the combat and social interactions felt significantly more rewarding. I get a more "tacked on" feel from the second. And to reiterate, i do love the goddamn game, it just didn't meet ALL of my expectations, hence my disappointment. It's not the antichrist or anything (i reserve that honor for Mercs 2 - oh no you didn't!)

What's really ironic is this: My wife is anything but a hardcore player, but she couldn't put the first Fable down. She was hooked into it until she'd finished it twice (and i had to fight her tooth and nail for possession of my xbox.) She's watched me play a bit of Fable 2, and hasn't really got a whole lot of interest thus far.

[menage]

What's really ironic is this: My wife is anything but a hardcore player, but she couldn't put the first Fable down. She was hooked into it until she'd finished it twice (and i had to fight her tooth and nail for possession of my xbox.) She's watched me play a bit of Fable 2, and hasn't really got a whole lot of interest thus far.

Hehe, my girlfriend is fighting me on the controller on this one.

I really think that bit hasn't got a lot to do with the game itself, but women do tend to very picky about certain things for very weird reasons. I'll bet if she puts a little time in it she will be just as engrossed as she ever was, but actually getting them to play something is the hardest part sometimes.

Fair enough on the argument though, I also completed the first Fable, and I must say the whole interactions felt tacked on for me in that one, because it didn't matter fuck all in the end. Fable 2 actually made some choices which did change the world (even for a little bit, that's the step forward I missed in Fable 1. In 1 only the hero's looks changed, here you're environment suffers or benefits from your actions).

[jpublic]

Man, I must be the only person on earth who loves the so-called tedious side tasks in these games. My favorite part of Assassin's Creed was wandering around getting the viewpoints, and probably my favorite part of Mass Effect was the planet exploration. I spent days on that.

I suspect that's just me, though, since I spent a good chunch of my time playing Oblivion, and AM spending a large chunck of my time in Fallout 3 just exploring every single location I can find....

I like short tasks that I can do in a couple minutes, are fun, and make me feel rewarded for my time. Some loot, some expansion of possible game paths, etc, it's all good to me.



Biggest disappointment for me? Spore. I actually enjoyed that game a lot, but it always came down to me getting irritated in the Space stage. I wanted to wander the galaxy exploring and causing trouble, not this wacky combo of RTS, City Builder, and Trading games.

[JayK47]

Fable 2 - This is the big enchilada. First things first, to get the air clean, i DO LOVE THIS GAME! There, it's out there. However, every time i fire it up, it frustrates me to no end. Everything about the game screams "created for the casual player". From the bread crumb trail, to the tacked on social aspects, to the anemic story campaign, to the base combat. It doesn't feel as tight or cohesive as the first game to me, and that probably makes me insane. The big one, though, the thing that really boils my blood, is the sick, twisted, severely gimped co-op play. Who do i need to kill? Really? I have TWO FUCKING XBOX360'S IN MY GODDAMN HOUSE! TWO! A second system that was bought SPECIFICALLY for co-op in this effing game! And the co-op blows! It's probably for the best, that way only one of us is sucked in and our kids have the benefit of at least one parent, while my wife spends all her time with braid, crying into a glass of ginger ale over what MIGHT have been. Her evil minx and my noble knight - roaming the wide open (NOT!) country-sides of Albion. Speaking of which - go anywhere? Really? anywhere except the miles of road and country side connecting the zones it would seem. Why do i keep coming back? Because i effing love the art style! I love the clothing! the Weapons! The enemies! The goddamn Dog! I love you Lionhead, I love you Peter Molineaux, and yet, at the same time i want to slash your lower stomach open and toss you from a church balcony with a noose twixt your neck. How the hell did you manage to stir such strong feelings in me? You bastards.

It sounds like the main reason you are irritated with this game is the fact that you blew money for a so so co-op. Games like this are single player, period. They tacked on co-op just to say "Fable 2 has co-op". And now you wish it hadn't.

And disappointment comes in many forms. I research games a lot before buying, so I usually don't pay full price for a disappointing game. But it does happen;) Since we are in a gaming forum, I would say we are highly susceptible to hype, and are most likely to get let down when we finally play a game for the first time. Like it has been said in the thread too many times, "I like the game, but I am disappointed." Now imagine if you just played the game and had never even heard of it before loading it up. Imagine how much you would like it. I think games like Fallout 3 and GTA4 would definitely blow you away, rather than disappoint. But games like Mercs 2 are just plain half assed, and are disappointing until the game goes for a more reasonable $20. So really price makes all the difference. For instance, I just finished Stranglehold, after paying $5 for it. It was NOT a disappointment for that price. Now had I payed $50 for it, it would have sucked balls. Maybe a lot of you guys just need to have some patience and either rent the games, or buy for much less down the road.

[DiBiddilyBop]

I really don't get all the Soul Calibur 4 hate. I'm still hopelessly hooked to it and think it's one of, if not the best game in the series, and a very, very, very solid fighting game overall. I would have liked to have seen some more modes (like an elimination or competitive tag feature), but purely as a one-on-one fighting game, I think it's excellent.

I'm going to have to go with Spore with my biggest disappointment. I haven't played it, but I had very high hopes for it which progressively dwindled down to nothing just prior to release. A classic example of limitless vision meeting limited implementation.

[pomeroy]

I really don't get all the Soul Calibur 4 hate. I'm still hopelessly hooked to it and think it's one of, if not the best game in the series, and a very, very, very solid fighting game overall. I would have liked to have seen some more modes (like an elimination or competitive tag feature), but purely as a one-on-one fighting game, I think it's excellent.

To be fair, I'm more disappointed in the fact that SC4 just didn't captivate me. It was not a bad game at all...I think I've just outgrown fighters.

[fitbabits]

2008 isn't done yet - there's room between now and the end of the year for disappointment.

[Spigot]

Lots of games in this thread that might have fallen a little short of the mark or are a matter of taste. The only game this year that truly, truly disappointed me, and I mean in ways that made me very hesitant to want to get excited about games again...

That game is Star Wars: The Force Unleashed.

For a game that I was able to finish in a day and a half, it felt incredibly long and drawn out. It was such a disappointment because it showed so much potential and fell so very, very short.

