The Most Disappointing Game You've Ever Played

[suejak]

I went and had a look at the "notable" games released in 2003 according to Wikipedia. Only one title stood out as something close to good: Beyond Good And Evil. Next to that was Max Payne 2.

Well, EVE Online, Star Wars Galaxies, and Final Fantasy XI went live in 2003. Those are three of the most respected old-school MMOs ever, at least before SWG's New Game Experience, and before FFXI went casual babby mode (happened much later than the NGE).

2003 was a great year for MMOs. The last great year for MMOs, as it happens, since in 2004....

ROFL, this guy thinks there are "respected old-school MMOs".

 

[mondblut]

ROFL, this guy thinks there are "respected old-school MMOs".

Neverwinter Nights on AOL is a respected old-school MMO.

 

[suejak]

I preferred the teen detective simulator MMO Modus Operandi, also on AOL. Much more classic and respected old-school game.

 

[Blaine]

Respected by the Codex and assorted trolls? Probably not, but I already knew that. It doesn't really matter, as Codexians generally hate MMOs and are thus unqualified to judge them objectively.

Interestingly enough, I do remember Modus Operandi on AOL. I'm not sure if I actually played it, though.

 

[ironyuri]

Age of Empires 3.

Never forget, never forgive.

 

[tuluse]

Has to be MoO3 for me. I was still young enough not to see the warning signs like RT combat. First game I ever remember ravenously following on the internet and making a Day One Purchase™.

Oblivion was actually the first Elder Scrolls game I played, and I just assumed I was missing something when I heard about how awesome this series was supposed to be.

Fallout 3, there really could not have been bigger warning signs about this game. If it disappointed you, you weren't paying attention.

 

[Darth Roxor]

Risen 2: Dark Waters, easily. It's probably the only game I had let myself be hyped about in the past few years and good God did it suck.

Yup, pretty much this. I've just popped into this thread about to say the exact same thing. Twitcher 2 was also a massive disappointment, but Risen 2 was of much bigger calibre.

 

[DraQ]

I always thought that was kind of cheesy. You want to kill a guy in broad daylight, just annoy the fuck out of him until he throws himself on your sword.

Yeah, some more elaborate system should be in place - with population going more and more hostile and vendors refusing services, as you kill more and more people in the area via applied assholery, for example.

Speechcraft was generally OP in Morrowind - positive disposition modifiers via persuasion should be temporary and reset when conversation ends, negative modifiers should stick, but fight modifiers from taunt should also reset on exit.
This way the only way to permanently increase disposition would be increasing general and faction reputation, or using dialogue options scripted to do so (that are unlocked by some quests).

 

[Mother Russia]

Wing Commander 3 (or was that 4? The one with mark hamil...)
NWN
Avernum + Geneforge: The entire series
Lands of Lore 2
Eye of the Beholder 3
Arcanum (I enjoyed this, but the clusterfuck of the game was a big disappointment at the same time. Tarrant especially, that's when the game goes to shit)
Fallout 1 + 2 (great hype, even during the 90's mainly via word of mouth. Great Turn based system. Perks were great, though rest of char gen was not so good. I prefer classes over skill based...but I could easily have lived with it. But the game was not near as good as I had dared hope. Main thing that got to me was single pc generation and mainly not being able to control npcs in combat. WTF is the point of a great combat system when you only control one person??? Fallout Tactics had better potential, as you actually got to control a group of pcs)

 

[Renegen]

Go back to fucking goats Andhaira, you have no taste.

 

[Phelot]

Age of Empires 3.

Never forget, never forgive.

You disliked the multicultural peasants?



Someone mentioned it, but Mark of Chaos was one that I really wanted to like. The game looked great and seemed to nail the WH setting. Was hoping for another Dark Omen, but... my God it just wasn't good.

 

[Xavier0889]

Metroid: Other M.

How do you turn a series that was fun incarnate into this abomination? It should be impossible, and yet here we are.

"Great!!
You fulfilled your mission. It will revive peace in space.
But, it may be invade by the Other Metroid.
Pray for a true peace in space!"

Sorry, didn't pray hard enough.

To be honest the Metroid series always had this kind of endings. I played Super Metroid to the point of borderline insanity when I was ten years old (most of the games you play at that age have the complexity level of Mario, so it was a tough challenge for me), and it pissed me off that after checking every corner with that revealing laser thing and saving the animals after killing Mother Brain, the only thing you got was a "Congratulations!" message.
But nextgen Metroid games are something I'd like to avoid... I prefer to cherish my NES/SNES memories.

 

[Whisky]

Metroid: Other M.

Adam didn't give you permission to post that.

