Top 10 Most OVERHYPED Games of All Time!
#10: Enter The Matrix (2003)
When talking about subjects for an MMO...what holds more promise than entering the Matrix? Produced by the Wachowski brothers and released when we still loved the series, it was filled with glitches, awkward controls and bland environments. More importantly, you couldn’t play as “the one” or his friends...instead you took on a side story that resembled a poor man’s Max Payne. Oh ya, and spoon or no spoon, those wheels are square.
#9: “Homefront” (2011)
Following a resistance movement fighting against a unified Korean Occupation in the United States, “Homefront” was set to be a great game with an intriguing story. THQ poured so much money into Homefront’s Marketing campaign hoping it’d be the next Call of Duty, featuring an Army Parade at E3, bringing on Hollywood screenwriter John Milius who wrote and directed Red Dawn, and released thousands of red balloons over San Franciso to promote the title. The game was set to be the next great military shooter, but a staggeringly short campaign and a bland multiplayer component ruined any shot of that happening. Fans were left reeling by the game and its lack of cohesion, and THQ’s stock dropped 26% following Homefront's release, forcing them to close Kaos Studios.
#8: “Fable” series (2004-)
Developer Peter Molyneux is credited with fueling this hype monster himself, having shamelessly claimed that he was creating “the best game ever” over the span of 4 years with a team of 70 developers. Sure, it was an enjoyable game, but it didn’t deliver on its many revolutionary promises, and ushered in the age of polarizing morality choices. Oddly, Molyneux learned nothing from the experience and did the same for Fable II. And Fable III…Molyneux ‘s name is now synonymous with broken promises and ridiculous hype.
#7: “Mighty No. 9” (2016)
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Considered a spiritual successor to the “Mega Man” series, “Mighty No. 9” received widespread attention before any gameplay was even shown, and even made its $900,000 Kickstarter goal in a mere two days. The development process was even detailed in a documentary, and fans’ input was occasionally considered through opinion polls. However, after being delayed multiple times, many backers were disappointment by the game’s visuals looking drastically worse than what was originally promised, while those who could look past the downgrade were let down by the game’s underwhelming levels and frequent framerate drops. Safe to say: this was not the mighty Megaman follow up we were promised.
#6: Spore (2008)
Who doesn’t want to play God while simultaneously destroying him by turning evolution into a game; sounds promising right? Originally titled “SimEverything”, Spore was meant to be an intricate and deep simulation game that billed itself as “your own personal universe in a box.” Unfortunately, the game actually boiled down to a series of loosely related mini games, and never really evolved past that…
#5: “Watch_Dogs” (2014)
Touted as being the GTA for the new generation, “Watch Dogs” was set to blow everyone's minds. The developers claimed that it would be like no open world game before it, featuring full control of Chicago, distinct NPCs, a realistic hacking mechanism, and a totally new game engine. The game's showing at E3 excited prospective players even more, but when the game was released, it proved immensely disappointing. The gameplay was standard open world stuff, and the hacking was reduced to a simple button press. While it certainly wasn't a bad game, it turned out to be just another GTA clone with a fresh coat of paint.
#4: "Daikatana" (2000)
Revered for years as the prime example of too much hype and no payoff, John Romero’s Daikatana was a videogame meme before memes were a thing thanks to a very confusing add campaign about the Quake and Doom alumnus making us his bitch. Intended as his Magnum Opus, the plot involved travel through various time periods to find a magical sword. However, it arrived three years late, ran on outdated software, had poor AI, and unplayable design. Romero even got his girlfriend to pose for Playboy to promote it... I guess that add campaign does technically apply to her, poor girl.
#3: “Aliens: Colonial Marines” (2013)
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Set in the actual “Alien” universe, “Colonial Marines” was set to be the official sequel to the 80’s classic, complete with story tie-ins, meticulously detailed and recreated settings from Aliens, and even the voices of Michael Biehn and Lance Henriksen, reprising their career-defining roles. We don't know what's scarier: fighting a real alien, or how this game turned out. It looked downright ugly, especially for a AAA release, it lacked any sort of the tension or badass gun-toting heroics found in the movies, and the AI was so laughably dumb that the game became an unintentional comedy in the process. It was a disaster through and through.
#2: “No Man's Sky” (2016)
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AKA the Holy Grail of overhyped games. Hello Games wanted to make a fun little indie game, but employed some...questionable marketing techniques along the way. You'd think this game was the second coming the hype was so great, as the media and gamers alike gaped at the imaginative visuals, breathtaking scope, and seemingly limitless playtime. It looked to challenge what video games could accomplish, and was touted as being the answer to a seemingly complacent market. Well, a small, repetitive indie game was all it was, with many. MANY of its touted promises not making it into the final version, thus eliciting a red-hot rage in gamers the likes of which have never been seen. HM: “Dead Island” (2011) HM: “The Order: 1886” (2015) HM: “Destiny” (2014)
#1: Duke Nukem Forever (2011)
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I’m sure that when this game began development, the irony the choice of title was clearly not what they had in mind. But, 15 years later, forever was more than just a nice little pun. Duke jumped game studios, game engines and several console generations before making his raunchy return. Sadly, his arrival was marred by a bit of an identity crisis as the game couldn’t seem to decide whether it wanted to be a modern or retro shooter, and subsequently failed at both. The humour fell flat, having boobies in your game was no longer a big deal, and it was…you know, fun? Do you agree with our list? What games do you consider overhyped? For more top tens that live up to the hype published every day, be sure to subscribe to WatchMojo.com.
