"What If It Sucks?"

[Triaed]

I'll buy IT dinner! *badum bump, tss*

If I buy a game that sucks, so be it. Some developers do it for love and hope to get some money out of it, some others do it just for the money. In the end they both produce good and bad games. I sometimes go with the hype, sometimes I don't (I have yet to play any of the Batman games), but I always enjoy discovering good morsels of gaming fun, be it dialogue, story, gameplay, challenges, etc

 

[The Funslinger]

As gamers obsessive enough to lurk obscure gaming forums all day it should come as no surprise that many (if not all of us) have at one time religiously followed the development of an upcoming game we were absolutely dying to get our hands on. From sequels of successful franchises to new and original IPs created by renowned developers, developers can pretty much calculate their projected revenue based on pre-sales alone these days.

So your standing in front of Gamestop at midnight (or on the east coast sitting in front of your PC waiting for the clock to strike 3, lol Steam) with fantasies of your future adventures in this new release filling your brain. But how many of you stop and ask the question, "What if it sucks?"

Has there ever been a game that you built up to incredible expectations only to have those expectations completely and utterly demolished? Are there any games that you are excited for, but deep-down know that they may possibly suck? Share!

I'll be honest here, I love the ME franchise but I am seriously worried about how their going to wrap up the trilogy.

Also, whoever gets where the thread's title comes from gets +300 cupcakes.

Fanboys, upon attending the Phantom Menace premiere. I imagine it's been answered by now, though.

OT: Yeah, I do get that a little. But it rarely comes to anything. I know what I like!

 

[Shoggoth2588]

The closest would have to be Star Wars: The Force Unleashed. I watched from the time teasers were being rolled out of a nameless Sith pulling a Star Destroyer from orbit with awe and as time went by I felt more and, more excited about a game that would let me go balls out using only The Force and a Lightsaber. The game itself wasn't a great disappointment but it was a lot easier than I thought it would have been (which is saying something given the subject matter) and pretty short. I also wondered why the nameless woman wouldn't shut up and why Starkiller gave a damn when she got caught by the Empire. Like everyone else I found the Star Destroyer scene to be tedious and lacking the wonder of the original teaser.

Overall I liked The Force Unleashed but that could have been because of some light-side influence. The thing wasn't ruined until the sequel was announced and even then, once it was revealed that FU2 was a straight sequel instead of say, part 2 of a FU anthology, that's when I gave up and felt my soul get crushed somewhat. I still haven't played FU2 other than a short demo and I still refuse to accept it as part of Star Wars canon.

Games that sounded good originally, but turned out crap:
DNF
DA2
Skyrim (Not crap, but rather meh)

You know, you reminded me: Dragon Age 2. From day one of planning everyone was expecting another great (if not broadened so as to appease the masses) RPG taking place in the same world as the first 1 and a half. What we got instead (despite all of the footage before release that may have lead us to believe otherwise) was a beat-em-up. A beat-em-up wherein every male NPC EXCEPT Varric wanted to bed my male Hawke!

 

[Dogstile]

Spore.

If I could leave my post at that, I would. That's all it deserves, it was that bad.

 

[SeanSeanston]

Command & Conquer 3.

Though in fairness:
1. I was an idiot to trust EA even slightly in the first place.
2. My expectations had been gradually eroded over the previous weeks/months.

 

[coolman9899]

Amongst the many parts of my brain screaming to me that 'The Last of Us' will be even better than Uncharted 3 there's a small part of me saying what if? What if it's another zombie shooter and the only thing it has going for it is good console graphics and a tried and tested developer?

It happened with FO:NV too. I was so hyped (FO3 is my favourite game) and to my dismay it wasn't what I had expected, I expected bugs to be ironed out, a gripping story, better graphics and a more diverse landscape. Still a good game but a little lackluster in my opinion.

E: I also never preorder anymore, New Vegas was the first and last. I could've gotten it much cheaper had I waited.

LOL Simon from the yogscast made into a avatar xD

 

[Schmittler]

Two worlds

It was suppose to be elder scrolls oblivion with co-op online play. Would have been the most awesome thing ever at the time, and I still have the collector's edition box on my shelve with the game played only once ever. I might go set it on fire now.

You too?

I remember my friend bought it and I played it over at his house for a day. The first day was enjoyable and I decided to pick it up for the co-op because Elder Scrolls still hasn't gotten around to it.

The luster wore off after the first day :/

 

[MintberryCrunch]

Also, whoever gets where the thread's title comes from gets +300 cupcakes.

From the film Fanboys, right at the end?
I got ninja'd but can I please at least have a few cupcakes anyway?

