Worst Gaming Decisions Of 2003 Rated 120
Thanks to GameSpot for their feature rating some of 2003's videogames that deserve negative awards. Some of the 'winners' among this motley crew of letdowns include most pretentious game awarded to Namco's Xenosaga Episode I: Der Wille zur Macht ("a game that takes itself far too seriously"), most disappointing title to Capcom's Devil May Cry 2 ("a complete letdown in the face of the first game's genius"), and flat-out worst game to Activision Value's Gods And Generals ("looks and sounds absolutely horrendous.")
How about that dud Matrix game? (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:How about that dud Matrix game? (Score:3, Funny)
The game was engaging, fun and it filled in some of the holes between the first and second movie. In my opinion, the game kicked ass, particularly on XBox.
Re:How about that dud Matrix game? (Score:2, Insightful)
Re:How about that dud Matrix game? (Score:1)
Re:How about that dud Matrix game? (Score:2)
Re:How about that dud Matrix game? (Score:1)
My pick: overly gratuitous games (Score:4, Insightful)
The worst one this year was Manhunt by far, but it's not alone. As it stands, the gaming industry is still not looked positively upon by most people. Games like Manhunt aren't helping the industry at all.
Same thing goes for games like DOA Volleyball and BMX XXX - the sexual content adds nothing to the game, and only hurts the industry.
If we ever want to get to a point where we don't hear constant stories about how gaming influences murderers or makes people violent, reclusive, horny old men, these games will have to stop coming out...or possibly become so mainstream that no one blinks at DOA Extreme Nude Hockey
*shudders at the thought*
My $.02
Re:My pick: overly gratuitous games (Score:2, Interesting)
yeah. right... (Score:5, Informative)
Please... That's ridiculous.
People wanted "Mature" games, just like people want "Mature" movies, magazines, books, etc.
If you don't like it, that's fine, but please don't shove your morals down others' throats.
My $0.02 USD
Re:yeah. right... (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:yeah. right... (Score:2)
Personally, I detest pornography, violent films with no content, etc., but who defines that? I also like the game Manhunt, and many violent films and films involving sex that are not exactly critically acclaimed - because they have something interesting to ME.
So piss off with your judgements.
Re:yeah. right... (Score:2)
I wasn't aware volleyball was usually played in winter overcoats.
I see what you're saying, of course, but I would say the issue is more about making a volleyball game where "breast physics" and bikini selection are critical sales points.
Re:yeah. right... (Score:3, Interesting)
While we here at GameSpot aren't against the concept of poolside wiggling, the way it's portrayed in DOA: Xtreme Beach Volleyball is embarrassing to the point of disgust. Its dress-up, peep-show mentality comes across as just plain creepy, and just as people's perceptions about games as serious subject matter were beginning to change, something like this stick
Re:yeah. right... (Score:1, Insightful)
You're kinda leaving out an important part of the argument, namely that DOAXB is a terrible, terrible game (the shallowest volleyball engine since the 2600 era combined with about half a dozen other crappy underdeveloped minigames) that tried to get by entirely on the basis of its scantily-clad women, whereas Clock Tower 3 (what the hell is "Clockwork Tower"?) is a gen
Re:yeah. right... (Score:1)
You call unlimited, gratuitous boobies and blood "mature"? I call it immature in the extreme. A mature game is one which mature (i.e. smart, more skillful than average) gamers get the most out of. A mature game in my opinion is a game like Ikaruga: because although it has no sex or violence, you'd need to be at least fifteen years old to complete it without unlimited continues, and in addition to that, you need to be smart, fast, skillful and CONCENTRATING to get the highest scores out of it. An eight year
Re:My pick: overly gratuitous games (Score:4, Funny)
I don't agree (Score:2, Insightful)
If you do not like games with such content, do not play them. I would count an act of game censorship as the #1 "worst game mistake".
