10 Video Games That Lied Straight To Your Face
These mistruths couldn't hide in the shadows forever...
For all the top-notch entertainment the gaming industry merrily dispenses year after year, there are a fair few disappointing titles that slip through the net. And those bad apples can disguise themselves as something other than how they're packaged to boost hype and sales.
In the tripe-A industry, millions go into trailers and demos, showcasing the most bombastic action and heart-wrenching scenes imaginable. Indie developers, however, may find it challenging to make their voices heard amongst more professional marketing campaigns.
And with this constant battle to reach the Top 100 Steam games, or just break-even, video games may come attached with cheeky fibs to bolster themselves in the public image. It’s only when gamers get their hands on these products that they may find the game they’ve lovingly doted on for months is nothing like how it was marketed on the packaging, in trailers, and through interviews prior.
In fact, some developers intend for gamers to unearth these fabrications, and many video game forgeries may not come from a place of malice and greed. Sometimes, things didn’t pan out the way developers wanted them to, but it would be nice if these perjurious products came clean and admitted to what they truly were!
10. SimCity's 'Essential' DRM
The 2013 rendition of SimCity promised to be a significant upgrade from the five titles preceding it. The game boasted 3D graphics, zoning areas, and an online multiplayer mode, all thanks to the new GlassBox engine.
Before release, critics were gushing over the new game mechanics for this ‘reboot’. When the game released, however, players quickly realised that they were restricted by a DRM, meaning the game would not allow a single-player mode without being connected to the servers. What made it worse was EA couldn’t handle the number of connecting players.
DRMs have been a constant thorn in the game industry for years. The Mac version of Metal Gear Rising Revengeance, for example, is unplayable as the company that ported the game is no longer in business.
Despite massive backlash, EA refused to remove the DRM, with Maxis stating it "wouldn’t be possible to make the game offline" without significant changes. That turned out to be a lie, however, as firstly an ex-Maxis developer called them out, and later, a hacker circumvented the DRM, allowing them to play the game offline in no time at all. Why SimCity kept up the pretence that the DRM was ever a good idea, or needed, is unfathomable.