2012 is coming to an end and that means it’s time to look back on the past year of games. I’ll be writing blogs on various GOTY-related topics, but I figured I would get all the negative stuff out of the way. Today, we start off with what I thought were biggest bummers this year.

1. Assassin’s Creed III

Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood was on my GOTY list back in 2010. Like a lot of folks, I took a break and passed on Revelations. After seeing how confident Ubisoft was in their new setting and protagonist, I was stoked to return to the series.

I had the same thoughts as most of you during the early hours of the game. Those thoughts can probably be boiled down to, “Seriously, what the Hell is this!?”. The six-hour tutorial felt like echoes of Final Fantasy XIII, but there were enough plot points for me to give a long exposition a pass in trade for returning to the game I loved in Brotherhood.

Then of course the technical issues really started to get to me. The framerate was a joke, the menus were clunky, and simply getting from Point A to Point B wasn’t as fluid as it should be. This sure as Hell didn’t feel like a product that has come from a massive team with a huge budget. But this goes into my other issue with the game. The entire experience feels disjointed. There’s so much side content and busy work that doesn’t matter in the grand scheme I’ve convinced myself it has to of hindered Ubisoft’s care to the main game. After finishing the game and looking back, I don’t feel like I even assassinated many people. All the assassinations were just tougher dudes in normal groups of Redcoats. Most of my time was spent traveling from cutscene to cutscene. Maybe it was a lack of good leadership, but perhaps Assassin's Creed III's problems root in having a nice-big team?

Assassin’s Creed III had too many elements that never clicked together. The protagonist’s motivations to assist the war effort was questionable and was just a backdrop for the story to play out and for you to conveniently run into every important American in that era. There was never any fluid movement between plot points. It has been interesting watching the Assassin’s Creed franchise grow, but the series has had more stumbles than triumphs. Despite how much I have enjoyed previous games in the series, I’m not confident in whatever Ubisoft may have in store next.

2. Mass Effect 3

While not hitting as high of a note as the second game, Mass Effect 3 was a pretty outstanding game for the first 95% of the time I spent with it. Once again, I got to step into the shoes of my FemShep and explored the galaxy solving social problems and winning wars. Yes, a new and powerful foe was committing mass genocide on my home planet, but I still got to hit the dance floor on the Citadel! Maybe how time passes in games is an unsolvable problem in non-linear games. I mainly just had the suspension of disbelief to enjoy Shepard’s less-important missions that are taking place while humans are dying by the millions every hour.

What really got to me was the ending, of course. I played Mass Effect 3 in front of a handful of guys who aren’t even that into games, but in utter boredom they got into watching me close the book on Shepard’s adventure. You can imagine how my jaw hit the floor seeing how unsatisfying the ending was, but imagine a collective “What the fuck!!?” from a room of guys that aren’t even that invested in the Mass Effect universe.

I’ve given over 100 hours of my life to this franchise. I’m not even one to get super nerdy and learn about fictional races, political problems, and technology, but I did. To see a franchise go so far to create such a believable universe and craft an amazing sense of place for it to just throw it away with a weak 5 minute nonsense ending is insane. Bioware basically stuck a middle finger on the screen in service of an ending.

3. Resident Evil 6

Resident Evil 6 is the worst game on this list. It doesn’t take home my “award” for Most Disappointing Game of 2012 mainly because it was terrible from the start. Assassin’s Creed III actually had promise going in and continually fooled me with some decent moments into going further and further into the game. Capcom’s latest Resident Evil 6 will probably go down as the worst big-budget game in a long time.

The game was technically incompetent. All the spirit that make Resident Evil 4 one my favorite games ever died here. Instead of finding a focus, Capcom decided to give out a half-assed campaign for all play types whether it be a more horror-approach or fast-paced. The early moments of Leon’s campaign just sang tunes of a Michael Bay movie and nothing else about the other campaigns were interesting enough for me to even think about giving it my time.

EDIT: Tried to get rid of the RE6 text being bold. That isn't happening for whatever reason.

