10 Video Games Everyone Loves To Hate (That Totally Don't Deserve It)

Hype is only skin-deep.

By Scott Tailford /

Warner Bros.

Outside of perhaps sports fans, I can't think of any medium that brings out passion on any side of a given property quite like gaming. We LOVE getting stuck into the year-long hype-cycles, picking apart footage and dissecting trailers, hoping every single game will be the next Final Fantasy VII, GTA III, Skyrim etc.

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We love hype and heightened expectations because we want to... but such an insanely pent-up sense of desire can turn on a dime - especially if something starts to feel a little off at any point before or during launch.

To that end, many games are doomed from the start - maligned creations that misjudge their fanbase or the wants and needs of the public, releasing to a fanfare akin to pathetically blowing their own party horn with no guests in sight.

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These are those games. The only problem is, like every good underdog, they've so much more to offer, if you'd only give them a chance...

10. Halo 4

343 Industries

The Consensus: "Master Chief's story is finished, we don't need another", "It's not Halo without Bungie"

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The Truth: The biggest killer for Halo 4 was its placement in the story. Master Chief's arc wrapped up after a solid third instalment saw him drifting off into the cosmos, and even Halo: Reach already took the "Okay, fine, one more game" slot in our minds, leaving Halo 4 to be a latecomer to the party - albeit the one who's still dressed to turn heads.

343 Industries were always going to have one hell of a mountain to climb when it came to inheriting the franchise, too. Let's be crystal clear: What Bungie did shaped the face of gaming forevermore, changing the very paradigm of how we think first-person shooters should look, feel and control.

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To step into the ring after that? They didn't stand a chance.

Still, innovation was present as 343, injected Halo with a way more heartfelt story centred on the Chief and Cortana's relationship. Altered controls royally peed off the fans (but could be changed back) and a new enemy faction named the Prometheans brought with them a host of new morphing weapons to play with.

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Halo 4 is easily just as good as Bungie's entries and then some, a product of wrong timing incarnate.