When the best way to truly enjoy the game is to either finish it once and start back with nigh-godly force powers or to cheat so you start the game with full powers, well, that's a broken game right there.

Only the fact that there was a great story made me stick with it to the end and I was gritting my teeth for at least 3/4's of the experience. I kept hoping that the glimmers of greatness I kept seeing peeking out from the edges of the game would erupt into an avalanche of awesomeness, but alas...

Other games, like Spore, might not have lived up to the hype but they were at least fun for a while.

[Variable Gear]

I forgot about Animal Crossing. That goes on my list as well. :(

[crazyD]

I forgot about Animal Crossing. That goes on my list as well. :(

The one that isn't out yet? Or the DS version released in 2005?

[Variable Gear]

The one that isn't out yet? Or the DS version released in 2005?
I'm referring to City Folk, the Wii version. I know it isn't out yet, but I'm planning for it to disappoint me.

[crazyD]

I'm referring to City Folk, the Wii version. I know it isn't out yet, but I'm planning for it to disappoint me.

Well, you have plenty of time to adjust your expectations appropriately.

[Variable Gear]

Well, you have plenty of time to adjust your expectations appropriately.
Are we anticipating the same game? City Folk looks the same as Wild World, with some minor tweaks.

[crazyD]

Are we anticipating the same game? City Folk looks the same as Wild World, with some minor tweaks.

Right, and if your expectations are set to match that, you won't be disappointed!

Personally, I've been Animal Crossinged out, and I won't be picking the Wii version up. My roommate is a huge fan, however, and I'm sure she will grab it and love it, as I doubt she expects anything more then a slightly updated version of WW.

[Krispy]

This probably sounds like a broken record, but Spore and Force Unleashed. Both games I thought would be amazing and both games were anything but. Unlike everyone else in existence I had no expectations for Fable 2 so was pretty happy with what I got, which I actually thought of as a much more fun Oblivion.

Edit: How could I forget MGS4? It is not that the game itself was bad. All six or so hours I played I had fun and it looked and sounded fantastic, but the story was practically laughable near the end of it. How many times can they repeat the same plot device before giving you a sappy happy ending?

[Variable Gear]

Right, and if your expectations are set to match that, you won't be disappointed!

Personally, I've been Animal Crossinged out, and I won't be picking the Wii version up. My roommate is a huge fan, however, and I'm sure she will grab it and love it, as I doubt she expects anything more then a slightly updated version of WW.
You've got a good point there, D. We'll see what I think when the game comes out.

[Widgetcraft]

And ROB....FUCKING ROB!? What the hell?!

ROB is fuckwin. Your whore mouth: Shut it.

[Variable Gear]

ROB is fuckwin. Your whore mouth: Shut it.
ROB rocks, but Lucario sucks.

[Adam Blue]

I'll say Burnout too. It wasn't an evolution, rather, just a different game.

[Lunar Blue]

First one that comes into mind is Stalker Clear Sky. Even with the short comings of the first one, I thought it was a great game and couldn't wait for CS. What do you know, instead of having a refined product with additional content, you get a shitburger that is quite amazingly more bugged than the original. It's not awful on it's own but I just can't stand how they had 18 months to improve it and they did fucking NOTHING. Fuck you GSC.

But, I guess Spore takes the pot. I really didn't see the day coming when Will Wright makes a game that holds you for less time than the original Sims (with no extra content). It's not often I go "thank god I didn't buy that fucking game" but Spore is one for sure.

[bean]

Edit: New #1 now that I read about it again and have it more fresh in memory. Double Fine losing it's publisher for Brutal Legend and thus setting the game's release date back.

1. Haze - What an utter piece of shit game, but people were hyping it like it was Halo.
2. Spore
3. Too Human - it's fun, but it's the same shit over and over and over (not enough variance in gameplay).
4. Soul Calibur 4 - Maybe I've grown past the game or maybe it was the frequent load times. . . I don't know, but I just didn't enjoy this that much and the series has moved into rental status for me now.
5. Games STILL not ready for the PS3 even though they were announced in 2006 (WKC and FF XI).
6. No PS3 price drop.

[Reverant]

GTA4. I played GTA III religiously, and 4 is a superior game in all aspects. I don't know if I grew out of it or what.

[Mr. Murphy]

Spore. I didn't have any expectations besides liking the Sim City games, but it was just... booooring. Each game mode played like a dumbed down version of a game I already had and liked more. And I was incredibly disappointed that the things I did to my character didn't matter at all. Four arms or two, six eyes or one, doesn't really make a difference. Wish I had never bought it. I felt like I was playing a children's game.

[jpublic]

What really bugged me about Spore was how I kept on seeing *hints* of the original game in there. Like, when making up your tidal pool critter, the positioning of various bits really did make a difference.

[cawblen]

Devil May Cry 4 was a complete let down...the storyline gave me no incentive to want to progress...and was totally uninspiring. I know there are those who would say that i'm crazy but i was truly expecting more from it...it's the only newish game sitting on my shelf that i haven't completed yet...and i doubt i'm ever gonna get back to it either.

[cp#]

GTA4 and Smash Bros

[Bad Buddha]

2008 isn't done yet - there's room between now and the end of the year for disappointment.

Fitty; If you want to get more good out of life, you need to change the way you look at things.
(Actually 2008 has been pretty rotten for me too!)

Smile and the world smiles with you; and optimistic crap like that! ;)

Hope 2009 works for you!

[Khrymsyn]

Smile and the world smiles with you;
Fart and you stand alone?


Sorry... thought that's how it was supposed to end.

[Goronmon]

I just dislike these types of threads in general. I mean, any thread about naming stuff you think sucks never ends well, and "biggest disappointment" is probably the worst offender because it pretty much requires that you name things other people enjoy, possibly quite a bit.

[Schnoogs]

The Election game was a real dissapointment...oh wait...that wasn't a game

[Poewan]

I just dislike these types of threads in general. I mean, any thread about naming stuff you think sucks never ends well, and "biggest disappointment" is probably the worst offender because it pretty much requires that you name things other people enjoy, possibly quite a bit.

