2007's Ten Biggest Gaming Letdowns [Slashdot]

[DP ServBot]

Game|Life offers up an anti-top-ten list, noting the three blog authors' biggest disappointments from 2007. Chris Kohler's biggest letdown echoes my own feelings on this topic: "No LittleBigPlanet. PlayStation 3's software library got significantly better this holiday, but there's no killer app. I honestly don't know if LittleBigPlanet would have been one. But I think it's going to be mine. It's going to be the thing that glues me to PlayStation 3... when it ships. I was all ready to start building worlds and sharing them with my friends and generally start being a jackass by now, but it won't happen until next year -- late next year, if you believe the rumors. I hope they're not true. And I do hope LittleBigPlanet sets the planet on fire when it releases." Any gaming 'event' this year an epic fail for you?Read more of this story at Slashdot.

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[esquire]

And Our Number-One Disappointment Of 2007:
Wii's third-party software lineup.
Chris: Seriously, third parties. I can forgive the fact that you came into E3 2006 having not given a second thought to what kinds of games you might make for Wii, and that meant you were going to miss Christmas '06. But after that show, you should have immediately buckled down and committed to having some top-quality games on shelves for this year's holiday. You and I both know that you're not putting nearly as much effort into your Wii software as you are with the Xbox 360/PlayStation 3 stuff, so you don't get to complain, ever, when your games don't sell as many copies. Sure, it takes some hard work and ingenuity to come up with games that hit that target demographic, but this isn't rocket surgery. (Note to self: make a quick cash-in budget title for Wii, call it Rocket Surgery, get the interns to code it up next week.)
Susan: The Wii's popularity proved to be a double-edged sword for gaming in general. True, it introduced an entirely new audience to the joys of gaming, but a seemingly unending stream of publishers ported whatever they had on hand in an effort to cash in on the console's success. This amount of shovelware hasn’t been seen since the omnipresence of the Atari 2600, which leads us to wonder, what Wii title will find its way to a New Mexico landfill?
Earnest: I think it's awesome that the Wii is selling so well, expanding the industry and everything Reggie keeps telling us they're doing. But with a library comprised of 95% horrible crap, are we expanding the industry in the right direction?

Which begs the question, would you rather have tons of releases of which 95% is horrible crap (Wii) or very few releases overall (PS3)?

[boatofcar]

Which begs the question, would you rather have tons of releases of which 95% is horrible crap (Wii) or very few releases overall (PS3)?

When the very few releases themselves tend to be of questionable quality, the answer is obvious.

[Half Japanese]

When the very few releases themselves tend to be of questionable quality, the answer is obvious.

Word. As a recent ps3 owner, the game I've spent the most time with has been Everyday Shooter, which set me back $5. Uncharted was great, but when I was at Gamestop tonight looking through ps3 games for another worthy purchase, a tumbleweed blew past and I could have sworn I heard crickets.

Overall I'd agree with most of the things on the list. I'm still baffled at how many people's expectations were met with Halo 3, but there's always the possibility that I'm just jaded. They also hit the nail on the head with Xbox Live Arcade. I can't remember the time I was truly impressed with an original (non-port) game on the service (wait, yes I can, it was Assault Heroes).

Consider them pegging Two Worlds as an epic failure as knocking one out of the park. FUCK that game. What complete and utter shit. In the rather bland and tacked-on online matches, you were lucky if you could play for 30 minutes before the trees and creatures turned into white boxes or the game froze.

[monkeysuit]

Assassin's Creed. I've played far worse games this year, but I haven't played a more disappointing one. I loved Prince of Persia, I loved the idea of assassinating people, and I loved how gutsy the narrative was. And then it turned out that the gameplay had so many problems that it took about 3,000 words before I was done describing them all. I felt like Assassin's Creed's strengths made it merit that kind of dissection. But I was utterly let down, in the end, knowing what an amazing time I could have had if the gameplay were up to snuff.

This guy says it the best. Assassins Creed was by far the biggest let down for me this year.

[Sothy]

In the bargain bin at walmart I saw Resistance fall of man "The one ps3 game Id like to play" for 19.99 And Beowulf for 19.99



Then in the main game display they were both 50$

Dunno why that is or what it has to do with this thread but im drunk.

[Mayhem]

Which begs the question, would you rather have tons of releases of which 95% is horrible crap (Wii) or very few releases overall (PS3)?

Didn't hurt the popularity of the first two Playstation consoles...

