Squandered Potential: Games that could have been so much more - Page 6

Viridis · 03-09-2010, 11:59 AM

Latest issue of the Escapist talks a bit about games with lasted potential, I thought it was worth mentioning here.

Jagos · 03-09-2010, 01:50 PM

By far, the biggest let down has to be Mirror's Edge in recent memory. Let's face it, you had a girl who wasn't Lara Croft. She ran and you had to find the quickest routes to deliver your package to wherever it needed to go.

No FPS had what she had. The ability to make your surroundings a weapon in and of itself.

But as I looked at review after review, I was let down. It was too different for a world that has grown up on Wolfenstein, Doom and Modern Warfare. The very fact that you can't run faster even with a knife, your friends are separated by a radio, and this concept of running on walls was brand new means we may get more games of the FPS vein and less action adventure games that really push the envelope.

G)(^&%*mit!

BitVyper · 03-09-2010, 05:18 PM

Quote:

But as I looked at review after review, I was let down.

Did you actually play the game? 'Cause while I'll definitely acknowledge that more could have been done with it, it was still pretty sweet as it was.

Ecks · 03-09-2010, 06:42 PM

I've got two to list here.

Dante's Inferno (still a good game, I enjoy it thoroughly, but man, it could have been so much more than just a God of War clone)

and

Kingdom Hearts (as a series - there could have been limitless possibilities, but Disney chained Square to the bed on several occasions. Instead of redoing the movie world stories poorly by inserting the main characters into it like a bad fanfic, they could've truly innovated, and given us a more in-depth look into how these worlds coexist and interact with the others. You know, give us more of a look at the Kingdom Hearts/Square side and less of a... well, Disney side. That said, 358 did its best to break away from the lameness. If only there were more than a handful of non-Heartless and Organization bosses.)

Jagos · 03-09-2010, 06:44 PM

Quote:

Did you actually play the game? 'Cause while I'll definitely acknowledge that more could have been done with it, it was still pretty sweet as it was.

I can't. My *&^%$ laptop is one of those that hates games with graphics.

So no Starcraft, no Crysis, and ESPECIALLY nothing that comes to looking good other than TF2, Half-Life, and HL2.

I can't wait to get another one in about three years. *sigh* -_-;

Red Fighter 1073 · 03-09-2010, 07:18 PM

I gotta agree with the whole Kingdom Hearts thing. The whole background of the universe behind the games could've been expanded upon so much better. I remember years back as a little kid when I was first looking at KH when it first came out and I was just like dreaming about oh how cool and awesome this is gonna be and then it just ended up being kind of mediocre in comparison to my hopes of it.

Mirror's Edge I liked, but I agree that the potential was really somewhat wasted. I really would've preferred it be a Prince of Persia-type game where you already have an idea of how to get from Point A to Point B and the fun is just wallrunning and jumping from platform to platform as you go to your objective in first person so it REALLY feels like you're there. Instead, it ended up just throwing you in environments that just seemed like giant huge mazes where you have no idea where the fuck to go and the premise became "oh where the fuck can I find a platform to get up to where I need to go" as opposed to "holy shit I'm fucking wallrunning. This is sick!" I know I'm oversimplifying it and maybe some of you disagree with me, but that's just what I thought.

And in all honesty, I kinda would've preferred more of a different approach to the chase sequences. Some were incredibly fun/tense, like the one where you're running from the unarmed super soldiers. But when it came to actually running away and even fighting armed soldiers who were shooting at you, the game just went from challenging to really really frustrating incredibly fast.

Krylo · 03-09-2010, 07:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Viridis

Latest issue of the Escapist talks a bit about games with lasted potential, I thought it was worth mentioning here.

That has reminded me.

Bloodlines is the penultimate failed potential game. Anyone who says otherwise deserves to be cut like the bitch they are.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jagos

By far, the biggest let down has to be Mirror's Edge in recent memory. Let's face it, you had a girl who wasn't Lara Croft. She ran and you had to find the quickest routes to deliver your package to wherever it needed to go.

She can deliver my package any time. Wink wink, nudge nudge.

Amake · 03-10-2010, 01:40 AM

I played an advertiseral 2D version of Mirror's Edge, and it was about the best Flash game I've seen. I thought from the moment the game was announced that the sort of joy in movement gameplay that it was based on always had and always would work best in a third person perspective. What's the fun in doling stylish walljumps if you can't see yourself being stylish?

