Biggest Game Letdown

[SelectivelyEvil13]

For me it was Halo 2. I honestly was thinking as my entire High School was hyping it that "this is going to fail all expectations." It was a Christmas gift, and that night before I had a soft glimmer of hope that I would feel the same magic of the first Halo. Then, *BAM* welcome to the BS parade.

The graphics alone shocked me for being unimpressive compared to the first, the weapons felt like a joke, just overall not fun like the first. Mind you, I only could play single player, but I'm the type that bases a game mostly on its SP regardless because I'm back to not playing multiplayer anymore.

But what destroyed it for me was all of the potential I could see. Then I found out about the whole "Re-do" thing where Bungie had to toss out everything and go at it again and rush the product for Microsoft (correct me if I'm erring, I can't remember the details too well). If I played the game again, I would see that every single time and just sigh at what could have been.

That Christmas Eve, I was thinking to that teaser in New Mombassa with the awesome, well, EVERYTHING going on up until the end where the Master Chief is facing a whole group of drop-pod elites with swords... Man, that made me really look down on the final game.

Plus, the whole Arbiter business was a disappointment because after a friend told me he heard you could play as covenant, I thought maybe we could see a whole new perspective and fight humanity.

 

[SpireOfFire]

i sat in stunned disbelief in how mediocre and unremarkable viking: battle of asgaard was.

i had waited for that game since it was nothing but a TITLE.

 

[Jumplion]

Resistance 2. The first game had a very outer limits aliens invading feel to it but at the same time felt very world war 2ish. A lot of stages had a D-day feel and others had believable city areas and countryside with pauses breaking up the games combat as you explore the aliens bases. The chimera were a bit mysterious. It wasn't the best game ever but I found it very atmospheric. The second game was the complete opposite. everything was high-tec and you were part of some elite squad instead of just another soldier trying to survive. There was little to remind you it was suppose to take place in the 50's and from what I remember it really felt like year 2020 or something. The entire atmosphere created by the first game was gone. To make it worse time fastforwards a few times to destroy your sense of whats going on and leaves you feeling disconnected. The gameplay itself was also a lot more generic but I won't go into that because I'm sure everyone knows by now how Insomniac messed that up. Basically Resistance was a series with potential that was crushed by the second game. No one really wants a third game now.

I have to agree with most of what you said. While I'm much too generous with Insomniac to say that R2 was completely bad/worse than the original, it just didn't really have that same feel as the original Resistance. Keep in mind, though, that the original Resistance was a launch title and that Insomniac hadn't done the FPS genre since their inititial formation (their first game was an FPS, "Disrupter" I think). I do hope that the inevitable Resistance 3 will go back to what made the original so good but experiment in the process.

 

[jango1]

For me it would have to be mw2, gta4 and nwn2 ..

 

[tzimize]

lately, Starcraft 2. The story was so awful compared to the first one I died a bit inside. The only missions interesting to play were the missions that actually didnt star the heroes of the campaign (the terrans).

 

[Lorginsms]

Fable 2. Every part of it. ESPECIALLY the finall boss and sh*t-awful story.

Definitely my biggest letdown. MW2 is my second biggest.

 

[Applejack]

Resistance 2. The first game had a very outer limits aliens invading feel to it but at the same time felt very world war 2ish. A lot of stages had a D-day feel and others had believable city areas and countryside with pauses breaking up the games combat as you explore the aliens bases. The chimera were a bit mysterious. It wasn't the best game ever but I found it very atmospheric. The second game was the complete opposite. everything was high-tec and you were part of some elite squad instead of just another soldier trying to survive. There was little to remind you it was suppose to take place in the 50's and from what I remember it really felt like year 2020 or something. The entire atmosphere created by the first game was gone. To make it worse time fastforwards a few times to destroy your sense of whats going on and leaves you feeling disconnected. The gameplay itself was also a lot more generic but I won't go into that because I'm sure everyone knows by now how Insomniac messed that up. Basically Resistance was a series with potential that was crushed by the second game. No one really wants a third game now.

I have to agree with most of what you said. While I'm much too generous with Insomniac to say that R2 was completely bad/worse than the original, it just didn't really have that same feel as the original Resistance. Keep in mind, though, that the original Resistance was a launch title and that Insomniac hadn't done the FPS genre since their inititial formation (their first game was an FPS, "Disrupter" I think). I do hope that the inevitable Resistance 3 will go back to what made the original so good but experiment in the process.