What people consider disappointing depends a lot on their initial expectations. For example, I was disappointed with Burnout Paradise, since I was basing my expectations from the previous titles. Its far from a bad game, its just not my cup of tea, and not what I was expecting. As Random said, calling something disappointing does mean the game is bad or that you didnt enjoy it, just that it did not meet your personal expectations you had for it. Its pretty much a personal thing, and I don't see why anyone would take offense with someone not liking what they enjoyed. But I digress.

For me,its a tie between those 2 for me : Ninja Gaiden 2 and Mercenaries 2. Its very, very rare that I buy a game and not finish it, and I didn't finish either of those 2 games. NG2 was just a mere shadow of what the first one was, not even comparable. I didn't expect it to surpass the first one, only equal it; I was expecting more of the same. Not even close! And mercenaries 2 would have been fine....if Pandemic would have released a finished product instead of some piece of shit BETA garbage. Nothing infuriates me more than paying up prime dollars for a product that is incomplete.

[cawblen]

Its very, very rare that I buy a game and not finish it

same here! DMC4 is the only game i haven't finished in the last year or so....

[pomeroy]

The Election game was a real dissapointment...oh wait...that wasn't a game

Funny how one person's disappointment is another's elation, isn't it?

[Variable Gear]

I just dislike these types of threads in general. I mean, any thread about naming stuff you think sucks never ends well, and "biggest disappointment" is probably the worst offender because it pretty much requires that you name things other people enjoy, possibly quite a bit.
Oh no, we don't all agree! It's unfortunate that we have to discuss our varying disappointments...

[J Arcane]

Funny how one person's disappointment is another's elation, isn't it?
The nice thing about being on the winning side is that the disappointment gets delayed a while.

[Schnoogs]

The nice thing about being on the winning side is that the disappointment gets delayed a while.

HAHAHAHAH!!

Quoted for truth...everyone loses eventually at this game.

[Dukefrukem]

add Resistance 2 to this list.... this game makes me a sad panda :(

[violent]

add Resistance 2 to this list.... this game makes me a sad panda :(

Man it up Susie, it ain't that hard.

[Dukefrukem]

Man it up Susie, it ain't that hard.

I'm workin on it.... stuck in Iceland right now.

[violent]

I'm workin on it.... stuck in Iceland right now.

You're getting there. Sometimes the kills seem cheap and they are indeed annoying but what has proved successful to me is changing your tactic. No particular instance held me up for too long (although some were quite rough).

[Dukefrukem]

You're getting there. Sometimes the kills seem cheap and they are indeed annoying but what has proved successful to me is changing your tactic. No particular instance held me up for too long (although some were quite rough).

lets take this into the resistance discussion thread

[Wasson_]

I though about this for a second and I came to the conclusion that My biggest personal disappointment is probably Warhammer: Online.

But it just had to do with the servers my friends had chosen...they're fucking empty and I know they've consolidated a bunch of them but I just don't know what the hell is going on now and I haven't touched my little Ironbreaker in weeks because...the game just isn't very fun without any scenarios to do. which has been fine considering the already readily available epicness of other games. I mean I have yet to touch Fallout 3 yet to get Dead Space...might consider Fable II but I know it's little more than a slowpaced hack n' slash where you fart and flirt with people to change the world...oh and you can change outfits.

I'm not disappointed with Stalker: Clear Sky...but I am disapointed with how it fucked me in the ass and ended my game in such a stupid way, a combination of me not understanding what exactly to do during the Emission and It not being clear enough for me....what we have here is a failure to communicate.

[Squidbot]

For me the biggest disappointment, by far, was Age of Conan. Really, really not worth the wait.

[KingGorilla]

I think 08 in general is a downer year relative to 07. Lots of cool and unique, possibly groundbreaking games came out in 07(Portal, STALKER, Bioshock, what CoD4 did to multiplayer). O8? Sequels and derivations. If you craved much more of the same stuff-GTA, Metal Gear, Gears, Resistance, the year of steadfast predictability and known quantities. Nothing has really been a surprise. Those surprises are what make for great and memorable games.

[Spigot]

Nothing has really been a surprise. Those surprises are what make for great and memorable games.
There have been a lot of solid games but you're right. There hasn't been as much to really knock our socks off this year.

I will say that Dead Space really surprised me as it looked utterly generic and ended up being one of my favourite games from this year. As did The World Ends With You and I'm hoping that Mirror's Edge lives up to the promise and rocks my socks too. But yeah. I remember looking at the fall release schedule and thinking that there wasn't really anything worth my time and money and I've been pleasantly surprised by how many games I've ended up liking, but the sheer volume of awesome seems somewhat lessened this year.

Again, I think it's because a lot of the big titles this year were sequels.

[Gorvi]

I think 08 in general is a downer year relative to 07. Lots of cool and unique, possibly groundbreaking games came out in 07(Portal, STALKER, Bioshock, what CoD4 did to multiplayer). O8? Sequels and derivations. If you craved much more of the same stuff-GTA, Metal Gear, Gears, Resistance, the year of steadfast predictability and known quantities. Nothing has really been a surprise. Those surprises are what make for great and memorable games.
LittleBigPlanet. While it wasn't a surprise since it got a lot of attention, it was something new and big.

[SilentScreams]

SSB Brawl.
I sunk so much time into Melee, and my expectations for Brawl were extremely high (it's the only reason I own a Wii) but it was just missing that special something that made Melee so fun.

[JayVe]

Little Big Planet for me. I was so psyched for it, but I don't enjoy the core gameplay AT ALL. It makes the time with the editor pointless. LBP was supposed to eclipse everything else and, between it and MGS4, make 2008 the year of the PS3.

Fable II turned out to be much better than I expected. I never liked the first one, but I feel like I could play the sequel endlessly.

[JayVe]

add Resistance 2 to this list.... this game makes me a sad panda :(
Now this really shocks me. I thought you were a big fan of Resistance. Why does the sequel make you a sad panda? :confused:

[n00bian]

as many already said: spore

[cawblen]

hey, at least all this disappointment will make next year more appealing...at least to me

looking forward to RE5 and FFXIII in a big way.

/derail

carry on!

[Pale Ale]

I have the facetiously ask, for some of you anyway, did you know what you were buying? Were you looking at the game and wondering what the excitement was about and then have mini-stroke? Your reason shot too hell, you tottered home and then played for a number hours before finally passing out. In the days and weeks that followed, as you partially healed, you came to the conclusion that the game had betrayed you in some nebulous way.




