Top 10 Disappointments of the Decade

[Fabricated]

People were expecting State of Emergency to be good?

Edit: Also literally every single MMO released between 2000-2010 counts for most disappointing.

[stray]

I was one of those expecting State of Emergency to be good :(

[Velorath]

Like I said, it's a solely a fucked up list just for putting MGS2 there.

MGS2 deserves to be on there.  Much like the Matrix sequels, it's the kind of fuck-up that's so bad I can't even enjoy the first one anymore.  While MGS1's codec conversations could be a little lengthy at times, and the plot itself was pretty cheesy (but at least in stupid fun sort of way), MGS2 marks the point where Kojima somehow got it into his head that he was a master storyteller with deep shit to say.  To me, it's the most concrete example of the wrong way to tell story in video games.

[Azazel]

I'm not watching a gametrailers video for a list that is undoubtedly wrong.

This.

[NowhereMan]

Like I said, it's a solely a fucked up list just for putting MGS2 there.

MGS2 deserves to be on there.  Much like the Matrix sequels, it's the kind of fuck-up that's so bad I can't even enjoy the first one anymore.  While MGS1's codec conversations could be a little lengthy at times, and the plot itself was pretty cheesy (but at least in stupid fun sort of way), MGS2 marks the point where Kojima somehow got it into his head that he was a master storyteller with deep shit to say.  To me, it's the most concrete example of the wrong way to tell story in video games.

My brother has played a lot MGS2. He's Down's Syndrome so seems to dig repetitive shit (or rather if he enjoys something will watch it ad nauseam and then not want to see it again for years) and watching him play is pretty much like a movie. He skips through gameplay sections in record time and just seems to snap from one codec conversation/cutscene to another. There literally is more time spent watching writers' inane and mostly stupid dialogue than there is snapping guards' necks. The problem with that listing was that Raiden seemed to be their only reason. A game with more time spent watching an insane and nonsensical plot unfold than playing was a problem. Especially since for the first playthrough at least the gameplay is just about good enough to keep you going.

[Furiously]

Borderlands.

[Sky]

Spore, no doubt. I'm imagine Will Wright feels the same way about the end product, since he got out of dodge ASAP. The fact that it came so close, and ended up so bad as a shitty space rts...

EQ2 would be an interesting choice. On the one hand, it had the branding and market position to be what WoW is, success-wise. On the other, despite a truly shitty launch, it turned around to be a really good diku mmo with tons of flavor and content. Disappointment subscription-wise, but not from a gamer's standpoint imo. Actually, I'd say WoW is the opposite, great business but shitty for gamers: beellions of dollars and a trickle of content.

Also, not watching the video for a list. Someone please just put their list in a post.

[murdoc]

Also, not watching the video for a list. Someone please just put their list in a post.

[Rasix]

1.  Star Wars Galaxies
2.  Daikatana
3.  Metal Gear Solid 2
4.  Devil May Cry 2
5.  Fable
6.  Perfect Dark Zero
7.  Doom 3
8.  Lair
9.  Sonic the Hedgehog (3d one)
10. State of Emergency

After seeing the little preview montage, I think Blue Dragon should have been on there. 

[naum]

How was Rise of Nations a disappointment? It was ridiculously fucking amazing. Rise of Legends I could get behind. But Nations? Bahahahaha, NO. Not a disappointment.

Edit: On second though:

Haven't enjoyed a FPS since Wolfenstein 3-D so can't comment on that genre.

Surprised I got past that comment. Why even game at this point?

RoN was just a ripoff and a bad kludge of Civ mechanics and least desirable feature of other mainstream RTS (building/unit upgrades). Granted, was mostly a DM player, so that tilts my assessment. But even on that account, was a poor facsimile of the AoE family, where AOE and AOM shine in comparison.

On FPS, whatever floats your boat — some people disdain racing games, some people dislike fighting games, I just became bored with FPS after Wolfenstein 3-D. It became the same gaming experience ad-nauseum… …YMMV of course.

On Kohan 2, more of a reflection of the epic lack of market success and how quickly Timegate packed it in and moved on to other horizons (and became even less significant). Did any of you play Kohan 2? Besides 3D, was there anything evolutionary or revolutionary about it?

[Lakov_Sanite]

I actually agree with MGS2 on that list, though perhaps not so high up.  MGS2 was a fun game, it wasn't a flop but it 'was' a disappointment. After the wild ride of MGS we were expecting bigger, better and perhaps something epic. What we got was a sort of anime-ish ghost in the shell type of mind fuck at the end of an entertaining but often times silly game.  In the first game we fought deadly mercenaries, in the second, we fought cartoon characters.  Sure a bit of comedy can go a long way but they went over the top I mean really, a fat skateboard riding man with explosives? I expected better, most people 'expected' better from MGS.

