10 'Next Big Thing' Video Games That Failed Miserably

5. Grand Theft Auto IV

Controversial, yes, as GTA IV is by no means a bad game - it's just a bad Grand Theft Auto game.

And when we're talking about titles that completely failed at living up to their respective hype or those that attempted a new direction and failed, Rockstar's pivot away from the characterful likes of Vice City and San Andreas into this maudlin, washed out, 'serious' tonality has been seen as the outlier ever since, especially when looking at the franchise as a whole.

When you consider that Rockstar were clearly having their 'rebellious phase' throughout the original trilogy and its experimental mission designs (dildo weaponry and Area 69 stealth sections, anyone?), they designed GTA IV through marketing, story and character to be a new direction for GTA as a franchise, leaving the 'childish' stuff to Saints Row.

As time has shown, that approach didn't connect, leaving the company to go back to the drawing board and design GTA V as one big apology to everything they attempted five years prior, restoring the 'wackiness' through both Michael's family and Trevor's... well, everything.

To that end, why do you think Trevor so adversely and brutally stomped the life out of GTA IV's Johnny Klebitz?