I can't call mass effect 3 a disappointment. Like you said the first 95%

I would have to say Assassin's Creed 3. What a terrible ending.

I didn't play many games this year, because I'm always on a tight budget on how I can spend my money. However, my most disappointing game was Assassins Creed 3. The story was good, and I liked Conner, but it had the most unsatisfying ending I have watched in years. Also, Haytham Kenway seemed to be a more compelling person than his son, which I thought was kinda surprising.

@EpicSteve:

Did you download the extended cut to Mass Effect 3? I did it before I started a new playthrough a couple of months ago, and I thought it was an immense improvement. It made everything much more clear and easier to understand. That is partly why I loved the game so much.

As pathetic as it is, I still can't get over Mass Effect 3. The ending was a real kick to the balls. But it wasn't just that which wound me up, I found the game generally lacking in the story department most of the way through and the character moments just weren't there for the most part. The whole genophage bit was great, the rest felt a bit sloppy to me. Also my biggest complaint after the ending was that the final mission on earth was really boring. I was partly expecting something like the suicide mission in ME2 (My fav. mission in a game) where you are making choices while fighting which in turn affects who lives and who dies. Instead, we just get a boring corridor shooter in a grey landscape. Way to end a series I loved Bioware! Fucking bravo!

AC3 for sure. Quit in the middle, watched the ending on youtube and then quit watching the ending in the middle

I haven't played AC 3 yet, but ME3 is pretty disappointing. The highs of that game are great but it is a bummer much more often than 2 is. I don't care that the ending didn't make good on your choices but just how fucking bad it was, plus how they made a new one which just reinforced how shitty it was.

I have only 2 games that i can consider disappointments because i didn't have any expectations of quality one way or another about any other games i played.

Mass Effect 3. Not because of the ending mind you because the ending was only the culmination of a failed game for me. The atrocious quest system, the almost complete disregard for almost every characters you spent time recruiting and getting to know in 2 and the overall progression of the story were all things that bored or disappointed me.

Also i still think that people that consider Mass Effect 1-2-3 outstanding until the last 20 minutes of the third game and go on to say that the ending erases all the fun they've had up to that point are crazy people.

Diablo 3. Leveling a character up to level 60 for the first time is fantastic. The gameplay is fast and fun and the progression up to level 60 is constantly rewarding and then... it's all gone. No amount of patching will ever fix the main issue i see with the game either. What the game needs is a complete redesign of the gear. There's way too little customization of the gear available in the form of gems and the absence of enchantments and way to big an emphasis put on the 4 primary stats. Still, i got plenty of satisfying play time leveling my barbarian up to level 60 and will surely level other characters eventually so this one is a semi-disappointment.

Mass Effect 3 felt good for the first 95%, but in retrospect, even that mostly disappointed. Certain character arcs and story vingettes were excellent (Mordin, Tuchunka, Thane...) but earth was always godawful, the game didn't play as great as it should have, and there was not enough sense of scale. It had the least amount of playable areas and the most poorly fleshed out sidequests out of all the Mass Effect games. And this is the big Reaper War Finale! And everything with cerberus was dumb, too.

Man.

People rag on ME3 too much. It wasn't as good as 2, but ME2 is one of the best games of this generation so that's a lot to live up to. Definitely agree with you on Assassin's Creed 3 and Resident Evil 6. I'd also toss Hitman on that list.

Guild Wars 2 
 
I was bored senseless by the time I hit 40 and the way I hear it the "endgame" isn't much better.

Click the 'Code' button and edit the bold out manually, sometimes formatting can get fucked up - hopefully this will get fixed in the new version of the site.

Also:

• Dishonored - The game as a whole was great, but it really felt like it fizzles out towards the end. Also, there wasn't enough fleshing out of the interesting world that they created.
• Borderlands 2 - I really enjoyed the game, but it was very much more of the same.
• Shank 2 - Once again, more of the same, but nowhere near as good as the original (and the original wasn't exactly a masterpiece to begin with...)
• FTL - Wonderful, but not enough variability between playthroughs, maybe I've just been spoiled by Isaac.
• Penny Arcade 3 - Very unfortunate that they couldn't get Hothead to create the third game. Sloppy art, lack of a customisable character, very linear design, erratic difficulty all make this a very disappointing followup to the very enjoyable first two episodes.

