I guess I could do this by picking a bunch of sequels that didn't live up, but I think in most every franchise there are a few sequels that don't live up, so that could get boring. Instead I'm going to try to choose some original games that I was super excited about before they released, but then they released and just... weren't that great? though I'll also throw in some sequels. I admit that for most of these I'm going off of what others have said about them, so if I'm wrong maybe someone can set me straight. But I'm willing to take a chance and assume these games didn't live up.



I remember getting so psyched for this game. Who wouldn't want to play a game where you get to be Boba Fett?! Ok so it was about Jango Fett but essentially, it is the same idea. Flying around on jetpacks, busting suckers with lasers, capturing people with grapple beams, shooting a big ass rocket out of your back... it was a huge Star Wars wet dream come true. But when it released it reviewed in the mediocre to poor range, my hype disappeared, and I never bothered checking it out.



Apparently Anand thinks this is one of the worst ideas ever, but I liked the idea. A bright, colorful platformer from Team Sonic (before I finally accepted they had nothing left) that seemed to have it's own little unique niche. But I guess it wasn't really any good?



I'm a huge, huge Mega Man X fan so the idea of an RPG using those characters sounded super cool. But then, the game apparently sucks. Boo.



This game sounded so weird and cool... kind of an RPG, except the battles took place in the form of a SHMUP? I was pretty excited for it, but um... again, it came out, and apparently sucks, so I never bothered.



Another Sonic Team game. The thing that frustrates me most about Sonic Team (and Sega as a whole, to some degree) is that they're still making the type of games I really want to see in an industry where few people are. BUT... their games mostly suck. It's a huge cock tease. I picked this even though it's a sequel because I haven't played the original, so it's not like "oh a sequel that didn't live up to my expectations based on playing the previous game" it would have been totally new to me. But I heard it really sucks, so I didn't bother.



I've actually played this game, I own it. And it's not terrible, it's just not very good. But the idea sounded so cool. Combine Mario Party with an RPG and a bunch of crazy stuff like getting to screw with people when you kill them by changing their names and such? But really, it's just not that great of a game.



I really, really love this series. Like, a lot. So when the Wii debuted with an exclusive Monkey Ball game, I was sold. The hype was up there with Zelda for me. And it seemed like something that would work very well with the Wii remote. But the mini-games mostly all sucked, and the single player was ok though not up to the standards of the old games. Meh.



Super Excited for Camelot's return to consoles. And I loved the Mario Golf games so this seemed like a sure thing. But I guess it wasn't that great? Oh well, there is always Golden Sun 3, their true return.



It's hard to put a finger on what is wrong with this game. It's very playable, sometimes creative, and follows the design of the original Yoshi's Island fairly closely. But it's just plain nowhere near as good. Maybe this is the difference between having all of the elements in place, and actually designing a great game around those elements?



I was super into this game on pretty much every level, until I started playing it. And I still love the story, characters, and presentation. But the core gameplay just doesn't work for me, at all.

URL to share (right click and copy)

Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia: I was hoping for a more engaging game. I really didn't get into it at all.

Resident Evil Zero: I seemed uninspired in comparison to other RE games.

Mortal Kombat Armageddon: The whole game seemed like a quick cash in. Especially the ending cinematics.

Mortal Kombat vs. DC: The combat system feels awkward and the Fatalities suck.

Tekken 6: having to go through the adventure mode to unlock characters and endings.

Animal Crossing: City Folk: It's just more of the same. (still love it though).

TMNT Turtles in Time Re-Shelled: Horrible new music, the gameplay is not the same. Doesn't include the extra levels from the SNES version.

@Simbabbad
I assume (hope) you're joking cuz wasn't it a sleeper hit? Unexpectedly good? If anything it should be the star of a thread "Games you didn't expect to be so mind blowingly awesome". Well, I expected it to be awesome but it still surpassed all of my expectations. Maybe that should be a new thread...hmm...

