I was recently playing through a game when I realized that I was only playing it because I had been told it was good and that I wasn't having as much fun as I was supposed to be having with it. Following that, I began to think of a lot of games that I played simply because I was told that they were supposed to be good.
Some of the ones were: Unreal (the original, I love UT though), Icewind Dale (Again, I feel that the sequel's much better), to a certain extent Starcraft/Brood War (It was still fun, but it wasn't something that made me leap out of my seat in ecstasy), Thief, The Sims, Dark Forces, and Dark Forces 2: Jedi Knight.
It's not so much that I didn't think the games were good, it's just that they weren't as good as everyone else (reviewers, friends) thought they were. I mean, Jedi Knight was pretty cool, but it didn't actually make me feel like a Jedi or anything. Unreal never really got me interested, even though I thought that the engine/graphics were fantastic and the weapons rocked.
Any games that you thought weren't as good as they were hyped to be?
What was all the fuss about?
What was all the fuss about?
"It's not whether you get knocked down, it's if you get back up."
[QUOTE=The Z]<snip>
Any games that you thought weren't as good as they were hyped to be?[/QUOTE]
Yes there is - the newest was SW:KotOR
Oh, and FarCry.
But anyways, different people have different taste of what they like and dislike. And that is why one should always (I repeat - always) takes others recommendations with a grain of salt. Only use game reviews and friends suggestions as recommendations, instead of a sure-fire truth, unless you know that they usually suggest games that you like.
It is the same with movies - I have some friends that like the same movies as I do, and thus I listen to their recommendations a bit more, then friends I know have a taste in movies that I don't share.
But futhermore - I seem to feel that there is a state in the reviewing industry (if you can call it that), where a concensus state seems to have been reached. It seems very much to me that many reviewers have started giving out circa the same grades, good points and bad points. I doubt this is accidently. I couldn't say the reason for why this is so - maybe there is a "fear" amongst the reviewers that if they don't review the hyped games well - the public (read: rapid crowd of fans) will punish them by not buying their magazines and reading their reviews in the future, because they didn't grade the publics (again: rapid crowd of fans) game proberly.
But that is just a possibility to explain the state as I percive it.
Of couse it could just be that so many games belongs in the 85-95% percentile these days and all the hyped games belong in the 90%+ percentile.
I for one, have gotten "burned" by hype one time to many, and now I'll not buy a game withouth researching it intensive, and weiging in the oppionins of people I trust not to fall for the hype of the market. For instance, I'll not buy Doom 3 and Half-life 2 (if they ever get released) before somebody I know have tried them out (he saved me from Unreal 2).
Likewise, I'll not purchase SW:KotOR II before I've heard if it actually is a good improvement of the first one - or just more of the same.
And so on....
Any games that you thought weren't as good as they were hyped to be?[/QUOTE]
Yes there is - the newest was SW:KotOR
Oh, and FarCry.
But anyways, different people have different taste of what they like and dislike. And that is why one should always (I repeat - always) takes others recommendations with a grain of salt. Only use game reviews and friends suggestions as recommendations, instead of a sure-fire truth, unless you know that they usually suggest games that you like.
It is the same with movies - I have some friends that like the same movies as I do, and thus I listen to their recommendations a bit more, then friends I know have a taste in movies that I don't share.
But futhermore - I seem to feel that there is a state in the reviewing industry (if you can call it that), where a concensus state seems to have been reached. It seems very much to me that many reviewers have started giving out circa the same grades, good points and bad points. I doubt this is accidently. I couldn't say the reason for why this is so - maybe there is a "fear" amongst the reviewers that if they don't review the hyped games well - the public (read: rapid crowd of fans) will punish them by not buying their magazines and reading their reviews in the future, because they didn't grade the publics (again: rapid crowd of fans) game proberly.
But that is just a possibility to explain the state as I percive it.
Of couse it could just be that so many games belongs in the 85-95% percentile these days and all the hyped games belong in the 90%+ percentile.
I for one, have gotten "burned" by hype one time to many, and now I'll not buy a game withouth researching it intensive, and weiging in the oppionins of people I trust not to fall for the hype of the market. For instance, I'll not buy Doom 3 and Half-life 2 (if they ever get released) before somebody I know have tried them out (he saved me from Unreal 2).
Likewise, I'll not purchase SW:KotOR II before I've heard if it actually is a good improvement of the first one - or just more of the same.
And so on....
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dragon wench
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[QUOTE=dragon wench]NWN.... 
