Top 10 Most Disappointing Games of 2014

Snake? Snake?! Snaaaaaaaaaaaaaake... why is your game so short? We know, we know, we were told right off the bat that this was a prologue to the upcoming “Phantom Pain.” and it certainly isn’t the first big name title to have an appetizer before the main course, right Gran Turismo 5? But that doesn’t mean we weren’t frustrated when the adventure was over after only 90 minutes. There are side missions, but they offer at most an extra hour or 2 of content. And for a game that was asking up to $40 for the next gen version at launch we have to call it out for what it was: a demo you had to pay for.

You know Nintendo games have constantly have to deal with the negative stereotype that all their games are the same with little changes. Unfortunately Yoshi’s ahem NEW Island only strengthens that claim. It even uses the same plot the original Yoshi’s Island used, and anything in this game that can be considered “new” in the game is barely capitalized on, as unique features make the odd appearance then are never seen again. Overall the game feels lazy and only seems to try and sell itself on brand name alone.

We don’t mind delays if it means getting a better game. The problem is we expect polished perfection when that game is finally released, otherwise, you end up being number eight on this list. After multiple delays, when we finally got the game it wasn’t the next gen Forza killer we were anticipating, but a rather an extremely generic racing game that does nothing to stand. Playstation UK’s Chief Executive Fergal Gara even went on record saying it was an embarrassment and apologized to fans who had been anticipating its release.

It’s probably not the best idea to upset your fans before your game is released by removing key features from its predecessors, nor is it a good idea to get review copies to reviewers the day before the game is released, a trend that became common this year. But, that’s exactly what happened with the latest installment to the long running “Sims” franchise. Truthfully, there are new features in the game, but nothing that saves it from its lack of content and desire for patches and expansions right at the start of it. You’re better off sticking with The Sims 3 until EA get’s their act together.

The hype for this game just writes itself. “Elder Scrolls” is one of those franchises that, upon speaking its name, you assume that you’re in for a glorious gaming experience. Especilay when compared to “Morrowind” and “Skyrim.” Unfortunately, PC gamers got treated to a game that paled in comparison to both “Elder Scrolls” and even other MMOs out there. In fact in hindsight it seems out of place that a series that established itself on stellar single player experiences, would even try to go MMO when its own story and lore work in such opposition to the MMO structure.

There’s been an abundance of complaints with “Resident Evil” lately due to its lack of horror and increase in testosterone. Thus we all turned to our Survival Horror saviour Shinji Mikami, the man behind the Resident Evils that everyone loves, aka, “Everything before Resident Evil 5.” While this title is far from being the mess of recent Resident Evils, it just misses the mark with its disjointed plot and generic mish mash of ideas. Also, what’s with the letterboxing?

One of the most beloved PC game franchises gets another lacluster reboot? Say it ain’t so! We were completely flabbergasted to see this game getting such flack when it came out, not because it doesn’t deserve it -- trust us, it does especially, with A.I. like this -- but because of how amazing this franchise used to be. After having to wait 10 years since the last Thief game, this should have been Garrett’s return to glory, instead what we got was a cumbersome game with odd design choices and bland characters. Best to stick with Dishonored.

For all of the criticism “Madden” and “Call of Duty” get for coming out every year, “Assassin’s Creed” also needs to be put on trial for committing the same crime. However it seems Ubisoft bit off more than they could chew by trying to release two Assassin’s Creed games this year with their premier title suffering as a … hey who the hell are you guys? (Show interrupting NPC’s) And that’s just the tip of the iceberg with how many glitches this game has, not to mention the framerate issues that certainly does not make the game cinematic, despite what the PR spin may tell you.

Remember in E3 2012 when this game was first revealed? Oh how mislead we were when the final game came out. This game’s hype train was so out of control that the defusal squad had to be called in when a PR stunt led to a bomb scare in Australia. And we haven’t even gotten to the actual problems with the game, where it almost feels like the development team cut corners thanks to weird physics and invisible walls. Then there was the whole issue with the PC version not looking quite up to snuff with what was originally advertised. Things really went downhill for Ubisoft as a whole this year, with this game, Unity, and The Crew all overpromising and under delivering this year. Far Cry 4 was okay though, at least they got 1 outta 4…

Before we get to our number one, let’s crank up the disappointment with these dishonorable mentions:

“LittleBigPlanet 3” (2014)

“Castlevania: Lords of Shadow 2” (2014)

“Murdered: Soul Suspect” (2014)

“Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII” (2014)

The hype for this game was like a slow dance: a whisper of something in “Halo 3:ODST” a few leaked sketches, these teasers led to big announcements over time – Yet -- How could something so be so…meh. You have Activision who published Call of Duty, Bungie who developed Halo, a theme song from former Beatles member Paul McCartney, and voice work from Emmy award winning Game of Thrones actor Peter Dinklage. All of those things spell money printer. Yet the actual game was kinda amateur compared to the star power behind it. Repetitive missions, a dull story filled with clichéd dialogue, and the game seems more focused on trying to sell you a season pass rather than provide a complete experience. Rather than change the online scene for the next generation, it just introduced a whole lot of shooter fans to the something the MMO crowd has been sick of for years; the grind.


Do you agree with our list? What games dropped the ball for you in 2014? For more top 10 lists that don’t make you regret your gaming life decisions, be sure to subscribe to WatchMojo.com.