Re:I don't agree (Score:1)
Okay, so let's assume he was referring to violent video games that are over the top and have substantial lacking in gameplay, as you seem to assume. Why do they need to stop coming out? To
Re:My pick: overly gratuitous games (Score:2)
BTW, no games actually show live full nudity like is in plenty of movies I have seen. However, I'm sure the first one that does will receive an AO rating, the equivalent of NC-17. Even though a movie with full frontal nudity only receives a R rating.
Re:My pick: overly gratuitous games (Score:1)
And I can think of a couple of movies that showed full-frontal nudity of live people that received R ratings. Since I haven't played either Leisure Suit Larry 7 or Max Payne 2, I couldn't tell you if the depictions fit the definitions on the ESRB site, but that site does describe partial
Re:My pick: overly gratuitous games (Score:2)
Re:My pick: overly gratuitous games (Score:2, Insightful)
Who's to determine what's too far? Any other entertainment industry that has ever tried to censor itself or that has been censored has turned their product into crap until the artists began rejecting the censorship.
The worst one this year was Manhunt by far, but it's not alone. As it stands, the gaming industry is still not looked positively upon by most people. Games like Manhunt are
Re:My pick: overly gratuitous games (Score:1)
I don't see how it hurts anything. I played DOAVB and it was a fun game. I used to play super dodgeball and this volleyball game on my old Nintendo and playing DOAVB I realized how much I missed those and was glad someone picked up the genre. I didn't buy it for the babe content, but it was rather addicting seeing cute girls playing and hearing the well done game chatter
Worst Gaming Decision (Score:4, Interesting)
Re:Worst Gaming Decision (Score:2, Insightful)
Now, getting back to the "N-Gage" issue. While I totally agree that Nokia's marketing department should get a lifetime achievement award for fucking up, the product itself is actually pret
Re:Worst Gaming Decision (Score:3, Informative)
Look on the right side of the page, and there are links to the rest of the article:
* Most Embarrassing Game
* Most Despicable Product Placement in a Game
* Worst Use of Celebrity Voice Acting
* Most Disappointing Delay
* Most Pretentious Game
* Most Disappointing Game
* Flat-Out Worst Game
* Best Game No One Played
They don't exactly stick out, though. I thought the article was pretty short until I noticed them.
Re:Worst Gaming Decision (Score:2)
Re:Worst Gaming Decision (Score:2)
Re:Worst Gaming Decision (Score:1)
Real Man of Genius: (to wife) "I just saw this thing called N-Gage"
Wife: (ignoring him while browsing) "Uh huh"
Real Man of Genius: "They have games for it! And it's a phone!"
Wife: "Uh huh"
Real Man of Genius: "If we bought 2 of them we could play against each other!"
Wife: "yeah... uh... That's cute."
This is one of those moments in life, as you could imagine, where you might have a real crisis of morals. Do you resort to immediate physical violenc
Video Game Reviewers... (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:Video Game Reviewers... (Score:2)
Take away the peeing and exploding anthrax cow-heads and you have a boring, repetative game that takes forever to load.
Re:Video Game Reviewers... (Score:5, Insightful)
Agreed, the zones are annoying.
Take away the peeing and exploding anthrax cow-heads and you have a boring, repetative game that takes forever to load.
That is like saying "Take the guns out of quake and you have aboring repetative game
Plus, you didn't mention taking out the anal raping of cats with shotguns, the priests with guns, making women vomit and pee themselves by shocking them with a tazer, the insane amount of politically incorrect humor in the game, etc etc.
I grant you, this isn't Final Fantasy, Quake, KoTR, Madden 2003, etc. It isn't innovative in anyway, it's just funny, and fun to play.
There are plenty of movies that appeal to nothing other than crude humor, and that is their selling point. Why is this an invalid selling point for a game?
Re:Video Game Reviewers... (Score:1)
Re:Video Game Reviewers... (Score:5, Insightful)
No. GTA is fun if you play it for what it is (a virtual violence sandbox), and that game was a critical success. Postal 2 is liquid shit in a box.