[/QUOTE]
Yeah - NwN was *so* not what was expected by anybody. But thanks to a vast and extreemly good community, the multiplayer experience of NwN can actually be very very good. Some people are making it much closer to PnP.
But the single player in NwN ... yeek. (nevertheless - NwN has given me many hours of entertainment, once I adjusted my expectations).
[/QUOTE]Yeah - NwN was *so* not what was expected by anybody. But thanks to a vast and extreemly good community, the multiplayer experience of NwN can actually be very very good. Some people are making it much closer to PnP.
But the single player in NwN ... yeek.
(nevertheless - NwN has given me many hours of entertainment, once I adjusted my expectations).Insert signature here.
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fable
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[QUOTE=dragon wench]NWN.... [/QUOTE]
Agreed. I offered to review that when it first came out, but my editor at a certain site which-shall-remain-anonymous refused, knowing that I felt the original game made extremely unimaginative use of the gaming engine's possibilities. The editor-in-chief reviewed it instead, and drooled over the title so much that I suspect his keyboard short-circuited.
In another words, even when individual reviewers want to be honest, the people in charge prefer throwing reviews of "A Titles" to those who will give 'em sensational scores.
[/QUOTE]Agreed. I offered to review that when it first came out, but my editor at a certain site which-shall-remain-anonymous refused, knowing that I felt the original game made extremely unimaginative use of the gaming engine's possibilities. The editor-in-chief reviewed it instead, and drooled over the title so much that I suspect his keyboard short-circuited.
In another words, even when individual reviewers want to be honest, the people in charge prefer throwing reviews of "A Titles" to those who will give 'em sensational scores.
To the Righteous belong the fruits of violent victory. The rest of us will have to settle for warm friends, warm lovers, and a wink from a quietly supportive universe.
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dragon wench
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I have heard that the expansions for NWN have made huge improvements to the original, but even if that is true it is quite sad. I mean the reason that people bought the expansions to both BG1 and BG2 is because they in themselves were so good. It sounds like the NWN expansions are more about trying to make up for the inadequacies in the first of the series...
I know the game was supposed to cater primarily to being an online experience but I still think they *could* have put just a little bit more into the single player campaign. However.. I'll stop here, there have already been plenty of rants about NWN on these forums
I know the game was supposed to cater primarily to being an online experience but I still think they *could* have put just a little bit more into the single player campaign. However.. I'll stop here, there have already been plenty of rants about NWN on these forums
Spoiler
testingtest12
Spoiler
testingtest12
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Luis Antonio
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Unreal (the original, I love UT though)
Man, I feel really sad... I loved Unreal... And it is, sided by Q2 the best First person shooter ever... at least from its generation. UT is nice, but needs internet play, for if you play it against the AI, it just goes doooown. Unreal: The Awakening, however, is nice, very pretty game, but without so much action as Unreal. Unreal is dark, huge, hard, has a different story...
Well, NWN. Completely agreed.
Now: ToB. Throne of Bhaal is a nice game. But just nice. I mean, after making excelent games like BG1 and BG2, only the dismantling of Black Isle could result in the making of such a short, unimaginative and hollow expansion like Throne of Bhaal. IMO, the end for the saga should have been at least at the same level of the saga history, with another great plot - like the 'mans around the table', who IMO were disciples of Cyric.
Flesh to stone ain't permanent, it seems.
hmm let's see...
Black And White (Quite possible the most hyped computer game through out all history)
Never Winter Nights, +Shadow of undrentide (HoTU Fixed most of the shortcomings, but it is still not a very good game, I play it from time to time though)
The temple of elemental evil (The guys at Troika games did a SUPERB job at making the game as close as 3.5 edition PNP as possible, and the graphics was good too, but the story was as good as nonexcisting(I guess the module it was based on is to blame for that, despite it being famous), and there was some bugs, and I really do think that they should have placed flags on the maps, and make the village of hommlet smaller, I think it took my 3 hours just to explore the whole map, and keeping track of where everything was, was extremely difficult.)
Black And White (Quite possible the most hyped computer game through out all history)
Never Winter Nights, +Shadow of undrentide (HoTU Fixed most of the shortcomings, but it is still not a very good game, I play it from time to time though)
The temple of elemental evil (The guys at Troika games did a SUPERB job at making the game as close as 3.5 edition PNP as possible, and the graphics was good too, but the story was as good as nonexcisting(I guess the module it was based on is to blame for that, despite it being famous), and there was some bugs, and I really do think that they should have placed flags on the maps, and make the village of hommlet smaller, I think it took my 3 hours just to explore the whole map, and keeping track of where everything was, was extremely difficult.)