[WayAbvPar]

1.  Star Wars Galaxies
2.  Daikatana
3.  Metal Gear Solid 2
4.  Devil May Cry 2
5.  Fable
6.  Perfect Dark Zero
7.  Doom 3
8.  Lair
9.  Sonic the Hedgehog (3d one)
10. State of Emergency

After seeing the little preview montage, I think Blue Dragon should have been on there. 

Interestingly enough (or not), I only bought one game on this list (and that was Fable as a gift). I beta'ed SWG and gave up hope 6 months before retail. The rest either didn't interest me at all or my box wouldn't run it (Doom 3). And I still bought plenty of disappointing games. It almost makes me long for the 'good old days' when any new idea or genre was really exciting, and I had the time and energy to overlook anything but gamestopping flaws and just enjoyed the games for what they were. Older, arguably wiser, more jaded, and lacking in free time now, I expect a lot more out of games these days. They have had 3+ decades to figure things out, but 95% of them can't or won't learn from the mistakes of the past and just churn out crap.
 

[Rasix]

Interestingly enough (or not), I only bought one game on this list (and that was Fable as a gift). I beta'ed SWG and gave up hope 6 months before retail. The rest either didn't interest me at all or my box wouldn't run it (Doom 3). And I still bought plenty of disappointing games. It almost makes me long for the 'good old days' when any new idea or genre was really exciting, and I had the time and energy to overlook anything but gamestopping flaws and just enjoyed the games for what they were. Older, arguably wiser, more jaded, and lacking in free time now, I expect a lot more out of games these days. They have had 3+ decades to figure things out, but 95% of them can't or won't learn from the mistakes of the past and just churn out crap.
 

I only ever bought Fable and SWG and enjoyed Fable for what it was. Fable wasn't much of a disappointment for me, because I don't believe a fucking word Molyneux says. SWG was enjoyable for the community we built here.  But the absolute turd that the game was ended up wearing me down (and the community it seemed as well).  I still remember rocking out with Eeto (was that CmdrSlack?),  slicing armor for Vedi, or building useless fucking droids that everyone complained about.   

Only other game I played was Doom 3 and I didn't like it at all.  Pretty sad when someone has to make a mod for duct taping a flash light onto your gun.  That game put the final nail in the coffin for my tollerance of monster closet bullshit.

[Bunk]

Off the top of my head, and only games I actually bought:

Spore - let's make a sandbox and then ruin it by enforcing an unfun game in to it
Deus Ex 2 - all time consolitis king
Asheron's Call 2 - who needs NPCs?
Bioshock - excuse me while I regen again, and again, and again
Black and White - Monster Pooping on villager was fun. Rest of the game, not so much.

Ultima 8 - my burning hatred for this vile abortion of a game knows no bounds.

Some of these are out of the decade, but the principle stands.

[Sky]

Yeah, the first stage of Black and White was a heck of a lot of fun. Then the entire game sucked. Fable was just bad.

Ultima 8, I actually liked a lot. But I played it after the patch that fixed jumping. Ultima 9....ecch.

[Kail]

Fable wasn't much of a disappointment for me, because I don't believe a fucking word Molyneux says.

Yeah, this.  I loved Fable, loved Spore.  I generally love sandbox games, and they're among the best in certain respects.  Though I can certainly respect why they're not everyone's cup of tea.

A list of "top ten disappointments" seems ridiculous, since it's basically the difference between how good you (subjectively) thought the game actually turned out to be versus how good you (subjectively) thought the game was going to be despite having not played it.  I mean, I found Phantasy Star Online to be supremely disappointing: is that because I believed the marketing, I didn't like the gameplay, or I was looking for a different kind of game?  Either way, doesn't it say more about me than it does the game?

[Ingmar]

Fable doesn't make my list, it was bad but I knew it was going to be bad, so I couldn't be disappointed.

Now, fucking Lionheart... 

[Mrbloodworth]

People were expecting State of Emergency to be good?

Every thing I ever read about it lead me to believe it was a tech demo wrapped up as a game. I wasn't wrong. Rockstar had another, that was the car component, the name escaped me now.

[Sjofn]

I was not PERSONALLY disappointed by SWG, but it is pretty much my standard for "Completely broke the heart of everyone who wanted to play it."

Spore not making the list is a little surprising to me (I liked it fine but it was certainly not Robot Jesus), if only because we thought we COULD trust Will Wright, unlike Peter Molyneux.

[kildorn]

Spore survives because everyone just remembers the first 15 minutes and has blocked the rest of the game out of their minds.

[Rasix]

Fable doesn't make my list, it was bad but I knew it was going to be bad, so I couldn't be disappointed.

Now, fucking Lionheart... 

Funny enough about Lionheart: it has a really boring video review. I know video reviews have come a long way, but I nearly fell asleep watching that.

Reflexive Entertianment has never made anything worth a crap and Lionheart appears to be their biggest endeavor.  Looks like a relatively low budget studio that fooled BIS somehow.