However I was perfectly sane when I bought Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Ring of Fates. I perfectly remember the good and the and the fun of the original CC. So I played, pursed my lips, played a little more and came to realize...

It was like opening a peanut butter cup, the paper backing it there, the wax paper cup, but the candy is sorely lacking.

[JayVe]

I have the facetiously ask, for some of you anyway, did you know what you were buying? Were you looking at the game and wondering what the excitement was about and then have mini-stroke? Your reason shot too hell, you tottered home and then played for a number hours before finally passing out. In the days and weeks that followed, as you partially healed, you came to the conclusion that the game had betrayed you in some nebulous way.
Well, Little Big Planet was about the creation tools, which didn't dissapoint. I didn't predict that the core game itself was completely sloppy and un-fun. Kinds defeats the purpose of creating levels for an un-fun game.

[H.Bogard]

Fallout 3.

Posting this a few hours after uninstalling... utterly underwhelming game.

[Ink Asylum]

Sadly, Spore. I was one of the game's bigger defenders before it released, and the creation tools are a lot of fun, but the core gameplay is fun once through and maybe dabbling a second time, but it will never hold my attention the way The Sims did.

[Gorvi]

Well, Little Big Planet was about the creation tools, which didn't dissapoint. I didn't predict that the core game itself was completely sloppy and un-fun. Kinds defeats the purpose of creating levels for an un-fun game.
You have to be one of the very few people that feels this way. I've heard a few others say that the jumping is a bit floaty (I never noticed) but never anything more than that. Saying it's sloppy and un-fun is taking it a bit far.

[JayVe]

Saying it's sloppy and un-fun is taking it a bit far.
No. That is exactly how I feel about it.

[J Arcane]

You have to be one of the very few people that feels this way. I've heard a few others say that the jumping is a bit floaty (I never noticed) but never anything more than that. Saying it's sloppy and un-fun is taking it a bit far.
He wouldn't be Kamalot if he didn't bag on a good game just because it's on the PS3.

[Xydarc]

No. That is exactly how I feel about it.
Everyone has their opinion. Too bad yours is wrong.:p

I need to add C&C Red Alert 3. While the cutscenes are fun and entertaining, the co-op AI in single player is teeth-gnashingly frustrating and kills the fun.

[Spigot]

Fallout 3.

Posting this a few hours after uninstalling... utterly underwhelming game.You must have been playing a different version of Fallout 3 than I did. I utterly adore the game, and I'm someone who lost patience with Oblivion very early into the game. I didn't expect to like Fallout 3 nearly as much as I did, but then I also have never played through the first two Fallouts to completion, so I'm not holding it up to their standards.

[Gorvi]

He wouldn't be Kamalot if he didn't bag on a good game just because it's on the PS3.
I was trying to be nice. ;)

[J Arcane]

You must have been playing a different version of Fallout 3 than I did. I utterly adore the game, and I'm someone who lost patience with Oblivion very early into the game. I didn't expect to like Fallout 3 nearly as much as I did, but then I also have never played through the first two Fallouts to completion, so I'm not holding it up to their standards.
I have played the originals into the ground, and I think it stands up quite fun. It really does feel like a natural following of the originals in a way I didn't expect at all, and this is from someone who was worried it would pretty much feel like Oblivion with some Fallouty bits tacked on half-assedly.

They really put in the effort this time, moreso even than Oblivion, and it's obvious that what the devs had said about how much they were fans of the series was no lie.

[Kelegacy]

You must have been playing a different version of Fallout 3 than I did. I utterly adore the game, and I'm someone who lost patience with Oblivion very early into the game. I didn't expect to like Fallout 3 nearly as much as I did, but then I also have never played through the first two Fallouts to completion, so I'm not holding it up to their standards.

Yup, I'm amazed at how sucked-in I can get while playing Fallout 3. Actually, Bethesda's games always do that to me. I'm having surgery next week and will be home for about 2-3 weeks laid up and this will get PLENTY of play time.

[JayVe]

Everyone has their opinion. Too bad yours is wrong.:p

:D

Hey, H.Bogard didn't like Fallout 3. I think that sounds crazy, but I respect his opinion of the game.

[violent]

No. That is exactly how I feel about it.

I kinda have to agree. It should be a very simple mechanic but it ends up feeling a little disjointed. That's not to say that some levels aren't absolutely wonderful, but it's more a case of the design shining past the gameplay.

[Dukefrukem]

Now this really shocks me. I thought you were a big fan of Resistance. Why does the sequel make you a sad panda? :confused:

Although the game is a huge leap up from he first in the following ways:

1. graphics, they polished the game off very nicely both in game and cinematic

2. story, no more cheesey cheap black and white narrative voice overs

3. Nathan actually talks

4. More guns, more enemies, more epic boss battles


The game lacks in the AI, both allies and enemy... IT's awful, probably the worst AI i've seen in a game. Enemies know exactly where you are (like RFOM) but now they run straight at you, with your allies doing nothing to help kill them. The game is hard... even on easy and normal.

Overall, the game feels unfinished and lazy with lots of little bugs and annoyances. People running in place, allies walking on top of each other, elevators and doors opening automatically for you as you advance through the linear story... when you cut off zombie arms, the models will swipe at you with the same invisible arm you just cut off... The list goes on. I'm writing a review right now... It'll be up in a few days.


I kinda have to agree. It should be a very simple mechanic but it ends up feeling a little disjointed. That's not to say that some levels aren't absolutely wonderful, but it's more a case of the design shining past the gameplay.

and to add my disappointment with LittleBigPlanet too... the game is fucking fantastic.. when it works. I find it laggy, slow and sloppy with 4 players in a pod OR in a level. When playing offline, even two player offline, its fun as all hell. Just wish the online worked better.

[Dukefrukem]

what CoD4 did to multiplayer.

you mean ruin it? all that spam in a tiny can...

[H.Bogard]

:D

Hey, H.Bogard didn't like Fallout 3. I think that sounds crazy, but I respect his opinion of the game.

Thank you, Jay. Now if you could only write that on a 9" stake and knock it into Disgustipated's head, that'd be great. :D

[violent]

The AI shortcomings are becoming all too common these days.

