The Four Most Overrated Franchises

@believer258: It was a blog post, I just linked it to the General Discussion forum after the fact when it asks if you want to. Had I known the word "overrated" had become such a taboo recently, I definitely would have avoided it. Dunno, I must have slept through that flame war.

@ZeForgotten said:

@believer258 said:

@ERoBB said:

@believer258 said:

@ERoBB said:

@MariachiMacabre said:

This thread didn't need to be made. It's just flamebait.

Not intentionally.

Why did you feel the need to state what you thought were the four most overrated franchises?

It's a forum. I figured I'd throw my opinion on these four franchises out there, then talk about them. Some would agree, some would disagree. Some people would talk about franchises they like/dislike. All of that stuff did happen. It's just sandwiched between people calling for my head. Seems like Giantbomb was bogged down with trolls screaming "Overrated!" at everything, then I show up after the fact like Forrest Gump with honest intentions, but to everyone else it looks like I'm doing the same thing.

It probably would have done better as a blog post, then. What you've gotten is a knee jerk reaction to what looks like obvious flamebait at first glance. And, frankly, I'm still not sure that it isn't. You don't make any interesting points, nor do you say anything that hasn't already been said before a million times. A better thread might have been "Ways to improve these overrated games". Something that shows some thought beyond "meh, I'm tired of these games".

Also, Call of Duty games come out in November.

But no matter how you slice it, there is a new Call of Duty every October,

It is a blog post, sadly this one also did the wrong thing by being attached to the forums where such things seem to be less and less welcome

@ERoBB said:

@believer258: It was a blog post, I just linked it to the General Discussion forum after the fact when it asks if you want to. Had I known the word "overrated" had become such a taboo recently, I definitely would have avoided it. Dunno, I must have slept through that flame war.

Aw, snap. I looked at the top and it didn't say "blog post" next to it. I thought that it would. Forgive me for that one, but the rest of my point still stands.

@ZeForgotten said:

It is a blog post, sadly this one also did the wrong thing by being attached to the forums where such things seem to be less and less welcome

Exactly right. When it asked me if I wanted to link it to any forums, I figured "Yeah, why the hell not?"

Well this is a fucking dumb thread.

@ZeForgotten said:

It is a blog post, sadly this one also did the wrong thing by being attached to the forums where such things seem to be less and less welcome

Exactly right. When it asked me if I wanted to link it to any forums, I figured "Yeah, why the hell not?"

@ZeForgotten said:

@ERoBB said:

@ZeForgotten said:

It is a blog post, sadly this one also did the wrong thing by being attached to the forums where such things seem to be less and less welcome

Exactly right. When it asked me if I wanted to link it to any forums, I figured "Yeah, why the hell not?"

Can't blame you, it used to be ok to do that back in the old days. Now, well, you know that story

What the hell happened? Did somebody die or something? Feels like I wandered into a funeral loudly cracking jokes and everyone just stared at me.

Everyone's so angry and jaded. Was the discussion forum just a mess of blog posts until "The Great Storm" or something?

YOUR OPINIONS ARE NOT WELCOME HERE.

(this is satire in case you can not tell from my tone)

anything nintendo

I don't agree with much of what this blog has to say, but at least it's well-written. = /

Wow, you're really saying something no one has said every week before. Be proud of your creative and original contribution to mankind.

@ERoBB: I knew exactly what franchises you were gonna say before entering this thread. Whoop de doo. I've heard it all before.

I skipped the last CoD and AC games and have never owned a God of War game and I have no compulsion to call those franchises overrated. They are well made games that provide certain experiences that people like better than anything else. It doesn't stop me from enjoying the games I enjoy.

@jakob187 said:

I don't agree with much of what this blog has to say, but at least it's well-written. = /

Ha! Well thanks for that half compliment. I actually work as a film blogger, but I figured I'd take a break to come over here and write about games. lol, lesson learned.

Hey look! Another guy that just got here trolling the site!

@Dad_Is_A_Zombie said:

Hey look! Another guy that just got here trolling the site!

Hey now guy, I'm not that new.

im gonna suggest resident evil is more overrated than those.

CoD gets alot of hate from anyone who doesnt play it, even some that do, so its not really overrated its just popular.

resident evil isn't scary, its got clunky controls, its got bad gameplay, bad inventory management, terrible characters, really cheesy storylines. its just awful. yet its the "king" of survival horror.

the thing with assassins creed, halo, call of duty, ect. is that they're well crafted games with good gameplay and all that jazz. resident evil has HORRIBLE gameplay. its so stiff, and it claims to be a horror game but it isn't scary.

I just have a problem with GOW simply because I never got the feeling it was put in such high standard out side of it's core audience.

