Poll: Most Disappointing Game of 2011?

[Brighton_Game_Trader]

Terraria - I put more hours than I care to admit into playing it single player, haven't even touched the multiplayer, or checked back since the last patch, which changed loads up all over again (£1.49 on steam summer sale)

So you hate Minecraft but love Terraria? My friend described the same feelings, but as I haven't gotten the chance to play either of them I feel a bit in the dark.

What are the main differences between the two?

Obviously they both involve crafting and world-building, and it is difficult to produce anything in-game, but why do people seem to love Terraria if they hate Minecraft?

 

[Flying Dagger]

Terraria - I put more hours than I care to admit into playing it single player, haven't even touched the multiplayer, or checked back since the last patch, which changed loads up all over again (£1.49 on steam summer sale)

So you hate Minecraft but love Terraria? My friend described the same feelings, but as I haven't gotten the chance to play either of them I feel a bit in the dark.

What are the main differences between the two?

Obviously they both involve crafting and world-building, and it is difficult to produce anything in-game, but why do people seem to love Terraria if they hate Minecraft?

In my opinion:

Spoiler: This ran a bit long

Terraria has a nicer aesthetic, what looks blocky in 3D looks adorable as sprites in 2D

Tools don't degrade, spend an hour sourcing the material for that cool weapon or snazzy armour? it's yours to keep forever.

Minor gold loss on death - don't lose too much when you die (ie. that snazzy armour). (if you dislike this, there is hardcore mode where if you die it's game over)

Much better combat - whether you will hit or not is always clear, and faults seem much more on the player than on the game

Much better focus on combat - the enemies are readily identifiable and manageable at all levels (you're never going to be too far out of your depth, unlike if you go outside during night time in minecraft)

Clear progression - you craft one set of armour and a new weapon then generally move on to the next section by utilizing that new pick or weapon or armour. The biomes also make each area have completely different terrain that actually affect gameplay in them and make for a more varied experience.

You start with a guide who will tell you everything you can make with an item. (making things used to be simpler but they have made a couple more things you need to be able to make items, I haven't really explored this. You then gain a shopkeeper who will buy things off you allowing you to clear your junk, and then a progression of useful characters who inhabit your house. (the only thing worth looking up on the wiki is what constitutes a house - there is an in-game tutorial but it's easier to read the wiki)

Making things is done by an automated list which looks at what you have, shows you what you can make and making it only requires clicking on the right icon.

Huge variety in items. You can make lightsabers. In like five different colours, you have a flail, spells and even a gun that shoots sand. all feel rewarding to fire and are unlocked at just the right times.

I'm not entirely clued up on the recent developments in minecraft (all I have heard about is that there's a dragon at the end), but Terraria has huge bosses that are rewarding to defeat whether you are on your own or in a group.

Terraria has a zany sense of humour - an NPC called Dr Bones who has an Indiana Jones hat, or a randomly appearing wizard called Tim.

Whilst the option is there to build stuff, the game is designed firstly and foremostly with a view to be a survival game. For me, this is a major plus

Runs on nearly any system. Looks gorgeous, especially with the new lighting.

Game has a lot of platforming elements (it started under RPG on my steam categories, but has been moved to platformer since), generated procedurally, but it works because in the situations where it procedurally generates something too hard, you can work around it using the sandbox world system. It seems to be an adventure action exploration platformer first, and a sandbox world builder fifth.

I really really enjoyed Terraria, and wholeheartedly recommend it.
It's on steam sale for £1.49, it's worth twenty times that, easily.

 

[Nouw]

Space Marine. Was great for a month or so, it just went down-hill from there.

 

[Brighton_Game_Trader]

Space Marine. Was great for a month or so, it just went down-hill from there.

Surely if it's lasted you for a month it can't be that bad!

What exactly was wrong with Space Marine? I played the demo and loved it so was really looking forward to the full game - should I avoid it?

 

[MajorTomServo]

As I've said before, Saints Row the Third feels chopped off at the knees. I feel like it had a ton of potential, but it was all hacked off to be made into DLC.

 

[Brighton_Game_Trader]

As I've said before, Saints Row the Third feels chopped off at the knees. I feel like it had a ton of potential, but it was all hacked off to be made into DLC.

Totally agree there. Wasn't impressed with the longevity of SR3 and now that all of the stuff I wanted is coming out as DLC, I feel pretty cheated.

 

[Nouw]

Space Marine. Was great for a month or so, it just went down-hill from there.

Surely if it's lasted you for a month it can't be that bad!

What exactly was wrong with Space Marine? I played the demo and loved it so was really looking forward to the full game - should I avoid it?

The Campaign is fun for the first run and I hear the Co-Op mode is fun but the multiplayer is lacking. That's where my replayablitity is and because it's laggy, I just couldn't play it. It's definitely worth a rent though. It's hella fun.

 

[xvbones]

(Oh look, it's this thread again.)

For me, it was Brink.

I mean... I don't even know how did I get sucked into that severe waste of $90?

Ninety--... Jesus, you poor poor bastard. You poor poor poor Aussie bastard.

I picked up Brink on a Steam sale for $5 or $2.50 or some such about a month ago, played it for about half an hour and then uninstalled.

It really just was so very artlessly done, which is a hell of a statement, considering that the entire budget clearly went into art design.

 

[jimbob123432]

Eh, I'm kind of on the fence about the poll question. Deus Ex: Human Revolution was "meh", Mass Effect 2 was awesome, Dragon Age 2 was bad, CoD: MW3 was great, Men of War: Assault Squad was great, Assassin's Creed Brotherhood was bad, etc...