[ShivaX]

I'll throw in Fallout3, but only because it was really the only one capable of disappointing me, because it was the only one I cared about. It did alright, but it ended up far too Oblivion and not enough Fallout in the end for me.

Plus they failed at having a proper Fallout ending for a Fallout game. Fucking unacceptable.

Oh... and 200 years is too fucking long if you aren't going to try. A pack of smokes and bottle of soda sitting in a shed for 200 years wont actually last that long, much less shit sitting on a fucking table in the open. I think the developers have no concept of time or something. I guess making heads fly off for no reason mattered more than anything else (seriously after watching 25 people's heads fly off their bodies, in a row, from a pistol round - I got tired of it).

[SilentScreams]

I guess making heads fly off for no reason mattered more than anything else (seriously after watching 25 people's heads fly off their bodies, in a row, from a pistol round - I got tired of it).

This would be one of my main complaints with the game. Sure, if I hit them in the head with my combat shotgun at point blank range, then the head would probably fly off. But a shot from 100 yards with my hunting rifle taking the head off a super mutant? No way in hell.

[KingGorilla]

Like I said Shiva, Fallout distillate, not Fallout per se, but chemically identicle. I cannot be disappointed, Bethesda did not mess up like so many had thought, but it lacked certain flavors I would associate with what Black Isle is known for.

[Ink Asylum]

Although I absolutely love Fallout 3 I, too, was disappointed by:

The ending. There was a lot of great stuff in the actual main quest, especially Vault 112, but the ending was just lame. I was expecting to hear about how every town progressed post-game because of my actions, like Fallout 1 and 2, but got none of that. Very let down. Good thing the rest of the game is so awesome.

[Purple Santa]

Well a game I thought I wasn't going to like more than lukewarm is Dead Space. The more i've played the more I appreciate the game. Nothing over the top greatness, but a good solid game. Might of been different if Bioshock didn't exist...

And as Spigot said, there has been just to many "good" titles coming out at once. I think the sheer amount of blockbusters affects how they relate to each due to the close proximity of the release dates. Is it really that they are all sequels or is it just all to much at once?

[Illuminus]

Age of Conan for me.... sigh, wasted potential (but maybe it will be better in the future?).

[tacitus]

Age of Conan for me.... sigh, wasted potential (but maybe it will be better in the future?).
Yep ... so much potential. Very sad.

[Dukefrukem]

Well a game I thought I wasn't going to like more than lukewarm is Dead Space. The more i've played the more I appreciate the game. Nothing over the top greatness, but a good solid game. Might of been different if Bioshock, Event Horizon, the Thing, Alien, Prey, Doom 3, System Shock didn't exist...

Fixored for you

[Re3x]

Age of Conan for me.... sigh, wasted potential (but maybe it will be better in the future?).

I forgot about that one, AOC for sure!

Also Fallouts ending along with Gears 2 ending. It left me kind of wanting something....

[Norse]

Biggest disappointment: No Mass Effect 2 news

None of the games I've bought this year was bad in any way. Too Human should have been better, but I still had a ton of fun with it, and I should go back to it as soon as things slow down.

I've tried a couple of demos that disappointed me:

-Tomb Raider: Underworld. Don't get me wrong, the game looks good and the gameplay is fun, but Uncharted as spoiled me. Tomb Raider needs to improve more than it has to reach that level of quality. I'm still going to buy it though.

-Soul Calibur 4. I loved the first one on DC, but all the sequels have disappointed me unfortunately. I can't put my finger on what's wrong, but I guess I'm just into fighters anymore. I hope SF4 brings me back to genre.

-LittleBigPlanet Beta: The game has more charm than any game I've played I think, but it's just not enough. I'll have to try the full version, but the controls felt bad, co-op had issues with the camera (people wandering of screen and getting killed was a party killer) and the level creating didn't interest me at all. Still a must buy title, but it should have been better.

-Motorstorm 2. As a Motorstorm fan this demo was awful. It seemed like a step down from the first. I think I'll have to trust the reviewers and buy it anyway.

[Talon]

I'd have to say Madden 2009. I was really hoping they'd get back to making a decent football game, but it's still horrible.

Really? I think it's the best Madden since '05. The primary problem in the gameplay, IMO, is that the the players have no awareness of the sideline. Apparently, EA Tiburon likes to devolved their game in some regard every year.

[Dukefrukem]

Really? I think it's the best Madden since '05. The primary problem in the gameplay, IMO, is that the the players have no awareness of the sideline. Apparently, EA Tiburon likes to devolved their game in some regard every year.

I thought so too. No idea what he hates about it since he didn't respond to my post. 09 is 1000x better than 08 and 07.

[JayK47]

Oh... and 200 years is too fucking long if you aren't going to try. A pack of smokes and bottle of soda sitting in a shed for 200 years wont actually last that long, much less shit sitting on a fucking table in the open. I think the developers have no concept of time or something. I guess making heads fly off for no reason mattered more than anything else (seriously after watching 25 people's heads fly off their bodies, in a row, from a pistol round - I got tired of it).

Damn. I think you try to hard to NOT like it. You forgot to mention that a nuclear blast would leave very little standing. How fake is that? Who cares about a soda bottle on a table when the table should be 50 miles away in a million pieces. I just enjoyed the atmosphere, and the game too actually. As for the heads flying off, you may get lucky with a community mod if you own the PC version, which you should;) I figure in about 6 months, between patches and mods, the game will be a LOT better and will easily keep me entertained for years with several play throughs. I just cannot be disappointed in that. But to each their own. As soon as they called it Fallout anything, it was going to disappoint every Fanboy on some level.

[SilentScreams]

As soon as they called it Fallout anything, it was going to disappoint every Fanboy on some level.

I believe this is what they call hitting the nail on the head.

All the Fallout fans I know had already decided that Fallout 3 wasn't going to match up to 1 or 2 before it even came out.
But it's impossible to please them, because they have these rose-tinted memories of playing the first two, and nothing is ever going to match that.

I'm the same in a way. To this day, I don't think any MMO has even come close to Ultima Online pre-T2A. Regardless of how good any modern MMO is, I will always have awesome memories of playing UO in the glory days and I don't think anything can eclipse those.

