Your most disappointing games

[Jayhawker]

Deus Ex: Invisible War. Letdown.

This has to be my biggest disappointment. I loved the first one, and could not not wait for the sequel. Ugh!

[dougb]

Wow guys, great stuff and it certainly put my brain into the way back machine. How could I possibly forget about FPS Football 99? So much potential, but so bad that Sierra recalled it. Anyone remember the game Outpost? That would might qualify, too. What was the name of the Star Wars strategy game from the late 90s? Anyone remember? That was a total disaster and started the trend of really bad Star Wars games.

My own list includes: NHL 2005, FPS: 99, Daikatana, Master of Orion 3, Axis and Allies, Contract JACK, The Matrix, WSB 2001, Braveheart, and Force Commander. As much as I want to put NCAA 2005 in with this group it wasn't nearly as horrid as the other sports games on this list. I'll have to do some research into the Driver series; I've heard Driver 2 mentioned elsewhere. That might have to make the list.

That Star Wars game would probably be Star Wars Rebellion, a real piece of crap RTS game with, as I remember it, quite a horrible interface.

I'd add Wayne Gretzky Hockey III to the mix of disappointing games. It had a goal light bug that caused the game to crash - oops! Too bad as it spelled the end to what I would call arguably the best hockey simulations ever made.

If memory serves me correctly one of the later Ultima's was a terrible disappointment as well. At the time Ultima was without a doubt the hottest series in gaming.

Best wishes,

Doug

[davet010]

That Star Wars game that Bill was on about is, I think, Star Wars Rebellion - a sort of RTS/Master of Orion job that was very difficult to play, and never seemed quite worth the effort involved.

Master of Orion 3 was, indeed, abysmal, and I think that both Ultima 9 and 10 were pretty poor.

[WillHunting]

I'm surprised nobody has metioned State of Emergency.

The expectation was pretty low, at least for me. It was hyped up initially until reviews start coming in and every review I read panned it for being a 1 trick pony.

Can someone tell me what is so bad about Deus Ex 2? I kinda want to try it now that it is under $10 for xbox.

[RobVarak]

The biggest disappointment for me in recent memory was the lack of online play in WE8. Can't say the game itself was all that disappointing. I'd have to go with...Fable I guess.

[GridIronGhost]

Football Legends- I never really like the FPS series and was looking foreward to this game...man what a stinker!

Hardball (the Mike Benna years) What a stinker and the worst part was good old Mike!

ESPN Series- Seriously, any ESPN game made by Sega\Kush\VC were big disappointments. These games were so close to perfect, but each series had it's share of problems that made me realize why the games were only $20...beta!

Triple Play 2002 - what a s*** game, yet it still out sold the High Heat and Sega WSB series, even in the year it took off!

[Zeppo]

I'm thinking, I'm thinking. . .

For now, i would have to agree with RobV that no online play for WE8 was pretty heavily disappointing, although we did hear that news some months before the game was released, and it does not diminish the quality of the game overall.

I cannot agree with those who would say Halo2 or Fable (those were instances of over-hype I think, which I guess is really the definition of disappointment, not living up to the hype), as I found both to be superior games in their own right. I mean, nothing was broken, or downright unplayable about those games, as opposed to the NCAA '05 debacle, and I guess I kept myself from getting too excited about either of them until the last minute. Aslo, PK you've got to let go of the RS:BA bashing. I think you are the only one who expected it to be more than an expansion pack, which it was, and as such it was highly successful. I mean, put GR:IT in the same boat, because that was just an expansion as well, but i know you wouldn't, so let's leave it at that.

I was disappointed in Full Spectrum Warrior. As much as I tried to love the game, it was far too limiting as a gaming experience to hold my attention once it got beyond a certain difficulty. So much of it was so good (the visuals, the subtle characterizations, the sound design, etc.), but the gameplay was too dry. The little previews meshed with imagination and a long lead time to make it appear to fulfill all the dreams, and it decidedly did not (that said, I do know at least a couple people who really, really loved the game).

I was continuously disappointed with every iteration of EA's FIFA for a long time before the last couple years when I finally learned the lesson and didn't bother to even try it. But for a number of years there, I actually bought the 'new from the bottom up' line that they kept spitting out, and of course once the game arrived, it was revealed that FIFA was, yet again, more foosball than football.

