10 Video Games That Killed Themselves Trying To Be Popular

6. Hitman: Absolution

Like a band you love making a more 'commercial' album, you can see disaster coming a mile off once the first single comes out. Sure they're going to potentially wrangle in some additional fans, but for those who love them for what they were, nothing is going to be the same for quite some time.

As was the case with Hitman: Absolution, its first appearances were a mishmash of controversial imagery (ninja-nun death squads brandishing blades and firearms) alongside playable sequences that pointed to a far more linear - and stop me if you've heard this one before - action-heavy focus.

Truth be told, the final product wasn't terrible, just broken. The new disguise system had enemies spot you from across the entire level at times, but in service of making 47 into a more brutal fighter rather like his big-screen counterpart, we got shorter levels, more story-filled cutscenes and the option to headshot groups of guards at once.

It was received so negatively, IO Interactive would take a full four years off making sure the followup was something special. Thankfully, Hitman 2016 is spectacular... it's just a shame we only get one level a month for the rest of the year.