Sadly, I don't know what the title for this topic means either. I stood staring at my computer screen for about five minutes. I basically gave up and thought this is the best and shortest name possible.

(And now to reveal what the topic actually is about! That is unless you already looked at the poll.)

Are there any games games that everyone else seemed to like, but you simply couldn't? Or perhaps a game which was hyped so ridiculously yet you found it only decent? Well give yourself an applause because you finally found the topic for it! So please, share your experiences.

(Anything past this text can be ignored.)

Two games which instantly come to my mind are Resistance one and two. I suppose a few factors are what soon follows -

The main character really had no personality. He was generic and incredibly bland. (And Seriously, does EVERY character for the next generation systems have to be bald?) So, I really didn't care for the character - I frankly didn't give a damn.

The second thing is perhaps the fact that the story is the old fashioned 'underdog' story but with an insanely stupid twist. Lets see, game number one -

Europe is destroyed. And not just destroyed, but basically 'Pwned' by the main enemy in the games series, the feared 'Chimera.' whom are now attacking Britain. America aids (And of course, there is no Canada in sight even though during the time which the game takes place Canada had around the third largest armed forces.) And then the second game starts, where America is 'THE ONLY NATION LEFT IN THE WORLD!'

Which I personally find incredibly stupid and implausible.

(Spoiler!)

The very first level you are faced with this intimidating and giant looking gargantuan like machine. It is taken out with only three rockets shot in the rear. So, basically the 'super high tech race.' Is weaker then the WW2 German tanks. (Which, were advanced indeed, but seriously, these creatures have f*cking lasers meanwhile the Germans took three to five rockets to destroy.)

(Spoiler done)

Of course, that can be forgiven, it's the first boss after all. But, I can't help but feel a tad bit pissed at the realization that the odds aren't just hopeless, they're pathetic. I love being the underdog, but seriously. If the odds become too implausible I won't buy it that the 'heroes' will end up on top. By the second game it's basically only America left. (Already I feel the game could have been improved if it already started with a white text saying 'game over' by this point.)

So, there! Expect to see a lot of one sided BS, where the humans are invincible, the humans don't die (Oh, trust me, in this game there are a lot of cop out's, when a character 'dies' they'll only have a broken leg or two.) So, basically, you aren't exactly the underdogs in this game. You're a few gods against a bunch of soldiers which prove as threatening as an ant farm - which was exterminated.

Of course I'm probably just knit picking! Oh, Fox! You idiot! It's a FPS, it should focus on game play, not on story telling! So what if the odds are absolutely implausible? So what if the main character is bland and you don't give a damn what happens to him? The game play is all that matters!

Well, oddly I didn't like the game play too much either. Don't get me wrong, I love insomniac, I found a lot of the numerous weapons creative, inventive, and perhaps even original. However, I simply couldn't care. As I played the game I somehow felt it was a hollow experience. (And, I also can't play multiplayer, so I suppose that's the reason why.)

And then there was the last thing I found annoying, what seemed to be the morale of the story -

America kicks ass, the rest of the nations are clearly unimportant and magically we'll win where every other nation in the world has failed because our country is superior, and we are the perfect race.

and personally I wouldn't like that story. I'd prefer one that's more within the lines of -

In the darkest of times the world witnesses the power, and the horrors that a man can be capable of. Countries are attacked, people are murdered, and in this time of Darkness, the countries Allie to fight against it. In this time, every nation depends on the other.

Oh, sorry, I was thinking of Call Of Duty.

Killzone motherfucking 2.

I saw the reviews, I saw the hype, and god damn. I don't know, when I played it, the game felt so, kind of..sluggish, it didn't just feel right. Also, it was kind of boring.

Not exactly awful, but I thought it just wasn't worth the hype (though, since the hype was all over graphics, maybe the hype was worth it, since, I have to admit, the graphics were good).

lSHaDoW-FoXl:
-snip-
Oh, sorry, I was thinking of Call Of Duty.

Actually I think CoD has kept it a good thing where they didn't portray the main character as an American for the entire story.

Shadow of the Colossus sucked! .... Just kidding, it was the best game ever.

But I did not find that AC2 lived up to my expectations.

Fraught:
Killzone motherfucking 2.

I saw the reviews, I saw the hype, and god damn. I don't know, when I played it, the game felt so, kind of..sluggish, it didn't just feel right. Also, it was kind of boring.

Not exactly awful, but I thought it just wasn't worth the hype (though, since the hype was all over graphics, maybe the hype was worth it, since, I have to admit, the graphics were good).

I'm glad I'm not the only one who thought this. That game was one of the few games I actually couldn't keep playing after the first level. So much of it rubbed me the wrong way. I'm guessing the other part of its hype was its exclusive nature, but that doesn't make the game good.

