The Five Most Forgettable Games of 2011

There are a lot of reasons why a game might fly under the radar, or be forgotten shortly after release. These are the games that usually aren't good or bad enough to attract much attention after dominating the news cycle in the weeks leading up to their release. Sometimes they are forgotten simply because they launched at an awkward time, like very early in the year or right after another high profile release. Even a publisher doing a bad job of marketing a game can doom it to eventual obscurity. Here is a round-up of the five most forgettable games of 2011.

Little Big Planet 2

For me, Little Big Planet 2 is mostly forgettable because of its awkward date of release - January 18th, 2011. This was a time of year when most people aren't in the mood for buying games. Not only have they spent a ton of money during the holiday season, but they probably have a big stack of games waiting to be played at home. I was so into Halo: Reach, Assassin's Creed Brotherhood and Civilization V to really care about LBP2.

Little Big Planet 2 also had a major flaw. It looked far too similar to its predecessor. I'm not saying that it was; I do know the game had a ton of new features, especially regarding content creation. To the uninformed, this Sack Boy adventure was pretty indistinguishable from the first one at a brief glance. Lastly, I think Playstation Move support for LBP2 was an unfortunate path to stumble down. When I heard it would be in the game, I was tempted to get the Move along with a copy. However, I decided against it when I learned the support would only be patched in. The update didn't come until September, and that definitely wasn't soon enough to save the Movefrom large-scale failure. (Who am I kidding? It wouldn't have anyways.)

Duke Nukem Forever

Duke Nukem Forever is probably the only game on this list that deserves to be forgotten. The ratio of pre-release hype to post-release discussion relating to this game is astronomical, considering we had to put up with 15 years of the former. Duke's latest romp is forgettable just because it ended up being a pretty terrible game. The title was universally panned by critics, and nostalgic Duke fans were mostly disappointed. I'm sure a lot of them are happy to forget this one.

Crysis 2

Crysis 2 shouldn't be a forgotten game. It made many refinements to the original Crysis from 2007, while also bringing it to the masses via console versions of the game. Ultimately, I feel that the heritage of Crysis was its biggest downfall. Console players were a little hesitant to get into a series that hadn't debuted on Xbox 360 or PS3. PC players were disappointed that they were "sharing" the game with the inferior consoles. I can also understand difficulties marketing the game, as it's tough to make a faceless metal robot man relatable.

I only got 10 hours into Crysis 2, but I thoroughly enjoyed what I saw. I didn't forget about Crysis 2 because I didn't like it. I'm not really sure why I did forget about it. Just when I was leafing through games to write this article, I saw it and thought "Oh yeah! I completely forgot that came out this year!!" That's not generally what developers want to hear about their games.

F.E.A.R. 3

F.E.A.R. 3 became forgettable for a number of reasons. The first is how incredibly average the game is. It achieved a 75 on Metacritic, an almost perfectly average score when it comes to video games. User reviews weren't far off at a 7.3/10. Nobody raved about how good this game was, and nobody ranted about how bad it was. This is partially because most of the gamerverse was too busy tearing apart Duke Nukem Forever or was just confused by the release of a new Alice game.

Rift

Rift was a victim of entering an overcrowded and quickly evolving genre with a game that wasn't ready to be a rockstar. For an MMO to attract a substantial and lasting player base, it either has to be close to perfect, or very good and also free. While choosing one of these routes, you also have to somehow prove you're unique from the 800lb gorilla in the room, World of Warcraft.

Rift accomplished neither of these things. While it was very good, it wasn't perfect and it wasn't free. That last bit is pretty important; free-to-play games have rocketed upwards in popularity over the course of the last year. One of 2011's other high profile MMOs, DC: Universe Online, just recently decided to switch to a free-to-play model. It also shares way too much in common with World of Warcraft. Glenn Meyer from Hex19.com compared Rift to "a skinned version of WoW". It did have plenty of it's own innovations, such as on the fly instances and a very unique skill system. Rift also received very positive reviews. In the end, none of this could save the title from being forgotten by most gamers.

Are there any other games released in 2011 that you'll soon forget? Was one of the titles on this list personally memorable to you for some reason? Share your opinions in the comments below! Also - definitely don't forget to check out The Hex19 Geekcast, the official podcast of Hex19.com.

There are a lot of reasons why a game might fly under the radar, or be forgotten shortly after release. These are the games that usually aren't good or bad enough to attract much attention after dominating the news cycle in the weeks leading up to their release. Sometimes they are forgotten simply because they launched at an awkward time, like very early in the year or right after another high profile release. Even a publisher doing a bad job of marketing a game can doom it to eventual obscurity. Here is a round-up of the five most forgettable games of 2011.

