10 Video Games That Killed Themselves Trying To Be Popular

2. Dark Sector

Like Dark Void, Dark Sector's developers pulled together a pitch that, on paper, had promise.

A slick, throwable glaive that slices through enemies like butter in slow-motion? Check. A noted voice actor, Smallville's Michael Rosenbaum, taking up lead protagonist duties? Check. Even a tie-in comic to drum up some interest before launch? Double check, and don't spare the genetically-modified super-weapons.

Yes, Dark Sector still found something of an audience in its mashup of formulaic ideals, but like every other B-tier game on this list, it just didn't have any passion behind it. The story felt as though it had been assembled from a script torn and scattered across a room, the action was Gears of War through and through, and the awesome glaive played second fiddle when additional abilities made its use more of a fireworks display than a visceral limb-dissector.

Like Digital Extremes' other highly-anticipated title Pariah (remember that?), its subsequent parts just weren't assembled with enough confidence to leave a lasting impression.