I'd say Assassin's Creed 3. I really thought they were back on track with that one. It looked great.

@awesomeusername said:

I would have to say Assassin's Creed 3. What a terrible ending.

Yes sadly. I loved that game up until the last two sequences.

Mass Effect 3 wasn't a huge disappointment for me (with the exception of the ending, truth be told). But it wasn't as spectacular as I would have liked it to be. It felt like more of the same from ME2, but nowhere near as good as it used to be. The characters lacked punch, the side missions were pretty dull... It wasn't a bad game, but it wasn't great either.

Biggest disappointment so far? Darksiders II. How Vigil/THQ could screw up a game that was as good as Darksiders is beyond me. Repetitive quests, shallow main story, very little exploration, recycled game mechanics and a contrived level up system that didn't do anything that any other run-of-the-mill ARPG hadn't done before. The combat was the only almost-redeeming feature, but it was completely killed by an extremely low FoV that prevented you from seeing half of the combat space.

I'd also mention Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning, but I never expected it to be any good. And it wasn't. What a pile of steaming shit that game was.

PS: I'm playing AC3 right now and while it's OK, it's nothing breath-taking. I fear it will walk the same path as Mass Effect 3...

Mass Effect 3 runs away with this category without much competition. Max Payne 3 would be up there too.

Though I still haven't played Assassin's Creed 3 or Hitman Absolution.

Looking back, it seems like the third of everything sucks for some reason.

I only played good games this year :)

You nailed all 3 major disappointments of the year.

@Sploder said:

I only played good games this year :)

Disappointing doesn't necessarily mean bad, just a failure to live up to potential.

Everything except Farcry 3

Luckily for me I have no real disappointments for me this year. I've gotten to the point where I know exactly the sort of things that will keep me from liking a game. I can generally read a couple of reviews and watch a quick look and be able to tell what I should avoid (no chance I'll ever play AC3 or Hitman: Absolution, for example).

Ya, Assassin's Creed 3 for sure. It kind of makes me mad. I wanted to finish it for the GOTY thing we're gonna do, but I don't think it matters. That game is so broken- just fundamentally it's broken. 
 
A good example: I got to the Boston massacre (I think it was) and the massacre (i'm about to make a poor joke, i apologize in advance) was me killing thousands of loyalists without moving from one position. They just kept spawning and attacking me non stop, and i sat there, controller in one hand, hitting x-b-x-b-x-b-x-b-x-a-x-b-x-x-x-x-b 
That sums up my time so far with Assassin's Creed 3 really- that and the game constantly wanting to teach you something new that technically you already know and it takes way to long to tell you (none of the mechanics are as complicated as the game thinks, and even the new stuff, such as hunting, didn't need to take that long). 
 
I agree with Mass Effect 3, as well. For me though, I was more disappointed in how separated everything feels. Maybe it's a bad byproduct of so much player choice over 3 games, but having all that stuff wrap up just made the game feel more tedious and it didn't help with the awful side quests. That and mixing in the requirement to play online in order to get the best ending is not cool in my opinion. It all just made the game really difficult for me to enjoy. For what it's worth, though, I did like seeing characters again and whatnot. It's just a shame some of them felt meaningless. 
 
I guess my disappointments are just games that should have been better, so they're games most people that have these problems would agree with, but I cant think of any others really that I could say I am disappointed with.

ME3 was a huge disappointment. I enjoyed it for the most part playing through, but looking back on it, there was a lot I hated. I know people said the same about ME2, but for me it marks the end of Bioware actually making RPG's and the ending and story in general were train wrecks, they didn't know what they were doing with any of it at all.

Amalur also had a lot of potential that was totally wasted. I have no idea how they managed to spend so much money making that.

The Last Story, I guess? Not a fan of the "disappointment" language, since I don't try to go in with expectations. Pretentious, but I felt the need to elaborate.