[JayVe]

Biggest disappointment: No Mass Effect 2 newsOooh! I could get behind you on this one!

-LittleBigPlanet Beta: The game has more charm than any game I've played I think, but it's just not enough. I'll have to try the full version, but the controls felt bad, co-op had issues with the camera (people wandering of screen and getting killed was a party killer) and the level creating didn't interest me at all. Still a must buy title, but it should have been better.

Don't let Gorvi hear ya. He'll say you are the only one. ;)

[JayVe]

Damn. I think you try to hard to NOT like it. You forgot to mention that a nuclear blast would leave very little standing. How fake is that? Who cares about a soda bottle on a table when the table should be 50 miles away in a million pieces.

You know, I thought the same thing until I started doing some research into Hiroshima. There were still some buildings afterwards, a little like how Fallout 3 looks. Also remember, Fallout 3 isn't instantly afterwards. Someone may have moved soda cans or cigarettes around in the aftermath.

http://www.cfo.doe.gov/me70/manhattan/images/HiroshimaRuinsLarge.jpg

[J Arcane]

All the Fallout fans I know had already decided that Fallout 3 wasn't going to match up to 1 or 2 before it even came out.
But it's impossible to please them, because they have these rose-tinted memories of playing the first two, and nothing is ever going to match that.

Look, I like both the classic, and the new Fallouts, I think their great.

But this "rose-tinted" crap is nothing but insulting nonsense. I'm sure it makes you feel all special to imply that anyone who likes the old games is some deluded loon, but it's just not fucking true. The original Fallouts are some of the single most widely respected and critically acclaimed RPGs in the history of gaming. There's still things the gaming industry has yet to learn from what they did with that game.

In fact, one of the reasons why I love FO3 so much so far is that it seems that as giant fans of the series, the devs have consciously tried to relearn what made that game so great in the first place, and done pretty damn good for a bunch of guys who've never so much as talked to Tim Cain or Brian Fargo or the rest of the Black Isle team.

I know it's all trendy and shit on this site, and EvAv before it, to slam the FO games as outdated crap, but all it does is make you look like a fucking immature child desperately trying to look edgy.

[violent]

Biggest disappointment? Internet forums after every major announcement.

[SilentScreams]

Look, I like both the classic, and the new Fallouts, I think their great.

But this "rose-tinted" crap is nothing but insulting nonsense. I'm sure it makes you feel all special to imply that anyone who likes the old games is some deluded loon, but it's just not fucking true. The original Fallouts are some of the single most widely respected and critically acclaimed RPGs in the history of gaming. There's still things the gaming industry has yet to learn from what they did with that game.

In fact, one of the reasons why I love FO3 so much so far is that it seems that as giant fans of the series, the devs have consciously tried to relearn what made that game so great in the first place, and done pretty damn good for a bunch of guys who've never so much as talked to Tim Cain or Brian Fargo or the rest of the Black Isle team.

I know it's all trendy and shit on this site, and EvAv before it, to slam the FO games as outdated crap, but all it does is make you look like a fucking immature child desperately trying to look edgy.

Who pissed in your cornflakes?
Lighten up. You look foolish.

[J Arcane]

Who pissed in your cornflakes?
Lighten up. You look foolish.
I'm sorry, did I distract you by not swallowing your patronizing pap?

[pomeroy]

I know it's all trendy and shit on this site, and EvAv before it, to slam the FO games as outdated crap, but all it does is make you look like a fucking immature child desperately trying to look edgy.

Oh, fucking whatever. Saying some people are looking back at the games with rosetinted glasses does NOT mean they are calling the games "oudated crap". It means that those games were not perfect, even though some people think they were.

It's like looking back at a point in your life (like college) and remembering how fun it was but not remembering the shitty parts. And trust me, there were shitty parts.

[KingGorilla]

Who pissed in your cornflakes?


In a round about way, I did. I poured doe in heat into them this morning.

[SilentScreams]

I'm sorry, did I distract you by not swallowing your patronizing pap?

Actually you surprised me by spitting bile at me in response to a post that I didn't really aim at anyone and certainly didn't insult anyone. I even gave an example of me doing the same thing.
Or did you stop reading halfway through?

[ShivaX]

Look, I like both the classic, and the new Fallouts, I think their great.

But this "rose-tinted" crap is nothing but insulting nonsense. I'm sure it makes you feel all special to imply that anyone who likes the old games is some deluded loon, but it's just not fucking true. The original Fallouts are some of the single most widely respected and critically acclaimed RPGs in the history of gaming. There's still things the gaming industry has yet to learn from what they did with that game.

In fact, one of the reasons why I love FO3 so much so far is that it seems that as giant fans of the series, the devs have consciously tried to relearn what made that game so great in the first place, and done pretty damn good for a bunch of guys who've never so much as talked to Tim Cain or Brian Fargo or the rest of the Black Isle team.

I know it's all trendy and shit on this site, and EvAv before it, to slam the FO games as outdated crap, but all it does is make you look like a fucking immature child desperately trying to look edgy.

The problem with RPGs in general is that they haven't really gotten better. Look at pretty much every other genre and the games take from what came before them and improve on it. Compare Doom 2 to say Farcry 2. Beyond nostalgia theres nothing better in Doom, Farcry looks better, plays better, has more weapons and options, etc, etc.

Now look at RPGs. BG2 and the Fallouts are still the pinnacle of RPGs. Everything since them has been a step backwards in nearly every respect. They look nicer, but are extremely dumbed down, easy, have nearly no options, etc, etc.

Everything tends to get better, except RPGs, which consistently become more shallow and less interesting with each generation. It says a lot that the best of the bunch came out a decade ago and nothing has come close to matching them.

Fallout 3 was a solid game, but it was destined to disappoint because of the nature of the industry. Until someone like Stardock decides to take them on things will never change. I accept that, but I don't have to love it.

As far as the 200 year thing, its just beyond reason. A nuke going off destroys vast areas of land, sure, but in those areas not flattened things will be mostly fine (if more than a little irradiated). When I go to a drive-in movie place and theres kids toys and bottles sitting on the tables it goes beyond anything resembling reality.