Little Big Planet 2

For me, Little Big Planet 2 is mostly forgettable because of its awkward date of release - January 18th, 2011. This was a time of year when most people aren't in the mood for buying games. Not only have they spent a ton of money during the holiday season, but they probably have a big stack of games waiting to be played at home. I was so into Halo: Reach, Assassin's Creed Brotherhood and Civilization V to really care about LBP2.

Little Big Planet 2 also had a major flaw. It looked far too similar to its predecessor. I'm not saying that it was; I do know the game had a ton of new features, especially regarding content creation. To the uninformed, this Sack Boy adventure was pretty indistinguishable from the first one at a brief glance. Lastly, I think Playstation Move support for LBP2 was an unfortunate path to stumble down. When I heard it would be in the game, I was tempted to get the Move along with a copy. However, I decided against it when I learned the support would only be patched in. The update didn't come until September, and that definitely wasn't soon enough to save the Movefrom large-scale failure. (Who am I kidding? It wouldn't have anyways.)

Duke Nukem Forever

Duke Nukem Forever is probably the only game on this list that deserves to be forgotten. The ratio of pre-release hype to post-release discussion relating to this game is astronomical, considering we had to put up with 15 years of the former. Duke's latest romp is forgettable just because it ended up being a pretty terrible game. The title was universally panned by critics, and nostalgic Duke fans were mostly disappointed. I'm sure a lot of them are happy to forget this one.

Crysis 2

Crysis 2 shouldn't be a forgotten game. It made many refinements to the original Crysis from 2007, while also bringing it to the masses via console versions of the game. Ultimately, I feel that the heritage of Crysis was its biggest downfall. Console players were a little hesitant to get into a series that hadn't debuted on Xbox 360 or PS3. PC players were disappointed that they were "sharing" the game with the inferior consoles. I can also understand difficulties marketing the game, as it's tough to make a faceless metal robot man relatable.

I only got 10 hours into Crysis 2, but I thoroughly enjoyed what I saw. I didn't forget about Crysis 2 because I didn't like it. I'm not really sure why I did forget about it. Just when I was leafing through games to write this article, I saw it and thought "Oh yeah! I completely forgot that came out this year!!" That's not generally what developers want to hear about their games.

F.E.A.R. 3

F.E.A.R. 3 became forgettable for a number of reasons. The first is how incredibly average the game is. It achieved a 75 on Metacritic, an almost perfectly average score when it comes to video games. User reviews weren't far off at a 7.3/10. Nobody raved about how good this game was, and nobody ranted about how bad it was. This is partially because most of the gamerverse was too busy tearing apart Duke Nukem Forever or was just confused by the release of a new Alice game.

Rift

Rift was a victim of entering an overcrowded and quickly evolving genre with a game that wasn't ready to be a rockstar. For an MMO to attract a substantial and lasting player base, it either has to be close to perfect, or very good and also free. While choosing one of these routes, you also have to somehow prove you're unique from the 800lb gorilla in the room, World of Warcraft.

Rift accomplished neither of these things. While it was very good, it wasn't perfect and it wasn't free. That last bit is pretty important; free-to-play games have rocketed upwards in popularity over the course of the last year. One of 2011's other high profile MMOs, DC: Universe Online, just recently decided to switch to a free-to-play model. It also shares way too much in common with World of Warcraft. Glenn Meyer from Hex19.com compared Rift to "a skinned version of WoW". It did have plenty of it's own innovations, such as on the fly instances and a very unique skill system. Rift also received very positive reviews. In the end, none of this could save the title from being forgotten by most gamers.

Are there any other games released in 2011 that you'll soon forget? Was one of the titles on this list personally memorable to you for some reason? Share your opinions in the comments below! Also - definitely don't forget to check out The Hex19 Geekcast, the official podcast of Hex19.com.

Magicka is one I'd say? E.Y.E. is another; these are both PC indie games but they're still really pretty good but haven't gotten a lot of buzz (E.Y.E. more than likely because it wasn't that popular, though it should have been)

1. Little Big Planet 2.
2. de Blob 2.
3. Bulletstorm.
4. Yoostar 2.
5. Virtua Tennis 4.

All really good games that will probably be on nobodies list.

I could not disagree with you about Duke Nukem more. I think it is one of the most significant games to come out this year in that it puts on a workshop on how not to make video games. I'm serious. I don't think that game should be forgotten, but remembered as a warning for how wrong things can go if you depend on macho men, sexism, dick jokes, and shooting dudes to carry your game.