I've never enjoyed sandbox games at all. Never liked the GTA games. I like games with actual missions that are fun, not ones that are fun to dick around in for maybe 10 minutes and then have little meat left over afterward.

I also never liked Halo.

G.R.A.W. when it as popular. I hated it. Sure the graphics were smooth, but It had the whole endless hordes problem that I hate in FPS's. That and I hated that all the weapons gear looked like streamlined plastic toys.

Gears 1 and 2
I cannot stand GoW. Horrible aiming, walking flabs of muscle, and there is no way they can bleed that much without dying. You know, I think I wouldn't mind that game if it had a totally over the top meathead story line to accompany it. I am a firm believer in the phrase "It's not jumping the shark if you never come down." Gears slaps it in the face by taking itself why to seriously.

Halo 2 and 3
They're torture for me. Sure I can't say I haven't played them extensively, but that was only because it was all my circle of friends will play. After the first one, they tried to make it even more revolutionary and original, and in that process, totally drooped the ball with great multiplayer, and made everything else shit.

Rainbow Six: Vegas 1 and 2
Shitty health, shitty guns, and an unimaginative story. Again, it's all multiplayer.

Counterstrike
The people that play it.

He wasn't bald, he had a shaved head. Shaved, that's a hairdo, case closed.

Halo 3. It was only popular due to its advertising. Was just an average shooter to me.

MW2, the Halo series and Crysis.

All very hyped, none interested me in the slightest.

Halo 3. Not the online, just the campaign. It was so god damn slow, as epic as a spongebath with George Bush, and it made the advert with the giant diorama thing feel like a waste. Seriously, that diorama made the game look like God's love child with Bungie, but then the game itself is not littered with giant battlegrounds such as that portrayed in the advert, oh no! It was full of corridors, characters with no personality WHATSOEVER (save maybe Sergeant Johnson, who is the stereotypical black marine who practically sweats testosterone, and 343 Guilty Spark, the camp 'end boss') and it just ends up being the end of a trilogy that has carried on the 'aliens invade Earth, good guys kill aliens' storyline a bit TOO long. Thank God the online makes up for all the campaign's shortcomings. Online = EPIC!

Fucking Army of Two
Fucking The Force Unleashed (stupid fucking name by the way.)
Fucking Brutal Legend
Fucking Cock of Doody: WaW

Red Fraction Guerrilla when I played it for the first time I couldn't believe how bad RF was raped.

Army of Two. Found it incredibly boring. And certain parts of the mission are far too short. For instance, one time where you have to hold a position against waves of enemies, There are like 20 of them, tops, lasts about 30 secs considering you have two people on armoured turrets.

Fallout 3

I FREAKING hated that game. Every zone was Brown or Grey, 9 times out of 10 the computer played the game for you, and it got so much praise it made Halo look under rated.

Halo 2 & 3
Killzone 2
Call of Duty 4,5,6
Metal Gear Solid 4

So many overhyped games suck...
A few I would like to mention:
Killzone (the first one, haven't tried the sequel and don't plan to)
Assassins Creed (same as above)
World of Warcraft. If I'm gonna sell my soul, I'll do it for something that doesn't get boring 80% of the time you play it.
Could go on for a while...

it's impossible for a good game to be as good as it's hype.

it's not fair,they can't defend themselves *cries* just leave em alone! your lucky they even performed for you bastard!!!

please if you didn't get the joke don't qoute me.

Halo...fucking...3
I heard how great the last two were, and I was so stupid back then I bought the Legendary Edition (That's how hyped it was), and when I played the game, it was only "Okay"

Yeah, I spend $150 on a game I thought was mediocre.

Ace of Spades:
He wasn't bald, he had a shaved head. Shaved, that's a hairdo, case closed.

Is that a Spongebob reference?

Bioshock.

Amarok:

Ace of Spades:
He wasn't bald, he had a shaved head. Shaved, that's a hairdo, case closed.

Is that a Spongebob reference?

Yes.

Resistance 2 and Killzone 2. I got them for my new PS3 after mountains of hype. I got the two worst shooters I have ever played. Granted, most shooters I've played have been amazing, but still...

Fable and Fable 2 didn't live up to the hype for me. They were good RPGs overall, but they weren't as epic as Peter Molenyux(sp?) promised they would be, and they lacked the huge level of interactivity that Peter promised.

I liked MW2. The multiplayer is superb.

To be honest... I struggle to think of any right now. hmm...

HUBILUB:
Shadow of the Colossus sucked! .... Just kidding, it was the best game ever.

But I did not find that AC2 lived up to my expectations.