Granted, the whole gimmick of the game was to try and translate that gameplay effectively to the first person. It was just doomed from the start.

Aerozord · 03-10-2010, 02:12 AM

am I the only one that realizes that the whole emphasis on running, movement, pacing has been done successfully before. The game was called Sonic

Archbio · 03-10-2010, 03:53 AM

Master of Orion 3 was a catastrophic let-down from the expectations that the first two games had built up.

I don't know if the AI that micromanages the player's Empire is actually that incompetent, or if it's really that difficult to get the Empire to go into a wanted direction; I didn't play the game that long. There were crippling bugs to the battle system, and that was kind of a key element.

It was just a game that was released unfinished. A few programmers short of brilliance, maybe.

03-09-2010, 01:50 PM	#52
Jagos FRONT KICK OF DOOM! Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: Howdy pardner... Posts: 6,399	Mirror's Edge By far, the biggest let down has to be Mirror's Edge in recent memory. Let's face it, you had a girl who wasn't Lara Croft. She ran and you had to find the quickest routes to deliver your package to wherever it needed to go. No FPS had what she had. The ability to make your surroundings a weapon in and of itself. But as I looked at review after review, I was let down. It was too different for a world that has grown up on Wolfenstein, Doom and Modern Warfare. The very fact that you can't run faster even with a knife, your friends are separated by a radio, and this concept of running on walls was brand new means we may get more games of the FPS vein and less action adventure games that really push the envelope. G)(^&%*mit! __________________ Copyright musings World ramblings Scifi stories

03-09-2010, 07:18 PM	#56
Red Fighter 1073 Rocky Wrench Join Date: Apr 2005 Posts: 1,351	I gotta agree with the whole Kingdom Hearts thing. The whole background of the universe behind the games could've been expanded upon so much better. I remember years back as a little kid when I was first looking at KH when it first came out and I was just like dreaming about oh how cool and awesome this is gonna be and then it just ended up being kind of mediocre in comparison to my hopes of it. Mirror's Edge I liked, but I agree that the potential was really somewhat wasted. I really would've preferred it be a Prince of Persia-type game where you already have an idea of how to get from Point A to Point B and the fun is just wallrunning and jumping from platform to platform as you go to your objective in first person so it REALLY feels like you're there. Instead, it ended up just throwing you in environments that just seemed like giant huge mazes where you have no idea where the fuck to go and the premise became "oh where the fuck can I find a platform to get up to where I need to go" as opposed to "holy shit I'm fucking wallrunning. This is sick!" I know I'm oversimplifying it and maybe some of you disagree with me, but that's just what I thought. And in all honesty, I kinda would've preferred more of a different approach to the chase sequences. Some were incredibly fun/tense, like the one where you're running from the unarmed super soldiers. But when it came to actually running away and even fighting armed soldiers who were shooting at you, the game just went from challenging to really really frustrating incredibly fast. __________________ My Sprite Sheet/Mafia Roles Last edited by Red Fighter 1073; 03-09-2010 at 07:22 PM.

03-10-2010, 01:40 AM	#58
Amake Keeper of the new Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: A place without judgment Posts: 4,506	I played an advertiseral 2D version of Mirror's Edge, and it was about the best Flash game I've seen. I thought from the moment the game was announced that the sort of joy in movement gameplay that it was based on always had and always would work best in a third person perspective. What's the fun in doling stylish walljumps if you can't see yourself being stylish? Granted, the whole gimmick of the game was to try and translate that gameplay effectively to the first person. It was just doomed from the start. __________________ Hope insistent, trust implicit, love inherent, life immersed

03-10-2010, 02:12 AM	#59
Aerozord So we are clear Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: Former murder capital of the world Posts: 13,824	am I the only one that realizes that the whole emphasis on running, movement, pacing has been done successfully before. The game was called Sonic __________________ "don't hate me for being a heterosexual white guy disparaging slacktivism, hate me for all those murders I've done."

03-10-2010, 03:53 AM	#60
Archbio Data is Turned On Join Date: Jun 2004 Posts: 3,980	Master of Orion 3 was a catastrophic let-down from the expectations that the first two games had built up. I don't know if the AI that micromanages the player's Empire is actually that incompetent, or if it's really that difficult to get the Empire to go into a wanted direction; I didn't play the game that long. There were crippling bugs to the battle system, and that was kind of a key element. It was just a game that was released unfinished. A few programmers short of brilliance, maybe. __________________ 6201 Reasons to Support Electoral Reform.