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Worst Gaming Decisions Of 2003 Rated
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 the dud Matrix game that came out just before "The Matrix Reloaded". It was an early hint that the franchise was going very far south very fast.
Don't blame Durga. I voted for Centauri.
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
Goo goo g'joob.
N-Gage
It's becoming more obvious that people who review video games are becoming more and more snobbish against violence and sex in video games. It's kind of silly for them to attack postal 2 because you can pee on people. The fact is a game geared twards adults can be fun. Postal2 is fun if you play it for what it is (a virtual violence sandbox).
There's a 'check latest prices' link next to all the box shots?
These games suck, now go buy them
Really, what business does a game have taking it self seriously? How dare a game company assume it has an educated audience or incorporate satire and history? It's a video game it's supposed to be mindless entertainment for children and lazy ass 20-sometings. Somebody needs to tell those Xenosaga folks that they're not artists before they put any thoughtful storytelling in episode 2!
...it's still one hell of a game - though people either tend to love it or hate it.
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http://gamerankings.com/itemrankings/itemcommen
-lw
Mods: Disagreeing with me != my post Offtopic / Flamebait.
World without hate or war, invaded. Tragic?
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
Sticking feathers up your butt does not make you a chicken - Tyler Durden
I don't agree. If you do not like the content of a game, don't play it. Some people are even more offended by "Hello Kitty" games. I don't think that such games are a "mistake" unless there is a problem with marketing blunders or poor gameplay/graphics.
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".
Don't blame Durga. I voted for Centauri.
... with some TECMO head, where he said that the guys who did the bathing suit designs were completely blown away by the female designers because the women were the one who came up with the most revealing bikinis and the most explicit poses for the DOA girls.
Yeah - except that the "mature" games are just crap. Making a volleyball game and then taking the players clothes off doesn't make it "mature". A truly mature game would be a game that deals with content in a mature manner, not one that just shows as many titties as possible.
Just because you're paranoid doesn't mean there isn't an invisible demon about to eat your face
Maybe I'm just a pie-in-the-sky idealist, but I'm more and more disappointed that the "media" are really just vehicles for pushing the products they claim to evaluate. Do all media outlets now provide "check prices" and "buy now" links when they're supposed to be evaluating products?
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".
Curmudgeon Gamer: Not happy
Although I haven't played either game (yeah, yeah, I know) I would personally say that Postal 2 deserves the criticism they heap on DoA Beach Volleyball. Postal 2 is as focused on wonton violence as DoA is on boobs. Now if that floats your boat, okay, but which game do you think would show up in a senate hearing? Games like Postal 2 provide the necessary ammunition (heh) for people who want to pass laws to heavily regulate the game industry. This scares me much more than a bunch of 3d rendered boobs. I just hope that games like Postal 2 are ignored by the gaming public so that they never gain enough popularity to end up on some excitable legislator's desk.
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.
As an example of just how arbitrary these silly moral decisions are, Gamespot gives DOAXBV "Most Embarrassing Game", with braindead analysis such as:
:D But according to their review it features:
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 sticks out like a sore thumb. Games still have a long way to go, and softcore digital exploitation like this surely isn't helping to expand the market, regardless of its M rating.
Then in their section on Best Games No One Played, they feature Clockwork Tower 3. This may be a wonderful game, I haven't played it.
One scene depicts the hammer-wielding killer bludgeoning a young girl to death, while another has a villain gouging a man's eyes out and then plunging his elderly mother into a vat of acid. It's not really worse than you'll see in any slasher flick, but the game's personal treatment of the violence makes it hit home.
Huh? Which game is disgusting again, and deserves to be shunned for just that reason? Upbeat silly oggling and dress-up of virtual women = exploitation, while severe graphic violence against virtual women = underrated game? I just can't find words for how ridiculous that is.
(Please note, I am not saying either game should be censored, etc. My mind just boggles at the moral puritanism being displayed.)
There is no excellent beauty that hath not some strangeness in the proportion. -- Francis Bacon
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?
This Space Intentionally Left Blank
Another example of someone who doesn't like something, and decides that their opinion is superior to everyone else's. My post stated that it is not universally revered, allowing for criticism - you felt the need to insult people who might like something you don't.
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 a flaming asshole as you go about spreading your ill-cheer.
-lw
Mods: Disagreeing with me != my post Offtopic / Flamebait.
World without hate or war, invaded. Tragic?