We see a game's logo revealed. We watch a trailer. Read a preview. Download the desktop wallpaper. Change our ringtones. Hang the posters. Circle the release dates on our calendars. Scrounge the cash for a pre-order. The day arrives. The package comes. We tear it open. Anticipation boils to unfathomable heights.
And then we play it. And it's a total snooze.
The road from getting excited for a game to actually playing it can be a vicious cycle rife with disappointment and regret, and in many cases, even this year's most hyped blockbusters turned into projects we just couldn't bring ourselves to finish. I asked some of my fellow editors here at IGN which games they gave up on and here's what they told me.
Game I stopped playing: The Last Story
Why I was excited for it: The Last Story is the brainchild of Hironobu Sakaguchi, the creator of the Final Fantasy series. As a huge Final Fantasy fan, I had high hopes for this game when it was first announced.
Why I stopped playing it: Despite some unique gameplay elements, The Last Story simply couldn’t hold my interest. The pacing was too slow, and the story followed the usual JRPG tropes far too closely.
Likelihood of returning to it: None. There’s no reason to dust off my Wii and give it another round when there are other, more interesting-looking RPGs for me to play out there.
Game I stopped playing: Darksiders II
Why I was excited for it: It looked like an HD, open world Zelda game with Arkham City-style combat and a loot system. How could anyone possibly mess that up?
Why I stopped playing it: The world is so uninteresting. I never felt even remotely invested. Death isn’t that captivating, especially when he isn’t actually all-powerful. The world’s design is just too flat for me to find it beautiful or worth exploring; even when an environment was expansive, it still looked so dull. Missions all felt repetitive too, even as you got better items.
Likelihood of returning to it: I’ll get back to it eventually. I wasn’t crazy about it, but I made it a little beyond the halfway point, which is enough for me to want to see how it ends. I’ll finish everything else in my backlog first, though.
Game I stopped playing: Resident Evil 6
Why I was excited for it: I had my dark suspicions that things might not be coming along with the same finesse as 4 or even 5. And then the reviews were dire. But I still wanted to immerse myself in a big story and get re-acquainted with the characters and story-threads.
Why I stopped playing it: I hated it almost from the beginning. Maybe I'm just getting old, but I thought the dialogue was seriously cheezy. Those big, explosive set-pieces were just irritating and the combat felt repetitive and annoying.
Likelihood of returning to it: Zero. I expect to see some news of a serious rethink about this franchise. It's become everything that's wrong with games in 2012.
Game I stopped playing: Sleeping Dogs
Why I was excited for it: I’m a big fan of the real-world setting and was initially intrigued by its Hong Kong-inspired undercover cop drama.
Why I stopped playing it: The story development was slower than turtles stampeding through molasses, the hand-to-hand combat mechanics were diluted by a ton of really boring driving segments and even worse shooting and a litany of numerous insipid (and often mandatory) mini-games meant Sleeping Dogs was only good at one thing: wasting my time while never being fun.
Likelihood of returning to it: Never…just no.
Game I stopped playing: Assassin’s Creed III
Why I was excited for it: Even though I really disliked Assassin’s Creed II, I was stoked for Assassin’s Creed III for one reason: American History. You see, I majored in American History in college and it’s probably the single thing in this world I actually love more than videogames. I assumed that, regardless of AC3’s shortcomings, the setting, characters and story would more than make up for it.
Why I stopped playing it: The gameplay is terrible. Assassin’s Creed III is all about parkour, so it’s strange that it doesn’t actually understand how to do parkour properly. Its combat is also shallow, boring and random. In other words, I realized after about 10 hours that Assassin’s Creed III is just as underwhelming as Assassin’s Creed II was. It doesn’t matter how pretty the graphics are, how fully realized the world is, or anything else when the game plays terribly.
Likelihood of returning to it: Slim-to-none. When my love of American history and alternate history – not to mention my obsession with the American Revolution – can’t get me to go back to a game literally crafted around an alternate history take of the American Revolution, you know the game is bad. I cringe just THINKING about going back to Assassin’s Creed III, to be perfectly honest.
Game I stopped playing: Resident Evil 6
Why I was excited for it: It's impossible to describe how much RE1 and RE4 influenced gaming, and I was hoping to see a similar leap from 6.
Why I stopped playing it: The game has completely forgotten the reason why people fell in love with the series in the first place. Instead of horror, Capcom gives us banal action. In lieu of atmosphere, they deliver poorly orchestrated set pieces rife with unintentionally humorous situations.
Likelihood of returning to it: None. Unless Capcom decides to take the series in a drastically different direction, I'll seek my fill of horror in other titles like Amnesia and Slender.
Game I stopped playing: Assassin’s Creed III.
Why I was excited for it: Early looks I’d gotten at it made it seem like a gigantic step forward for the franchise. Hunting in the wilderness (including traipsing through thick snow!), bustling colonial towns, and the setting itself – Revolutionary America – had me unbelievably amped to play it.
Why I stopped playing it: The first (highly linear) hour didn’t do much for me, and reports around the IGN office all confirm that the first six (six!!) hours of the game are tutorial, and things don’t really get going until then.
Likelihood of returning to it: Almost zero. Due to having a baby at home, I have very little gaming time as it is. I’m not putting in another five hours of tutorial work to get to the good stuff in any game. Plus, the 2013 February-May bumper crop of awesomeness (Gears of War, South Park RPG, BioShock Infinite, Grand Theft Auto V, Splinter Cell Blacklist, etc.) is right around the corner, meaning AC3 is likely to sink to the bottom of my pile, never to be unearthed again.
Game I stopped playing: XCOM
Why I was excited for it: Old-school science-fiction. Strategy. Disposable troops. XCOM was a recipe for success, and the anticipation that thundered over its launch like a tropical storm was enough to amp up the most docile gamer.
Why I stopped playing it: Every action you make in XCOM has to be informed, cautious, and precise. Anything less will lead your organization into utter disarray and inevitable destruction. That tired me out. As much as I loved the strategy elements, the weight of every moment exhausted me. Also, the bugs.
Likelihood of returning to it: Moderate. When the itch for strategy comes clawing its way back into my brain, I’ll re-install XCOM back onto my PC. Until then, I’ll be content with somewhat less stressful JRPG grinding.
Game I stopped playing: The Darkness II.
Why I was excited for it: I was a big fan of the first game, and learning more about Jackie’s story intrigued me. That and I love Digital Extremes and was very excited to see what they would do with the property.
Why I stopped playing it: Life happened. Mass Effect 3 happened. SSX Happened. FEZ happened. Diablo III happened. Many other games came out, some good, some bad. I even started playing Resident Evil: Raccoon City, Ninja Gaiden 3, lord help me. The more time that went by, I soon realized I wouldn’t likely be making my way back to Jenny any time soon.
Likelihood of returning to it: Not good. I’m already behind on many other 2012 games, and I can’t see myself going back to The Darkness II with more Far Cry 3 to play. That and I haven’t even nearly begin to catch them all in Pokemon: Black & White 2, AMIRITE!?
Which games did you give up on in 2012? What games let you down? What games did you take a tiny crack at only to save for a rainy day? Let us know in the comments below.
Brian Altano is IGN's Executive Editor of News & Features and this is that magical time of year when he wrangles the IGN editorial team and makes them conjure up all of their happy (and crappy) memories of this year in gaming. Be sure to follow him on Twitter at @agentbizzle.
Source : ign[dot]com
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