I'm a big fan of twighlight zone/outer limits stuff and the first game felt like a movie based off that. I really wish I could tell Insomniac what they missed with the second game because I don't think they get it. I'm guessing we get the weapon wheel back in R3 but the story and atmosphere are even more generic.

 

[imaloony]

I've actually got a few.

My biggest is Super Paper Mario.
To me, the Paper Mario series should stick to the action/adventure stuff and go with turn based combat. With that formula, Nintendo put out two brilliant games, and there was no reason to change it. Super Paper Mario was just a bland Mario platformer that had no reason to hold the name "Paper Mario".

While on the subject of Mario, I won't mention Galaxy simply because I don't feel like it, but I will mention Mario and Luigi: Partners in Time.
As with the Paper Mario series, this is a great series with lots of great turn-based combat. It's a lot of fun to discover the enemy patterns of attacks and block accordingly, and it made me fall in love with Superstar Saga (Which I somehow lost later). However, Partners in time really hurt that.
Firstly, they got rid of the Bros. Moves. Why? those were awesome. Mario and Luigi flipping off of each other before finally slamming down on the enemy? That was great. Adding the babies could have opened a new world of those! Rather, they give us these bland Bros. Items. They're not imaginative and not fun to use. Bowser's Inside Story, while still ignoring the Bros. Moves for some reason, really got creative with the items to the point where I forgave it for leaving out the Bros. Moves.
Secondly, I didn't feel like the babies were implemented well. I just felt like it was a gimmick to use the X and Y buttons, and it didn't work well. They just dumped a few of the old moves onto the babies (Becoming like pancakes, burrowing, even a bit of the spin jump), and gave the regular bros some new moves, which felt cheap.
In the new game, yeah, Bowser's fights weren't nearly as interesting as the Bros. fights, but they made up for it with all the puzzles involving getting Bowser fat, and let's not forget those REALLY cool Minion Moves where you used the touch screen. Those were a lot of fun. On the other hand, Partners in time didn't do anything to make me feel like the babies were worth putting up with. It literally just felt like I was babysitting them (A good analogy) which is no fun.

Wow, I really dwelled on that one, didn't I? Oh well.

I could mention more, but I'll just go with one final game.

Pokemon Diamond (and Pearl, but I played Diamond).
Really, pokemon was destined to go downhill after Crystal. How were they supposed to top a game with two regions, the Battle Tower, and all these new innovations like the new types?
Ruby and Sapphire (and Emerald) weren't quite as good, but with the new Pokemon Contests, Secret Bases, and Double Battles, it was able to draw my attention enough for it to be a good game.
Diamond though, just sucked. Let's start with the watch, shall we? Ever since Silver, Gold, and Crystal, you've always had something, right? In S/G/C, we got the PokeGear, which was awesome. It was a phone, a map, a calender, a clock, a radio, and it was a lot of fun to screw around with. I forget what it was in R/S/E, but I remember it being pretty good too. In Diamond, however, you're given this stupid watch with all these useless functions. Sure, maybe it will more easily let you know how your pokemon like you, or tell you the time, or whatever, but so many of them were just flat out useless. A calculator? A coin flipper? What the hell is this? Are we really too lazy to just find a penny and flip it, or do some simple math in our head, or, for the kids, just find a calculator?
Okay, let me dwell on the three R/S/E innovations diamond screwed up. Secret Bases? Sure, let's just make it so you need to go through a loading screen to get to them, do a stupid minigame to find stones to trade for crappy items for your base, and then scatter rocks and shit all over your base so you need to play Capture the Flag to get rid of it! I mean, God, really?
Pokemon contests? Let's remove all strategy and turn it into a guessing game by adding three judges! Now let's add a stupid Dress-Up section that no one likes to do! Not enough? Let's put you in a stupid tux so you look ridiculous next to the people who are dressed casually! STILL not enough? Let's replace the simple and fun Pokeblock mixing game with a stupid poffin mixing game! Wow, they did EVERYTHING in their power to screw this one up, didn't they?
Double battles? Let's make them too damn frequent so that you'll start finding them annoying!
And lastly, why did they change the Special/Physical attack system? Why change something that's been drilled into our brains for a decade? It confuses me to no end. So, when a pokemon bites you and sends electricity through your body, the damage of the attack is based on how hard the pokemon is biting you? Not how intense the electricity is? This crap makes no sense anymore...

