10 Video Games That Were Too Good To Be True
These games certainly did not live up to the hype.
Ever since video games became a form of celebrated media in their own right, fans have hotly anticipated rumours and speculation surrounding new releases. Back in the day, the primary method of getting information about upcoming titles to potential consumers was through gaming magazines, that offered scoops detailing the features of upcoming games.
These days though, cultivating hype behind AAA releases is a multi-million dollar industry in its own right, with an effective marketing strategy being a crucial component of ensuring that a new game will prove commercially successful upon release.
When this works, and a game becomes a must-buy among consumers, the job of the marketing team is done, and word-of-mouth will go a long way in making a game commercially profitable. A prime example of this was the Wii during the mid-2000s, where Nintendo emphasised the intuitive controls and ease-of-use, resulting in the console being a smash-hit among a largely previously untapped audience.
However, what happens when the finished product fails to live up to the hype? Some games have promised an expansive and exciting experience but provided something entirely different upon release. These games dramatically fell short of expectations upon launch, leaving players everywhere disappointed.
10. Watch Dogs
As a concept, Watch Dogs is one of the most unique and exciting in recent memory, with the techno-thriller providing an interesting story that grappled with ideas surrounding the proliferation of technology and Orwellian concepts of an all-seeing surveillance state. However, in execution, the game failed to deliver on the experience fans were anticipating based on pre-release information.
With so many analogous features to Grand Theft Auto V released the year prior, Watch Dogs was always going to be compared to Rockstar's premier franchise, and both the game's driving and shooting mechanics were made to look dated on release when compared to their main competitor.
Another issue relating to the game is that the graphics were significantly worse than the game's marketing footage had depicted and that missions had a tendency to be repetitive to a frustrating degree. All in all, Watch Dogs wasn't as critically derided as some of the other experiences on this list, but deserves a mention for how the finished game played compared to what it could have been.