Remember, kiddies: "Dark humor" requires both the "dark" AND the "humor" to work; simply peeing on dead people is not immediately amusing in and of itself.
Re:Video Game Reviewers... (Score:2)
Actually, GTA3 has missions and a story which is what it was designed for. I think some time was put into it being a virtual violence sandbox, but it wasn't as pointless as postal 2 (which is a good thing)
Remember, kiddies: "Dark humor" requires both the "dark" AND the "humor" to work; simply peeing on dead people is not immediately amusing in and of itself.
Have you played the game? I
Re:Video Game Reviewers... (Score:2)
Re:Video Game Reviewers... (Score:2)
Re:Video Game Reviewers... (Score:2)
Yes, it's just you.
Plus, you didn't mention taking out the anal raping of cats with shotguns, the priests with guns, making women vomit and pee themselves by shocking
Re:Video Game Reviewers... (Score:2)
Hey, thanks for being so judgemental. That is really open minded of you. Of course, I could be judgemental about your signature....but I wont.
I hope it's just your sense of humor that's so twisted, and that you keep such activities to fantasy scenarios such as video games. I'm not one of those whacked out P
Re:Video Game Reviewers... (Score:2)
No, PETA thinks that there is no circumstance under wich it is justifiable to hurt or kill an animal. I think there are pleanty of situations, but if you're going to kill them it should be for a good purpose and done humanely, and if you're going to hurt them it ought to be for a really damn good purpose (such as research into cancer or some such.)
I like to think however that
Re:Video Game Reviewers... (Score:2)
I believe he meant the raping cats with guns which was mentioned earlier.
And setting fire to people can be better or worse than setting fire to cats, depending on the situation. Certainly in Mortal Kombat, where all parties involved are voluntary participants who know that they may die in the event (the name kinda gives it away) the people have
Re:Video Game Reviewers... (Score:5, Insightful)
Consider that GTA3 and Vice City continue to be lauded as ass-kickingly good games. If the reviewers are going all snobbish on us, why didn't they denounce GTA as some half-baked game that gets old once you've finished picking up hookers for extra life and shooting transients in the head with a sniper rifle?
Re:Video Game Reviewers... (Score:1)
Re:Video Game Reviewers... (Score:2, Interesting)
Re:Video Game Reviewers... (Score:4, Interesting)
You might like True Crimes: Streets of LA [truecrimela.com] by Activison. It's almost a GTA clone, but with a depth that leaves GTA for dead. It boasts branching storylines with multiple endings, an elaborate karma system, and an entire map of LA to drive around solving/committing crimes. I found it a much more rewarding experience than GTA, which left me feeling a little ripped off, after all, as you say, "Playing GTA for an hour pretty much gives you the whole game". Check it out, it's currently my favourite game.
Re:Video Game Reviewers... (Score:2, Interesting)
Because its not, probably.
I've been playing GTA games on and off ever since the original on the PC, and I've not once done either of those things.
The most telling thing I find with it, though, is that Simpsons Hit 'n' Run is currently riding high in the charts. Since the entire premise is to take all the elements unsuitable for
Re:Video Game Reviewers... (Score:2)
The sooner exploitative shills like Running with Scissors are driven out of business the better for everyone.
Re:Video Game Reviewers... (Score:2)
What exactly are they exploiting? Who exactly are they shilling for?
Gamespot on Postal 2 (Score:1)
What about... (Score:1)
Re:What about... (Score:1)
Am I the only guy that finds it funny that ... (Score:5, Insightful)
These games suck, now go buy them
Re:Am I the only guy that finds it funny that ... (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:Am I the only guy that finds it funny that ... (Score:3, Funny)
Re:Am I the only guy that finds it funny that ... (Score:2, Insightful)
Re:Am I the only guy that finds it funny that ... (Score:2)
A game that takes itself far too seriously (Score:5, Funny)
Re:A game that takes itself far too seriously (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:A game that takes itself far too seriously (Score:4, Insightful)
Excuse me while I go shoot myself.