@Clonedzero said:

im gonna suggest resident evil is more overrated than those.

CoD gets alot of hate from anyone who doesnt play it, even some that do, so its not really overrated its just popular.

resident evil isn't scary, its got clunky controls, its got bad gameplay, bad inventory management, terrible characters, really cheesy storylines. its just awful. yet its the "king" of survival horror.

the thing with assassins creed, halo, call of duty, ect. is that they're well crafted games with good gameplay and all that jazz. resident evil has HORRIBLE gameplay. its so stiff, and it claims to be a horror game but it isn't scary.

Resident Evil has definitely taken a weird direction since 4.

I would mention Minecraft, but it really isn't a game.

@WurmHat said:

I would mention Minecraft, but it really isn't a game.

I'd agree with that. To me, Minecraft is sort of like Eve Online. When I hear people talking about it, it sounds amazing. But when it's in my hands I'm just like "What is this?" and I get bored and walk away.

Although, I'm glad Minecraft is so big, because Notch has become the sultan of indie games, which is awesome.

@TheHumanDove said:

I was going to say shut your whore mouth, but nah. Everything appears to be in order here.

@N7 said:

• Saints Row

Winner.

@BestUsernameEver said:

• Fable (the series)

Also winner. Generic fantasy + unfunny gags + monotonous/easy combay = GOTY contender?

@ERoBB said:

@Jace said:

@ERoBB: I disagree with points 3 and 4. Halo has had a nice hiatus and a total paradigm shift in production. And to say that Brotherhood didn't add anything interesting to the AC franchise is just...well, wrong.

I noted the things Brotherhood and Revelations "added", but adding content, some of which is good, some of which is gimmicky is something expansion packs do. And if we're willing to call those games expansion packs for ACII, I'm all for it. But as full releases, those have to be viewed as pretty disappointing. Listening to most podcasts, even the Giantbombcast, guys talk about abandoning the series altogether until ACIII, just because these games were getting pumped out too fast. That's surely a negative quality.

http://www.giantbomb.com/assassins-creed-brotherhood/61-31001/reviews/ Ryan disagree's with you.

@ERoBB

I think God of War to be one of my favorite current-gen series. And yes, I do love old school games such as Grim Fandango, Monkey Island and Full Throttle. I just think that the God of War series have a lot of great touches that goes beyond the gore. For instance, God of War 2's adventure is nearly perfect.

I definitely understand that you're burned up of the series, some people get bored of things, and i'm not one of them. If I like a series, I'll won't stop loving it because they"re giving me more of it. If, for some reason, I don't want it, I just won't play it.

@Dylabaloo said:

http://www.giantbomb.com/assassins-creed-brotherhood/61-31001/reviews/ Ryan disagree's with you.

That's totally fair. Michael Pachter disagrees with him, and agrees with me. Maybe if Brotherhood hadn't come out as one of seven Assassin's Creed games in less than five years, I'd have liked it more. But I just got so burnt out.

I was expecting a troll but found someone who actually had good opinions. Huh, sometimes the internet isn't that bad.

one thing all those games have in common is absolutely the best game control loops ever with minimum latency in feedback and predictable responses. getting that stuff right is really hard but it can make even the most generic game feel Awesome to play. a few of those games even manage to pull that off in networked multiplayer modes! Holly shit man. I think that alone earns them all of the love they get and disqualifies them from any over-rated judgement. they just feel fun to play because so much care and skill went into building the core game controls and game input loop.

@Irvandus said:

I was expecting a troll but found someone who actually had good opinions. Huh, sometimes the internet isn't that bad.

Tell that to these other guys!

@ERoBB: Interesting read, though there are a few I would add.

#1 GTA.

@tourgen said:

one thing all those games have in common is absolutely the best game control loops ever with minimum latency in feedback and predictable responses. getting that stuff right is really hard but it can make even the most generic game feel Awesome to play. a few of those games even manage to pull that off in networked multiplayer modes! Holly shit man. I think that alone earns them all of the love they get and disqualifies them from any over-rated judgement. they just feel fun to play because so much care and skill went into building the core game controls and game input loop.

None of these are bad games, per se. But that's what I love about the concept of "overrated/underrated" unlike generically deeming good and bad, instead it takes content and factors in public opinion and expectation. I'd find it much more interesting to talk about whether or not David Bowie is overrated due to his status vs actual achievements, than just talk about quality of a group.

John Carter wasn't a bad movie. It was functional technically in every way. But when you factor in it's budget, studio support, advertising, and expectation, it was a horrendous disappointment. I'd rather talk about that than a just plain bad movie like That's My Boy.

