Groucho

Gamespy's 25 Most Overrated Games of All Time

Despite the title, this really seems to be the most Overhyped games of all time list.

They'll be running this feature all week. Games 25-16:

25. Neverwinter Nights

24. Super Mario Sunshine

23. Battle Arena Toshinden

22. Star Trek: Starfleet Command

21. Morrowind

20. Impossible Creatures

19. Battlecruiser: 3000AD

18. American McGee's Alice

17. The Getaway

16. Mortal Kombat (Arcade)

15. Dungeon Siege

14. Dead or Alive 3

13. Battletoads

12. Unreal 2

11. Pool of Radiance: Ruins of Myth Drannor

10. Halo: Combat Evolved

9. Donkey Kong Country

8. Lara Croft Tomb Raider Angel of Darkness

7. Final Fantasy 7

6. Blinx

5. Quake 2

4. Daikatana

3.Enter the Matrix

2. Metal Gear Solid 2

1. Black and White

Of those, I own (and enjoy) 10, 21, 24, and 25.

I also own #15 (Dungeon Siege), but I'll be the first to admit that I agree with its inclusion on the list. It's a really beautiful engine, and with it Microsoft could have built a true Diablo-killer. But the character advancement is shallow, and the game is too automated. I will probably check out the expansion and sequel.

I do own #3 (Enter the Matrix) but only because I got it for free...I've barely played it.

And I own #1 (Black and White), and I agree completely with its inclusion as #1 on the list.

I've played #20 (Impossible Creatures) and agree with Gamespy's conclusion: despite the "twist" of the custom units, it really is just another RTS. On the other hand, I don't remember a ton of hype about it either.

I've tried #18 (American McGee's Alice) as well. Interesting concept, but the weapons were really poor. Beautiful game, however.

I played #16 (Mortal Kombat) in arcades back in the day, but I don't know the genre well enough. All fighting games seem alike to me.

Unreal 2 (#12) wasn't bad, but it wasn't much more than a typical FPS.

I don't have much to say about #11 (Pool of Radiance 2) but I do hope that Tomb of Elemental Evil (which ships this week) learns from its mistakes.

As for the other games, I haven't played them enough to comment.

PixyJunket

#1 had better be GTA3 or VC.

Holy crap, Toshinden sucked.. but I would never think it was overrated.. nobody liked it back in the day, nobody likes it now.

Groucho

Black and White will almost certainly make the list. I wouldn't be surprised to see at #1.

If I were putting the list together, I'd add Fable to it. This is a game I'm looking forward to, but there's no way it could possibly live up to the hype: "Fable will make sweet sweet love to you, and cuddle afterwards!" "Fable will cure 89% of all terminal illnesses, with additional cures downloadable via Xbox Live!"

PixyJunket

Yeah.. I've been told that about Fable whenever I go to Gamestop. I think with games like Fable and Black & White is that they need to stop claiming you can do anything and everything and lay down the real deal.

Decker

Well, I guess "You get to play god" sells a lot more games than"you're a giant hand that can help villagers harvest wheat and teach an enormous cow where to poop."

goLUCKY

BMXXX

PixyJunket

BMXXX was overhyped, but not overrated. Everybody says and knows it sucks. I'm not sure what they're going to look for on the list, but I would assume by "overrated" they'd want to find games that are widely highly praised or liked, but really aren't that special or great.

mmconhea

Enter The Matrix

pdutta2000

Trespasser has to be the most over-rated and over-hyped game of all time. Screenshots were incredible. The actual gameplay and graphics were horrific.

PalmerJoss

State of Emergency

Bugg

Shenmue

Duran

Daikatana

Draven

Hey, Toshinden was great for the time. My friends and I enjoyed that game.

And Starfleet Command is pretty cool too.

jrutz

There's overrated and then there's overhyped. Trespasser, State of Emergency, Diakatana and Enter The Matrix were all overhyped, because they were touted as the best thing since sliced bread prior to their release, and then critically panned upon release.

Super Mario Sunshine I could see being overrated, since it was one of those games that wowed us in presentation and then slowly showed it's weak spots in gameplay, level design, etc. Same with Shenmue, but it's overratedness caught up with itself when Shenmue II was released for the XBox. I'm surprised about Morrowind - this one got great critical response and wasn't really overhyped, because it's a hardcore gamer's type of game. So I don't know why they mean it was overrated.

No doubt MSG2 will be on that list. Everyone rated it highly but ask anyone about it and they'll tell you it's more of cinematics than game. I'm sure there will be a Resident Evil game on that list as well - the pre-rendered backgrounds and static camera angles, terrible controls and illogical puzzles haven't grown well. Same with Tomb Raider.

I'd be surprised to see GTA:III and GTA:VC on that list, because although they may be overhyped, they still sit well with gamers and critics alike, so I don't think they will be overrated.

Jeremy

edytwinky

BMXXX better be on that list!

young

i vote for any peter molyneux game...

zelda, pikmin, metroid prime, halo, final fantasy, and a whole lot more...

Static Cling

I highly doubt that either will even be on the list. But I can totally see State of Emergency and Black and White on there.

jeffdsmith

Blinx.

Bugg

I'm guessing that #1 will be MYST

Superboy

Gamespy has one of the few reviews of halo that didn't buy into the hype. It convinced me to get a Gamecube instead of an Xbox. Glad i made that choice when i did.

zero

Halo should be somewhere on that list.

~~ PAL ~~

Exactly! I never understood why there were so many idiots that bought this POS in the 90s to make it a top seller...

Groucho

I guess I'm an idiot, because I bought, played, and enjoyed Myst when it first came out.

evenflow

Your guess sounds pretty good.

Groucho

Of course, the only way you'd know I was an idiot for playing the game is if you guys played it too. I may not be the only idiot in the room!