Most Overrated Games of 2008

[leveskikesko]

Which game of 08 didn't deliver as much as the press said it did for you? Keep in mind this thread is in good fun!

For me:

GTAIV - Wow, so much hype for this one. Even big GTA hater me was drawn in by the incredible praise. It was touted as oscar worthy and finally a game that captures the essence of freeroam. Practically every reviewer was giving it perfect scores. In reality, the reviewers were as drawn in by the hype as any consumer was. I think most people found this game to be amazing the first 2 weeks, without really thinking. 2 weeks after reality set in, and we found out that this game was just another case of blah game with an incredible budget. Characters were garbage, gameplay was repetitive....but hey at least it looks technically good....

MGS4 - I really really enjoyed this game, but I still feel cheated. The story while full of awesome action, just didn't feel natural to me. Why? Because it did everything I "thought" I wanted MGS to do, so the plot dropped down to the level of a fan fiction. Even with this in mind, it still probably has one of the best stories in a game, as sad as that may be. The next problem is that it lacks balance, rather than put you in awesome moments, you were brought out to watch a movie. I don't mind the story and I see its place in this type of game, but don't make me watch the most badass action scenes...I want to play them!

[dmaul1114]

GTAIV. Never liked the series, but gave it a shot. Liked it better than GTA3, but still quit 21 hours and about half way through the missions. Just too repetitive, and too much doing shit over and over since you can't save during missions.

[leveskikesko]

GTAIV. Never liked the series, but gave it a shot. Liked it better than GTA3, but still quit 21 hours and about half way through the missions. Just too repetitive, and too much doing shit over and over since you can't save during missions.

21 hours?! Strong man! I couldn't stomach much more than 10 hours, though I did enjoy it on some level thanks to hype and playing it with some hyped up friends.

[gindias]

Resistance 2 was a big let down for me, I just couldnt really get into it at all. Online was ok but the lag was killing me. I also was very dissapointed in Fable 2, I played through it twice just to see if was me but it sucked even more the 2nd time. Maybe I was just expecting too much from these games.

Like the other posters said, GTA4 turned real boring fast. I still play it just to run people over after a hard drive home from work though.

[unopepito06]

Gears 2. I hate to say it, but the online play = broken. Epic are noob for shipping broken game :lol:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IK1SbOWONpM

[Salamando3000]

Spore, easily. Sure, creating a creature/spaceship/etc. was fun, but once you finished that, it barely affected gameplay, which was remarkably lacking. The first four stages of life were at best mini-games. None of them required all too much strategy, and each stage could be easily finished in under 15 minutes. The space stage offered a lot more, but even then it was rather simple. You were delegated mostly to "go to planet X, kill/collect Y, come back" quests. I also got really tired of getting distress calls from allies because of ecodisaster/pirates/invaders. I would've been much better off just getting Flow/Civilization/an Actual Space sim than this.

[Chase]

Grand Theft Auto 4. Why so serious, Rockstar? Crackdown played more like a Grand Theft Auto game than Grand Theft Auto 4. And the man-dates need to be removed from the next Grand Theft Auto game. Playing Grand Theft Auto 4 was like dating a high-maintenance woman but without the reward. The story, though, was pretty solid. However, things reached the uncanny valley, and, while the game looks good, I thought character faces looked more ventriloquist puppet than human. I cannot believe I bought into the hype. Shame on me.

Gears of War 2. I bought Gears of War 2 because I figured its online multiplayer would be improved. Unfortunately, there are more bugs in Gears of War 2 than on a hobo's scalp, and it kills any enthusiasm I had towards playing the game. I found the first Gears of War to be mediocre, and while I enjoy some small bits in Gears of War 2, including the War Journal and Horde, I find Gears of War 2 to be more boring than the first Gears of War. It is another example of how sometimes popular things are not the best things.

[DrFoo]

Yeah GTA 4 was definitely over rated. I probably got half way through and just got bored of it. If I hadn't played any of the other GTA games before I probably would have played it a lot longer, but it's just too similar.

But for me the most over rated game was Braid. I know most everyone here will probably disagree but I thought it was ass and didn't deserve anywhere near the reviews it received. All you really get is 4-5 hours of average quality puzzles and a terrible story that fails miserably at being deep. Most people might have thought it should have been $10 instead of $15, but I don't think it is even worth $5. I really should have just listened to my hunch from the demo and ignored everybody raving about it.

Spore is another absolutely terrible game that nobody should have purchased. Sim Life is better and Sim Life is crap.

[Malik112099]

Spore
GTA IV
Halo 3
MGS4
Dead Space

[Drizzt]

I'm surprised that I seem to be in the minority that likes GTA4 more than GTA 3 and GTA:VC gameplay wise. VC still wins for its setting, but I liked how GTA4 streamlined the gameplay and made it easier to not get lost in the city. That was the main reason I never got through the other two games, but GTA4 kept me interested the whole way through. I did take breaks between playing, but overall I found the game to be well worth it, and I rather liked the serious story for a change as well.

My disappointments are MGS4 and Mirror's Edge. Even after I got through the middle eastern desert area in MGS4, it still felt too much like a Call of Duty/Counter-Strike game to me. Plus, I got rather annoyed how enemies kept managing to spot me when I thought I was still a safe enough distance away from them. Not being able to turn off the darn vibrate function on the controller was a big minus as well.

Mirror's Edge turned out to be a gameplay system that I didn't enjoy in the end. Even after playing the demo and enjoying it, I got tired of constantly being shot at in the full release of the game. Adding to my annoyances was when I pressed the jump button just 1 second too late and falling from a ledge instead of leaping off it to the next ledge/roof/etc.

[Chase]

I would second the slapping on of a sticker that reads "over-hyped" onto Mirror's Edge---or at least onto the foreheads of various games editors. While I appreciate how it innovates the first-person shooter, it felt more like a proof of concept than a real game. However, it was a good first try.

[bobo2k4]

Another vote for GTA 4 here.
All I really remember about the game were the horrible driving controls.