In Fallout 2 civilization was starting to recover. People had started industries and cultures. Look at say New Reno. Drugs, booze, prostitution and organized crime in control of them. It just felt right. In Fallout 3 I never get that feeling. Every "town" is a collection of people with no visible means of surviving. Its like the nukes dropped last week and people are still sorting themselves out, but its supposedly been two centuries. If people were in untenable positions, they'd be dead and lost to time. Instead they're all over the place. Almost noone has a source of food or water, or even much in the way of weapons or defenses.

Yeah I'm nitpicking, but it bugged me. I could accept it to some extent, but the arbitrary 200 fucking years makes no sense. Its just too damn long for things to not be radically different. I played most of the game pretending it was 20 or 30 years, except they kept feeling the need to remind me of how long it actually was.

[johnperkins21]

I thought so too. No idea what he hates about it since he didn't respond to my post. 09 is 1000x better than 08 and 07.

Sorry, I must have missed your post.

Just because 09 is better than 07 and 08 doesn't make it good. It's still not as good as Madden 98.

One of my biggest complaints might seem minor, but it's huge to me. The playcalling screen only has one play selected. Sure you can hold down LT or whatever to have it highlight multiple, but I much preferred having the box of three highlighted plays. It made finding and selecting your play so much quicker and easier. With the new system I get delay of game penalties if I'm not incredibly familiar with the selected playbook.

The aforementioned sideline issue is a big detractor as well. Not only do opponent AI players run out of bounds for no reason, but your receivers don't know where the sideline is on sweep or out patterns. Instead of stopping short of the sideline, they just keep running out of bounds. It's annoying as hell.

An issue they've had for a while is the difficulty. When you increase the difficulty, the AI doesn't get smarter, or learn to anticipate better, they just shed blocks and bounce off of tacklers. You play the Madden IQ thing at the beginning and it's so easy to score touchdowns that you're in All-Madden on the run game. At this level, not one of my offensive linemen can hold a block, and there are defenders in the backfield as soon as I snap the ball. On every single running play. All of them. That's not increasing the AI difficulty, it's making the computer cheat.

They've added myriad pre-snap defensive options, but they change the buttons for these every year. So you need to re-learn how to show blitz or move into man coverage, but you don't have time to do any of this before the ball is snapped.

It's been a while since I played it, so I can't really think of all the frustrating things about the game, but the biggest problem is that I think Madden 98 was a far superior game. In a decade, they couldn't come up with AI that knows where the sideline is? What happened to QB Vision? Why does the truck stick take 2 seconds to respond? I just don't feel like they've improved on the game in one single aspect. Nothing about this year's game is superior to 98, yet much of it is worse.

Oh, they still have collision issues. Few things piss me off more than a football going through, literally through, half-in half-out, of my defender's outstretched hands. It's bad enough when it does the JFK magic bullet thing and goes around the hand, but when it travels through, it just pisses me off. It's done that since the first Madden game in 3D, and they still can't fix it?

I have to stop now, I'm getting much too riled up.

[H.Bogard]

Look, I like both the classic, and the new Fallouts, I think their great.

But this "rose-tinted" crap is nothing but insulting nonsense. I'm sure it makes you feel all special to imply that anyone who likes the old games is some deluded loon, but it's just not fucking true. The original Fallouts are some of the single most widely respected and critically acclaimed RPGs in the history of gaming. There's still things the gaming industry has yet to learn from what they did with that game.

In fact, one of the reasons why I love FO3 so much so far is that it seems that as giant fans of the series, the devs have consciously tried to relearn what made that game so great in the first place, and done pretty damn good for a bunch of guys who've never so much as talked to Tim Cain or Brian Fargo or the rest of the Black Isle team.

I know it's all trendy and shit on this site, and EvAv before it, to slam the FO games as outdated crap, but all it does is make you look like a fucking immature child desperately trying to look edgy.

I don't think they're trying to look edgy. Though unjust in calling people who played the original games as loonies, certainly. But I think some people aren't attached to the series and just stumbled upon a Bethesda game that looked cool+fun... they can't relate to why people don't like it or find it disappointing.

And I agree with ShivaX about the towns thing. Seriously, what the heck does everyone do except for wander around town there? Its like there's only 3 or 4 working people in all of Megaton.

[violent]

What ever happened to the days when you could dislike something without some douche writing a report on why you're a dumbass?

[Dukefrukem]

Sorry, I must have missed your post.

Just because 09 is better than 07 and 08 doesn't make it good. It's still not as good as Madden 98.

One of my biggest complaints might seem minor, but it's huge to me. The playcalling screen only has one play selected. Sure you can hold down LT or whatever to have it highlight multiple, but I much preferred having the box of three highlighted plays. It made finding and selecting your play so much quicker and easier. With the new system I get delay of game penalties if I'm not incredibly familiar with the selected playbook.

The aforementioned sideline issue is a big detractor as well. Not only do opponent AI players run out of bounds for no reason, but your receivers don't know where the sideline is on sweep or out patterns. Instead of stopping short of the sideline, they just keep running out of bounds. It's annoying as hell.

An issue they've had for a while is the difficulty. When you increase the difficulty, the AI doesn't get smarter, or learn to anticipate better, they just shed blocks and bounce off of tacklers. You play the Madden IQ thing at the beginning and it's so easy to score touchdowns that you're in All-Madden on the run game. At this level, not one of my offensive linemen can hold a block, and there are defenders in the backfield as soon as I snap the ball. On every single running play. All of them. That's not increasing the AI difficulty, it's making the computer cheat.

They've added myriad pre-snap defensive options, but they change the buttons for these every year. So you need to re-learn how to show blitz or move into man coverage, but you don't have time to do any of this before the ball is snapped.

It's been a while since I played it, so I can't really think of all the frustrating things about the game, but the biggest problem is that I think Madden 98 was a far superior game. In a decade, they couldn't come up with AI that knows where the sideline is? What happened to QB Vision? Why does the truck stick take 2 seconds to respond? I just don't feel like they've improved on the game in one single aspect. Nothing about this year's game is superior to 98, yet much of it is worse.

Oh, they still have collision issues. Few things piss me off more than a football going through, literally through, half-in half-out, of my defender's outstretched hands. It's bad enough when it does the JFK magic bullet thing and goes around the hand, but when it travels through, it just pisses me off. It's done that since the first Madden game in 3D, and they still can't fix it?

