The State of Video Games So Far

Back in 2013 the gaming community was introduced to the next generation of video game consoles, they were shown to be faster, smoother and more powerful then the previous generation, as expected, but never the less the community couldn't contain their excitement for the following year as we would be in the first year of the next generation of consoles, and also we would be introduced to the first wave of next generation video games. What a year it was going to be...or was it?

Fast forwarded to today and 2014 has become nothing more then a massive let down, despite being a full year of our new generation of consoles, both the PS4 and the Xbox One, it's been nothing more then anger, disappointment and yes I'll be a man and say it...man tears.

The majority of every hyped up next gen game has not lived up to the standards we and the studios behind them have set. Now is it our fault or is it the studios? Yes we shouldn't of gotten over hyped for them, we should of used our own judgement and broke free of the constant hype we all keep getting sucked into but the developers with their games should realise now that over hyping your game just increases standards, standards that they will most likely not meet.

Lets go back to the beginning and look at some of the games that were either huge disappointments or games which despite fun, are not really keeping us going.

Thief

Thief has been asked about for years but when gamers finally realises that there favourite stealth series was coming back for a new instalment stealth fans couldn't contain their excitement. With games like Dishonoured being so well received and being inspired by Thief, gamers couldn't wait to be put back into the role as Garrett and explore the city as a Master Thief. In the end however what we got was a dumbed down, accessible Thief game which felt like it had lost the magic which made Thief, Thief.

Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes

Despite the game being a solid MGS experience and a taster of things to come with MGSV, GZ was nothing more then a Gloried demo of a game yet to come. Instead of keeping this for the main Game Konami spilt it in two for more money knowing gamers and die hard MGS fans would flock out to buy it. Yes the game is good but the fact it was cut from the main game, the equivalent of the tanker missions in MGS2, this became a disappointment in many gamers eyes and who can blame them with the asking price at the time.

The Elder Scrolls Online

Ah the Elder Scrolls Online, a franchise name which is known to all RPG gamers around the world. This was promised to be a game which would take the RPG goodness of the big selling single player main gamers and add in the online elements of games like World of Warcraft to create the ultimate RPG experience for, not just Elder Scrolls fans but RPG fans in general. What we got in the end was a half arsed World of Warcraft clone, with a pricey subscription, which doesn't have that spark the main, single player Elder Scroll games have. I think it's become obvious online in an Elder Scrolls game should never happen, it's a feature which should be put to rest.

Titanfall

This game was supposed to be the answer to the boring, same old FPS structure set by games like Call of Duty, which had started to get stale. In the end we got a multiplayer only game which today seems pretty dead, not in players, but in terms of causal conversation. We've hardly heard a peep out of this title and it's become obvious it's plan to change the way we think of FPS has failed.

Watch Dogs

Oh boy, here we go, one of the biggest disappointments of this year, Watch Dogs. This game has been hyped for so long I can't even remember when it began, the game was supposed to be out in 2013 to go alongside the new generation of consoles but was pushed back for "more polish". In the end Watch Dogs never delivered on anything Ubisoft promised, it was an open world game like GTA with hackable elements which got boring after so many goes. How could something so hyped become so disappointing, if they released it earlier would it of made a difference? Who knows, but what we do know is that Watch Dogs has a lot to improve on for the sequel, or will that end up being a disappointment aswell.

The Sims 4

The Sims game have been loved by many since it's original release on the PC in February 2000 and has gained a huge install base over a decade. After the huge uproar of SimCity the previous year with all it's wrong doings, there was hope that Maxis would try it's hardest and make the Sims 4 the best, packed full of content Sims game to date, did that actually happen? Of course bloody not, it's EA. What we got in the end was a watered down Sims game stripped of the majority of content which made the Sims games so enjoyable. At first it just started with the exclusion of pools and toddlers, features which had been in the previous Sims games for years but the list of features removed got bigger and bigger. It was at that point gamers realised that the Sims would be a huge disappointment and step back for the series.

Destiny

Oh dear, oh deary me another biggie in this list. The guys who brought you the classic, well loved, most popular FPS game Halo, had given fans their next, brand new franchise Destiny. Back when the game was first released we were promised a rich, deep story which we could play with our friends in a huge open world across the solar system, as the PR talk grew Bungie lead many on into believing that we would be able to visit almost every planet in the Solar system and explore the many locations on it. However in the end what gamers were left with was a standard Sci-Fi story on only 3 planets and a Moon with only one location to explore. The game fell flat on it's face and it suffered repetitive missions all the way until the credits closed. Worst of all gamers found out of chunk of "DLC" levels were already of disc and what was the excuse from Bungie? That it would be easier on gamers who didn't have good internet connections. Oh how the mighty fall...and they will fall for the next 10 years thanks to Activision.

Driveclub

A gamer which was supposed to come out alongside the PS4 the previous year, just like Watch Dogs, however the game was delayed for a year so Evolution Studios could make the best possible game they could. What they didn't work on was the servers, as they crashed the day it was released adding to the list of problems this game had on it's launch. Despite most of these being fixed, but the PS Plus edition still missing, it doesn't excuse the fact that what we have is another disappointment of 2014.

Assassin's Creed Unity

The most recent title to come out on our list in Assassins Creed Unity. This Assassins Creed game was supposed to be the game which took the series forward and added to it's roots which past games like Assassins Creed Black Flag failed to do. Set during the French revolution, Unity was supposed to offer a map you and your friends could explore to become not only Master Assassins but a United Brotherhood. With a bland story, an average main character, bad stealth elements, silly Micro transactions and a ton of performance issues ranging from frame rate drops, bugs and glitches, Assassins Creed Unity has become the worst main Assassins Creed game to come out.

Conclusion

I think it's come clear that studios and publishers are starting to take advantage of us as consumers. I might not of included everything on this list but I didn't want to list things which many might not of found disappointing. However despite the good games we had in 2014 they did have some small faults, for example Shadow of Mordor felt too much like Assassins Creed, while Mario Kart 8 despite being solid didn't really evolve the series despite how much time was spent on it. Many will not agree and it is up for debate but the list I have provided shows that if we keep falling for hype and buy broken, buggy, downgraded games at launch then all we are doing is applauding them for a job horribly done.

If you want to save this industry you will go into 2015 with your eyes wide open and take even the most cynical opinions serious even if you do not agree because with the past actions of the industry and the letdowns gamers have went through in the past year along it's pretty clear that developers can lie to make their future games look promising. Just remember if you go in with low expectations but the game ends up being fantastic then you will end up enjoying it more since you didn't over hype it and didn't let the studio over hype it aswell.

What was your most disappointing game of 2014