What is the most disappointing game you have played?

As always, Master of Orion 3. I've never seen another sequel that so thoroughly betrayed everything that made the previous game great.

Dishonorable mention to ME3. That game was at least playable unlike the above.

Well for me it's Assassin Creed 3 being that it fails on both levels for me. The game play was reworked removing features from past AC games that were great, while replacing them with half baked features. It just felt less of a complete game than any of the past AC games aside from maybe the first game. Also the story was very disappointing to the point that it seems like they never had the story planned out, which is sad given the great mystery set up in the first two games.

Runner up would be Mass Effect 3 given how invested i was in the story and characters and having it feel like the ending and most of the side characters and missions were rushed or thrown in. That game should have been the crowned jewel of the series, taking the best of both games and coming to a perfect middle ground. But it seemed even more shooter focused and choices and dialogue options were streamed line even more than mass effect 2. The story just did not end like most were expecting and i felt it did everything it promised it would not do in terms of the level of impact your choices made in the end. What saves it is the history and great memories that one disappointing game can't erase on its own.

No, I'm not. I'm just not fond of the direction Rockstar went in. They used to make incredible games, now they are all drama. Not enough interesting game mechanics. No tightness, everything feels loose. Redemption is the very essence of what I do not like in a game.

@lawgamer Mass Effect 3 has the best gameplay of the entire series. I like that game best.

@boozak: even though Fable was overhyped, I loved the game. When Fable 2 was easier AND less focused than the first that made me sad. So Fable 2 is probably my most disappointing game. Followed by Halo 4.

Borderlands. I really liked the art style but the game itself just didn't click with me. Can say the same about Dragon Age as well.

@zevvion: DAMN YOU!

@zevvion Fair enough. There are a lot of people who do like ME3. Speaking for myself, I never came to that series for the gameplay but for the storytelling, and in that respect, ME3 was a Robert Green hand-of-clod/Igor Akinfeev level fumble for me.

@rwbladewing Good heavens, you're right! How could I have omitted MOO3 (or as I like to call it, "Space Bureaucracy Simulator 2000") from my list of disappointing third entries in a series? MOO2 is one of my favorite games of all time.

Rome 2: Total War

God of War 3.

The previous games were among my favorite series in the PS2 generation. When I have the chance to go to the next generation, this game was one of the main reasons I decided to buy a PS3... Yet the game felt like an HD reskin with far, far worst writing.

Star Wars: Force Commander. I was really into Warcraft 2 and Red Alert at the time as well as Star Wars, so I thought it'd be the perfect game. Instead, well...

@rwbladewing: I said it in another thread, but Master of Orion 3 is the Star Wars Holiday Special of 4X games.

In all the cases that you listed, the "3s" of those series were follow-ups to some of the more successful games of this console generation, both critically and commercially. Know what else Fable 3, Mass Effect 3 and Assassin's Creed 3 have in common? The stink of publisher-level corporate meddling and a general feeling of having been rushed out the door a little too early. Combine that with the high expectations of their large fanbases and... well, that's how Mass Effect 3's ending controversy escalated to the point of people sending Bioware passive-aggressive cupcakes along with all the death threats and claims of betrayal.

Don't get me wrong, the ending to that game in its original form is exceptionally bad, but inflated expectations that Bioware would somehow be able to make your choices matter and tie it all together in a satisfying way didn't help. Neither did EA being EA, I imagine.

I need to go back because its suppose to be better after patches, but I was a little dissapointed because the first rome was my first total war and it blew my mind when I was younger.

Farcry 2 is my answer to this thread, worst game I've ever bought at full price.

I get that. I don't think the story in ME3 is as bad as people say it is though. I still think it's a good notch above most other games. I do agree that it is better in 2 and more interesting in the first. But it's not bad. Seeing how it was going to close out the trilogy, I do not think it was even possible to meet the insane expectations that some people had.

For me its Halo, folk ranted and raved about how awesome this game was and i finaly sat down with a friend on the original Xbox launch day and i was like, "is this really the game?". Lots of bland green countryside, comical aliens that can be killed by running round and round them and weapons that had zero weight or impact, just felt so uninspired.

My friend on the other hand was the exact opposite, take everything i said and completely reverse it, guess it really wasnt for me but i totally bought into the hype and was very disapointed. Then there was Titanfall...i fell for it again T-T

In terms of rubbish games that I was really looking forward to; Pariah, Red Faction 2 and Far Cry 2. They both looked so cool in previews, but were massive let downs. Red Faction especially was a massive let down, I loved the first game.

Games are are probably really good but I didn't vibe with as much as other people; Bayonetta and Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons. The combat for me never felt quite right in Bayonetta and the controls really annoyed me in Brothers. They're not bad games, but disappointments nonetheless.

I forgot to mention Thief, Dishonored imo was much better despite the old graphics.

DayZ because it's boring as hell

Saints Row 2 just looks stupid and not fun to play

Burnout Paradise looked so cool but i didn't enjoy playing it, i found it disappointing and not in line with the older Burnout games

Crysis because if you don't have a top end computer, it sucks playing it

Battlefield 3 did not entertain me as much as Battlefield 2

Dead Space

Mass Effect 2 and Catherine. The first Mass Effect is one of my favorite games but I think 2 is a step back in nearly every category, from being less open, story, characters and mission structure being far less interesting. The only positive was the shooting was better even though they introduced ammo for no reason at all. I'm glad I was able to play it on PC so I could fix the stupid ammo problem since there's plenty of codex entries explaining why soldiers can carry more than ten fucking sniper rifle rounds. I still like the game overall but it's easily the weakest in the series.

