The Hype: The latest first-person shooter from John Romero. the visionary mind behind Wolfenstein 3-D, Doom and Quake? And the advertising claims that "John Romero's about to make you his bitch"? And extensive media previews proclaiming the game to be the second coming of Christ? Where do we sign!? What Happened?: One person shoulders the blame for this one: Romero himself. The production of Daikatana virtually defines artistic hubris, with Romero imposing an absurdly unrealistic development schedule on his team, which was missed numerous times, causing the game's graphical style to lag hugely behind what was becoming the norm at the time. The game then switched engines, causing further delays, and by the time it finally came out, titles such as Quake III Arena and Unreal Tournament had effortlessly surpassed it on every technical level. Even ignoring the visuals, the gameplay actively attempts to frustrate the player at every turn: you can only carry a few "Save Gems" at once, requiring tedious repetition of levels, while the game's sidekick characters ironically only enhance the game's difficulty, because if they die, it's game over. Daikatana's enormous failure with both critics and audiences is widely accepted to have spelled the beginning of the end for developer Ion Storm, who clung on for a few more years before closing up shop in 2005.
Stay at home dad who spends as much time teaching his kids the merits of Martin Scorsese as possible (against the missus' wishes).
General video game, TV and film nut. Occasional sports fan. Full time loon.