[leveskikesko]

But for me the most over rated game was Braid. I know most everyone here will probably disagree but I thought it was ass and didn't deserve anywhere near the reviews it received. All you really get is 4-5 hours of average quality puzzles and a terrible story that fails miserably at being deep. Most people might have thought it should have been $10 instead of $15, but I don't think it is even worth $5. I really should have just listened to my hunch from the demo and ignored everybody raving about it.

Spore is another absolutely terrible game that nobody should have purchased. Sim Life is better and Sim Life is crap.

Story while not horrible, was severely overrated. Though I can't fault it too much because it doesn't exactly force you to get wrapped into it like most games today. I just wish people would have hyped this up the correct way, the main draw for me was the combination of cool puzzles and delicious art. Do you like puzzle oriented games in general, or did you find this just to be bad for a puzzle game?

My disappointments are MGS4 and Mirror's Edge. Even after I got through the middle eastern desert area in MGS4, it still felt too much like a Call of Duty/Counter-Strike game to me. Plus, I got rather annoyed how enemies kept managing to spot me when I thought I was still a safe enough distance away from them. Not being able to turn off the darn vibrate function on the controller was a big minus as well.

Really? I didn't at all feel like I was playing a CoD game, though I do admit the controls were a bit westernized, which I loved. The thing about MGS4 is that you can play it in a number of ways from stealth to action. I do think people have more fun if they try to play it more on the stealth side though. Also can't you turn off vibrate in your systems settings?

[Konan]

I would have to say that my choice is either Mirror's Edge, or possibly even GTA4, I do enjoy GTA4.... But it was way over hyped OMFG THEY ADDED CRAPPY ONLINE!! That online had me stuck for... 5 minutes then I was like this shit is retarded.. and mirrors edge kept me enthralled through.... the demo..

[DrFoo]

Story while not horrible, was severely overrated. Though I can't fault it too much because it doesn't exactly force you to get wrapped into it like most games today. I just wish people would have hyped this up the correct way, the main draw for me was the combination of cool puzzles and delicious art. Do you like puzzle oriented games in general, or did you find this just to be bad for a puzzle game?
I'm not a huge puzzle guy but I like some of them. I bought World of Goo when it was on sale for $15 and I've already had wayyyy more fun with it than with Braid. I thought it had better ideas, required more thought, and the levels are re playable since you can usually try to get more goos or beat your old time. I even like the music and graphics a little bit more. Even if I did enjoy Braid it still would have been $15 for 5 hours of game play. And you're right, the story in Braid wasn't terrible but it really wasn't anything special like everyone else said.

[UD117]

gears2
Cod WaW
Dead Space

[metaly]

Left 4 Dead is really not compelling at all. How about some 4P splitscreen, Valve?

I love GTA4 but it's also extremely overrated. The fact that it got so many perfect scores is absurd. Game reviewers ought to do one score around launch and then go back and give it a second score six months later. I'd like to see how many games they're even still playing six months later. :)

[Fragonard]

Mirrors Edge - With every new chapter, I get more annoyed with the game. Seriously, if there were no enemies in this game, I would love it. TAKE NOTE EA.

Prince of Persia - Love the new art style, but the gameplay is just to repetitive and backtracking annoys me.

[pimpinc333]

MGS4

GTA4

Nothing really wrong with these. Both IMO where very fun but I was expecting more. Don't know how to describe it really.

[rodeojones903]

Fable 2 for me. The game was incredibly easy and held your hand the entire way through. The lack of any real armor, the bugs, and the horrible last boss fight (or lack there of) ruined it for me.

[SuxoR]

GoW 2 looked really bland and stiff (like the first)

Idk why my friends were orgasming over it

[dtcarson]

Mirrors Edge.
I liked GTA4, but it was overhyped; I don't know if I'd call it overrated.

[KingofOldSchool]

MGS4
Lost Odyssey (it came out in 2008 didn't it?)
Super Smash Brothers Brawl

[pimpinc333]

Fable 2 as well. Game was very very very disappointing. I heart Fable 1 as well :(

[Thongsy]

MGS4/MGO: Great graphics, and a large fanbase, but the final product was disappointing. Half the game was just sitting and watching cutscene of people talking. The stealth wasn't really there, it seem to try and be a third person shooter instead of the stealthy game fans loved. I could've dealt with that if the plot wasn't so bad. It seem there is a game missing between MGS3 and 4 to explain or flesh out the little details that would've made the character make a bit more sense instead of having us just buy into what they're selling.

Than there is MGO, the online portion of the game, which sadly I'm still playing. While it can be fun, the seemingly random nature of bullet sprays is very annoying, as one round I can be tops but than the second I'll be the one of the weaker players, with the same setup and gun. Not to mention the glitchers and the lag the game has. Along with the elitist attitude of survival mode.

My second pick will have to be Prince of Persia, though not overrated, just very disappointing. Great art style, love it. But the gameplay is so automatic that it isn't very fun at all. I rather go back and play Uncharted again than finish Prince of Persia. Very disappointed, loved the PS2 Prince of Persia games.

[DarkNessBear]

GTAIV. Never liked the series, but gave it a shot. Liked it better than GTA3, but still quit 21 hours and about half way through the missions. Just too repetitive, and too much doing shit over and over since you can't save during missions.

Ugh, was going to say that.