Wasn't really disappointed by any game this year, maybe Borderlands 2. Despite finishing it I felt like I just pushed through the last 5 hours or so and didn't have much fun playing through it.

@BeachThunder said:

@Sploder said:

I only played good games this year :)

Disappointing doesn't necessarily mean bad, just a failure to live up to potential.

Fair enough. I wasn't disappointed in anything this year either then. I pretty much enjoyed everything I played, even though admittedly it wasn't much.

I didn't find Assassins Creed 3 to be that disappointing, mostly because I've always loved the series almost in spite itself, and I've gotten used to taking the good with the bad in those games.

I do agree with Mass Effect 3. I've always bought every bit of dlc for those games, but this year I haven't touched any of the extra content, because I just feel done with it. They really messed up how they ended that series.

I would also add Diablo 3. I've never been the biggest Diablo fan, but man, I just thought it was mediocre. The gameplay seems old and stale, the writing is horrid, and it was plagued by a ton of issues.

Assassins Creed 3 was the most disappointing game of the year for me. Connor was just not an interesting character and the main story missions were really boring. It was either chase someone or eavesdrop. Not to mention the technical issues. I also was very disappointed with Darksiders 2. I loved the first one but I just couldn't get into this game. I felt the loot hurt the game because none of it was interesting. Also the environments were just sort of bland. Number 3 would have to go to Black Ops 2. I only play call of duty for the multiplayer and this game was a big disappointment. I loved Black ops multiplayer because the maps were great but I think black ops 2 has the worst maps in a call of duty game. The spawns are awful and the lag is as bad as ever. I actually think I would rather play call of duty 3 multiplayer over this.

I think the most disappointing game of the year is Resident Evil 6 by light years. ME3 and AC3 had a lot of awesome stuff to offer, but for one reason or another simply fell short of expectations. RE6 was a disaster from the moment it started and never seemed to get better. A lot of people were really excited for the game when that first trailer came out, and let me tell you, no one was prepared for how poorly the final product turned out. Nothing worked right, nothing achieved what it wanted, and nothing hit its mark. Capcom somehow failed to hit the broad side of a barn, simultaneously while accidentally blowing up the moon.

Assassin's Creed 3. It is like the developers collectively decided to take all the mechanics, and menus of the last Assassin's Creed games and replace them with complete crap. Either that or all the guys that made Assassin's Creed good got put onto Far Cry 3, because that is the best Assassin's Creed game to come out this year.

Borderlands 2 is also a bummer, for me it is the writing. Borderlands wasn't laugh out funny, or as deep as a rain drop, but it was just good enough to make you like it. To make you like characters like TK Baha, Patricia Tannis, but they went too far. Tannis is reduce from tragicly insane in a "oh that isn't nice at all" way, and just turned into the resident funny insane person. I'm going to completely blame this on the guy they brought in to write for them, mainly out of ignorance, but mainly because Tiny Tina suck absolute bollocks.

Assassin's Creed 3

Resident Evil 6

Max Payne 3

Borderlands 2

Hitman Absolution

Guild Wars 2

@jonny126 said:

People rag on ME3 too much. It wasn't as good as 2, but ME2 is one of the best games of this generation so that's a lot to live up to. Definitely agree with you on Assassin's Creed 3 and Resident Evil 6. I'd also toss Hitman on that list.

Agreed being the sequel to the best game of this generation is hard, other than combat, Mass Effect 2 is a better game in many respects. I'll admit I'm too much of a Bioware fan to say ME3 was disappointing, I still had more fun with ME3 that all of my most disappointing combined...

Assassin's Creed 3 is the first time that I have stopped 15 hours into a game and said "Fuck This".

Seriously, that game is a mess.

Max Payne 3. I don't even want to start with this game. My main problem with it is that all of the enemy encounters are terrible, they were obviously created with a cover based shooter in mind. I actually got through it though, unlike AC 3.

Probably Resident Evil 6 for me.

Max Payne 3 for me. It just felt that the game was actively forcing me to not have fun.

Now Sleeing Dogs, was a pleasant surprise thankfully.