Also, you could say that about any game ever made. I too still wish Dead Space was better for one thing in particular. As the ultimate homage to Alien I think you should have fought Nicole in the Ship and blown her out of the airlock. I was fully expecting that too happen. That's like the only complaint I have against the game pretty much. It was there, it was possible, they were this close, and it shoulda happened. So yes, in that sense Dead Space is worthy of this thread, but than again so is any game that isn't literally perfect from bootup to post credits, every pixel of it .

Plus, besides what I already mentioned how could Dead Space really be any better? I mean, it looks like Dead Space 2 is already taking care of that, and the end result remains to be seen. I mean, I already know it'll blow my socks off but sometimes a game just can't top the original no matter what it does (See SMG2).

Oh, I forgot all about Dead Space. I beat it and it wasn't a bad game, but it definitely wasn't as good as I was hoping for it to be. Whereas I loved Resident Evil 4, Dead Space seemed incredibly repetitive in comparison (both with regard to pacing and enemy/area variety), and I didn't care about the story or characters at all. Plus the sequence where you man the two laser cannons outside the ship to blow away oncoming asteroids nearly ruined the whole game for me. I must have spent at least a day being stuck on that part, only to barely make my way through on the millionth try with one unit of health left. That's one of the worst sections I've played in any game.

this thread is getting fugly!

I actually agree on a lot of game suggestions here.. all the ones I would have said..have already been said.. ie: red steel 1 ..the Conduit, and Super Monkey Ball Wii for sure..

but shit.... Zelda TP? Galaxy 2? Z&W? I guess all those games could have improvements - but Galaxy 2 was and still is awesome, and Z&W kinda came from nowhere and was more of a surprise sleeper hit..then one that should have been great. Zelda, on the other hand and huge hype...hype that couldn't be matched - a zelda game that was almost hyped more then Ocarina. But Ocarina broke new ground which is why it's so highly regarded today. TP did not. TP was more Ocarina but I think it improved on a lot of things - mainly, more things to do.

I never found a dungeon that was broken (ie: no putting on 'boots' tons of times for water temple), the graphics were great, the sound was great, the play control was wonderful, and the characters were more lively. It also had some great hidden challenges. A Wonderful Zelda game.

But I'm not going to deny that the game could have used improvements.

What's the line for you guys? You are going to find 80% of the games you play could have been better in someway. Most of the games mentioned where 'broken' in someway.. Gameplay/play control was aweful for example.. and those are good games to mention in this thread..at least, for me.

S

Lots of "I found the game interesting, heard it sucked, didn't bother" from you, Zero. I think you shouldn't let reviews stop you from getting the games that interest you so much. I mean, Sigma Star Saga is flawed, sure. Am I glad I played it? You bet.


The one title that popped to mind immediately was Brütal Legend. There was too much emphasis on finding hidden stuff in the huge open world, and the emphasis on RTS battles and multiplayer was probably ill-advised.

Might as well throw Psychonauts in there as well: great story, dialogue and characters, and some of the most imaginative levels in any platformer (especially later in the game), but less emphasis on collecting crap and better controls would have been appreciated.

I want to write Star Fox Adventures 40 times.

Aquaman: Battle for Atlantis

Final Fantasy Mystic Quest

Fragile

And Twilight Princess makes me barf in my mouth.

@Simbabbad I'm not telling anyone else how to interpret the topic, just saying what I did. Like, I was pretty disappointed in Resident Evil 5 but it doesn't make my list because I still thought it was a pretty good game, just nowhere near 4. And as I've said before, I was even disappointed in the Ocarina of Time, but it was still pretty amazing... I just wanted it to be REALLY REALLY amazing like Link to the Past was yeah I said it, Link to the Past > Ocarina of Time.

@Pandareus Yeah but a lot of games only interest me in concept, and then I read a bunch of reviews which basically say the execution is terrible, and a concept without execution isn't really that interesting to me. If I had more time to devote to gaming, sure... actually last generation I think I took more risks with my purchases. But now time is tight.

Yeah, I agree that it's weird to count games that you haven't even played. A lot of the games in the OP that you dismissed due to reviews are pretty good. Diamonds in the rough. Quit relying on reviewers! At least when you're espousing a position.