Fable 2 as well. Game was very very very disappointing. I heart Fable 1 as well :(Way agree with this one! The game is so damn ... inconsistent... and not polished. The ugly broken menu systems and the unfluid world was a let down. And I loved Fable 1! What the heck!? I think they made it Elder Scrolls: Fable which is great for those that loved oblivion, but for those that loved fable is a total let down. I HATE open world single player rpgs! If I am going to play a single player story I want it really structured, I don't want to follow a stupid ass path around... and I hate open world games cause you always feel like you're doing it wrong, if you just follow the main story it's like you aren't doing the best you could and are missing out on a lot. MMORPG's are fun for the social interaction... (AND don't say coop! Cause Fable 2 coop sucks ass)

MGS4/MGO: Great graphics, and a large fanbase, but the final product was disappointing. Half the game was just sitting and watching cutscene of people talking. The stealth wasn't really there, it seem to try and be a third person shooter instead of the stealthy game fans loved. I could've dealt with that if the plot wasn't so bad. It seem there is a game missing between MGS3 and 4 to explain or flesh out the little details that would've made the character make a bit more sense instead of having us just buy into what they're selling.I'd have to agree too... MGS is my favorite series of any media and I really had a great time with MGS4. (And I am a big Sony Fanboy) But, I really don't feel like the game should be getting as much hype as it is, it's kind of weird. They act like anyone could pick up and love it, but it's really just for the fans. And some of the Acts were actually reaaallly bad.

Spore, easily. Sure, creating a creature/spaceship/etc. was fun, but once you finished that, it barely affected gameplay, which was remarkably lacking. The first four stages of life were at best mini-games. None of them required all too much strategy, and each stage could be easily finished in under 15 minutes. The space stage offered a lot more, but even then it was rather simple. You were delegated mostly to "go to planet X, kill/collect Y, come back" quests. I also got really tired of getting distress calls from allies because of ecodisaster/pirates/invaders. I would've been much better off just getting Flow/Civilization/an Actual Space sim than this.No no! Spore is my number 1 over hyped game EVER! What a pile of crap. I have this thing, where I can get physically ill from a game... usually after I play it a long time or hear so much about it I'll just get sick of it. But I played Spore all the way up to the Space stage (1-2 hours of gameplay) and I was SICKKKK of the game! Like I mean every time I would see it I'd get queezy. The game is a pile of CRAP!

AND a game the game I haven't played, but I think it's overhyped award goes to:

Fallout 3. DAMNNN that game looks friggen ugly, I could not play that...

(Hmm... the most overhyped list looks a lot like the best games of 2008 list. Will there ever be a game that lives up to everyones hype?)

[Drizzt]

Really? I didn't at all feel like I was playing a CoD game, though I do admit the controls were a bit westernized, which I loved. The thing about MGS4 is that you can play it in a number of ways from stealth to action. I do think people have more fun if they try to play it more on the stealth side though. Also can't you turn off vibrate in your systems settings?

What Thongsy mentioned above about the MGS4 single player pretty much summed up my feelings on it. I wasn't getting that MGS "vibe" when playing it like I did for the first two games, even though I was trying to focus on stealth over plowing everyone down.

Thanks for mentioning the system vibrate setting! I had never thought to look in the system settings to change that since I thought it was still done on an individual game by game basis. That will certainly save my hands from that discomfort in other games I play. Heck, maybe I'll even give MGS4 one last shot.

[ZForce]

Another vote for GTA4. Very good game, but not this mega uber l33t be all end all that all the reviewers gave it. Hell, I'm arguably having more fun with Saint's Row 2, even though it lacks some of the "polish" that GTA4 has.

[PhaperPlane]

GTAIV. God, so hyped. I tried to get into the story and the game but I just couldn't. I haven't played the game in months.

[itachiitachi]

Gta 4

[KingBroly]

GTA4. Not even a contest for most hyped game last year, possibly all time.

[Chmizzles]

Madden 2009. I think i need to stop buying those .... i always get caught up in the hype.

[naes]

GTA4. I couldn't stand the game, it was horrible. I loved every other console based GTA game (and the PSP ones) but I just couldn't get into GTA4.

[SoulReaver]

GTAIV
Fable 2
GoW 2 (online-wise)
L4D

[Malik112099]

Has anyone mentioned Too Human yet? That was super hyped (I was excited for it after the E3 videos) and then it turned out to be a giant piece of shit.

[odintal]

MGS4 takes my vote. Some people claim it's just for the fans but i think it was really just for Kojima.

[hostyl1]

I really am suprised by all the hate for GTA4. I didnt think it was the best game in the world, but it was worth the $60.

Anyway, overrated for me was Fable 2. The horrible load times, the lack of a map, and the uninteresting story and combat. I sold it back within a month. I felt like I was forcing myself to play and that's just not fun.

[saunderscowie]

Fable II definitely comes to mind, repetitive, boring and just not that much fun, and its way too easy.

[bardockkun]

Super Smash Bros. Brawl. I'm surprised it's not really being brought up, but was expecting more from the game since I loved the N64 and Gamecube versions. Instead the most hack job of an online multiplayer ruined it for me.

Guitar Hero: World Tour. About a year for Red Octane to make a product on par or possibly even superior with Rock Band, but instead it just felt like a soul less and cheap product once it was done. Sponsership by KFC and Axe? Ugly character models? Crappy, crappy drumset? Assheaded interface? It had all of these and they think having in game models of the lead singer of Paramore and Ozzy Osbourne is going to make me enjoy it more? Ugh, shows tossing money at something doesn't make it any better at all.

GTA IV. I Think all the bases are covered on this one...

Castle Crashers. Sure it was fun, until I lost my character data by the third or forth time. It was pretty and had a charming look and play, but Behemoth can eat a big bowl of dick for taking their time with the update.

[onikage]

GTAIV - maybe it has something to do with having spent countless hours on III/VC/SA, but I just couldn't get into it this time.

[dastly75]

Consensus - GTA IV

and because of my friends, Banjo Kazooie N&B and Metal Gear Online

[MSI Magus]

Well was actually coming to the General gaming forums just to create a thread asking if anyone else thinks GTA IV is horribly overated. Seriously I dont understand how this game is even a contender for GotY let alone chosen time and time again FOR GotY. The controls are horrid and far too lose, the physics are off, the character models look like ass even if the city looks good, the game tries to fucking explain how to play WHILE your fucking playing....no pausing the action so hope you can fucking drive a car and read at the same time! I seriously am not even going to finish this game nor even reach a mile stone in it. Crackdown and Saint's Row get a lot of shit for not being GTA and I just dont get it.....even if they dont offer the same depth as GTA at least they do well what they do!

