How to avoid dissapointments

[Ginnipe]

I have hit a slew of dissapointments befor (A.K.A 2008-march 2009) and I have my own way of getting around them. Don't get excited about ANY game at all wether you know it will be good or not because it won't help you. Wait about a month or 2 till you buy a new game that way you can avoid a hype rush and then buy the game used at gamestop, and if you don't like it then return it for full price (as long as it's within a week).

This system has allowed me to avoid many dissapointments like Far Cry 2, Halo 3 (and yes this is a dissapointment), Killzone 2, and a few other games. This also has you playing those hidden jems more often and you can also rub it in your friends face when they spend $60 on a game just for it to suck.

So try it out and see what happens, it certainly worked for me... maybe it'll work for you.

 

[pantsoffdanceoff]

Essentially everyone is doing that already, have you really seen anything [b/]positive[/b] about E3?

 

[Katana314]

Yeah, some of my general rules:
1. Don't be a pessimist or optimist. Be a realist. Expect the worst, but hope for the best.
2. Never pre-order, or buy on release. The developers can always hide the rotten pit of a game/fruit until review day, and can even persuade reviewers to give a good score.
3. Avoid unless there's a demo, or you've played it before.
4. Take price into account. I'm usually about 4-5 months behind the curve, so that I can take advantage of all the sales, and still have a nice stream of games.
5. Freely make boycott policies, and STICK to them. Ubisoft has really horrible PC support? Never buy a Ubisoft PC game. A certain trusted PC developer has forsaken downloadable content in favor of sequels? Don't give that sequel a second thought.
6. Think about how fun your existing games are. Chances are there are one or two you play all the time, even though you got a bunch since then. I could probably go a year without any game but TF2.

 

[About To Crash]

I would say that a lot of the time it's better to be a cynic and expect the worst, but sometimes I can't help feeling at least some excitement for things like The Last Guardian and Metroid: Other M.

 

[Ripshot]

this thread just reminded me of this

though I agree, not giving in to hype is a very good strategy, I also like to wait a bit before buying a game to see if it's good (except for brutal legend, I plan to get it when it comes out, because I just love Schafer D

 

[rockingnic]

It avoid disappointments just don't listen to the hype or don't pay attention, and stay off hype-central IGN. I only got disappointed from few games but I never really followed the hype of any game, just the game itself.

 

[MusicalFreedom]

don't buy new games

I'm completely serious. just don't buy them for a few years. hopefully, a few good games will be released, and you can wait to see peoples' reactions to it before you look back over the years. As a bonus, they'll be cheaper.

tide yourself over with free / indie / old games, or read books. maybe you'll never have to buy another game ever again, and it wouldn't be for the worse

 

[Krakyn]

Essentially everyone is doing that already, have you really seen anything [b/]positive[/b] about E3?

Scribblenauts.

 

[Internet Kraken]

6. Think about how fun your existing games are. Chances are there are one or two you play all the time, even though you got a bunch since then. I could probably go a year without any game but TF2.

I could also be satisfied with TF2 for a long time. I haven't played TF2 much recently, but every time I do play it I end up playing it for ridiculous periods of time. It's just so much fun...

 

[HardRockSamurai]

Essentially everyone is doing that already, have you really seen anything [b/]positive[/b] about E3?

Scribblenauts.

Booth Babes........................................and Scribblenauts........................................

 

[pantsoffdanceoff]

Essentially everyone is doing that already, have you really seen anything [b/]positive[/b] about E3?

Scribblenauts.

Touche

 

[Kuchinawa212]

Yeah, wait till the price goes down and all the reviewers are done with it. Then pick it up. Helps me! That's the reason I got fable 2.

 

[Bat Vader]

I am a pessimist so disappoint is not a big deal with me. I expect the worst to happen and when it does I am fine.

 

[blinkgun96]

Why is being dissapointed so bad? Why is everyone so afraid of being dissapointed? I understand you would feel like you wasted money, but still why? why? why?

 

[Mirroga]

My way to avoid disappointment is spoiling thyself with a video walkthrough. Why? If you liked the story, see the game as a fun game, and see the game as a replayable game, then spoiling oneself through other's gameplay would not bother you.

 

[DragonChi]

best way to not be disappointed is to greatly lower your expectations. so that in the worst case scenario..if it turns out like crap (whatever it may be) you would have been right and was prepared for it. and best case scenario is that its better than what you had expected. and become over-joyed.

 

[Nutcase]

Yeah, some of my general rules:
1. Don't be a pessimist or optimist. Be a realist. Expect the worst, but hope for the best.
2. Never pre-order, or buy on release. The developers can always hide the rotten pit of a game/fruit until review day, and can even persuade reviewers to give a good score.
3. Avoid unless there's a demo, or you've played it before.
4. Take price into account. I'm usually about 4-5 months behind the curve, so that I can take advantage of all the sales, and still have a nice stream of games.
5. Freely make boycott policies, and STICK to them. Ubisoft has really horrible PC support? Never buy a Ubisoft PC game. A certain trusted PC developer has forsaken downloadable content in favor of sequels? Don't give that sequel a second thought.
6. Think about how fun your existing games are. Chances are there are one or two you play all the time, even though you got a bunch since then. I could probably go a year without any game but TF2.

Great advice. I'd like to add these:

Don't look at news. A game only warrants consideration after it's out. What might or might not come out is irrelevant.

Ignore all favorable reviews that come out within weeks of the game's release, especially if it is a strategy game or has online multiplayer, because those reviews are bound to be rushed. (You can't immediately tell just how great a great game is, but you can tell when a game is a real stinker.)

Try to get your info from experts who live and breathe that genre, and whose income is not dependent on the review. They are able to see through pretty chaff and tell you in what ways the game is actually better or worse than the reigning champions of the genre; that's what determines whether you should play the game in question or those older ones instead. Plus, a non-mainstream reviewer has no reason to rush the review. For a game with online multiplayer, even the good and truthful reviewer is able to be more accurate a year from the game's release than a month from the game's release.

 

[Halfbreed13]

Hype comes from gamers being gullible

 

[TaborMallory]

Become a game cynic. No, I'm not a Yahtzee worshiper, I just don't like imperfect media.

 

[Lexodus]

Two rules to go through life with!

Rule 1: Have low standards so you are impressed by anything.
Rule 2: Do not talk about rule 1 (usually to hide the shame you will experience when your friends see you enjoying crap like 'Imagine Babies'. Oh, there's a point! Why would you want to imagine babies when most people (if Fearn Cotton and her ilk are the poster children for the games) that would play that would have a kid by the age of three anyway? Forget imagining babies, go out and make some! On second thoughts, don't.).