Predictions: Biggest Disappointments of 2008

[foogledricks]

I thought the moderators have had it too easy lately.

 

1. Spore: (If it comes out) People will find that exciting concepts don't always translate to fun games
   
2. Little Big Planet: People will find out that the funnest part of this game is only fun for a small niche of people.
   
3. Starcraft 2: How can you possibly follow-up on a cultural phenomenon.

[Bruce B]

Kfredericks

[Dave C]

This needs to be a standard like the Vin jpg/gif:

 

[foogledricks]

Kfredericks

Fine, I'll give the reach-around next time. I was distracted.

[JoeyN]

I think the one game that will probably dissapoint me will be Mario Kart Wii. Just have a bad feeling about that one

[Camp]

I think the one game that will probably dissapoint me will be Mario Kart Wii. Just have a bad feeling about that one

 

I tend to agree. I'm scared for the implementation of waggle or any motion control with this series. The fact that this game is shipping with a molded hunk of plastic shaped like a steering wheel makes me rather sick to my stomach. Luckily I still have Double Dash laying around.

 

Too Human - After watching all the pre-release drama there is certainly some part of me that really wants this to fail. That's probably fed by the arrogant attitude Silicon Knights maintained through the whole affair.

 

Ghostbusters - I don't understand the pull this license has. I guess it's childhood nostalgia for many; somehow I missed out on that. Love the Rick Moranis "Gozer the traveler" scene for sure but come on, that 2nd film was an embarrassment. Back to the game, is this an established team?

 

Dark Sector - I question any game pushed so hard by its developers for attention. Especially before the consoles it's designed for even exist. Then the dramatic design change. I don't trust this one.

 

Prototype - I want this one to be really good. I always like a lot of the ideas in Radical's games but they have never "brought it all home" for me. Too many moments where I say, "if only they would have done ___". Hope they do it right with Prototype.

 

Dead Space - I just don't care for the art style. I'd also like to see EA keep a fucking secret about one of their original titles for a change. That way I won't know everything about the game by the time it ships.

 

The good news is that there must be a very large number of games we simply don't know about yet. Microsoft's 1st and 2nd party lineup in particular must have some pretty big unknown titles. I look forward to seeing the year unfold.

[JoeyN]

Too Human - After watching all the pre-release drama there is certainly some part of me that really wants this to fail. That's probably fed by the arrogant attitude Silicon Knights maintained through the whole affair.

 

The one game I am hopping is better then everyone thinks it will be

[foogledricks]

At this point I'd think Too Human was not qualified for this list since expectations are so low for it. It's like a mini-Duke Nukem Forever where everyone is 90% sure its not going to be great enough for people to not make fun of it.

 

Oh, and after listening to the 1up Podcast:

 

Devil May Cry 4

 

Oh, and I really hope this is not the case, but after the god like game Ninja Gaiden, how can I not be disappointed if Ninja Gaiden 2 isn't the second coming.

[JoeyN]

Devil May Cry 4

 

Shane and Brian liked it, the other guy did not

[dogbert]

At this point I'd think Too Human was not qualified for this list since expectations are so low for it.

 

Indeed. I'd argue a lot of games in this thread don't really qualify - "worst" / "bad" does not equal biggest disappointment. Is anyone except Futurevoid really hyped about Dark Sector for example?

 

Too Human will have fun ripped out of it no matter how good it turns out at this point. But that's by the by.

[Paul]

Guitar Hero 4- already seems stale with the release of Rock Band, can't imagine anything they can do with the franchise other than add new songs

 

GTA 4- it seems I am the only one not impressed with what we have seen or heard so far

 

MS first party- I don't expect some great suprise to save their lineup this year, right now it does not look very strong, much like the last time they released a Halo game

 

Sony Home- I like the ideas, but history shows no way they can get this running like they say right out the gate, it takes time to work out the kinks

 

Wii third party- despite the sales there has not been too many signs that it will be any different than it was for the N64 and Gamecube

[JTello]

Rock Band 2

 

Seriously, the most serious issue they could address with a new title would be improved graphics for the stage and crowd. Rather than whacking us for another $60 bucks for a Rock Band 2, I'd like to simply see the original's strong support continued via the marketplace and downloads.

 

Random side note; One thing they could add to a new Rock Band game would be a keyboard for the group. Aren't there enough buttons and button combos available to emulate the keys needed for a keyboard instrument? That would be cool!

[JFo]

Wii third party- despite the sales there has not been too many signs that it will be any different than it was for the N64 and Gamecube

 

Are you talking about the quantity or quality of software? A quick scan of releases reveals that between now and the end of March we'll see approximately 40 games released for the system. I doubt those are all coming from Nintendo either.

 

If I were to make any predictions in this thread, it's that the overall quality of most third party publishers' games on the Wii will still be of very low and those that are good will fail to find an audience (hello, Zack and Wiki).

[JoeyN]

If I were to make any predictions in this thread, it's that the overall quality of most third party publishers' games on the Wii will still be of very low and those that are good will fail to find an audience (hello, Zack and Wiki).

 

Exactly, but then again Zack and Wiki is not exactly a Mass Market title either

[Paul]

I was talking quality. So far, it still has been mostly a console to play Nintendo first party games on, with the exception of a Zak and Wiki and the upcoming No More Heroes.