<worksoufy> man i need to eat
<Trak3r> that's "yoda" speak for "i need to eat a man"
<Trak3r> that's "yoda" speak for "i need to eat a man"
[QUOTE=Xandax]
But futhermore - I seem to feel that there is a state in the reviewing industry (if you can call it that), where a concensus state seems to have been reached. It seems very much to me that many reviewers have started giving out circa the same grades, good points and bad points. I doubt this is accidently. I couldn't say the reason for why this is so - maybe there is a "fear" amongst the reviewers that if they don't review the hyped games well - the public (read: rapid crowd of fans) will punish them by not buying their magazines and reading their reviews in the future, because they didn't grade the publics (again: rapid crowd of fans) game proberly.
But that is just a possibility to explain the state as I percive it.
Of couse it could just be that so many games belongs in the 85-95% percentile these days and all the hyped games belong in the 90%+ percentile.
[/QUOTE]
I agree, I mean, AFAIK, nearly all reviewing media gave Dungeon Siege a really high grade when after awhile, it became the same old boring thing over and over and over. When I beat it, the first question I asked was, "that's all?", because all the game had was an impressive graphical engine. The story, I never really got too much into, and combat was just rehashed Diablo without the challenge. I was left wondering how such a "merely ok" game was give Editor's Choice awards across the board and the occasional RPG of the year award, when it was hardly a "Great" RPG.
@fable...it's kind of odd how the media is supposed to be the voice of truth and it ends up being manipulative instead. It's almost as if they want you to buy a game so much that they'll exaggerate the pros of that game in their review.
But futhermore - I seem to feel that there is a state in the reviewing industry (if you can call it that), where a concensus state seems to have been reached. It seems very much to me that many reviewers have started giving out circa the same grades, good points and bad points. I doubt this is accidently. I couldn't say the reason for why this is so - maybe there is a "fear" amongst the reviewers that if they don't review the hyped games well - the public (read: rapid crowd of fans) will punish them by not buying their magazines and reading their reviews in the future, because they didn't grade the publics (again: rapid crowd of fans) game proberly.
But that is just a possibility to explain the state as I percive it.
Of couse it could just be that so many games belongs in the 85-95% percentile these days and all the hyped games belong in the 90%+ percentile.
[/QUOTE]
I agree, I mean, AFAIK, nearly all reviewing media gave Dungeon Siege a really high grade when after awhile, it became the same old boring thing over and over and over. When I beat it, the first question I asked was, "that's all?", because all the game had was an impressive graphical engine. The story, I never really got too much into, and combat was just rehashed Diablo without the challenge. I was left wondering how such a "merely ok" game was give Editor's Choice awards across the board and the occasional RPG of the year award, when it was hardly a "Great" RPG.
@fable...it's kind of odd how the media is supposed to be the voice of truth and it ends up being manipulative instead. It's almost as if they want you to buy a game so much that they'll exaggerate the pros of that game in their review.
"It's not whether you get knocked down, it's if you get back up."
[QUOTE=Gauda]hmm let's see...
Black And White (Quite possible the most hyped computer game through out all history)
[/QUOTE]Daikatana
As for NWN, well, my initial review got me so horribly flamed (Xan probably remembers my first take on the game, before I looked at it after a couple months, and gave it a generous boost in score... If the scoring system didn't change, and my original review made it in, GB would be sporting a nice round 6 for it...). I have never enjoyed the gameplay of NWN, the only reasons I even gave it a second chance was for a particular server, which was as big a dissapointment as the game itself, and the fact I found it for $10 CDN.
Black And White (Quite possible the most hyped computer game through out all history)
[/QUOTE]Daikatana
As for NWN, well, my initial review got me so horribly flamed (Xan probably remembers my first take on the game, before I looked at it after a couple months, and gave it a generous boost in score... If the scoring system didn't change, and my original review made it in, GB would be sporting a nice round 6 for it...). I have never enjoyed the gameplay of NWN, the only reasons I even gave it a second chance was for a particular server, which was as big a dissapointment as the game itself, and the fact I found it for $10 CDN.
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fable
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It's easy to get flamed for doing an honest, well conceived review, @Aegis, by people who have been hyped for months on advance publicity. I remember that first review, and it seemed dead on target to me.
My own TOEE review here was attacked by a small (about 10) people who populated one private forum and deliberated targeted sites that didn't drool over the game. I liked about half of it (especially the rules engine, combat and graphics) but thought the quests, plot, and bugs were awful, so we received their ire. They just need to weather it, and keep in mind that they're shouts are loud but hysterical. In time, they die away, and the review remains.
