Chumpions of 2008: These games are the ones which are / will not live up to the mark and failed / will fail to please us:
1. Iron Man, Sega (Multi-Console and PC)
Sega developers seem to get jittery while making their games, or maybe not! But certainly Iron Man shows that they do because it was a major disappointment. This was yet another Marvel superhero game released simultaneously with the movie. Though the movie was a success, the game was not on any platform.
The graphics were not up to current technology level and the game only comprised of repetitive and dull action such that majority of the players were compelled not to finish the game. The PC version was not able to match the next-gen console versions and the graphics were in line with the PS2 version.
Playing with Iron Man felt like playing with a dull janitor on his job – quite brutal but true. GameRankings for PS3 were 42% lowest on all consoles.
2. Devil May Cry 4, Capcom (PS3, Xbox 360, and soon on PC)
The Devil May Cry series has been Capcom’s tremendously successful demonic hack and slash series, satisfying with every element of the game: story, action, environments etc.
The dark and demonic gameplay was adored and the game had arcade-style toughness, where it would throw you dozens of monsters to fight which may multiply or are joined by more of their friends making us breathless while smashing our controllers, and finally while we would have our relief after the mission we would be disappointed to see that our rank was graded C or D just because we weren’t stylish enough.
The extra classy protagonist Dante became reputable in the first and third part of the series because of his super witty one-liners and comebacks (even with monsters that were 10 times bigger than him!). The second part was not successful because of less essence in the game.
In DMC 4 however there was a major change and a new protagonist was introduced, which basically was a turn-down for gamers, although Dante was still playable for around 35% of the game.
But this was just not enough and the repetitive traveling throughout the areas in the game did not make it a significant success as the first and third part of the series. This game was thoroughly enjoyable but the thing is that it did not give gamers what was expected of it. GameRankings gave it an 85.3% after mixed reviews.
3. The Incredible Hulk, Sega (Multi-console and PC)
Another Marvel superhero game by Sega is scheduled to release in June. Does Sega remind you of some recent incident? Iron Man!!! The critical failure! Before Iron Man, Sega was seen to murder its famous titles in the next-gen consoles especially their hero Sonic on PS3. The thing is – will Hulk, which is a game for the remake movie The Incredible Hulk releasing at the same time, be able to achieve success? This is a very tricky question.
In this one, we will have the main story in line with the upcoming movie and additional plotlines to increase the gameplay. Basically the game allows you to smash the whole of New York up in the free roaming gameplay. So far the gameplay videos show us a totally destructible environment with Hulk smashing whatever gets in his way.
But the graphics are not up to the mark as they should be. The destruction everywhere is fantastic to see but is clearly pre-defined and the gameplay might just get repetitive. Time will tell what this remake game will have to offer after the last Hulk venture in games was a fair success.
4. Haze, Ubisoft (PS3)
Another FPS on PS3, another FPS on console and an exclusive one as well, I personally don’t know how that works as the analog stick is not meant for first person aiming but still there have been successes like UT3 and COD4. So let us see what this Ubisoft title has to offer?
Haze features a certain Mantel Corp., the bio medical experts who developed a certain drug Nectar, which enhances the combat abilities of the soldiers extraordinarily. Our protagonist is first a part of Mantel then turns rogue to take on them, probably making use of the Nectar along the way.
The game’s native resolution is not HD but Enhanced Definition 576i, just like for God of War 1 or 2 progressive modes on PS2. The footage released so far shows that the graphics aren’t very bright and our character running and gunning about while using nectar to enhance his ability.
The AI looks intelligent but the animations are not realistic enough (GTA4 has increased expectations from everyone). This game has started receiving reviews and they are good but not a critical success yet and let’s hope that this FPS will be worthwhile all the way on the console and people will not miss their mice and keyboards.
5. Halo Wars, Microsoft Gaming Studios (Xbox 360)
FPS on consoles is bearable but real time strategies on consoles are something to worry about. Worry in the sense that should you buy this at all. Now I am not anti campaigning against this title. Going against the Halo title will be futile. It’s most likely a success material but the demo gameplay shown so far don’t have as high frame rates as it should be.
The environment and the warzone in the Halo world is fantastic to see, but question arises will the Xbox 360 controller allow us to play strategically and then witness incredible scenes of war just the way we would expect on a PC, where it is NOT being ported or released.
I predict this title will be another great seller being Halo but what is expected from it compared to what we saw in previous Halo games might not be there.
6. Alone in the Dark, Atari (PC, XBOX 360, PS2, PS3, Wii)
Alone in the Dark series’ first venture to the next generation will feature survival horror gameplay as the original protagonist Edward Carnby tries to solve mysteries and supernatural incidents in NYC Central Park. The fifth installment in the series is hoping to surpass the insignificant success of the past games. But will that happen, no one can tell even from what we’ve seen so far in the trailers.
Now as you can see above this is releasing on the PC, Xbox 360, both PS2 and PS3, and Wii. Nice of them to cover all consoles, but we are hoping that it won’t ruin things for one console or the other as it generally does especially in cases where both the PS2 and PS3 are involved.
To successfully run it on the PS2, the PS3 version is watered down or if the PS3 version is given all the focus the game is trash on PS2 (sorry to mention Iron Man for the second time now). Very few titles emerge out to be a success on all consoles including the Wii, which is rarely included on the multi-console titles. Let us hope for the game developers that we are wrong.
- By Anubhav Priyadarshi