Outside GTA not sure what to say, havnt played a number of the big releases yet. MGS and Zelda for the DS stand out....but their always overated...then again so is GTA. Edit- Just thought of another I can add. Castle Crashers! I know that everyone else thought it was the be all end all but I really dont understand why. All the charcters play almost exactly the same damn way offering you little incentive to replay the different characters and the game even released buggy and in need of a patch.

[AnotherStereotype]

Grand Theft Auto IV and Fallout 3. GTA felt like a step back for the series and Fallout 3, while it had its moments, never really captured the vibe of Fallout 1 and 2... the low level cap also left me maxed out halfway through the game, leaving me with little incentive to keep playing and finish the game.

[Redeema]

Wow, no one has mentioned God of War: Chains of Olympus? I pretty much bought a PSP just for this game (right before they announced the LE Red PSP) and it was way too short, way too easy, and way too underdeveloped for a game that they spent so much time developing.

Smash Bros. Brawl if only because it was more of the same and pretty much nothing else unless you're a completionist. Same kind of goes for Mario Kart Wii, though, maybe it's just because I can't get decent competition in my own home?

Also, surprised to mention Wii Fit, though, I'm not exactly sure if it was highly rated to begin with.

Lastly, for those hating on the Gears 2 issues, those can be fixed and I assume they will be via patches. Most of the other games mentioned can't be fixed, so if Epic does fix most of the complaints mentioned, I think it'll still hold up well. Plus, Horde mode is badass. Even if the end boss and ending in general pretty much sucked donkey sack.

[Dead of Knight]

Persona 4.

[Wlogan31]

I'll let you guys know my vote in 2010 when I get around to playing 2008 releases...

[captainfrizo]

Gears 2 and CoD: WaW, although neither game is necessarily "bad" by any means.

Gears 2 offered a decent amount of improvements over the first, but that isn't saying a whole lot since I think the first Gears is one of the most overrated games ever right next to Bioshock. Good? Yes. Great? No, not at all.

As for WaW, well, CoD 4 was better than WaW in every way imaginable.

[jer7583]

Metal gear solid 4.

[Droenixjpn]

Animal Crossing:City Folk, Gears of War 2, GTA IV, and Soul Calibur 4(don't know if it was hyped that much).

Animal Crossing:City Folk is just another animal crossing game with a few added features. The Gamecube version imo was the best one, it was fun, and I could enjoy playing it. In City Folk, you can't ask to do chores for animals anymore, you just have to keep repeatedly talking to them or wait until they spot you and have an Exclamation mark. I believe the game is soley reliant on Multiplayer like most games seem to be now.

Gears of War 2 was a broken, glitchfilled game. That's just the multiplayer, however everything else felt pretty solid to me. Horde was a very nice feature, and is fun for the first time you play it, however it just becomes a chore to pick the mode up again. The Single Player was pretty fun, however I have yet to beat it with my brother. I think some of the achievements are pretty ridiculous, the Party like it's 1999, and Seriously 2.0 achievements in particular. I'm not going to try and play through 1999 matches online, or try to kill 100k of locusts.

GTA IV is a game where I feel was solid compared to GTA 3, and I found it to be funner, but I do agree it's not as great as reviewers and people say. I don't really like the story, probably because it involves to much criminal life and seems way to unrealistic. It just feels like another Grand Theft Auto game. I usually just mess around in the GTA games, while in this one I tried to do the story and could not do it all.

Soul Calibur 4 is greatly reduced from Soul Calibur 3 in it's story mode. Soul Calibur 4 does include Online Multiplayer, and allows you to customize characters from Soul Calibur 4. However you can't customize the Star Wars characters which was pretty much a let down, sure you can change their skills and weaps but that's really it. I felt this was a major stepdown compared to Soul Calibur 3. Soul Calibur 3 really shined with it's story mode, especially with its Create A Soul story.

Well that's it for me, I really didn't get to many games this year, but that's ok.

[lokizz]

gta 4 and mgs 4. they were ok games but in the end they never caught up to the hype. especially gta 4 al that talk about huge worlds and they are huge and mulitplayer is fun ( which may account for why the story mode was so lame) but shit its a sad world when you can compare this games to san andreas and san andreas is still a much better game. if they could add in some of the san andreas stuff ( harrier jets and airplanes , parachutes , more weapons ect) the game could be alot better. still wondering when or if the ps3 will ever get any dlc.

as for metal gear the story hasnt been interesting since mgs on the ps1. kojima started to buy into his own hype the same way miyamoto did and the game series suffered for it.

[lokizz]

Well was actually coming to the General gaming forums just to create a thread asking if anyone else thinks GTA IV is horribly overated. Seriously I dont understand how this game is even a contender for GotY let alone chosen time and time again FOR GotY. The controls are horrid and far too lose, the physics are off, the character models look like ass even if the city looks good, the game tries to fucking explain how to play WHILE your fucking playing....no pausing the action so hope you can fucking drive a car and read at the same time! I seriously am not even going to finish this game nor even reach a mile stone in it. Crackdown and Saint's Row get a lot of shit for not being GTA and I just dont get it.....even if they dont offer the same depth as GTA at least they do well what they do!

Outside GTA not sure what to say, havnt played a number of the big releases yet. MGS and Zelda for the DS stand out....but their always overated...then again so is GTA. Edit- Just thought of another I can add. Castle Crashers! I know that everyone else thought it was the be all end all but I really dont understand why. All the charcters play almost exactly the same damn way offering you little incentive to replay the different characters and the game even released buggy and in need of a patch.

its good to see im not the only one annoyed with how the game controlls. ive died way to many times because of them whether youre trying to run and stop only to keep going or that annoying cover system which decides to work for you when it wants to and not when you need it to. its easy to deal with when doing the single player stuff since the game ai is retarted at best but in multiplayer it gets you killed way too often.

