PixlBit Logo
PixlBit Logo
Living up to the hype
Published on November 30, 2014 11:36 PM
1 minute read
1701 Views

So to make this actually about video games, let me know what video games you can remember that did or didn't live up to their hype that stick out in your mind. 

For my money, I remember the original Killzone being way overhyped as a Halo killer. It was a good game that had its sequels, but the first installment was like that Cowboys-Eagles game this Thanksgiving: didn't live up to the hype. That comparison may be unfair, cause the Cowboys played like crap in that game and Killzone was actually a pretty good game. But hype-to-reality ratio was somewhat similar as far as I can remember.

Meanwhile, I was hyped as hell for Wind Waker, and it delivered, just like the closely contested Packers-Patriots game that just ended. 

So, what games stick out in your mind as being overhyped or underhyped?

Comments
0
Posted on November 30, 2014 11:53 PM

Klonoa: Door to Phantomile was so underhyped.  Actually most of the games I like are underhyped. 

Posted on November 30, 2014 11:59 PM

Yeah, the hype these days and for a while has gone to games with dark and gritty feels that don't match up with what you like to play.

And I just realized my examples were overhyped and hyped just right. My underhyped example would have to be Psychonauts. I'm sure gaming mags etc. did what they could to praise Schafer and co. but I never heard much mainstream anything about the game.

Posted on December 1, 2014 3:36 AM

Seems like nearly every AAA game since 2011 gets or was overhyped. Uncharted 3, GTA V, Bioshock Infinite, and Assassin's Creed 3 were especially bad in this regard, even if some were pretty good. A few that didn't deliver on even creating a cult following though would be The Conduit, Homefront, Star Wars The Force Unleashed, and Too Human.

Posted on December 1, 2014 7:04 AM

Too Human is an interesting choice. I remember that game having some pretty big previews in EGM, but ultimately so-so reviews upon release. I always thought the Norse mythology angle was cool. Maybe they can Kickstart the rest of the planned trilogy at some point. Don't know if there's already been an attempt to.

Posted on December 1, 2014 4:26 AM

I remember Brute Force on Original Xbox was supposed to be a Halo killer but oh it so wasn't. I played it co-op system link, one of the few games that had that feature, but it wasn't very good. 

Posted on December 1, 2014 7:05 AM

I honestly remember the name and nothing else about Brute Force. So I guess there ya go ... 

Posted on December 2, 2014 4:20 AM

These trailers got me really into playing it, but it was just ho hum.

Posted on December 1, 2014 7:03 AM

One of my fave games was seriously under hyped and in turn didn't sell well. Enslaved: Odyssey to the West was an amazing game. If I had known about it, it would have been a day 1 purchase. It was worth the full price of a new game. The story and characters were amazing. The only thing that was complained about was the combat. It wasn't ground breaking and kind of repetitive. I enjoyed the game and didn't find the combat too bad at all. I have it on my laptop, I highly recommend it. 

Over hyped would be Soul Calibur 5. That game was the biggest bomb fail of 2012 in my opinion. They story mode was horrible and they gave u a bunch of characters with opening stories but no ending regarding on what happened to them. There offline offerings were horrific. The one mode that was offline play that would have been great was so hard it made u wanna throw ur controller thru the TV screen. I spent 80$ bucks on that damn game for the collectors set. I was let down badly.....now I watch myself on preordering collector sets.

Posted on December 1, 2014 7:06 AM

That sucks. I always liked Soul Calibur. 

Posted on December 1, 2014 8:43 AM

Overhype- everytime a new Sonic game is announced that will save the franshise.

Underhype- Dragon Age 2, I recently played through and loved it. Reviewers be damned!Cool

Posted on December 1, 2014 3:17 PM

I still want to play Generations though ... lol.

Sounds like Inquisition is getting a lot of praise though. So that's cool. 

Posted on December 2, 2014 5:38 PM

...... Go and play Sonic Colors and come back to me, will ya? Undecided

Posted on December 2, 2014 8:11 PM

Oh? Was that the Wii game? Was it good? I heard Generations was good, and I don't know how that new WiiU Sonic went? Now there is a muscly Knuckles, and I don't know what else they are doing to Sonic nowadays.

Posted on December 2, 2014 8:24 PM

You seem very confused, so let me guide you through :P

Yes, Sonic Colors is the Wii game, but it's not the first one, as its predecesors were the spin-off games Sonic & The Secret Rings and Sonic & The Black Knight (both considered mediocre to decent). Anyway, it's more than good, it was great. Basically, they implemented the good aspect of Unleashed (the day levels) and expanded upon them and is considered by many the step in the best direction and even got reverence on the mainstream sites,,,, which then they forgot about it and came back to "Sonic needs to be saved"

Haven't played Generations yet, but it's the same deal with Colors as far as reception. The one on the Wii U is Lost World, which got mixed reception, but didn't have much negativity and some have said it was a good game if you give the controls a chance. Then there's the other Wii U and newest game, Sonic Boom and that one didn't turn out so well. Basically, not a horrible game like Sonic 06, but very messy on glitches and not inspired on the other aspects. Atleast it's not one of the "core" games and apparently the animated series made along has been better received.