@big_jon said:

@ERoBB: Interesting read, though there are a few I would add.

#1 GTA.

Really? GTA would probably be one my examples of how to do it right. They only release a game every few years, and it's always a significant leap forward.

Why spend time adding to the infinite mountain of negative commentary on the internet, why not write about things you love instead, seems like it'd be more rewarding to me.

@ERoBB said:

@big_jon said:

@ERoBB: Interesting read, though there are a few I would add.

#1 GTA.

Really? GTA would probably be one my examples of how to do it right. They only release a game every few years, and it's always a significant leap forward.

I remember how GTA 4 got perfect scores from many even though it was not even close to a perfect game, I also remember people raving about GTA 3 when I was playing Halo, and saying it was better than anything on my Xbox, I strongly disagreed.

@ERoBB said:

@Dylabaloo said:

http://www.giantbomb.com/assassins-creed-brotherhood/61-31001/reviews/ Ryan disagree's with you.

That's totally fair. Michael Pachter disagrees with him, and agrees with me. Maybe if Brotherhood hadn't come out as one of seven Assassin's Creed games in less than five years, I'd have liked it more. But I just got so burnt out.

People disagree with other people?!

Yeah, that's true. GTA IV was good, but definitely not a 10/10.

@big_jon said:

@ERoBB said:

@Dylabaloo said:

http://www.giantbomb.com/assassins-creed-brotherhood/61-31001/reviews/ Ryan disagree's with you.

That's totally fair. Michael Pachter disagrees with him, and agrees with me. Maybe if Brotherhood hadn't come out as one of seven Assassin's Creed games in less than five years, I'd have liked it more. But I just got so burnt out.

People disagree with other people?!

Crazy, right?

Assassins Creed: Brotherhood was a great game, Revelations and the handheld stuff they put out was less so.

Also I dont get how people can call the Covenant 'generic', can anyone name a group of alien enemies from a modern game that has as much variety in terms of species/ranks within a species/weaponry/vehicles?

@ERoBB said:

I guess Nintendo just is what it is and can't be judged like other companies.

Thats bullshit. Nintendo gets a free pass to make the same games over and over again just because they're Nintendo?

They're not even the best at making those games anymore! If they were Shadow Complex would have been a Metroid game and Darksiders would have featured Link.

@coakroach said:

@ERoBB said:

I guess Nintendo just is what it is and can't be judged like other companies.

Thats bullshit. Nintendo gets a free pass to make the same games over and over again just because they're Nintendo?

They're not even the best at making those games anymore! If they were Shadow Complex would have been a Metroid game and Darksiders would have featured Link.

Well you're quoting me a little out of context there. What I was saying was I'm not sure you could call Mario a franchise, because it's really a bunch of franchises. Paper Mario, Mario & Luigi, Super Mario Galaxy, New Super Mario Bros. I don't think you could judge these as one franchise, when they all have different gamplay, rules, stories, characters, and are on different platforms. I'm just not sure where you draw the line, or don't. Nintendo's first party is sort of unlike anything else in gaming, whether that's good or bad is up for debate.

I agree, wholeheartedly.

I find all these franchises to be boring as sin, and in need of a 5 year hiatus.

But who am I to judge, since apparently the Halo 4 trailer is so refreshing and new to Halo.

@ERoBB: Ah, sorry my mistake.

@ERoBB said:

@pyromagnestir said:

The problem with any "thing X" is overrated discussion is that it isn't much of a discussion. You say it is, someone else says it isn't, you snap that that's only their opinion and it can't invalidate your opinion, they agree and throw that back at you, and ultimately nothing ever comes out of it, except maybe someone feeling insulted you said you think something they like is overrated, thereby implying they are mindless sheep incapable of seeing the "truth" that you can. It's pointless, perhaps even more so than a lot of the pointless discussions that happen here.

Eh. Whatever.

That's not really limited to "overrated?" discussions. You're describing any opinion driven topic. Take it with a grain of salt. Dispute me, agree with me, or pass me off as just some idiot, and don't bother. All are valid.

I guess that's true, but overrated is an especially loaded concept. Like I said, it implies you are saying "everyone who disagrees with me is wrong, while I am being objective and accurate."

As for what I think of the games you picked, I only played maybe half the first GoW, and that's it. It's not my thing gameplay wise, as I don't like the 3rd person beat em up type thing it is, but I can see why others do. I did however give it more of a shot than I do most games of that sort, like Ninja Gaiden, or Devil May Cry (which I wish I could love, but alas) maybe partly because the quick timey gameplay is easier to grasp then those other more complicated ones, and partly because I love Greek mythology.