[evanft]

Soul Calibur 4 is greatly reduced from Soul Calibur 3 in it's story mode. Soul Calibur 4 does include Online Multiplayer, and allows you to customize characters from Soul Calibur 4. However you can't customize the Star Wars characters which was pretty much a let down, sure you can change their skills and weaps but that's really it. I felt this was a major stepdown compared to Soul Calibur 3. Soul Calibur 3 really shined with it's story mode, especially with its Create A Soul story.

SC3 was an absolutely broken game, SC4 is not.

[SNAKE EYES EX]

Grand Theft Auto IV - BY A MILE
Mirror's Edge
Resistance 2
Fallout 3
Megaman 9
Super Smash Bros Brawl
Soul Calibur IV

[Calamityuponthee]

Dead Space, GTA IV, and Prince of Persia.

[Danil ACE]

I don't get where all the hate for GTA4 is coming from. I played it, beat the story, and still play it occasionally, and I think that it's an excellent game. Driving controls are much improved from the old GTAs (feels a lot more like Forza than NFS, which I like). I thought that the multiplayer was garbage for it though. Every single match consisted of spawn-camping, autoaim enabled, racist/vulgar idiots.

[bardockkun]

Grand Theft Auto IV - BY A MILE
Mirror's Edge
Resistance 2
Fallout 3
Megaman 9
Super Smash Bros Melee
Soul Calibur IV
Melee was the Gamecube one...

[Trakan]

GTA IV
Fable 2
GH: WT

I knew GH would suck, but I put it here moreso for the solid reviews it got. Fuck those reviewers, RB2 is better in every possible way.

Peter Molyneux can eat a dick for telling me Fable 2 would be good.

[Krams706]

GTA IV for me. It was a good game but no way did it deserve 10s.

[Frogurt.man]

Fallout 3

[MSI Magus]

I don't get where all the hate for GTA4 is coming from. I played it, beat the story, and still play it occasionally, and I think that it's an excellent game. Driving controls are much improved from the old GTAs (feels a lot more like Forza than NFS, which I like). I thought that the multiplayer was garbage for it though. Every single match consisted of spawn-camping, autoaim enabled, racist/vulgar idiots.

The controls alone would make me nominate it. Add in the charcter graphics and the way tutorials are tossed it you mid action and bam overated.

[FriskyTanuki]

I'd probably have to go with Braid even though I enjoyed it a lot. The amazing part of the experience that reviewers raved about never really kicked in for me.

[dmaul1114]

Yeah, I was dissappointed with Braid either. Great graphics and sound for a d/l game. Level design was brilliant at times, but some of the puzzles were just too obtuse and I'd have never figured them out without gamefaqs.

[LegendK7ll3r]

I find it hilarious that anyone uses "repetitive" as an excuse. All games are repetitive, you do the same things OVER and OVER and OVER and OVER and OVER again. That's called a game. By what you're saying, RB2 is the most repetitive game of all time, no matter what you do, you're pretty much just pressing the same notes over and over and over and over and over again, just in a different order; or for singing, you're just saying different words... over and over and over and over and over again.

Seriously people, stop using repetitive as an excuse, just say you didn't enjoy it. Not that hard to-do, you don't have to make up a frivolous excuse that shouldn't even be a vaild / liable excuse.

As for over-rated, my vote goes to Fallout 3. I like the game, but haven't felt the need to really play it much. It hasn't sucked me into the world, like Oblivion did. I'm sure I just need to spend more time with it, but I just don't find it that interesting.

Or wait, maybe I just find it repetitive! You know, walking around a map constantly, reading text constantly, and shooting and killing things constantly. It's the entire game. How repetitive! [/end sarcasm]

[help1]

COD 4 - good game, just not as good as people say.
GTA 4 - Great game, just repetitive, and the story faltered at the end.

[HowStern]

Agree with Gears 2 (I still haven't finished it, to be fair though I don't have LiVE and I bet it's a lot more fun online), mirrors edge, GTA 4, and SC4. I was especially disappointed with SC4 though.

[Salamando3000]

I find it hilarious that anyone uses "repetitive" as an excuse. All games are repetitive, you do the same things OVER and OVER and OVER and OVER and OVER again. That's called a game. By what you're saying, RB2 is the most repetitive game of all time, no matter what you do, you're pretty much just pressing the same notes over and over and over and over and over again, just in a different order; or for singing, you're just saying different words... over and over and over and over and over again.

Seriously people, stop using repetitive as an excuse, just say you didn't enjoy it. Not that hard to-do, you don't have to make up a frivolous excuse that shouldn't even be a vaild / liable excuse.


When you boil everything down to that, then yeah, every game is repetitive. However, it's human nature to define things by what they aren't just as much as by what they are. Sure, each song in Rock Band consists of hitting one of five buttons at the right time, but each song is different...different tempos, beats, note progression, difficulty. When people use repetitive as an excuse, it's because each gameplay task/mission isn't different enough.

[goatface]

Fable 2

[squid]

Mirror's Edge gets my vote. The demo was so fun.. the game itself was a huge disappointment.

[SuxoR]

Yeah I agree with infinite all games have some repetitiveness (as do most things, ever heard of a book that changes it's whole story in an instant?)

But sometimes you see pure laziness like the same damn corridor or objectives with a different enemy skin put over the bad guys...

[Trakan]

COD 4 - good game, just not as good as people say.
GTA 4 - Great game, just repetitive, and the story faltered at the end.

COD4 was 2007, and it was as good as people say.

[Reality's Fringe]

Little Big Planet. A million user created levels that are all incredibly boring.

[BigD63]

Mirrors Edge- Good but not great.

Spore- 5 mediocre games in one.

[007]

If GTA4 had gotten 9s or 8.5s... hell, even 9.5s, I wouldn't call it overrated. The problem I have is that nearly EVERY review gave it a 10, or their own version of such. It had a LOT of problems, and I also don't think the review format really made them apparent. If you had to power through the game to get a review in, things like the incessant phone calls wouldn't be an issue if you're ignoring them. I guess part of my other problem is that it's garnering a lot of GOTYs... which, I guess, it has to, considering that it's, by far, the highest rated game for most sites/magazines/etc this year. If it didn't get GOTY, it'd be a bit of a mark on their previous judgement.

