First there were the year's overrated games. Then there were the year's overlooked gems. Now come the real disappointments.
Here are the worst games of 2010, even worse than the merely bad, because each one of these games should have been better. Interestingly enough, that might have happened, because three of the games on this list got hefty patches today. I suspect a coordinated plot to discredit my list.
10) Fallout: New Vegas
I've heard it's great. I wouldn't know because it remains egregiously broken for me. Fallout: New Vegas, which I literally cannot play, is hands down the worst experience I've ever had with a console game. Read the review here. The aborted game diaries started here.
I've heard it's great. I wouldn't know because it remains egregiously broken for me. Fallout: New Vegas, which I literally cannot play, is hands down the worst experience I've ever had with a console game. Read the review here. The aborted game diaries started here.
9) Ninety Nine Nights II
I love the concept of this wacky over-the-top Dynasty Warriors style action RPG. At least I did until it came to a screeching halt at a boss fight at the far end of a really long dungeon. I can't tell if Ninety Nine Nights II is poorly designed or just Japanese, but it was a fun ride until the wheels came off.
I love the concept of this wacky over-the-top Dynasty Warriors style action RPG. At least I did until it came to a screeching halt at a boss fight at the far end of a really long dungeon. I can't tell if Ninety Nine Nights II is poorly designed or just Japanese, but it was a fun ride until the wheels came off.
8) Singularity
A rote Bioshock clone that doesn't understand what made Bioshock great. Protip: to copy something, you should first understand it. Read the review here.
A rote Bioshock clone that doesn't understand what made Bioshock great. Protip: to copy something, you should first understand it. Read the review here.
7) Crackdown 2
What happened, Crackdown 2? The only hurdle you could clear was Prototype, a grandly sloppy unfocused game crammed full of papier-mâché zombies and gameplay? Read the review here.
What happened, Crackdown 2? The only hurdle you could clear was Prototype, a grandly sloppy unfocused game crammed full of papier-mâché zombies and gameplay? Read the review here.
6) Epic Mickey
There were some great platformers this year, many of them for the Nintendo Wii. This middling ode to Disney and paint splooging wasn't one of them.
There were some great platformers this year, many of them for the Nintendo Wii. This middling ode to Disney and paint splooging wasn't one of them.
5) Alan Wake
One of these days, Finnish developer Remedy will figure out how to express themselves as game developers instead of slightly awkward but admirably skewed filmmakers forced into the confines of a shooter. Read the review here
One of these days, Finnish developer Remedy will figure out how to express themselves as game developers instead of slightly awkward but admirably skewed filmmakers forced into the confines of a shooter. Read the review here
4) Aliens vs. Predator
The series returns to the developer who made it great in the first place. And then splats flat on its face with bad decision after bad decision after bad decision, all the way up to its Lance Henriksen boss battle, and straight on through to the multiplayer. Read the review here.
The series returns to the developer who made it great in the first place. And then splats flat on its face with bad decision after bad decision after bad decision, all the way up to its Lance Henriksen boss battle, and straight on through to the multiplayer. Read the review here.
3) Vanquish
I love the Platinum Games, the folks who made Vanquish (spoiler: Bayonetta is on tomorrow's list!). But why couldn't they fit more of a gameplay framework around Vanquish's crazy arcade action? I'll beat my head against Bayonetta and Godhand for as along as it takes, but I could hardly muster the desire to play through this short unfocused anime cutscene even once.
I love the Platinum Games, the folks who made Vanquish (spoiler: Bayonetta is on tomorrow's list!). But why couldn't they fit more of a gameplay framework around Vanquish's crazy arcade action? I'll beat my head against Bayonetta and Godhand for as along as it takes, but I could hardly muster the desire to play through this short unfocused anime cutscene even once.
2) Elemental
If there was a more broken game released this year, I was fortunate enough to miss it. This fantasy strategy opus from the creators of the Galactic Civilization series never came together, but that didn't stop it from being released. The game diaries, which chart the sinking feeling of discovering you've been had, begin here
If there was a more broken game released this year, I was fortunate enough to miss it. This fantasy strategy opus from the creators of the Galactic Civilization series never came together, but that didn't stop it from being released. The game diaries, which chart the sinking feeling of discovering you've been had, begin here
1) Civilization V
This was the most disappointing game of the year because it brought to the Civilization series a really cool new feature -- tactical combat -- and then utterly neglected the AI needed to make it work. From there, the game fell apart entirely. Imagine a shooter where the AI enemies can't aim their guns or a racing game where the other drivers can't steer. The other questionable decisions -- watered down diplomacy, no religion, that strained policy tree -- all take a back seat to the very simple fact thatCivilization V simply didn't work as it was designed. Read the review here.
This was the most disappointing game of the year because it brought to the Civilization series a really cool new feature -- tactical combat -- and then utterly neglected the AI needed to make it work. From there, the game fell apart entirely. Imagine a shooter where the AI enemies can't aim their guns or a racing game where the other drivers can't steer. The other questionable decisions -- watered down diplomacy, no religion, that strained policy tree -- all take a back seat to the very simple fact thatCivilization V simply didn't work as it was designed. Read the review here.