At least TOEE got severely knocked about by other sites and magazines. I don't think the editors who play for 5 hours and rave about depth could even overlook the bugs in that one.
My own TOEE review here was attacked by a small (about 10) people who populated one private forum and deliberated targeted sites that didn't drool over the game. I liked about half of it (especially the rules engine, combat and graphics) but thought the quests, plot, and bugs were awful, so we received their ire. They just need to weather it, and keep in mind that they're shouts are loud but hysterical. In time, they die away, and the review remains.
At least TOEE got severely knocked about by other sites and magazines. I don't think the editors who play for 5 hours and rave about depth could even overlook the bugs in that one.
To the Righteous belong the fruits of violent victory. The rest of us will have to settle for warm friends, warm lovers, and a wink from a quietly supportive universe.
[QUOTE=Aegis]Daikatana [/QUOTE]
uh, the only 'fuss' I remember about that was derisive laughter from all quaters and unflattering comparisons to quake
[/QUOTE]uh, the only 'fuss' I remember about that was derisive laughter from all quaters and unflattering comparisons to quake
Here where the flattering and mendacious swarm
Of lying epitaths their secrets keep,
At last incapable of further harm
The lewd forefathers of the village sleep.
Of lying epitaths their secrets keep,
At last incapable of further harm
The lewd forefathers of the village sleep.
[QUOTE=Robnark]uh, the only 'fuss' I remember about that was derisive laughter from all quaters and unflattering comparisons to quake [/QUOTE]It was hyped as one of the most revolutionary games of its time by John Romero (and partially because of it was a John Romero game ). It flopped massively, and that's what everyone remembers.
[/QUOTE]It was hyped as one of the most revolutionary games of its time by John Romero (and partially because of it was a John Romero game ). It flopped massively, and that's what everyone remembers.[QUOTE=Luis Antonio]Man, I feel really sad... I loved Unreal... Unreal is dark, huge, hard, has a different story...
[/QUOTE]
Well...the thing with Unreal is that the single player campaign just didn't click with me. Maybe there wasn't enough stuff to kill (at least on the levels I played), or I just didn't like the levels. Either way, I didn't get far enough into the game to really appreciate the story either (7-8 levels). IMO System Shock 2, Deus Ex, and Half-Life have the best FPS stories. Anyways, for some reason I just couldn't get into Unreal. Botmatch and multiplayer were always fun though.
Same thing with Heroes of Might and Magic III. Doing all the Single-player campaigns was really tedious (they're so long and some missions felt either impossible or just boring and uninspired), but playing on the Hotseat with my brother or playing single scenarios was much more fun, for some reason.
@Aegis...And now everyone makes fun of Romero and/or Daikatana
[/QUOTE]
Well...the thing with Unreal is that the single player campaign just didn't click with me. Maybe there wasn't enough stuff to kill (at least on the levels I played), or I just didn't like the levels. Either way, I didn't get far enough into the game to really appreciate the story either (7-8 levels). IMO System Shock 2, Deus Ex, and Half-Life have the best FPS stories. Anyways, for some reason I just couldn't get into Unreal. Botmatch and multiplayer were always fun though.
Same thing with Heroes of Might and Magic III. Doing all the Single-player campaigns was really tedious (they're so long and some missions felt either impossible or just boring and uninspired), but playing on the Hotseat with my brother or playing single scenarios was much more fun, for some reason.
@Aegis...And now everyone makes fun of Romero and/or Daikatana
"It's not whether you get knocked down, it's if you get back up."
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Luis Antonio
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[QUOTE=The Z]Well...the thing with Unreal is that the single player campaign just didn't click with me. Maybe there wasn't enough stuff to kill (at least on the levels I played), or I just didn't like the levels. Either way, I didn't get far enough into the game to really appreciate the story either (7-8 levels). IMO System Shock 2, Deus Ex, and Half-Life have the best FPS stories.
Same thing with Heroes of Might and Magic III. Doing all the Single-player [/QUOTE]
Unreal is just so strange, you know. I stopped playing First Person Shooters cause it was just too easy. Unreal, however, gave me a lot of work. His 'aiming help' sistem is far worst than Quake, what makes it harder to aim, but very better to kill. Not to mention the skaarj. They are cute.
DX is very nice indeed - and hard to finish, specially against the augumented folk. Havent played System Shock, only Half Life, but I dont like Half Life much, even though it has better history and consistent storyline for sure.
HMMIII? IMO, all HMM have been this way. Just cool to play the multiplayer, but very bad single player campaigns.