So, yeah, GTA4, by far. It's not even really a debate. People liked GTA4, but it's tough to seriously believe it deserved the perfect scores it universally received.


Others: Fable 2, Smash Bros... these pain me to say, since they were the games I looked forward to the most. They weren't bad, but they lacked the spark that previous games did. I didn't hate them, but I didn't *love* them, which, for me, is nearly as bad.

Not yet mentioned: Smackdown 2009... it seemed like they were finally going to get it right this year, and they did in a lot of ways. However, after about 2 days, it seemed like there was no reason to KEEP playing. Extremely disappointing, and I'll never forgive the lack of GM mode.

[MSI Magus]

Little Big Planet. A million user created levels that are all incredibly boring.

I havnt played it yet but when I do I bet that I am going to agree with you. Every review I have read gives it a AAA score and rants about how innovative and cute it is but then adds but the gameplay itself could have been better. The videos I have watched just again show a game where the creative tools and style look amazing but the gameplay looks close to non existent.

[leveskikesko]

Little Big Planet. A million user created levels that are all incredibly boring.

The first month that this came out the levels were pretty bland, but honestly what do you expect? The creativity takes time. With that said, the singeplayer was always great.

Ever since December hit there have been some incredible levels, and the best thing about the game is that it can only get better as the community grows. I think in a couple of months more and more gamers will catch on.

Have you played it recently?

[Maklershed]

Devil May Cry 4 and Mario Kart Wii

[help1]

COD4 was 2007, and it was as good as people say.


How did I forget that? My bad. Im not saying its a bad game, It is a great game, just not as flawless as some would have you believe.

[silent h3ro]

Haze.

Enough said.

[farfus]

I know a lot of peeps liked it, but i played Dead Space for about fifteen minutes, put it back in its case, and immediately resold it on ebay. Not interested at all, basically just a fuzzy mess from what little i saw...

[MaskedPlague]

The most overhyped game is easily GTAIV, and I like the game. I have nothing else to add that people haven't already said.

[SNAKE EYES EX]

GTA4 is now the 2nd highest reviewed game of all time on Gamerankings.

Clearly it's the most overrated game of 2008. I don't care how good you think that game is, it's not the 2nd best game ever made.

Given the length of that game, coupled with the weekend most of the enthusiast press outlets had to review it - how did they manage to write and post 4-10 page reviews in the same weekend they played through a 20-40hr game?

[Shrapnellistic]

Overrated = Grand Theft Auto IV. Those must be some lonely ass journalists who thought a fake computer rocked. I think it's pretty obvious the series should use regenerative health to combat the missions that are long and tedious to redo when you fail them and to avoid going to burger joints and hot dog stands (so annoying!). Should allow for custom controls, confusing to go back to it after months (how do I whistle for a taxi again?!). They put all those skyscapers to taunt players as they took out parachutes. They didn't even add in the fun cheats like AI drive in invisible cars and they took out the tank. But technically, the graphics did awe me that a free roam could look that good.

[silent h3ro]

Overrated = Grand Theft Auto IV. Those must be some lonely ass journalists who thought a fake computer rocked. I think it's pretty obvious the series should use regenerative health to combat the missions that are long and tedious to redo when you fail them and to avoid going to burger joints and hot dog stands (so annoying!). Should allow for custom controls, confusing to go back to it after months (how do I whistle for a taxi again?!). They put all those skyscapers to taunt players as they took out parachutes. They didn't even add in the fun cheats like AI drive in invisible cars and they took out the tank. But technically, the graphics did awe me that a free roam could look that good.I agree with you that the game was way overrated but regenerating health would be stupid in GTA IV IMO. The game is supposed to be more realistic which is also why there was no tank. I think R* did a great job with it.

[SpecTrE3353]

Spore Spore Spore!

[schuerm26]

I have seen GTA IV about a billion times in this thread and I played literally 20 minutes (the first mission where you are waiting outside while some guy plays cards) and I literally couldn't see a damn thing when I was turning the car while driving. I quit.

I haven't ever like any of the GTA games though but I don't ever remember not being able to see while I was turning. Maybe I was doing something wrong.

I did see one person say Fallout 3. Are you nuts? That game is electronic crack and my wife hates me for having it in the house

[ChaoticClimax]

I feel compelled to say that I loved GTA4 and thought it was worth all the praise. I don't understand the hate.

Most overrated (and in my not so humble opinion ***bad***) game is MGS4. I almost bought a PS3 for one. Thankfully my friend let me borrow his PS3. I loved every minute of MGS1-3 and I suffered through every minute of MGS4 hoping it would get better. It sadly just got worse.

[evanft]

RB2 is better in every possible way.

Except for the inferior on-disc track list.

COD4 was 2007, and it was as good as people say.

It was like a big-ass mod for COD2, which was really just an update for COD1. COD has essentially been the same game for 5 years. The gameplay hasn't really changed.

[darthbudge]

Spore.

What a god awful game.

[Dead of Knight]

The most overhyped game is easily GTAIV, and I like the game. I have nothing else to add that people haven't already said.

The thread is OVERRATED, not overhyped. Though I suppose the game is both.

[lokizz]

I know a lot of peeps liked it, but i played Dead Space for about fifteen minutes, put it back in its case, and immediately resold it on ebay. Not interested at all, basically just a fuzzy mess from what little i saw...


its an ok game but what i dont get is all the people who go on and on about how scary it is. i havent been really scared by a survival horror game since silent hill.

[Xevious]

Burnout Paradise FTW

[Azumangaman]

GTAIV.
No contest, whether you like it or not, its overrated.

[the_punisher]

You guys are all expecting the ultimate perfect game apparently.

I loved Mirror's Edge, i loved Dead Space, i loved Fallout 3, i loved Little BigPlanet, i loved GTA IV, i have an unhealthy obsession with MGS4.