But I was perhaps most disappointed with the demise of XSN sports, and thus the potential for online sports gaming that had been shown with NHL Rivals. I still await the day when multi-machine multiplayer sports gaming is the norm, and I had let myself think that the arrival of Rivals signaled the dawn of that era. Alas, I was mistaken, and perhaps it is having had a taste of such a thing that makes its absence all that much more bitter. Technologically, there seems to be no reason why we can't be playing 3 on 3 WE games over XBL right now. It seems a lack of will is the sole cause, and that has to be my ultimate gaming disappointment.

[ImDaIcon]

Metal Gear Solid 2: Wow, the Episode 1 of video games. I dont know which was worse, the horrible story or the fact that I spent 10 hours watching and only 5 hours playing it.

Zelda Wind Waker: Lets take the best series of all time, reduce the number of dungeons, make it look like a tele-tubbies show and make you spend most of your time on a boat! Grrr!

Turok Dinosaur Hunter: one word = FOG

[pk500]

Aslo, PK you've got to let go of the RS:BA bashing. I think you are the only one who expected it to be more than an expansion pack, which it was, and as such it was highly successful. I mean, put GR:IT in the same boat, because that was just an expansion as well, but i know you wouldn't, so let's leave it at that.

RS:BA was a disappointment to me because it did nothing to advance the RS franchise, expansion pack or not, and it caused the franchise to regress with the addition of the run-and-gun online modes like Canister. Plus a lot of the environments in RS:BA didn't feel much different than those in RS:3.

GR:IT didn't add that much to the gameplay mechanics of GR, but it had an improved XBL interface and added some great new locales and maps.

That's why I place GR:IT way above RS:BA. It was the same game as GR, but it felt different in a good way. RS:BA felt a bit different from RS, but in a very bad way, in my opinion.

But I do agree with everyone on Full Spectrum Warrior. I should have included it on my list. I was SO stoked for that game and realized after about a week that it was rinse-wash-repeat gameplay, with dopey AI and an online mode that was no different than offline play.

Take care,
PK

[Zeppo]

RS:BA was a disappointment to me because it did nothing to advance the RS franchise, expansion pack or not, and it caused the franchise to regress with the addition of the run-and-gun online modes like Canister. Plus a lot of the environments in RS:BA didn't feel much different than those in RS:3.

Take care,
PK

PK:

For me, and I would venture to say for others here as well, the new vs. modes in RS:BA were a very nice addition to the franchise. What had been solely team elimination and solo elimination/fragfest became a compelling and energetic group of real team games, with objectives that went beyond the simple goal of eliminating the other guys. Yes, it was higher paced than the solo or co-op modes, and it could get hectic and very frustrating when you were on the losing side, but it rewarded more teamwork and communication, not to mention quite a bit of straategy, that had been lacking in the old RS vs. modes. Calling the addition of these modes a regression is, I think, a bit of a stretch. It wasn't like A.) you were big-time into RS online vs. games before, or B.) they eliminated the original vs. games to make room for the new ones. It wasn't like the old RS vs. was slow-paced, to begin with, either.

Also, the game did add a bit to the franchise in the solo and co-op modes, in that the enemy AI was a little different, and most notable, they could use the smoke, gas, and flashbangs that had previously been solely human weapons. I would agree the environments weren't all that great, and I did really miss the ol' Crespo building level! But use of environmental effects, like the fog in the ruins level, was new and pretty cool.

I won't say RS:BA added much, but all I expect out of an expansion pack is some tweaking to the game balance (addition of more weapons for the AI), a host of new maps, and, whether you personally liked tham or not, a few new vs. experiences in the new modes. There were a few here who still enjoyed the co-op missions and terrorist hunts once in a while (even though at least one of 'em doesn't have his Xbox anymore), even if you were not among them.

Still, I maintain that any disappointment you had with RS:BA came from your own high expectations of it being something more than an expansion pack, than it did from the release's failure to succeed as an expansion pack.

And oh, BTW I think you would get a big kick out of the co-op gameplay in SC:CT; it's tough that it's only two player, and you have to go through it in order if you want to save (the missions take from 40' to 60' when you really know what you are doing, quite a bit longer as you struggle to figure it out), but it is a unique and damn fun online co-op experience that I really think you would enjoy.