I thought SOTC did and I am not kidding. That is my opinion though. There have been lots of over hyped games I didn't like. And lots of games everyone said sucked and I liked. And lots that were hyped that I liked and lots that I thought sucked along with everyone else. Too many variables to be reduced into a 4 point poll. I could have been in a bad mood or good one. I might have got stuck somewhere. It might have crashed at a bad time costing me hours. I might have just finished a better game and end up comparing the 2 unjustly in my mind. I might have had different expectations than what I got. Timing has alot to do with whether I enjoy a game or not.

Dragon Age: Origins... Was awesome for the first 2 hours, then it got kinda repetitive. Was expecting more from BioWare after enjoying Mass Effect so much. =/

lSHaDoW-FoXl:
Oh, sorry, I was thinking of Call Of Duty.

Oh yeah. Because the multiplayer shooter with the less-than-six-hour-long single-player campaign, the ultra-contrived Russian terrorist plot, and your character getting nuked to shreds every time you beat a level (thus removing any sense that NOT dying actually was important) is so much better. Please, bobby kotick, please "take the fun out of making games" some more and make life hell for aspiring game designers like myself who actually care about meaningful content beyond shoveling out gaming cocaine.

If not for that I honestly see where you're coming from, and for the record if there's one cool thing about the Call of Duty series it's that it acknowledges that America isn't the only country on the planet. For what it's worth, it's also got just about the best design of any multiplayer shooter. One word. "Perks." Getting back to the topic at hand, though...

Infamous. Dear friggin' God, Infamous. I just don't understand the appeal of this game, and I can't imagine how Yahtzee just glanced over this thing without tearing it to shreds.

First off there's those moronic comic book panel-style cutscenes that just glance over important plot points. Literally, you move through a fistful of still images while Cole briefly narrates about it in his overly raspy, unlikeable voice. After one of the first missions you're told, briefly, that you botched up the job, everybody died, and then you're introduced to a new character who's a federal agent and who will be giving you missions for the rest of the game.

It sounds like the kind of thing that'd be played out with a bit of dialogue and exposition, right? Wrong, that brief description is exactly as much detail as you're given. I don't know what pisses me off about it more. On one hand I'm left there staggering over how I could've FAILED the mission when I so obviously beat it. On the other they just introduced a MAJOR FRIGGIN' CHARACTER and couldn't even bother to give her the time of day, much less get me acclimated to her. Who's to say this is all actually happening, anyway, and not just Cole rambling to himself while he reads bad comic books without word bubbles? Worst narrative design ever. It wreaks of that typical game development studio who's so afraid that actually trying to tell a decently detailed story will put off gamers that they condense the crap out of it until it's a soulless, meaningless bunch of glue holding together their missions. I would personally rather have had a Metal Gear Solid cutscene than this bullshit--and that's saying a lot, because I honestly think Metal Gear Solid drags too long. Either that or I'd have preferred Crackdown, where it didn't have a story and didn't pretend to have one.

That's just for starters, though. Let's talk about that HUD. Infamous is one of those offenders in the "immersive gaming" category, so intent to hide the fact that it's a game that the developers opted not to have a health bar. Instead, they have a red tint superimposed around the edges of the screen, sort of implying bloody, broken glass. It's so slight and so transparent, especially in the midst of the enormously cluttered city scenery, that it's impossible to see, so you hardly realize that you're even taking damage until you're almost dead--at which point the game turns the camera all black-and-white, removing all traces of color contrast and making it more difficult to see where you're going and what you're doing at the very moment that you most need to be able to navigate. And then you die. And die. And die. Compounding the issue, you get almost no feedback for when you take damage, other than rumble. You can't see bullets and they come from every direction. "Immersive" my ass. What's so immersive about countless unnecessary and frustrating deaths? What's so immersive about forgetting the concept of simple convenience and clearly communicating information? And this is the same game that's trying REALLY hard to not have an overbearing story and just be a game. Cripes, what a stupid game.

I can go on about this 'til doomsday, but I just hate this game. I hate the half-assed storytelling, I hate the way Cole's always clinging to crap when I'm just trying to get across the freaking street, I hate the generic story, I hate Cole himself, and most of all, I hate the design philosophy behind this game.

Prince of Persia. I haven't played the Sands of Time games, so I can't comment on those, but the newer one was pretty hyped up. However, I played the demo of it and found the controls to be so badly done and so difficult to use, I put it down and never touched it again. Lucky you don't have to pay for demos, also lucky that this was one of the demos they have in some GAME stores...

Someone smell smoke? Oh god, it's a FLAME WAR.

I mean, seriously. Put at least a fucking bit of common sense in your posts. All this is going to be is people hating games, and if anyone likes the games, arguments will start and etc.

Halo 1, 2 and 3.

Played all of em through, all three were a parade of mediocrity being celebrated as the second coming.

Eskimo_In_Egypt:
-snip-

Mainstream gaming is not for you.

I usually skip hyped games. When I play a game that was hyped to no point then only because I checked it out before the hype and thought that what I saw looked cool. For example God of War and Metal Gear Solid.