Well, I've typed way too much already, so I'll leave it at that.

 

[Kialee]

Deus Ex: Invisible War.
Seriously, what the hell.

 

[Drexlor]

Bioshock. I heard so much hype and then when I play it, it just seems bland.

 

[Jumplion]

Resistance 2. The first game had a very outer limits aliens invading feel to it but at the same time felt very world war 2ish. A lot of stages had a D-day feel and others had believable city areas and countryside with pauses breaking up the games combat as you explore the aliens bases. The chimera were a bit mysterious. It wasn't the best game ever but I found it very atmospheric. The second game was the complete opposite. everything was high-tec and you were part of some elite squad instead of just another soldier trying to survive. There was little to remind you it was suppose to take place in the 50's and from what I remember it really felt like year 2020 or something. The entire atmosphere created by the first game was gone. To make it worse time fastforwards a few times to destroy your sense of whats going on and leaves you feeling disconnected. The gameplay itself was also a lot more generic but I won't go into that because I'm sure everyone knows by now how Insomniac messed that up. Basically Resistance was a series with potential that was crushed by the second game. No one really wants a third game now.

I have to agree with most of what you said. While I'm much too generous with Insomniac to say that R2 was completely bad/worse than the original, it just didn't really have that same feel as the original Resistance. Keep in mind, though, that the original Resistance was a launch title and that Insomniac hadn't done the FPS genre since their inititial formation (their first game was an FPS, "Disrupter" I think). I do hope that the inevitable Resistance 3 will go back to what made the original so good but experiment in the process.

I'm a big fan of twighlight zone/outer limits stuff and the first game felt like a movie based off that. I really wish I could tell Insomniac what they missed with the second game because I don't think they get it. I'm guessing we get the weapon wheel back in R3 but the story and atmosphere are even more generic.

Send them an e-mail maybe, I'd totaly support that. Who knows, maybe they'll respond back. A little criticism is never bad, just don't come off as a fan that wants everything to cater to them.

 

[Indignation837]

For me, it's a tie between Fable 2 and Disgaea 2. Fable 2 should be obvious: I was promised a massive open world, epic story, and cute wittle doggie. I got a pretty limited world, mediocre story with no proper final boss, and a dog that kept digging up useless little trinkets instead of anything useful. Not to mention mini-games that seemed just a little bit too much like the day job that I play games to forget about.

Disgaea 2 disappointed me in a similar way. The first was amazingly good, forcing you to play as an anti-hero that leads to some hilarious dialogue and really good strategy battles. The second was a completely cut-and-paste JRPG story with a little bit of amusing dialogue, but nowhere near as much, and the gameplay itself felt much more like a grind than an actual strategy game. Plus, it had one of the lamest endings I've ever seen, leaving multiple subplots completely unresolved.

 

[Krion_Vark]

The first post wasn't Too Human? I am surprised.

Anyway, yeah, Too Human. I mean the concept was, an RPG about Norse Mythology set in the future, with a combat system like devil may cry. How the hell do you fuck that up?!

Up designing the ENTIRE game for the N64 putting it on the back burner for 6 years then just upping the graphics without upping the control.

I actually didn't think Too Human was that bad. I didn't listen to the hype that much and played it for myself and thought it was great. Except the fact that you couldn't skip the Valkryie and Hel was an automatic at least 50 deaths in a single area.

 

[Blemontea]

Rayman 3: rayman 2 was so awesome, it had the story with subtle and in your face jokes and well developed characters, then they made it a more comical game, with more in your face joke and an annoying fourth wall breaking intro. plus the enemies weren't scary(even though they were trying), the world wasn't as magic filled it was more steam punk styled and Globox was high the whole game, with a completely new voice that didn't work for him. it still good game play wise but as for a successor to number 2, it not close.

Alone in the Dark (latest): when i first heard about it i was hyped, and couldn't understand how it could be bad when you can build all this stuff and use different stuff as weapons. but as i started to play the layer of imagination were pealed away and i started to see how unfinished it was, and how bad the controls were.

 

[JoeBattisti]

Gears of War 2. That or Halo 3. Both had horrible story modes and completely unbalanced multiplayer.

 

[StoneHeart]

Gears of War 2. That or Halo 3. Both had horrible story modes and completely unbalanced multiplayer.

Gears 2 I agree.
Halo 3 was pretty much Halo 2.5

 

[Skoldpadda]

Dragon Age and Zelda: The Phantom Hourglass.