I love AssCreed II and really, really like Brohood, but I thought the first was more a collection of potentially neat ideas and neat fiction wrapped in a lousy framework, and I haven't played AssRev because I don't play most games immediately upon release, let alone something like the AssCreed's where they pump out a bunch of pretty consistent games in a short period of time. Maybe I'll skip it and go straight to III, but more likely I'll rent it and fly through it a bit quicker than I did the others, because I am interested in the return to the old games setting, and get to III after a shorter hiatus than I've done for the last few games.

Of the COD games, I'm really only familiar with Blops and Modern Warfare. I think Modern Warfare was great. The single player out Tom Clancied the Tom Clancy brand games which were coming out in the same time frame, and the multiplayer was great. MWII was more of the same, only now with a cool Spec Ops mode which I grew to like way more than the multiplayer. I did lose some interest in the single player because I played COD4 on veteran, which made it more satisfying, but had no patience to do that on MW2, or MW3, which by the time that came out I was only interested in running through the campaign on easy just to see what shit went down. I also had no interest in the multiplayer because none of my friends had a 360 anymore, so they weren't playing that game. I did the same for Blops, run through it on easy, that is, and might eventually do the same for Blops 2, or maybe I'll just wait and see what Respawn does, as I am a bit tired of the core gameplay, and the story hooks in the COD games aren't really enough to keep me interested.

My Halo experience is limited to the first 3. I liked the first's campaign, and it's awesome controls. The co op was fun too, but I didn't play much of it or any multiplayer. The second one was a huge multiplayer deal for my friends and I, we skipped way too many classes our senior year of high school to go play some multiplayer. The third was a fun weekend Legendary run of online co op with me and a couple buddies. It broke up my Orange Box play through nicely, to give me a little change of pace. That's pretty much all I played of it.

I wouldn't go so far as to say any of them are overrated, though as what this guy says

@PSNgamesun said:

I just have a problem with GOW simply because I never got the feeling it was put in such high standard out side of it's core audience.

is pretty much true for all of the games in question. The people who love them rate them highly, and those who don't love them, don't. Individual games in each series might stand out to a larger group of us, but does that mean we overrate the whole series as a result? I think not.

I only read the 1st page so I'm not sure if this has bee posted already but Guitar Hero would also definitely deserve to be on this list.

@Dylabaloo said:

@ERoBB said:

@Jace said:

@ERoBB: I disagree with points 3 and 4. Halo has had a nice hiatus and a total paradigm shift in production. And to say that Brotherhood didn't add anything interesting to the AC franchise is just...well, wrong.

I noted the things Brotherhood and Revelations "added", but adding content, some of which is good, some of which is gimmicky is something expansion packs do. And if we're willing to call those games expansion packs for ACII, I'm all for it. But as full releases, those have to be viewed as pretty disappointing. Listening to most podcasts, even the Giantbombcast, guys talk about abandoning the series altogether until ACIII, just because these games were getting pumped out too fast. That's surely a negative quality.

http://www.giantbomb.com/assassins-creed-brotherhood/61-31001/reviews/ Ryan disagree's with you.

Welp, that about wraps that up.

Just so you know , neither Halo ODST nor Halo Reach have flood on them .... nor Halo rings at that so you are wrong dude.

@ERoBB said:

lol, Oblivion and Skyrim have definitely become, dare I say, overrated. The more fans they got, the more they stripped away and streamlined. But Morrowind will always be amazing.

To those two or so of you simply taking issue with the word overrated, and none of the actual opinions I wrote, I dunno, take it for what you will. I'd never claim my opinion as fact. But these are the four franchises benefiting from what I perceive as a "rating" the actual games don't warrant.

Christ you're such a troll.

I know im commiting a crime here, but could people just stop responding to this?

Really went out on a limb with that list there.

@Aetheldod said:

Just so you know , neither Halo ODST nor Halo Reach have flood on them .... nor Halo rings at that so you are wrong dude.

Which is precisely why I didn't say anything about the Flood or Halo rings in those two games. Because there weren't any. Welcome to page one, post one of eight pages and 150 posts.

mass effect in a way

the first one had problems and everyone agrees the third is flawless. if not for the great writing and cinematic moments it would be a typical third person shooter. This is coming from someone who liked the series but in retrospect it does seem overrated.

4. Elder Scrolls

3. Assassin's Creed

2. Call of Duty

1. Mass Effect

@TheVeteran13 said:

Really went out on a limb with that list there.

Well I feel like the only way something can be overratedrated too highly in my person opinion, is that it has to be rated highly to begin with.

@Hyperglide A few years ago, Guitar Hero and Rockband were definitely, absolutely overrated. Fun, for sure, but I've never seen a company get that excited, that quickly over a good thing.