If anything was disappointing, it was Resistance 2 and, to a lesser degree, Gears of War 2. R2 was flat-out embarassing in the beginning, but it got slightly better. No narrative really made the game awful. It just felt like a boring shooter most of the time, nothing really special about it. Gears 2 was what i expected it to be, but that's not really a good thing. I felt liek the game wasn't even close to being ready to release. The multiplayer is beyond glitched, and the single player on insane is glitched as well. Ninja Gaiden Sigma is a hard game becuase it requires skill and precision to beat. Gears of War 2 on insane is a glitched half-assed attempt to make something hard by giving all enemies a one-shot pistol, and the worst possible checkpoint system that forces you to watch/sit through conversations millions of times. UGH. The only GOOD thing about GoW2 was that the LE had a code i sold for $50 on ebay >.<

[Rei no Otaku]

Left 4 Dead - While it was fun the first couple times I played it, I quickly grew bored with it.

Braid - I just don't see what people liked about this game. The art style was hideous, and the gameplay bored me.

[KingBroly]

Burnout Paradise FTW

"WHAT'S YOUR MAJOR MALFUNCTION, MAGGOT?"

[FloodsAreUponUS]

Grand Theft Auto 4.
Little Big Planet.

[ninja dog]

so basically, anything that got over an 8 from anywhere or had more than 1 person like it.

[FloodsAreUponUS]

so basically, anything that got over an 8 from anywhere or had more than 1 person like it.

Someone said Haze so no.

[ninja dog]

Someone said Haze so no.

Famitsu gave Haze over an 8, I think. :lol:

[FloodsAreUponUS]

Famitsu gave Haze over an 8, I think. :lol:

Free Radical went out of bussiness because they paid of famitsu.
Confirmed.

Get this on Kotaku.

[ninja dog]

They paid them in dirty panties.

[silent h3ro]

I thought Free Radical went out of business because their game sucked so hard. And if they were to pay off a review site then why the hell would they pay off Famitsu? Thier reviews are terrible.

[ninja dog]

I thought Free Radical went out of business because their game sucked so hard. And if they were to pay off a review site then why the hell would they pay off Famitsu? Thier reviews are terrible.

To get American weeaboos to love Haze while they wait for JRPGs on the PS3.

'cause if there's one thing Sony has accomplished this gen, it's converting JRPG fans to FPS fans.

[Foo228]

Add another one for GTAIV.
San Andreas had way more diversity to it (from characters to locations). Even though I finished it, it was not the game everyone made it seem to be. Most of all, it wasn't fun (many blogs on cag point that out with Saints Row 2 being the better alternative).

Maybe I would have felt different if I waited and got it real cheap last month?

I think I'll replay it just to get hyped for the dlc next month. I got the 360 version primarily for this reason, so I might as well.
--
Others...
PixelJunk Eden (abstract platformer, ay?)
Patapon (gets real frustrating..less intuitive)
Mario Kart Wii (might have to replay it, but MKDS was superior on all fronts - 'rubberband' ai is at its worst here)

[ninja dog]

I'd go with crackdown as the GTA alternative of choice. I don't see why a dev would build a whole city...and then confine the player to the laws of the land and the laws of gravity/the natural world. :lol: It's a video game, make it fun, not oscar-worthy.

[serenitygod]

POP, ENDwar (Why has nobody else mentioned this)? GTAIV (played about 6 minutes of GTAIV (strangely I haven't sold it back yet though). Mirror's Edge. SCIV (I never had issuess with SC3 glitching or anything liked it alot).
CODwaw is that even overrated everybody I knew was like treyarch don't buy where do you get it being overrated and stuff.

I think CODwaw is actually good, graphics from 4, 4 player split screen with big maps. I just don't like the fact they don't know who actually used what weapons (sometimes Soviets had German guns and stuff) get your weapons correct COD!

[Z_meista]

Army of Two
Devil May Cry 4
GTA4
LBP
MGS4
Mirror's Edge
Super Smash Brothers Brawl
Too Human (just because it's got too much drama and flaming before launch date)
Wii Fit

[serenitygod]

Just so nobody misses this top 3:
Endwar
POP
SCIV

[heavyd853]

They paid them in dirty panties.

From vending machines?

[Chase]

I'd go with crackdown as the GTA alternative of choice. I don't see why a dev would build a whole city...and then confine the player to the laws of the land and the laws of gravity/the natural world. :lol: It's a video game, make it fun, not oscar-worthy.


If Crackdown and Saints Row had a love child, it is what Grand Theft Auto 4 should have been. While Vice City was the last Grand Theft Auto game I enjoyed, I actually prefer the 2D Grand Theft Auto games because they were fun. Grand Theft Auto 4 was not fun. It was a chore.

[DF3]

Add me to the list of GTAIV and MGS4 being overrated.

The missions were repetitive in GTAIV and the world wasn't as interactive and huge as San Andreas.

As for MGS4 it had way too many cutscenes. I know the story was great and all but what makes a game enjoyable isn't so much the plot or graphics but the game play.

[MSI Magus]

I agree with the whole crack down was more fun thing. I used to love GTAIII and playing Crackdown got me in the mood to retry it. I quit in the first half hour after trying to jump over a curb and finding that my character couldn't do it. Its kind of hard to go back to not being able to hop over a freaking curb after I have jumped over buildings. My only complaint with Crackdown was it ended too damn soon. First off it just felt too short, but second off the place they cut the game off was the perfect time for it to have gotten kicked up a notch.

[Reality's Fringe]

The first month that this came out the levels were pretty bland, but honestly what do you expect? The creativity takes time. With that said, the singeplayer was always great.

Ever since December hit there have been some incredible levels, and the best thing about the game is that it can only get better as the community grows. I think in a couple of months more and more gamers will catch on.

Have you played it recently?


Two weeks ago. You can't take the boring out of the game. It seems everyone is trying to come up with a cute theme level, but with the basic gameplay being dull, it ends up being me terminally agitated in different settings.