I was super excited for Catherine and even bought the deluxe edition. I really like Atlus and like I usually do with any game I'm looking forward to I avoid any information so I only knew the basics going in. I played up to the point where Vincent has his affair with Catherine and I was really enjoying it until then. I should say that I have trouble enjoying any story with infidelity in it. I incorrectly assumed you could pick between K/Catherine and I hated that it forced me into the affair.

@arbitrarywater: Bioware was always "meh" though.

I retract my previous answer of LA Noire and would now like to submit Lair. It was so disappointing I must have blocked it out.

I thought the only thing disappointing about La Noire was homicide. Also, Pro Evolution Soccer 2008. Technically garbage and the bottom rung for the series.

Yes, another one! I did not get the RDR either. I love western films so this game should have been fantastic according everything I have heard. But it just felt bad - and even played it trough to see if it gets good and it doesn't. Undead nightmare was enjoyable, so I think my problem with RDR is that it takes itself way too seriously. (I think I have same problem with GTA4 - hated it. Ballad of Gay Tony was good.)

Bounty Hounds for psp...terrible.

Metal Gear Solid 4, hands down. I consider myself a huge Metal Gear Solid fan. Loved the first three games, even 2 with all its crazy plot shenanigans and poor story presentation and pacing.

I was so incredibly hyped for 4 to continue the insane cliffhanger 2 left off. Alas, the reality of life set in, and I couldn't get a PS3 to play the game. After it was first released, it took me 5 more years of waiting and artfully dodging ANY spoiler regarding the game just so I could experience it all fresh.

When I got my PS3 last year, it was one of the first games I played. Just minutes into the first briefing and some of the initial cutscenes, I was already cringing and getting so impatient. It never got any better save for a few key moments in Act 2, 4 and the last parts of Act 5. I just hated so much about the game, most of which had to do with the ridiculously long cutscenes filled with clunky dialogue and just straight up dumb failed attempts at humor. Fuck Akiba, and fuck the lack of balls on Kojima for ending the game the way it did. It certainly was not worth the wait, and it has made me temper my expectations for MGSV.

Probably Majora's Mask or Knights of the Old Republic 2. Because I loved both of their predecessors to death and it was probably impossible to meet my expectations of them.

MM was just kind of odd and experimental in a way I didn't appreciate as a child and KOTOR2 was unfortunately just kind of janky and unfinished despite all the promise it had. I do think the content restored mod makes KOTOR 2 a significantly better game though.

Journey and Gone Home. I understand a lot of people were very excited about these two games, but I personally am not that enthusiastic for walks on the beach and episodes of Degrassi High.

Bioshock was a huge disappointment. I just didn't like it but, thoroughly enjoyed Bioshock Infinite.

Dark Souls 2.

The sequel to one of maybe 3 or 4 games from the past generation that i know i'll be able to look back to in 10 or 20 years and still appreciate it as one of my all time favorite and not just a favorite of the time that is forgotten after a year or 2.

It's not every day you get a direct sequel that looks in every respect like more of that same great gameplay and design that made me love the first one and turns out to be one of the most miserable experience of recent years. It's not just a "i didn't like it quite as much as the first one" kind of disappointment. I actively hate it. Every single little change they made makes it a worse game. And these changes, while minor when taken individually, pile on and the whole thing crumbles. Even with a better engine they managed to make it look worse. It's an awful game.

Assassin's Creed 3. Goddamn I was so excited for that game and goddamn what a turd it turned out to be.

Off the top of my head, I'd say Final Fantasy XIII. Everything about that game looked and sounded amazing. Words cannot express how excited I was. Then I played it.

Boy, what a piece of shit that turned out to be. Long, boring, easy, and just a general all-around bummer. And don't even get me started on that riveting sack of emotionless bricks known as Lightning...

This is my answer too.. I really tried to like that game, but it just didn't work out..

Maaan at long last a companion! As a PC gamer and fan of quick-paced shooters rolling into Halo, it felt like an incredibly slow, clunky and tasteless game (with a good soundtrack).

In recent times my most disappointing title would be Dishonored. Great potential with an amazing theme and atmosphere and then the game asks me to run around the city to collect arbitrary stuff to upgrade my skills, instead of incorporating it into the natural flow of the gameplay. That felt so incredibly lazy I instantly quit playing and never went back to it.

The Binding of Isaac

I feel like a lot of people liked that game, but I just don't get it.

Daikatana.

Zelda: Skyward Sword. I wanted to like it... but it was really boring and frustrating to play.

Well it's not controversial if you only played it 2 years ago. Although the 3DS remake is masterful, you really needed to play it back when it was released to understand why it got the reputation it did, which is entirely deserved. Ocarina of Time was perhaps the most innovative game ever made upon release (including any since then). Nearly every gameplay mechanic it used was entirely original to it. It really felt like you'd jumped forward about a decade in gaming years when you played it and that feeling is still attached to it for most of us.