With that said, there is only little left for me to choose from:

A) Call of Duty: Modern Warfare. I just played the game a few weeks ago. It was nice. The sniping mission was pretty thrilling until you get to the Ferris wheel, which made me wanna puke. They always tell you to lay down in the grass and snipe-fuck the horde of enemies. Stupid me believed the game and after a gazillion tries (no joke, I counted it) I just restarted and snatched an AK-47 from an enemy. Finished that part the first time I tried then.
But not much more than 'nice'. I figured out several ways to make the popular nuke scene much more impressive the moment I experienced it (though it was not exactly bad, it just felt like IW was resting so much on their graphics enginge they didn't give shit about anything else).

B) Bioshock: I don't know. Can't say much more than that. The game just doesn't get me. I don't know. I haven't finished it and I haven't played it in months, but I'm planning to start over some time soon because from what people described the game to me it's just my kind of thing. I don't know why it wasn't. Hmph.

Edit: Wait. Halo - but I'm not going to rant on it now. I just didn't enjoy it, that's all.

I thought Okami was kinda repetitive.

NickCaligo42:

lSHaDoW-FoXl:
Oh, sorry, I was thinking of Call Of Duty.

Oh yeah. Because the multiplayer shooter with the less-than-six-hour-long single-player campaign, the ultra-contrived Russian terrorist plot, and your character getting nuked to shreds every time you beat a level (thus removing any sense that NOT dying actually was important) is so much better. Please, bobby kotick, please "take the fun out of making games" some more and make life hell for aspiring game designers like myself who actually care about meaningful content beyond shoveling out gaming cocaine.

If not for that I honestly see where you're coming from, and for the record if there's one cool thing about the Call of Duty series it's that it acknowledges that America isn't the only country on the planet. For what it's worth, it's also got just about the best design of any multiplayer shooter. One word. "Perks." Getting back to the topic at hand, though...

Infamous. Dear friggin' God, Infamous. I just don't understand the appeal of this game, and I can't imagine how Yahtzee just glanced over this thing without tearing it to shreds.

First off there's those moronic comic book panel-style cutscenes that just glance over important plot points. Literally, you move through a fistful of still images while Cole briefly narrates about it in his overly raspy, unlikeable voice. After one of the first missions you're told, briefly, that you botched up the job, everybody died, and then you're introduced to a new character who's a federal agent and who will be giving you missions for the rest of the game.

It sounds like the kind of thing that'd be played out with a bit of dialogue and exposition, right? Wrong, that brief description is exactly as much detail as you're given. I don't know what pisses me off about it more. On one hand I'm left there staggering over how I could've FAILED the mission when I so obviously beat it. On the other they just introduced a MAJOR FRIGGIN' CHARACTER and couldn't even bother to give her the time of day, much less get me acclimated to her. Who's to say this is all actually happening, anyway, and not just Cole rambling to himself while he reads bad comic books without word bubbles? Worst narrative design ever. It wreaks of that typical game development studio who's so afraid that actually trying to tell a decently detailed story will put off gamers that they condense the crap out of it until it's a soulless, meaningless bunch of glue holding together their missions. I would personally rather have had a Metal Gear Solid cutscene than this bullshit--and that's saying a lot, because I honestly think Metal Gear Solid drags too long. Either that or I'd have preferred Crackdown, where it didn't have a story and didn't pretend to have one.

That's just for starters, though. Let's talk about that HUD. Infamous is one of those offenders in the "immersive gaming" category, so intent to hide the fact that it's a game that the developers opted not to have a health bar. Instead, they have a red tint superimposed around the edges of the screen, sort of implying bloody, broken glass. It's so slight and so transparent, especially in the midst of the enormously cluttered city scenery, that it's impossible to see, so you hardly realize that you're even taking damage until you're almost dead--at which point the game turns the camera all black-and-white, removing all traces of color contrast and making it more difficult to see where you're going and what you're doing at the very moment that you most need to be able to navigate. And then you die. And die. And die. Compounding the issue, you get almost no feedback for when you take damage, other than rumble. You can't see bullets and they come from every direction. "Immersive" my ass. What's so immersive about countless unnecessary and frustrating deaths? What's so immersive about forgetting the concept of simple convenience and clearly communicating information? And this is the same game that's trying REALLY hard to not have an overbearing story and just be a game. Cripes, what a stupid game.

I can go on about this 'til doomsday, but I just hate this game. I hate the half-assed storytelling, I hate the way Cole's always clinging to crap when I'm just trying to get across the freaking street, I hate the generic story, I hate Cole himself, and most of all, I hate the design philosophy behind this game.

dude, calm down. They're only games and you can always just return them.

Fallout3. I loved the game, just didn't live up to the hype and didn't play like the trailers made it look like it would.