But worst game, by far, was Dead Island. For a game that was supposed to be pretty good, the PC port of this game was absolutely God-awful, with bugs and control issues everywhere. Why is this worse for me than Duke Nukem Forever? No game in development for that long COULD be anything but terrible.

It was kind of 50/50 this year. I hope next year will be better (Mass Effect 3, Max Payne 3, Street Fighter X Tekken, and Prototype 2).

 

[orangeban]

I ain't complaining, I got Portal 2, Skyrim, Skyward Sword and Arkham City. I'd say that's about as good as a year can get in my books.

Biggest disappointment? Hmm, personally for me, Grand Theft Auto III. I'd read so much saying how it redefined 3-d gaming, and how it's the best GTA game, and how everyone should bow down to it. Honestly, I thought it sucked. Boring, frustrating, dull.

If you want a disappointing game that came out this year, then I'd say... hmm, I'm not actually sure. Apart from GTA III I was happy with all the games I bought. Maybe the Minecraft final release? That's pushing it, I'm only really upset that it was mostly end content and adventuring content, 'cause I prefer the building.

 

[6_Qubed]

Grr, goddamn computer ate my post. :/

Anyway, Saints Row the Third. Starting with the fact that I preordered it for the "Genki" thing, where normally I'd just buy used. I did this because I had faith in the Saints (no pun intended) and when I actually got the game, downloading the preorder bonus involved moving things from one side of my house to the other, because that's where the Internet was. Anyway, after an hours-long setup involving no less than three software updates (two of which I'm certain I didn't need) and a name change because my throwaway handle was apparently being used by someone else, I finally got to play my game, nifty Japan-themed toys in tow...

...And the first thing I noticed was the lack of customization options. SR2 had what Yahtzee rather beautifully called a "straightjacket-wearng, animal-abusingly insane" level of customization, and you really notice that when it's gone. They said that this was done because the new graphics engine couldn't handle layers, but aside from some "realistic" clothing and (let's not kid ourselves) breast jiggling, I couldn't tell much difference.

Also, the overall length of the campaign was noticeably shorter, and not at all balanced out by the inclusion of various one-shot-only choices. I've heard that the strategy is to release more material as DLC, and speaking as someone who tends to keep his gaming offline, I really don't agree with this strategy. It doesn't help that I'm not looking forward to hauling a TV to the other side of my house. Shit's heavy, yo.

...

Admittedly, it was kinda cute having Sasha Grey and Hulk Hogan on the voice roster, and gifting my standard "psychotic Amanda Palmer look-alike" Boss with a rack you could beat a person to death with (and believe me I tried) was certainly fun. But none of it can fill the Gat-sized hole they left not two missions in, unless one of those downloads includes a "sorry we fucked up" retcon that has Johnnie tied up in a warehouse somewhere.

 

[Baron von Blitztank]

For me it was Duke Nukem Forever.
I expected a fast paced shooter that returned to the old days of carrying ALL the weapons, healthbars and around 10 guys in any fight at one time. Unfortunately I ended up getting a slow, 2 weapon, regenerating health shooter where Duke was actually vulnerable to bullets. The best I could say is that Duke's character has more-or-less remained the same but some of the jokes are kind of outdated and not in the 90's movie one-liners way.

Thank Cthulhu that Serious Sam 3: BFE came out later on in the year to fill out my twitch-based shooter crave that Duke left me yearning for.

 

[Nico4]

It was alright... I guess. Once again full of games that doesn't benefit the gaming media at all, games with the same freakin' color palets, and easy dumbed down games with content cut out, exploited by DLC. That being siad though, there were a few more good and different games that stands among the other games as shining examples of greatness. Catherine, Dark Souls, Deus Ex: Human Revolution, El Shaddai, The Witcher 2 are among those who deserves more praise than the majority of the mainstream sucesses these days.

As for disappointments? Well Duke Nukem Forever would certaintly fit the bill, but here's my take: Putting it in the biggest disappointment category means that you actually at expecations that the game would be good. I didn't have any expectations for it, and though it did end up a bit worse than imagined, I still thought it was a decent entertaining game. Dead Island however... the CG trailer looks good, serious and emotional, and the game is the total oppersite... and unstable as hell...

 

[Grabbin Keelz]

I'll have to ponder on what was the worst, but as for most dissapointing, Skyward Sword. Especially since I had to buy two copies for Christmas AND get two twenty dollar Wii Motion Plus things (one set was a present)

It's hard to believe someone can just forget 25 years of good game design, but by god they pulled it off somehow.

 

[Get_A_Grip_]

I know it's not really a game, but the 3DS was massive disappointment. There are only three good games on the system. All of them made by Nintendo...

 

[Aggieknight]

Brink, Dragon Age 2 and Rage.

DA2 had so much potential but was obviously rushed and lacked any actual choices. It is a shame because the changes to the gameplay itself were very positive and most of the characters were interesting

Speaking of potential...wow, Brink was so close. Interesting concepts; unique weapons, fun multiplayer, but mix in stupid AI, no human balancing and poorly designed maps (choke points) killed it. This was painful because I wanted to love this game.

Rage was gorgeous but boring. I should have known better on this one. Doom 3 was the same way.

 

[agentwd40]

The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword.

It's just boring. I don't know what else to say. It's so huge, with nothing to explore and feels incredibly unrewarding to continue.

This and L.A. Noire (Because of the ending, loved the rest of it.) Other than that I thought this was a great year for game.

 

[MaximumCrux]

Despite some of the hate, I found LA Noire's ending to be consistent in terms of narrative and given the story-driven nature of the game, I was quite happy with this.

Biggest disappointment for me had to be DA2. What a sad waste.