[Spartacus]

I was just at Gamefly shopping for some games while they have the free shipping deal going on and I thought I would browse some Wii games looking for some deals. I don't own a Wii, but I always figured I would someday. As I was clicking on those that I thought I might like to play, I was double checking the review scores before I hit the buy button. I was shocked and stunned to see how poorly reviewed they were. I know Nintendo's first party stuff get's great reviews, but I'm not a big fan of Nintendo developed software anymore, just like I don't watch Disney movies anymore. Quality stuff, no doubt, but a little too family friendly for my tastes. And this stuff, whoa My God!

Red Steel 65%
Alien Syndrome 51%
Escape from Bug Island 39%
Anubis II 15%
Wing Island 49%
Dragon Blade: Wrath of Fire 55%
Legend of the Dragon 40%
Counter Force 20%

Mind you these are culmmative scores. The review sites I put more faith in rate them even lower!
The Wii console is in my price range, it appears to function flawlessly and it's actually designed for the type of TV I have at home. But it's software library is the biggest letdown in 2007 for me. I guess it's best left to the kids and the folk who want to perspire while playing a game.

[TheDomesticInstitution]

Being the Wii is the only current Gen console I own (and only one in my price range at the time) it's really the only one I can comment on (and I agree with the comments from the bloggers). I have only really begun to play the Wii after having it for 7+ months, because up until now there haven't been many must own titles. And the pickings were slim. Metroid is really fun, and the Resident Evil titles are cool. But I have a problem paying a lot of money for games, when I am really enjoying the last generation consoles at a fraction of the price. Now the PS3 is a really cool piece of machinery, but with no games I want to own. And the 360 elite is still a little out of my budget (maybe in a year or so). I think the Wii has a lot of potential, but Nintendo can't cary i on it's own. I do think the games are really improving on the Wii just in the past month or two though, but I am sick of the shovel-ware (unless it's a FPS, which can adapt really well to the Wii). I will say that Rob2600's thread about the best Wii titles helps a lot in finding the good games. I could surf all those critical databases, but with dial-up, checking it out here is much faster.

[s1lence]

I disagree on the XBLA being a disappointment. There are a bunch of titles that I have more then enjoyed playing, not just the re-releases. Sure there are stinkers on there, but just like every system there are good and bad.

[diskoboy]

My vote for biggest disappointment would definitely go to Halo 3.

[jdc]

Sue me, but I was disappointed by Heavenly Sword. The commercials on tv painted a scenario by which you would mow down legions of bad guys with this monsterous Soul Calibur sword. Was I pissed when I popped in the game and learned that the whole thing was about correct block and counter. So what if the graphics were spectacular (aside from the massive amounts of tearing). What a waste of $70.

[Famidrive-16]

In the bargain bin at walmart I saw Resistance fall of man "The one ps3 game Id like to play" for 19.99 And Beowulf for 19.99



Then in the main game display they were both 50$

Dunno why that is or what it has to do with this thread but im drunk.

Sothy still rules.

Back on topic, yeah, I think the closest thing to a third party Wii game I own is that Sonic game.

[Borman]

No Killer App for the PS3? Ratchet and Uncharted are both amazing, with UT3 providing User Content finally. None of them have real equals on the 360

[j_factor]

I just do not understand all the bitching about the Wii lineup. Early in the year, sure, but more recently it got some pretty damn good games. I'm not really seeing this dichotomy of first-party greatness and third-party suckitude, either. I own 28 Wii games and only 7 of them are Nintendo-published. Are people just unaware that Zack & Wiki, Trauma Center, Ghost Squad, Mercury, etc. exist? Or am I the only person in the universe enjoying those games?

And Uncharted definitely qualifies as a killer app for PS3.

[Rob2600]

would you rather have tons of releases of which 95% is horrible crap (Wii) or very few releases overall (PS3)?

The Wii is sort of like this generation's PlayStation and the PlayStation 3 is sort of like this generation's Nintendo 64.

Didn't hurt the popularity of the first two Playstation consoles...

Exactly.

I just do not understand all the bitching about the Wii lineup. Early in the year, sure, but more recently it got some pretty damn good games. I'm not really seeing this dichotomy of first-party greatness and third-party suckitude, either. ... Are people just unaware that Zack & Wiki, Trauma Center, Ghost Squad, Mercury, etc. exist?

Resident Evil: Umbrella Chronicles is good, too. So is Geometry Wars Galaxies.

[DigitalSpace]

I agree with them on the Wii's third-party lineup. Sure, there are some decent games, but for every one of those, there's five Ninjabread Mans, "Random Crappy Racer With A Stupid Title", "Licensed title with poor gameplay," or a watered down PS2 port. Don't get me wrong, I like the Wii, but I haven't seen such a poor lineup for a Nintendo system since the Game Boy Color days.

[rapstyle]

Interesting,XD.