The most disappointing games of 2011 (so far!)

Posted by on June 30, 2011 in Features

Welcome to the halfway point of 2011. What better time to make a couple of lists? Following aren’t necessarily the worst of the year — if I’m lucky, I didn’t play those! — but the most disappointing to me personally. These are the games with the widest gulf between what they could have been and what they actually are.

After the jump, let the wailing and gnashing of teeth commence

10) Homefront

Decent multiplayer, but awful single-player. Which is a disappointing step down from the developer’s previous game, Frontlines, which had stellar multiplayer and decent single player. Read the review here.

 

9) Dirt 3

A mostly soulless racer that doesn’t understand what made Dirt 2 so good. Read the review here.

 

8) Brink

Why does a mainly online multiplayer shooter have so many online issues? Didn’t the guys at Splash Damage figure this stuff out when they did Quake Wars? Read the review here.

 

7) Bulletstorm

“Dick-tits” is as good as Bulletstorm gets.

 

6) Shadows of the Damned

This underwhelming shooter from the creator of Killer 7 wishes it was funny enough to have thought up the phrase “dick-tits”. More here.

 

5) DC Universe Online

Why create a really cool open-world city and then build onto it an MMO that eventually moves all the players into private instances, leaving the cities abandoned? I love the basic combat, but the world building is the equivalent of Cambodia under Pol Pot. Read the review here.

 

4) Test Drive Unlimited 2

True to the original in nearly every way, including the horrible online support, bugs, and incomplete features.

 

3) LA Noire

This would be a great game if it had a game in it. Read the review here.

 

2) Patapon 3

What has Sony done to my precious patapons? Read the review here.

 

1) Marvel vs Capcom 3

Why would Capcom make such a wonderful and relatively accessible fighting game, but without interesting ways to play? And why would it be so utterly undocumented? And why would they nickel-and-dime us for DLC consisting of half-assed AI modes that should have been in the game in the first place? Why is Mortal Kombat, which is a considerably worse game, such a better overall package?

  • scharmers

    “Disappointing”, not “worst”, which is why DNF isn’t here.

    I think Crysis 2 should be tossed up there. Far Cry and Crysis 1 were graphically bleeding edge, open world shooters with a ton of tactical options. What happened, man?

  • armiger

    at least crysis 2 was still a shooter. i dont know what dragon age 2 wanted to be.

  • http://www.quartertothree.com Tom Chick

    Maybe I’m wrong, but I don’t think anyone expected Duke Nukem Forever to be any good. I’d definitely call Crysis 2 and Dragon Age II contenders, but they didn’t make my own top ten.

  • scharmers

    Good call. Few Bioware games peg me low on the interestometer (Jade Empire comes to mind, and that’s about it) but DA2 seems like it was a good pass.

  • Joshua

    Sadly, I agree on MVC3. The core game is IMO amazing but the game makes it virtually impossible to approach it. I’m not even talking about a tutorial, more like a decent online mode. That’s a necessity in fighters today IMO and MVC3 doesn’t even come close.

  • Ginger Yellow

    For me:

    Crysis 2: A totally linear shooter? For God’s sake, why?
    Shogun 2: I actually really like the game, but for some reason they’ve made it so every campaign plays out almost identically. I’ve got no reason to go back to it.
    Back to the Future: It’s not terrible, but it feels very by the numbers. After the high quality of ToMI and the most recent Sam & Max, a let down.
    The Witcher 2: Stupid, stupid combat system. I want to get back into the game, because there’s a lot to like, but the prospect of losing a ton of progress because I didn’t save before getting jumped by six goons, again, fills me with dread.
    Child of Eden:

  • Ginger Yellow

    Huh. Apparently WordPress/Movable Type doesn’t like pound signs any more than it likes quotation marks. Anyway, Child of Eden was disappointing because it’s being sold for GBP 45, which is a crazy amount of money for a very short game. Beautiful, but very short. Full price, maybe, but more than most other Xbox games? Why?

    Patapon 3, Dragon Age 2 and Bulletstorm would probably have been on my list if I had played them, but demos and/or the internet put me off.

  • Jason McMaster

    I use a 360 controller for my Witcher 2 play and it makes a world of difference

  • Jonathan

    Seconding the L.A. Noire note. I still played through it and all the DLC, but it’s mostly because the story and dialogue are so damn good. Getting through it, though, is a goddamn chore.

    Phelps is interesting because I don’t think I’ve ever seen a videogame protagonist so systematically destroyed throughout its course.

  • okham

    As much as it pains me, Red Faction: Armageddon should be there, too. They took a great open-world game with lots of destruction and turned it into a essentially a corridor shooter.

  • Ginger Yellow

    While I appreciate LA Noire has a ton of flaws, I can’t say it’s disappointing for me. I was really worried it was just going to be Red Dead in LA. Nothing wrong with Red Dead, but what I wanted was Phoenix Wright in LA. Which is pretty much what I got.

  • Jess

    Marvel vs Capcom 3 sucks. The character roster sucks especially on Capcom

  • Pile of Pooh

    I played none of these games. My spidey-sense for var’GameSuck’ remains reliable.

  • srvaughan1955

    L.a noire it’s one of the best 2011 games….look at the graphics
    And ok the story is a little weak but man you’re a detective you can’t steal cars or whatever -.-