I could not disagree with you about Duke Nukem more. I think it is one of the most significant games to come out this year in that it puts on a workshop on how to make video games. I'm serious. I don't think that game should be forgotten, but remembered as a warning for how wrong things can go if you depend on macho men, sexism, dick jokes, and shooting dudes to carry your game.

@Hizang: bulletstorm will be on the top 60 with the users lists, I bet you; it was pretty well recieved at the time

Portal 2 
Skyrim 
Mortal Kombat 9 
Little Big Planet 2 
Dead Island 
 
My list. Not in any order.

I think the problem with MMO's is the fee, really.
Unless the mmo will addict you in the trial or first month, it has a slim chance of ever doing so after.
Only mmo's I ever paid for were Lord of the Rings Online (which is now F2P and awesome) and World of Warcraft.
I tried the free week for Rift and I remember me trying to log in after the week and realising it wasn't F2P, which baffled me a little since the game isn't at all very good or straight up as majestic or open to new gamers as WoW is/was.
There's a lot of fans of Rift and I wish them all the fun in the world but I cannot see (or feel) that my sub would be justified, and the game feels a little bland to me.
It's not Warcraft, It's not Warhammer, it's not Lord of the Rings...I'm not sure what it is but it ain't something unique either.
 
Just my lil rant.

I would substitute Crysis 2 with Rage. Well idk.. but I think I may play Crysis 2 again... perhaps. Something about Rage, despite some stellar things I thought, really came up criminally short on what I felt was promised. And maybe that's because of the few stellar things Rage did accomplish. Also I both like the Crysis suit mechanic, and I did not mind that you were less than invincible just the same.

Also I would make Dark Souls number o...no NO I didn't say it really oh plez oh nooo don't hit me again!!!!!!

Plus I don't mean it.

@Animasta: Bulletstorm is so forgettable that I forgot about it while writing this article... :O

You forgot Dragon Age 2, I keep forgetting it came out this year.

@Hizang said:

1. Little Big Planet 2.
2. de Blob 2.
3. Bulletstorm.
4. Yoostar 2.
5. Virtua Tennis 4.

All really good games that will probably be on nobodies list.

You can play tennis with a baguette. No one should ever forget that

I've just started Crysis 2 (on hold for Skyrim) and i think it's kinda boring so far. To be fair it seems like i've hit a point where the shit has hit the fan so it may pick up but the first few missions (as i was playing stealth) were really dull.

@Sin4profit: A lot of PPl. did not like Crysis 2. I thought it decent.

F3AR is "forgettable" because it has a 75 on Metacritic? That's your argument? Last time I checked 1. a 5 was "average", 2. Metacritic means shit. A 75 is still even green on Metacritic, FFS. You just picked games you were hyped about and failed to deliver, not actually forgettable games.

But hey, awesome advertising of your website.

thx for reminding me

@JoeyRavn: I know 75 is a good score. But probably if you average the score of each game review sccore, the mean is probably closer to 75 than 50. To me 75 means nothing special, but still playable. Those are the games I tend to forget. :P

I can't really argue with any of those.

Dead Space 2

@Enigma777: Dead Space 2 is a game that I remember pretty well, but it totally feels like it came out in 2010. I don't understand how my brain works! :O

The Witcher 2 and Skyrim made everyone forget about Dragon Age 2.

I honestly cannot think of any games that have been forgettable.

I don't have a top five, but I do have one, and while it's not because I dislike the game, 'cause I think it's great, it has to be Killzone 3. I don't know if forgettable is the word though, but it's what sticks in my head when I think of Killzone 3. Maybe I'm thinking of insignificant, though again, not to say it's bad. By the way, how dare people say Dead Space 2, that's the least forgettable game! Or at least it's the least forgettable of the most forgettable games.

You forgot Dragon Age 2, I keep forgetting it came out this year.

Alice: Madness Returns. Everyone forgot to forget it. That's how forgettable it was.

Dragon Age 2 should have really been on the list, aside from having a few really good characters, it was a very underwhelming game with a totally forgettable plot (what was the game about again?). The Witcher 2 completely put it to shame.

Skyrim trollface.jpg

Mine's Dead Space 2.

@Animasta said:

Magicka is one I'd say? E.Y.E. is another; these are both PC indie games but they're still really pretty good but haven't gotten a lot of buzz (E.Y.E. more than likely because it wasn't that popular, though it should have been)

Magicka is by far the most popular indie game this year (aside from Minecraft). I'm pretty sure they announced selling 1M copies earlier this year.