Same thing with Heroes of Might and Magic III. Doing all the Single-player [/QUOTE]
Unreal is just so strange, you know. I stopped playing First Person Shooters cause it was just too easy. Unreal, however, gave me a lot of work. His 'aiming help' sistem is far worst than Quake, what makes it harder to aim, but very better to kill. Not to mention the skaarj. They are cute.
DX is very nice indeed - and hard to finish, specially against the augumented folk. Havent played System Shock, only Half Life, but I dont like Half Life much, even though it has better history and consistent storyline for sure.
HMMIII? IMO, all HMM have been this way. Just cool to play the multiplayer, but very bad single player campaigns.
Flesh to stone ain't permanent, it seems.
Black Mirror - here in Germany it's quite hyped, but I don't understand why. I'd played it for about 2 hours before I stuffed it back into the package and put it on ebay. Hey, I sold it for 28 Euro, and I bought it at ebay for 21 Euro. Lovely hype
Anno 15XX - after some serious problems with the installation, several hours I spent in the internet on the search for patches and advice I almost cried because of what I saw. The game was crab. I deinstalled it and put Anno 1604 back on the harddisk. All time classic.
What else? NWN, although it was fun - but not as much as I expected. Black & White. It bored me to death. I hate it. The Sims. I hate it even more...
Anno 15XX - after some serious problems with the installation, several hours I spent in the internet on the search for patches and advice I almost cried because of what I saw. The game was crab. I deinstalled it and put Anno 1604 back on the harddisk. All time classic.
What else? NWN, although it was fun - but not as much as I expected. Black & White. It bored me to death. I hate it. The Sims. I hate it even more...
"Some people say that I must be a terrible person, but it’s not true. I have the heart of a young boy in a jar on my desk."
-Stephen King
-Stephen King
What I remember most about Daikatana was John Romero telling us to "suck it down" then trademarking the phrase only to see his game flop.
hmmm, overrated games:
Neverwinter Nights
Starcraft
Warcraft 3
Unreal Tounament 2003
Counter-Strike
Black & White
Command & Conquer Zero Hour
Call of Duty
Final Fantasy (all)
Dungeon Siege
Unreal 2
The Sims (and all expansions)
Championship Manager 4 (though not 03/04)
Max Payne
Enter the Matrix
Yes, yes, blasphemy
hmmm, overrated games:
Neverwinter Nights
Starcraft
Warcraft 3
Unreal Tounament 2003
Counter-Strike
Black & White
Command & Conquer Zero Hour
Call of Duty
Final Fantasy (all)
Dungeon Siege
Unreal 2
The Sims (and all expansions)
Championship Manager 4 (though not 03/04)
Max Payne
Enter the Matrix
Yes, yes, blasphemy
"Heya! Have you been to Baldur's Gate? I've been to Baldur's Gate... Oops, stepped into something. Have you stepped into something?"
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Gevaudan'sBeast
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I would definately agree with Enter the Matrix as a hyped game, it was an enjoyable distraction for its money, but it hardly showed revolutionary cinematics based off the actual actors and actresses in it, and the missions were so repetitive it was hard to think of one you preferred more then another, simply because they were so similar.
From "Feet of Clay" By Terry Pratchett:
"It seemed to be a chronic disease. It was as if even the most intelligent person had this little blank spot in their heads where someone had written: "Kings. What a good idea." Whoever had created humanity had left in a major design flaw. It was its tendency to bend at the knees.
"It seemed to be a chronic disease. It was as if even the most intelligent person had this little blank spot in their heads where someone had written: "Kings. What a good idea." Whoever had created humanity had left in a major design flaw. It was its tendency to bend at the knees.
[QUOTE=Noober]hmmm, overrated games:
Starcraft
Final Fantasy (all)
[/QUOTE]
I'm not sure how you can really call either of these games (franchise's) overrated. Both have proven their selling and staying power, and have both become the model for the way many games of the genre play out (how often did you see three different, yet balanced, races in an RTS?). It's alright that you don't enjoy them, but I'm not sure saying they are overrated is a fair assessment of what they are. The rest, though, I can agree with.
Starcraft
Final Fantasy (all)
[/QUOTE]
I'm not sure how you can really call either of these games (franchise's) overrated. Both have proven their selling and staying power, and have both become the model for the way many games of the genre play out (how often did you see three different, yet balanced, races in an RTS?). It's alright that you don't enjoy them, but I'm not sure saying they are overrated is a fair assessment of what they are. The rest, though, I can agree with.