Re:A game that takes itself far too seriously (Score:1, Insightful)
Wow, an entire straw ARMY (Score:1)
Re:A game that takes itself far too seriously (Score:2)
Re:A game that takes itself far too seriously (Score:1, Funny)
Yeah, I loved how Spielberg managed to keep his sense of humor when he made Schindler's List. That comedy scene where the jewish kids hide in the toilet? Classic! I'm so glad he didn't try to take his subject-matter seriously.
Re:A game that takes itself far too seriously (Score:1)
No, the Xeno series would never stoop so low...
Nothing wrong with that (Score:1)
If Xenosaga managed to be a good game at the same time as being high-brow, then I say fair play. Having overly-long cut-scenes is a completely different thing from being pretentious.
Xenosaga might take itself too seriously, but... (Score:4, Insightful)
http://gamerankings.com/itemrankings/itemcommen
-lw
Re:Xenosaga might take itself too seriously, but.. (Score:1, Flamebait)
If you like it you are probably an "otaku" (and don't realize that it's an insult in Japanese).
Caltrops.com seems to be down now so here's the Google cache of the only Xenosaga review you need:
http://66.102.11.104/search?q=cache:On37B5AYF1kJ:
Re:Xenosaga might take itself too seriously, but.. (Score:3, Insightful)
I'm less of an "otaku" and more of a "gaijin", though *you'd* probably call me "wapanese" - which would likely be followed up by several other deragatory comments about things I appreciate.
You're entitled to your opinion, but try not to be such
Re:Xenosaga might take itself too seriously, but.. (Score:2)
Re:Xenosaga might take itself too (SPOILERS) (Score:2)
In a sense, this made Xenogears somewhat mysterious. Although all of the pieces were th
Re:Xenosaga might take itself too seriously, but.. (Score:2)
Re:Xenosaga might take itself too seriously, but.. (Score:1)
It's a Gamespot link (Score:1)
Anything they review, rate, or judge is specifically designed to give back to the people who throw adv$$$ at them. Oh yes, and there's the little detail of complete idiots writing the copy. DOABV made way more money than about 30 other titles that did NOT make it into the year's worst.
Perhaps you are confused... (Score:1)
Seriously, Gamespot is the least bought out of all the sites. Sure, some of their reviews are still questionable but the percentage is much less than all the other sites.
Worst? (Score:1)
Re:Worst? (Score:1)
Re:Worst? (Score:2)
They gave themselves around 6 months between announcement and expected launch date. Thats like Duke Nukem Forever to suddenly be announced to be released next quarter, you KNOW its not gonna happen short of divine intervention.
worst franchise EVER (Score:2)
Nightcaster. [rottentomatoes.com]
Yech.
Comment removed (Score:5, Interesting)
Re:I read a funny interview somewhere... (Score:4, Informative)
(...stupid Gamespot...)
And yes, Itagaki (head of Team Ninja) did say something like that in an interview. [gametalk.com] (scroll down about halfway, or just search the page for 'female')
And for what it is worth, my GF loves the game...
Typical sell-out media (Score:4, Insightful)
As another poster pointed out, what's the deal with a "Check prices" link on every game, even the ones that are supposedly terrible? The answer is that GameSpot is probably obligated to provide those links because of deals they have with publishers or game retailers. Not only does that particular category reveal them for the captialists that they really are (i.e. not independent press), but then they actually have a category called "Most Disappointing Delay" populated with games that are not out now and (in the case of Half-life 2, at least) may not be out for several months yet.
Frankly, I think they could have listed themselves among the category "Most Despicable Product Placement".