Huh? Duke Nukem was forgettable? It had some pretty memorable moments.

I think Killzone 3 is more forgettable than any of those games.

Dead Space 2

@Rattle618 said:

@Enigma777 said:

Dead Space 2

Bought it, played ten minutes and haven't touched it since. I think the problem is that it's so very bleak, and fighting necromorphs for 8 hours isn't particularly fun. Saying that, it had high production values, a reasonable story and Isaac is easier to identify with.

I think I may have just convinced myself to finish it...

... after I finish the swathes of new releases I've bought over the last month.

@Rattle618 said:

@Enigma777 said:

Dead Space 2

Bought it, played ten minutes and haven't touched it since. I think the problem is that it's so very bleak, and fighting necromorphs for 8 hours isn't particularly fun. Saying that, it had high production values, a reasonable story and Isaac is easier to identify with.

I think I may have just convinced myself to finish it...

... after I finish the swathes of new releases I've bought over the last month.

LittleBigPlanet 2 was incredible. I will not allow anyone to call it forgettable! I will go get Larry Da Vinci and a camel robot and mess you up!

I agree on Crysis 2 - the issue I had with that was the one you mentioned for F.E.A.R 3. It wasn't a bad game it just wasn't great. I found it boring for parts.

The only way you could consider Rift a failure is if you compare it to WoW. Everything is a failure in comparison to WoW. Rift is doing very well and has maintained over 1 million active subscribers which makes it the second most popular MMO right now. I'll forget it because I never bothered trying it but it is still doing very well.

Free to play MMOs are also not the answer. It's great for the player who wants to dick around for a couple hours a month and not worry about a commitment but if you actually want to play an MMO it sucks. Right now it is being used as a desperation attempt for bad games to stay alive. I don't really care that DCUO is free because it looks like a bad game. If I have to pay a monthly fee to ensure more content, higher degree of stability, a better community and a better experience overall I'm more than happy to pay it.

@MooseyMcMan said:

LittleBigPlanet 2 was incredible. I will not allow anyone to call it forgettable! I will go get Larry Da Vinci and a camel robot and mess you up!

I didn't say it wasn't a great game. I was just pointing out that lots of people have probably forgotten that it came out this year. I've got nothing against the game or the series.

@BeachThunder said:

I honestly cannot think of any games that have been forgettable.

Hmmm, I wonder why... :P

you missed out Dungeon Siege 3.
 The worst #3 game of 2011.
 
and holy shit Dead Space WAS this year!?!?

Rage and Dead Island would top my list. Traded them both in before I'd even finished them. Too bored to continue.

@Twitchey: I'm just wondering what you thought was so forgetable able portal 2 and skyrim? I thought both of those were pretty fantastic games. Ive gone back to portal 2 a few times over its release, and since I havent stopped playing skyrim since it came out I find it hard to forget. But I realize that these games may just not be for you.

It's so forgettable that y'all forgot to mention it: Brink. That was a bad game, and I was hoping it would be great.

If there is one way to bring credibility to your website, it's to write an article about something everybody already knows, usually a 'top' list, copy + paste it in numerous videogame forums, and ask people to "comment below, and don't forget to visit our website!"

@Twitchey: I'm just wondering what you thought was so forgetable able portal 2 and skyrim? I thought both of those were pretty fantastic games. Ive gone back to portal 2 a few times over its release, and since I havent stopped playing skyrim since it came out I find it hard to forget. But I realize that these games may just not be for you.

Good list. I completely forgot about Little Big Planet 2, and I bought it on its release day.

@ypod said:

@Enigma777: Dead Space 2 is a game that I remember pretty well, but it totally feels like it came out in 2010. I don't understand how my brain works! :O

You just haven't thought about it for ages, so remembering seems like backtracking to a time immemorial, I think.

For me, I'll say El Shaddai: The Ascension of the Metratron. Good looks only get you so far.

No Socom?

@Twitchey said:

@david3cm said:

@Twitchey: I'm just wondering what you thought was so forgetable able portal 2 and skyrim? I thought both of those were pretty fantastic games. Ive gone back to portal 2 a few times over its release, and since I havent stopped playing skyrim since it came out I find it hard to forget. But I realize that these games may just not be for you.

Wait... I thought the thread title was most unforgettable.... Fuck.

lol, I assumed you was just trollin'.

I have to defend Dead Space 2. That game was fantastic and very well made. What I don't have to defend is Brink. How isn't that on the list?

L.A Noire