10 Video Games That Killed Themselves Trying To Be Popular

3. Assassin's Creed III

Getting to the top of the 'cool' and popular crowd resigns you to a plinth the size of your own feet. Even the slightest wobble or mistake and you're risking certain death, which for Assassin's Creed, came in the form of continuing the series once creator, Patrice Désilets, had left.

Having worked on the franchise from its inception all the through to Brotherhood (also known as 'the last truly great one'), Desilets departed in pursuit of smaller budgeted titles. Ubisoft weren't having any of that, and as they now had more creative control than ever over where the series could head, that meant doubling down on action set-pieces and hand-to-hand combat - essentially, the things that should only be an addendum to any stealth experience.

Suddenly Connor was a blade-swinging tank, able to cut through swathes of enemies with barely any input on your part. The entire experience was made extremely easy to play, yet threw tons of overblown setups and chase missions your way in an attempt to get pulses racing.

Throw in the Haytham Kenway intro segment that lasted way longer than it should have, and the narrative potential for AC was forever sacrificed in favour of quick-thrills and increased sales.