OT: yeah I have, during the wait for Skyrim I got really worried at one point that it'd just... suck. But it didn't, so I'm happy.

 

[Fappy]

Also, whoever gets where the thread's title comes from gets +300 cupcakes.

From the film Fanboys, right at the end?
I got ninja'd but can I please at least have a few cupcakes anyway?

OT: yeah I have, during the wait for Skyrim I got really worried at one point that it'd just... suck. But it didn't, so I'm happy.

You and about five others got ninjed :O

You can have the leftovers.

 

[targren]

So many... I think I'm getting too old for gaming. I now assume the worst of EVERY game, thanks to being kicked in the goolies too many times in the past, both recent and distant.


Metroid: Other M. The return of Phantoon was a nice semi-easter egg, but otherwise, there was nothing good about it. The characterization was idiotic, the voice acting horrible, and the gameplay was pathetic. Too bad I didn't know ahead of time that the same putz who had directed the development of Metroid Fusion was in charge.

Castlevania LOD. More like "Castlevania GOW," amirite? Honestly, though, that one was my own fault. There has never and probably WILL never be a good 3D Castlevania game.

Final Fantasy X-2. Going back a ways, sure...but killed the series for me.

Zelda: SS. Assumed this one sucked, making it the first non-CDi Zelda game in 25 years that I haven't owned. I don't like motion controls, fuckers.

I am VERY wary of Guild Wars 2 (assuming it ever sees the light of day) and Borderlands 2, but I have an exception in place for Torchlight 2, since it's only 20 bucks. My big worry for that one is "what if they use Steam DRM?" instead

 

[Fappy]

So many... I think I'm getting too old for gaming. I now assume the worst of EVERY game, thanks to being kicked in the goolies too many times in the past, both recent and distant.


Metroid: Other M. The return of Phantoon was a nice semi-easter egg, but otherwise, there was nothing good about it. The characterization was idiotic, the voice acting horrible, and the gameplay was pathetic. Too bad I didn't know ahead of time that the same putz who had directed the development of Metroid Fusion was in charge.

Castlevania LOD. More like "Castlevania GOW," amirite? Honestly, though, that one was my own fault. There has never and probably WILL never be a good 3D Castlevania game.

Final Fantasy X-2. Going back a ways, sure...but killed the series for me.

Zelda: SS. Assumed this one sucked, making it the first non-CDi Zelda game in 25 years that I haven't owned. I don't like motion controls, fuckers.

I am VERY wary of Guild Wars 2 (assuming it ever sees the light of day) and Borderlands 2, but I have an exception in place for Torchlight 2, since it's only 20 bucks. My big worry for that one is "what if they use Steam DRM?" instead

Steam DRM isn't too bad assuming you don't switch computers often that don't have internet access for a quick profile checkup. Torchlight 2 will support offline LAN. That's all I care about.

 

[targren]

Steam DRM isn't too bad assuming you don't switch computers often that don't have internet access for a quick profile checkup. Torchlight 2 will support offline LAN. That's all I care about.

I switch computers quite often (Desktop, Laptop, Work) and I don't trust Valve to control my access to my own games. I made an exception for my HIB4 games, since I have them downloaded at will and the steam DL was a bonus (they can't take my access away), but if Runic go that route, I probably won't buy it despite how long I've been waiting for it.

 

[Evill_Bob]

1.) Duke Nukem Forever: you'd think with 12 years to work on it that it would be better. Loved Duke 3D and while DNF have proper levels of boobs the gameplay and levels were crap. I was prepared for launch too, I was ready to spend all night and a good section of the next day playing it from start to end. Alas it was not to be after a few hours I quit and went to bed feeling that part of my childhood had died (yes I was raised on Duke Nukem, Doom, Wolfenstein until my parents got me a Nintendo 64).

2.) Metroid: Other M: after the Metroid Prime trilogy I thought Nintendo had evolved the epic side-scrolling shooter/platformer that revolved around exploration with an ever increasing array of weapons and gadgets into a first person shooter/platformer that revolved around exploration with an ever increasing array of weapons and gadgets. I thought Nintendo was gonna gear up for what ever Metroid came next. But they changed their minds about Samus being a badass inspired by Ripley from Alien and the gameplay evolution from side-scrolling shoot to first person shooter. Instead we were subjected to game that featured a monotone bimbo and gameplay seemed to be the bastard child of a Legos game and a Ninja Gaiden. This was a backslide, and I know a lot of people will whine that Metroid was never intended to be a FPS but in reality that was the logical evolution. Remember, just because it's a FPS doesn't mean it has to be Halo or Call of Duty.