I have to stop now, I'm getting much too riled up.


All of what you listed there, is also present in 07 and 08. Just letting you. And I do agree that the new Madden games are not as good as some older games. FOr example, the last Madden I really enjoyed played, was 01.

And to make you feel better. Watch this video i took of Madden 09.

_463EZfjS80

The only complaint I have, is that EA has still failed to get rid of this shit.

[Dukefrukem]

What ever happened to the days when you could dislike something without some douche writing a report on why you're a dumbass?

I hate Halo 3.

[SilentScreams]

I hate Halo 3.

I can hear the furious tapping of keys already.

[johnperkins21]

All of what you listed there, is also present in 07 and 08. Just letting you.

And to make you feel better. Watch this video i took of Madden 09.

The only complaint I have, is that EA has still failed to get rid of this shit.

It is present in 07 and 08, and 06 and 05 and 04, etc. Every year they add some new feature while completely ignoring core problems with the game. That's frustrating and disappointing. I had high hopes for 09, and had heard "this was they year they got it right. This year is leaps and bounds better than 08." Better than 08 isn't enough, I wanted it to be polished. I wanted it to be better than 98. So that was incredibly disappointing.

And I've seen your video before. The fact that they can't get online games to work right is another issue I have. I ran a Madden league for a few years and we constantly had online issues. Back in 2004 on the PS2 we were suffering through this shit, and it still doesn't work? It's insane. Ugh!

[KingGorilla]

What ever happened to the days when you could dislike something without some douche writing a report on why you're a dumbass?

When the fuck was that? What Shangri-La did you emerge from?

[violent]

When the fuck was that? What Shangri-La did you emerge from?

The bars and taverns I suppose.

[Spigot]

Biggest disappointment? Internet forums after every major announcement.Nay nay!

Internet forums after every announcement OF a major announcement :)

[violent]

Nay nay!

Internet forums after every announcement OF a major announcement :)

Another good one.

[JayK47]

Now look at RPGs. BG2 and the Fallouts are still the pinnacle of RPGs. Everything since them has been a step backwards in nearly every respect. They look nicer, but are extremely dumbed down, easy, have nearly no options, etc, etc.

Well this explains everything. You like old PC RPGs. Things have changed since then. That is like me saying UT was the pinnacle of online FPSs. And it is. FPS games were dumb in the first place. Adding a few bells and whistles won't scare away the masses. Apparently adding any depth to an RPG will scare away the core console users. At that point, you may as well make it PC only and crap your pants if sales surpass 100,000. Bethesda is beyond that point. Check out the PC indy developer scene if you want to stick to niche PC gaming.

You can't fight it. Games have gone mainstream. That means less innovation and more sequels. Dumbing down so any monkey can play it is standard. Look at Fable 2. "Anybody" can pick it up and play. Anybody. Dumb dumb dumb. So you have traded game complexity for 20 people on your Xbox LIVE friends list. Enjoy. Personally I liked things better when I was a huge nerd for playing video games and the media didn't care.

[H.Bogard]

Well this explains everything. You like old PC RPGs. Things have changed since then. That is like me saying UT was the pinnacle of online FPSs. And it is. FPS games were dumb in the first place. Adding a few bells and whistles won't scare away the masses. Apparently adding any depth to an RPG will scare away the core console users. At that point, you may as well make it PC only and crap your pants if sales surpass 100,000. Bethesda is beyond that point. Check out the PC indy developer scene if you want to stick to niche PC gaming.


CDProjekt and a million Witchers say HELLO! Oh and there's non-dumb FPS games out there too if you know where to look (Stalker, Crysis, Far Cry 2, Bioshock). The man is right when he says that RPG's are getting dumber and other genres are progressing with age.

[Urizen]

Good post, ShivaX. To further illustrate the point, I remember when gamers and reviewers made a point of mentioning that each weapon in a shooter had its own distinct reload animation, and it wasn't a situation where one gun was lowered off the screen for half a second and was magically raised with a full clip. That was seen as a distinct improvement in the shooter universe.

Better lighting technology has allowed games like Splinter Cell to exist and made horror games scarier. Racing games have improved with physics. Fighting games have improved with better hit detection and smoother frame rates.

RPGs do not depend on these features and technologies for gameplay. Lost Odyssey could be a NES game. It would look and sound different, but it wouldn't play any different.

To address the thread, I was disappointed by the lack of balance and customization in Mario Kart. It's still a good time with friends, and it's still the best racer this side of Burnout, but QA didn't push themselves in testing.

[Spigot]

Hey now... You be careful with what you say about Lost Odyssey.

I'm not disagreeing with you necessarily, but oh baby, did I ever love that game.

[DarkDay]

Dam...I been happy lurking and reading again, but.. this.. LO thing...you know. Right?

makes me soo....


<======Loves LO probably too much

[Spigot]

Probably not as much as...

<---------------------

[Gorvi]

Don't let Gorvi hear ya. He'll say you are the only one. ;)
It's Norse. He has to hate it, it's the law. :p

[nnanji]

Well, last night I learned a lesson on relative disapointment.

I was really looking forward to the new Shaun White snowboarding game. Not because I thought it would be great, but because I really like the SSX games and thought a game that so shamelessly ripped off SSX3 couldn't be all bad.

Well, the game sucks. Hard. The controls are stiff, the trick system is uninspired, and the snow graphics are good enough that it makes you groan twice as hard when you enter a town full of constructiion paper houses with doors that won't open. And it's probably not the worst game I've ever played, but the difference between my expectations and the reality crushed my spirit.

[Urizen]

Hey now... You be careful with what you say about Lost Odyssey.

I'm not disagreeing with you necessarily, but oh baby, did I ever love that game.

No doubt. I'm not picking on Lost Odyssey. I've only gone one disc in before I had to pull myself away, but I am digging it. The story is picking up nicely.

My point is what it is. I'd love to see a counterpoint.

[Schnoogs]

Metal Gear Solid 4

[Blue]

Metal Gear Solid 4

I support this man and his decisions. Most of them anyhow.

[crazyD]

Metal Gear Solid 4

Any reason why? It felt to me like a solid and well done evolution of the series. Granted, the cutscenes were way too long.