Re:Typical sell-out media (Score:2)
reveal them for the captialists that they really are (i.e. not independent press)
How is that a contradiction? The _independent_ presses pretty much need to be capitalistic. After all, by definition, if they're independent than no one else is going to be paying their bills. The problem occurs when they can make more money pushing products that they can by unbiased reporting to attract readers and/or advertisers
Re:Typical sell-out media (Score:1)
Sorry, I wish I had time to reply to your whole post, as I think I'd like to elaborate on the other points, but I only have time for this clarification on my original post. (Blasted holiday season eats time like nothing else I know...)
My issue with the delayed games is that they're pushing people to check prices on games that are delayed, and by definition, won't be out for quite a while. I'm not a fan of pushing people to pre-order games, and I think th
Re:Typical sell-out media (Score:2)
I'll still stand by my first claim unless there was something else you said that i'm missing. Independent media have to be capitalist
My dumb opinion (Score:3, Interesting)
I'm also confused by why they were so disappointed with Devil May Cry 2. It's exactly the same as the first game! I thought the first game was a very predictable action game with a plot that could've come out of an 8-bit side scroller. Why were they expecting any more out of the sequel? They're both pretty much the definition of a rental game.
Personally, I'd say that Unreal II was the worst game I played in 2003. It was basically an engine demo. It had a really weak plot and offered absolutely no innovation on the standard FPS formula. Its only claim to fame was that it had more polygons than yesteryear's games. The multiplayer add-on was released far, far too late.
I dunno if it counts as a 2003 game or not, but I had a ton of fun playing the Serious Sam First Encounter/Second Encounter collection. In Second Encounter the graphics are 90% as good as Unreal II's and the gameplay is a hundred times better. It retails for $10, so I'd urge anyone out there who hasn't played Serious Sam to give it a whirl.
Re:My dumb opinion (Score:1)
I'm sure there's a John Woo joke in there somewhere, if only I was awake enough to find it...
Re:My dumb opinion (Score:1)
Funny - I quite enjoyed Unreal II. A bit bland, sure, and much too linear, but it had some very nice level designs. Not a classic by any stretch of the imagination, but mediocre != terrible.
Tomb Raider on the Most Disappointing list? (Score:1)
I thought only people who had IQs below 80 and/or retrograde amnesia could possibly be disappointed by a Tomb Raider game in the year 2003. Freelancer would've been a much more appropriate nominee.
Rob (At least MOO3 was on there...)
Re:Tomb Raider on the Most Disappointing list? (Score:2)
Let's see:
* Richly designed universe, tons of ships, with tons of configurations
* Excellent space engine with beautiful art, incorporating pixel shaders for real-time lighting.
* Innovative flight model, making for very fast-paced battles.
* Contrived, but well-executed storyline. The depth of characters made up for the redundant plot.
* Excellent online play on persistent servers.
While it only took me a week to beat the single player game, I was caught up for months in the multipl
Re:Tomb Raider on the Most Disappointing list? (Score:2)
Damn plain text stripped out my link.
Re:Tomb Raider on the Most Disappointing list? (Score:1)
As for the singleplayer, well... if you ever played Privateer, Freelancer's spiritual predecessor, you'd understand. Freelancer, being a new game, should've had much, much more freedom and nonlinearity than that game had while still managing to give us an interesting universe that changes depending on one's actions. Instea
Real reviews (Score:1)
I am talking the review ranks are so low you'll laugh your ass off.
2.4 out of 100
1.3 out of 100
18 out of 100
Glad to see (Score:3, Insightful)
I was equally happy to see Galactic Civilizations make Finalist for "Best Strategy Game." It's a wonderful space strategy game, made even more sweet after dealing with Master of Orion 3 (despite GalCiv being more Civ like than MoO like.) I kind of wonder why it's free expansion pack didn't get nominated for an award though. How can a free expansion to one of the best games of the year not make the "Best Expansion Pack" list?
Steam? (Score:1)
Targeting Pre-pubescents? (Score:2)
Re:Final Fantasy XI (Score:1)
Re:Final Fantasy XI (Score:1)