I didn't play as much as I wanted to this year but I wouldn't call anything I bought disappointing. Really I think I'm experiencing a couple of disappointing endings in really awesome games. Mass Effect 3, Darksiders 2, and XCOM: Enemy Unknown all had disappointing conclusions however I thoroughly enjoyed my time in all 3 of those games. Hell all 3 are in my personal top ten for the year. Maybe this year is just suffering from bad endings in good games but I haven't played stuff like AC3 or RE6. Maybe I'd call JoJo's Bizarre Adventure HD Ver. disappointing but I bought it as a fan of crazy fighting games and old school comics. It's just that $20 was a lot to pay when they didn't add any cool features like Street Fighter 3: Online Edition did. Also they changed a bunch of character names who were named after pop artists. I still played a ton of multiplayer matches on it so I like to think I got my moneys worth but dude, that's a lot of cash for such a low fat port of a 2-D fighting game.

I WAS NOT DISAPPOINTED BY ANYTHING.

well I guess Katawa Shoujo if I had to pick one, but disappointing is a weird word to use for that.

I suppose if I had to pick from the games I have had some experience with, I'll go with Darksiders 2 as my most disappointing. It didn't feel like an improvement at all. A lot of the changes (like the loot system) felt like unnecessary changes that didn't make a better game. It ultimately failed to strike the same chord in me that the first game did.

Mass Effect 3 was a HUGE disappointment to me especially because I played it on a ps3 and it ran like dogshit. Other than that I would say NFS Most Wanted. It's not actually a bad game I guess, but I was expecting something more like Hot Pursuit. Plus I think Hot Pursuit was better on the technical side as well which is surprising because criterion usually nails the visuals and framerate. It even runs like shit on the pc. Now that I'm typing this out Assassins Creed III was also horrible technically. All I want is some solid fucking running games is that so much to ask for?

mass effect 3 was a good game all except for the ending.

The year still has like 27 days left.

ME3 easily the winner.

I was kind of disappointed with Borderlands 2. That's not to say I didn't enjoy it, I just thought I would have enjoyed it more.

It felt like a Borderlands-assed Borderlands game. More Borderlands was fun for a while, but about three quarters of the way through, I was just feeling kind of burnt out on it.

@living4theday258 said:

mass effect 3 was a good game all except for the ending.

Exactly this. I enjoyed everything about that game EXCEPT the ending and I can't fault the entire game based off .5% of the game.

Ninja Gaiden 3 or Star Wars: The Old Republic are probably my biggest disappointments. Yes Star Wars was technically a 2011 game but it was released after the discussions took place and should be considered for 2012's awards.

Mass Effect 3 is fucking awesome so take that

But my disappointments lie with re6 and Hitman. I think Hitman is a really fun game but it's not exactly what I wanted. I like RE6. Yeah I said it and I know quite a few people like it too. With that said I was still disappointed by it. I've been ok with this resident evil take on action buuuut the time is now to go back to basics.

Borderlands 2 was an Enormous disappointment to me.... and I really wanted to love it...

I didn't play anything this year that disappointed me enough to put on a list like this.

Asura's Wrath was the biggest letdown for in terms of hype. I didn't enjoy it...at all...

In terms of expectations though, it's got to be Mass Effect 3. It's a competent game, but with Mass Effect 2 being so good, this just felt like it was lacking heart.

RE 6 and AC3. Otherwise, I'm good. I loved Mass Effect 3. Sorry man...

I would have a similar list but AC3 would win for me.

ME3 was good for the most part and the multiplayer was fantastic, so only the ending was disappointing. RE6 looked bad in everything past the first reveal trailer, so I was expecting it to fail.

Resident Evil 6 probably. I was already suspicious when they showed the first gameplay but part of me wanted it to be good.

I'm playing AC3 right now and I'm still loving it... don't see why people are complaining so much. It doesn't bring alot new to the series but it is feels a whole lot more fresh than the last 2 games.

Also, hate me if you will, but I loved Mass Effect 3. In some ways the ending was a little disappointing, but not nearly the disaster the internet made it out to be. Also the rest of the game was awesome.