God damn that game was a clusterfuck and shame on me for forgetting it. Metroid was such a durable series, not only surviving a switch to FPS, but thriving. Now? Daddy issues and enough sexism to make even the biggest /gd/ poster yell, "Check your white male privilege!"

I mean, wow. Talk about missing the entire point of the series.

 

[King Crispy]

I am never disappointed by games. I know full well they suck, the moment they are announced.

 

[Aldebaran]

To be honest the Metroid series always had this kind of endings. I played Super Metroid to the point of borderline insanity when I was ten years old (most of the games you play at that age have the complexity level of Mario, so it was a tough challenge for me), and it pissed me off that after checking every corner with that revealing laser thing and saving the animals after killing Mother Brain, the only thing you got was a "Congratulations!" message.
But nextgen Metroid games are something I'd like to avoid... I prefer to cherish my NES/SNES memories.

That was actually the ending of the original Metroid I was quoting if it wasn't clear. Also, you got a bit more than a congratulations message for saving the etecoons and green ostriches, you saw a little light leave Zebes after it exploded as well. I guess the ostriches shinesparked to the nearest habitable planet.

And you really won't be seeing too much decline in most of the later Metroid games, because, despite a lot of questionable decisions, they are still very fun. In fact, I count Metroid Prime as one of the highlights of the series, and this is from one of the people who dismissed it prior to release as an attempt to cash in on Halo. The only two I would recommend skipping are Metroid: Other M and Metroid Prime 3.

 

[Sranchammer]

Probably Spore.

.

 

[Jasede]

You seem to have been taking fire damage for the last couple of hours... I give you permission to activate your fire-proof suit.

 

[undecaf]

Fallout 3. No contest.

 

[Xavier0889]

To be honest the Metroid series always had this kind of endings. I played Super Metroid to the point of borderline insanity when I was ten years old (most of the games you play at that age have the complexity level of Mario, so it was a tough challenge for me), and it pissed me off that after checking every corner with that revealing laser thing and saving the animals after killing Mother Brain, the only thing you got was a "Congratulations!" message.
But nextgen Metroid games are something I'd like to avoid... I prefer to cherish my NES/SNES memories.

That was actually the ending of the original Metroid I was quoting if it wasn't clear. Also, you got a bit more than a congratulations message for saving the etecoons and green ostriches, you saw a little light leave Zebes after it exploded as well. I guess the ostriches shinesparked to the nearest habitable planet.

Yeah, I realized that... but still the ending to thoe games were kinda bland. Still it's the only unsatisfying thing about Metroid. I've played the new games but I can't get comfortable enough with first person perspective yet. And you're right, Metroid is probably the only console games series that still manages to release some good games every now and then, which is saying a lot if we look at Final Fantay or Resident Evil.

 

[Gord]

MOO3 and The Guild 2.
I enyjoyed the earlier games in both series, but those 2 never could hold my attention for long, even with mods.

NWN was pretty disappointing, too, but at least the expansions and mods saved it, to some degree.

 

[Percy]

NWN 2 because they fucked up Persistent Worlds/Multiplayer.

 

[Jick Magger]

You seem to have been taking fire damage for the last couple of hours... I give you permission to activate your fire-proof suit.

As I flew away from the military base, thoughts about THE BABY went through my head, how THE BABY sacrificed itself to save me from MOTHER brain and how my life will be empty and meaningless without THE BABY. I was interrupted, however, when my ship picked up a BABY's cry - a comMon SOS with the urgency of a BABY CRYING, from a BOTTLE SHIP. I quickly pushed aside my thoughts on THE BABY and MOTHER BRAIN to answer the BABY'S cry from the BOTTLE ship.

I regularly swallow shit fed to me by Hideo Kojima, and I thought MGS4 wasn't that bad, but holy fuck this game had the worst dialogue I've ever heard. I've known people in my seventh form english class who could write more subtle shit than this.

 

[Ulminati]

I am never disappointed by games. I know full well they suck, the moment they are announced.

Now make one where the small smilies barf out even smaller smilies and those smilies barf out single pixels. Fractal eyeroll is your destiny!

 

[Spectacle]

Fallout 3. No contest.

I have to ask, what were you expecting it to be? Bethesda made no real attempt to to hide that they were making Oblivion with guns and random lulz.

 

[octavius]

Fallout 3. No contest.

I have to ask, what were you expecting it to be? Bethesda made no real attempt to to hide that they were making Oblivion with guns and random lulz.

Funny thing is that when I tried Fallout 1 (long before FO3) I remember thinking that since the turn based combat in Fallout was not very exciting and you only controled one character anyway, it would make a good real time first person RPG in the same 3D open world style as Morrowind. The isometric turn based game play felt a bit wasted on a game where you only control one character.
I haven't tried FO3 though, so I don't know how they failed.