[MSI Magus]

Two weeks ago. You can't take the boring out of the game. It seems everyone is trying to come up with a cute theme level, but with the basic gameplay being dull, it ends up being me terminally agitated in different settings.

You know whats really sad too is all these publications falling over each other to give these games these awards they dont deserve will sometime in the coming years create a list of most overrated games or games that didnt live up to the hype or some such list.....and they will name these same god damn games.

[bsesb2003]

Gta4

[eswat]

Tie between Fallout 3 and Gears of War 2.

Gears had an unpolished campaign and still has broken online.

Fallout 3. It's no more of a sequel than Tactics or Brotherhood of Steel were. It's a spinoff with gaudy RPG elements that just made me appreciate old cRPGs more.

[Chambered]

Spore.

What a god awful game.


I thought so too, at first, but remember this is "over rated" games. Spore was never over rated, just over hyped.

[FloodsAreUponUS]

From vending machines?

Dirty Vending Machines.

[Dr Mario Kart]

Fallout 3. It's no more of a sequel than Tactics or Brotherhood of Steel were. It's a spinoff with gaudy RPG elements that just made me appreciate old cRPGs more.
My vote goes to GTA4, but high-fucking-five for this

[Zenjiro]

Gonna have to say Tales of Vesperia...sorry.

[Deefuzz]

GTAIV - and I am so glad to see so many people agree with that. The crappy thing is that I am now on this kick wanting to actually beat all of the games I've started so I popped in GTAIV the other day. That game is still monotonous, I really want to love it, and I did at first. But the game has become more of a chore than it is enjoyable.

Spore - Will Wright = Over Hyped. 'Nuff said.

Left 4 Dead - Played it, it was just ok. Actually my roomate and I bought it on the same day. We got home and he opened his copy and we tried it out on his Xbox. After 2 or 3 more sessions I brought my copy back to the store. I played as much as I felt I needed to.

Those are the main ones I can think of.

[Dr Mario Kart]

Gonna have to say Tales of Vesperia...sorry.
To be fair, its only an 81 at Metacritic. Its also the highest rated JRPG on the 360. That means it beat out the following games in the same genre.

Lost Odyssey
Last Remnant
Spectral Force 3
Operation Darkness
Blue Dragon
Enchanted Arms

I say its a pretty fair rating.

[Chase]

Just for the sake of discussion, is the lack of posts featuring Wii games due to those games being as good as expected, or because expectations were low?

[Maklershed]

<-- said Mario Kart Wii

I'd rather get kicked in the nuts then play that game again.

[Chambered]

Just for the sake of discussion, is the lack of posts featuring Wii games due to those games being as good as expected, or because expectations were low?

I'd attribute it to a lack of hyped games this year. Over-hyped games tend to be over rated as well.

[VipFREAK]

Fallout 3... still don't get it.

: puts on flame suit:

[Foo228]

I thought so too, at first, but remember this is "over rated" games. Spore was never over rated, just over hyped.

good point

[Sir_Fragalot]

The World Ends With You- It had a good premise, but that battle system is quite annoying. I am sorry but I don't have the skill to control 2 people using both the d pad and the buttons at the same time using two screens.

Every Nintendo released game on Wii this year except for Wario Land (never played Animal Crossing, so leave that one out of my list).

[Deefuzz]

Just for the sake of discussion, is the lack of posts featuring Wii games due to those games being as good as expected, or because expectations were low?

IMO there have been no Wii games that I really dug. I bought Mario Galaxy, Smash Brothers, and Mario Kart with excitement. After a few plays on each title I had no desire to go back and play again.

[Mr. Anderson]

Burnout Paradise FTW

You must be in the wrong thread, let me direct you out of here... ;)

I definitely think GTAIV takes the cake for most overrated this year. It's not as good as any review or such thing says.

[silent h3ro]

Fallout 3... still don't get it.

: puts on flame suit:
You've got some serious balls to say that in CAG. :applause:

[cheezisgoooood]

Super Smash Bros. Brawl - Got bored of it after a day of playing it...passed up every chance to ever play it again.

Spore - Hyped to be this massive, complex and groundbreaking game...ends up being a deep but extremely unappealing character creation system stringed together by some stripped down minigames.

Gears of War 2 - Single player is as awesome as ever, but the versus mode is STILL horrible. Horde mode is fun once or twice then gets boring in comparison to something like Left 4 Dead or Resistance 2 co-op.

[AshesofWake]

prince of persia, besides looking fucking amazing. the game itself feels way bland for me, every fight is the same, the orb collecting...not that fun.. im struggling to finish it because there's so many more awesome games out there.....

[whoknows]

GTA4 - I'm so tired of hearing about that game.

Gears 2 - I don't get why people love it so much. Sure it has blood/gore, but the controls suck.

[eddieismail]

Most if not all of the games I played in 2008 came out in 2007, and I enjoyed every one of them.

I tried the demo for Mirror's Edge and hated it, so here you go.

[MSI Magus]

I would love to see more games adopt multiple play styles or add in features that give the gameplay replayability. Look at how many of us are saying crack down was awesome and how many of us say our fav part of the old GTAs was using cheat codes to drop tanks from the sky and run around causing havoc. Now imagine GTA IV was the same game it is now(preffarbly with decent controls)but then they added in cheat codes to do that same kind of stuff as in the past GTAs such as reduced gravity, but also added in a cheat code that let you jump like you do in crackdown or have super human punches.

It would be really nice to be able to play a game in multiple ways vs just the 1 set way.

[BMoD]

Fallout 3.

[Reality's Fringe]

You know what game was WAY better than GTAIV? Saint's Row 2.

If the guys at volition teamed up with the tech people and writing staff at Rockstar....damn, that game would rock.

[bmachine]

Metal Gear Solid 4

The World Ends With You

Wii Fit

[Thongsy]

I'll have to also add Soul Calibur 4. Very disappointing. I guess I can agree with GTAIV if it did universally get 10s from every magazine and site. While it was fun for a bit, it was great. Probably should've scored a solid 8.5 or so.