Posted on December 2, 2014 8:32 PM

I want to watch that show.

Posted on December 2, 2014 10:38 PM

I dont get what you are debating me about? Basically I'm right? Most new Sonic games are bad and everytime a new one comes out, its supposed to make things all better.

Posted on December 2, 2014 11:21 PM

Ummm, I wasn't debating, I thought I was answering your questions.

Besides, I didn't state that every single 3D Sonic was bad  and did you actually read what I said for Colors and Generations? I said those had great reception.

Posted on December 2, 2014 8:30 PM

I dunno about Wii, but I dug Colors on DS. It and Generations are supposed to be good. Boom is getting compared to Sonic '06 for both legit and somewhat unfair/overblown reasons as far as I can tell. Some people have buggier experiences than others.

Posted on December 1, 2014 3:08 PM

Overhyped - the first Assassin's Creed game. It was beautiful, and had so much potential and was such a letdown. Missions were repetitive and became more chore than fun. They fixed a lot in the second one, but I really liked the setting in the first one.

Underhyped - Beyond Good and Evil when it first came out, Lost Odyssey, Psychnauts, and probably several more I can't think of at the moment.

Congrats on your Packers beating my Patriots. That was a well-deserved win on their part.

Posted on December 1, 2014 3:36 PM

Maybe they'll remake the first AC game.

I need to start on BG&E as well. 

And your Patriots looked awesome as always. I saw a Packer do a pretty blatant push-off that wasn't called, so my team got away with that one. Otherwise, Gronkowski looked like a tank and there were several times a Patriot seemed impervious to going down, but I was glad we pulled through in that nail biter. To keep Rodgers to 26 points and you have 21 is no small feat and I have to imagine a rematch could just as easily go the other way. 

... the one unsportsmanlike thing I'll say is that sideline shot of Brady WAS kinda funny. Sealed I feel bad for the team who sees Tom Brady with a chip on his shoulder this late in the season though. The Chargers I think. Anything can happen, but that could get bad ... 

Posted on December 1, 2014 3:43 PM

Oh, that shot of Brady was hilarious. He takes every loss personally. What shocked me was Gostowski missing that field goal. And not by a small margin, either.

Posted on December 1, 2014 3:46 PM

Having been to Lambeau a couple times (sadly, if it was for an actual game I don't remember Frown) I can attest to that wind being crazy when it wants to be. I'm thinking that was a factor. 

Posted on December 2, 2014 9:17 AM

overhyped:  motion controls.  

Posted on December 2, 2014 12:17 PM

Super

Posted on December 2, 2014 5:41 PM

Underhyped: I guess I could say Risk of Rain, since there's not much exposure of it on mainstream gaming media (unless you count Totalbiscuit). That game deserves more recognition.

Posted on December 2, 2014 6:18 PM

Yeah, a lot of games like that are well-covered by gaming-specific sites not called IGN, but deserve more mainstream attention.

Posted on December 4, 2014 3:05 PM

Games that come to mind are usually the ones that are supposed to be better than X game. Games like you mentioned Killzone, which by itself I felt was a solid game, didn't live up to the Halo Killer status fanboys were hoping for.

I guess the most recent game that I felt was hyped (and I bought into it) was Destiny. The demo was a lot of fun, there was huge hype coming off of E3 which I never listen to until this game, and after a week or two of playing it, I lost interest. It got repetitive.

Why do I have to wait 30 seconds after defeating a boss before going into a cutscene about my ship? Why do I have to revisit the same places when I could have done all of this in one big level? I like the single player story mode, and this one just took more time than it should have to get to the same point that other games. There's so much wasted time in getting into missions that I did lose interest and I haven't played it since. 

Posted on December 4, 2014 3:45 PM

Destiny is such a love/hate game. I've heard so many people say exactly what you just did, but have a few friends on here and around who LOVE it.

Posted on December 9, 2014 6:29 PM

didn't live up to the hype: Dead Space 3. After being screwed over with online pass and tacked on co-op, pretty much made this series DOA to not just myself but with gamers in general it seems. We've heard nothing of a continuation of the series.

Lived up to the Hype: Halo 4. Badass. We got more to the saga AND more gravity toward the relationship between The Master Chief and Cortana.

Posted on December 9, 2014 6:39 PM

Yeah, Dead Space did seem to fall off the face of the Earth ...