You may think that I would say Metroid Prime, but I'mma 'bout to surprise you once again! I was NEVER hyped for Prime. (How many of us were?) It seemed like an abortion right from the announcement (American studio? First-person??), through all of the highly publicized development hell, to the moment the reviews came in. So I never got hyped. The reviews came in, I decided to grab the game at launch because I found a way to do so for $20, and... it was decent. Probably better than I was expecting, even with my issues with the game. So HA!

I get to poach some of your answers. Star Fox Adventures (so glad I canceled my pre-order when Rare ominously got sold), the newer Animal Crossings... I was never very hyped for Eternal Darkness or Luigi's Mansion... Wind Waker, I guess. For sure. There are a TON of HD games that disappointed me, but I'm not sure how many I was hyped for. Crackdown 2, I guess. That sucked. And Burnout Paradise, maybe. That's all I can think of for right now. I'm sure there are many more.

I was hyped for Metroid Prime, but that was because I went to Cube Club and played it like a month before release. Speaking of which, Nintendo needs to do these things again! I got to play Wind Waker like 5 months early too.

And I'm willing to bank on the fact that pretty much every title I listed is mediocre and/or disappointing. It's not just reviewers who say it, but other gamers. I'm not going to play every game I have some interest in, I'd never find time for all of them! SOME of us don't buy 37 games a month and then keep 90% of them in their original wrappings.

Recently, I played No More Heroes 2. That game had no soul. Most of the time I try not to hype myself too much and end up disappointed but having played No More Heroes 1, there was something missing, the fun. Granted, technically speaking, No More Heroes wasn't a jewel, but it was still enjoyable, I still can't put my finger on what, or why I didn't enjoy the sequel nearly as much.

And I didn't even played it, but The Conduit to show the Wii could do "hardcore" FPSeseses... and that would have possibly facilitated other companies making (not only FPS but other types as well) games for the console. Who am I kidding, Wii owners would probably still get the shaft (no pun intended).

Is the pun that a conduit is a type of shaft?

@Zero
Yeah, but SOME of us rent games and try them out before dismissing them when we're interested in them. Sigma Star is pretty cool (but unbalanced) with a neat story, Billy Hatcher is alright, and the flying stages in Nights are about on-par with the original's. And Command Mission, by the Dead Rising/Breath of Fire V team, with a lot of the same design decisions, is supposed to be a sleeper.

I really wanted to go to that Cube Club, but I could never make it, for some reason.

Which reminds me, I was fucking HEARTBROKEN today when I learned that a band that I wanted to see SO BADLY on December 30th, whose concert sold out in a day, added another show on the 29th, which ALSO sold out in a day. And I found out about both the day after. What. The. Fuck. Totally bummed out. Plus, a baby mouse is dying near my fridge, and I feel bad for it, so I have to wait for it to rigor mortis before moving it. Which is totally unappetizing! Everything's conspiring to bum me out lately.

@anandxxx

The Siren's Song of "Star Fox + Zelda" was far too much to overcome.

Are you a fellow Wind Waker h8r?

(More like Wind Snoozer!)

@anandxxx

No, I was talking about Star Fox Adventures! If you're talking to/about someone else, you better reference them next time, OHHHHHHHH!!

@anandxxx

Wii... shaft... get it? I guess this is not 2006 anymore.

@anandxxx Yeah but I don't have time to play the games I want to play, why would I spend even more time renting games that I probably won't want to play? It seems you rent a ton of games but I wonder how many you really sit down with? I'd rather get deep into 2 or 3 games than play a bit of 20 or 30 games.

And even though it isn't a game, I really wish this was better than it is, too:

@GameDadGrant

You're crazy, I personally think the PS3 is wonderful and has a lot of great games.

@Zero

Well, you still invested time and money into God of War III... as far as I'm concerned that's time and money you could have invested in one of those games you listed, games you haven't played twice already.

@Pandareus Well... I invested money into it, I haven't invested much of my time into it. And to my credit, I loved the first two games. Actually I don't really dislike the third. I just am really, really limited in gaming time nowadays and find more interesting stuff to play.

But I got it for $20, so if I decide I'm sick of it I can probably Ebay it and get my money back.