3.) Killzone 3: Say hello to the final nail in the coffin that was me as a console gamer. Though I had been drifting away from consoles since Mechwarrior 3 (the reason why I foam when people call Call of Duty Modern Warfare 3 as MW3). I loved the gameplay of Killzone 2, just didn't like the morons that composed my squad. So I picked up Killzone 3 expecting an evolved version of the previous game. I, however, got crap. They had the same formula but drilled into my head the importance of enviroment in a game. And the plot and characters were somehow more painful to endure than in the previous game.

4.) Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine: The singleplayer was up to par (except the final boss battle, QUICK TIME EVENT IS NOT GAMEPLAY) but the multiplayer fell flat. I was expecting the standard deathmatch and whatnot but I was expecting something like Last Stand from W40k: Dawn of War 2 or Space Hulk. Alas, niether. Grind for XP and try to unlock upgrades for your weapons through engaging in spacific amounts of kills with certain weapons in a certain amount of time. Lets not forget local servers hosted by a randomly selected player instead of a dedicated server.

 

[lemby117]

I don't really get hyped about games, the closest I've ever come to being The Old Republic, which I pre-ordered after playing the beta.

However, I did watch the hype surrounding Skyrim. I saw in the months leading up to it people calling it the game of the year. A few weeks after it came out, I recieved it as a gift from a fan of my show, so decided to try it out.

I knew that it was never going to be as good as people were making it out to be.

Not only was I right, I was Omniscient.

Skyrim now has it's place on my Top Twenty Worst Games of All Time

]

Realy what makes it so bad?
BTW what show do you do?

OT I am alive, I have waited so long for that game but deep down I know it wont live up to my expectations, still it's an arcade game so I will have to adjust expectations to meet price

 

[KingGolem]

I don't think I've ever had my expectations completely demolished, per se, but I have been somewhat let down. Spore, for example, did not live up to my expectations, but it still had its merits. At any rate, if my expectations of a game were, on some occasion, to be thoroughly destroyed, the only mature thing to do would be to accept my disappointment and get on with my life. Of course, that does not rule out a brief indulgence of forum-based commiseration with other disappointed fans. Such a practice is highly cathartic, and can be enjoyed responsibly.

 

[dessertmonkeyjk]

Well, to look at the bright side... moddable games pretty much give it a second chance in one way or another. Otherwise I would just say to someone next time I'm in a Gamestop:

"You see that game over there? Don't even touch it... *intense glare*"

 

[neonsword13-ops]

Mmmm...

"Sounds like a 'Fanboys' title to me..."

That prize goes to Fallout: New Vegas.

After the masterpiece that was Fallout 3, I was unbelievably pumped. I wasn't convinced in the slightest that New Vegas could suck. I got home, put the game in the tray, and played.

I think I cried a little inside. It was just so boring. Everything was so brown, and the wasteland felt empty. The questline felt a bit mediocre and the atmosphere was dull.

I just hated it.

When/If Bethesda, not Obsidian, does make a fourth, they need to go back to square one on what made Fallout 3 so great. If they can redeem the Fallout name, it will restore my faith in the franchise.

 

[Baralak]

Two worlds

It was suppose to be elder scrolls oblivion with co-op online play. Would have been the most awesome thing ever at the time, and I still have the collector's edition box on my shelve with the game played only once ever. I might go set it on fire now.

Try Two Worlds II. Really good game, and is in the Guinness Book of World Records for the deepest spell creation system in a video game.

OT: Devil May Cry, any of them. I hear it was a good, hard, and rewarding hack n slash. What I got was complete garbage. I'm hoping the upcoming DmC really fixes it. Bayonetta, however, was amazing. Easily worth my $60

 

[AetherWolf]

Final Fantasy XIII.

Just...

Final Fantasy XIII.

All that hype from E3 2006 to that cold March morning I went and spent $75 on a ps3 game when I didn't even have my ps3 at that point. Popping it in my recently acquired console after buying it with cash from a yard sale in which I sold most childhood possessions. Remembering how I've loved the Final Fantasy series for years and how it holds a special place in my heart.

Having my hopes crushed within the first hour of playing.

Never again will I buy a game on day one without consulting reviews and general consensus. Never again.

 

[AetherWolf]

Spyro: Enter The Dragonfly.

If you did not grow up with the original trilogy, it's impossible to fathom the magnitude of the expectations I had. A feeling that could only be surpassed by the surreal amount of disappointment the game brought with it when it finally got released.

I didn't follow game releases back then, but I do remember my disappointment when I played Enter the Dragonfly after practically growing up on the original trilogy. I sold the game a month later.