[foogledricks]

Rock Band 2

Rock Band had a lot of interface and usability issues. When playing over Joel's house we had a bunch of issues and then I've listened to several podcasters talking about the same stuff, tons of UI problems. A lot of people didn't love the guitar. Then there is the wireless needs and wants that Rockband didn't fullfill. And I'm sure there are tons of tweaks that could make it better all over the place like any first generation product always needs (haven't played enough to know what those are)

 

Count me in as someone who would welcome a sequel that covered all these areas. I didn't buy the first and am always glad to hop in at the evolved 2.0 version.

[Bruce B]

I'm not predicting it will be a disappointment, but it would be my biggest disappointment if PS Home doesn't come to fruition.

The PS3 is a great piece of hardware and is screaming for the communal facet to complete the package.

[Romier S]

Is anyone except Futurevoid really hyped about Dark Sector for example?

:lol I'm hardly hyped. I just happen to think the game is looking quite decent. I don't have a terribly low opinion on it based upon what I've seen. Despite the fact that Digital Extremes as a developer is TERRIBLY hit or miss (and they miss most of the time).

 

GTA 4- it seems I am the only one not impressed with what we have seen or heard so far

You're not the only one. I've neve been a GTA fan so the release of 4 doesn't get me all excited like it does for a lot of folks. That doesn't mean I won't try it on release and I hope they've corrected a good number of grievances I've had with previous games in the series.

 

Ghostbusters - I don't understand the pull this license has. I guess it's childhood nostalgia for many; somehow I missed out on that. Love the Rick Moranis "Gozer the traveler" scene for sure but come on, that 2nd film was an embarrassment. Back to the game, is this an established team?

I'll respectfully disagree with you on Ghostbusters 2. As far as the game, the team developing it is Terminal Reality. The folks responsible for the Bloodrayne series as well as the recent Aeon Flux game. They aren't game pedigree material but they've made some good quality games in the past and I'm hoping they do good stuff with the Ghostbusters license (as they did with Aeon Flux which was decent).

 

My additions?

 

-Tiberium - The recent trailer made the game look like a Halo ripoff and frankly I'm not confident EA can churn out a quality tactical FPS in this universe.

 

- Silent Hill V - Yeah I want to believe. I want to hope against hope that The Collective don't fuck this up but I'm not at all getting my hopes up for anything more than a serviceable experience. I want to be suprised and shocked so we'll see how it turns out

 

- Alone in the Dark - The game has a ton of great ideas and a great deal of potential but much like other games that we've said the same about - will it execute those ideas in a compelling fashion? I hope so, but the potential for failure is too apparently for me to ignore.

[Graeme]

Rock Band 2

 

Seriously, the most serious issue they could address with a new title would be improved graphics for the stage and crowd. Rather than whacking us for another $60 bucks for a Rock Band 2, I'd like to simply see the original's strong support continued via the marketplace and downloads.

 

Random side note; One thing they could add to a new Rock Band game would be a keyboard for the group. Aren't there enough buttons and button combos available to emulate the keys needed for a keyboard instrument? That would be cool!

 

My prediction is that there will absolutely not be a Rock Band 2 this year. If they do decided to do it, probably in fall 2009.

 

I do hope that they address some of the usability and interface issues through a patch though.

[ChrisBardon]

Rock Band 2 would be the most disappointing thing that Harmonix could release right now. A 2.0 patch or expansion, yes, but not a whole new game at this point.

 

I also have a feeling that Spore will fall flat (if it does actually come out). It just sounds way too ambitious for most people. It'll probably be incredibly detailed, very well meaning, and just not a lot of fun.

[Carlucci]

Bump to revisit predictions. Kudos to those who predicted Playstation Home would disappoint -- at least so far.

 

 

Carlos.

[JoeyN]

Always fun to read predictions, and how most are wrong.

[JFo]

Hey, I think I was pretty correct about the quality of third party Wii titles. Of course, that was not much of a stretch, come to think of it. There were a few standout titles, but I think everyone can agree that much of what we saw on the system was shovel ware.

[Romier S]

Always fun to read predictions, and how most are wrong.

Right or wrong is subjective of course.

 

Spore was divisive as hell and some would certainly qualify it as a disappointment after all of the enormous hype. Too Human was utter garbage IMHO. Dark Sector was average at best. GTA4 would definitely qualify for me. I initially enjoyed it but completely lost interest after awhile.

 

Other games simply never made it to store shelves. Tiberium, Ghostbusters, Prototype. They'll have chances to disappoint in '09:) (well except for Tiberium which was cancelled outright).

 

Silent Hill Homecoming turned out far better than I thought it would. Dead Space and Devil May Cry 4 rocked! Alone in the Dark had some great ideas with some piss poor execution and Ninja Gaiden 2 was far from the second coming..

 

I think the most disappointing game of the year for me is Resistance 2. It's a game I really liked up until the Chicago level and then it just fell apart from there. I'd also place Condemned 2 in that category but only from a narrative perspective. The gameplay itself was solid.

 

On the other side of the coin the most suprisingly good games of '08 for me were Viking Battle for Asgard, Siren Blood Curse and the fantastic Valkyria Chronicles.

[foogledricks]

You could argue, but based on the current state of things, I think I was right about:

Spore

LBP

Ninja Gaiden 2

 

I was wrong about DMC 4 I think.

 

Those who said Rock Band 2 or GHIV I think were wrong. Those were good releases that generally met expectations. Right?

 

Home, GTA 4, Wii Third Party... all legit predictions I believe.

 

I think people here were more right than wrong. The only likely wrong was mine, Star Craft 2. I'm starting to think that it will probably not disappoint.