Another Groovy Top Ten List!

[Darth Groovy]

Top Ten Dissapointments for Gamers!

 

(From the perspective of a video game store manager in the field)

 

10. Nintendo 3DS: Worst Handheld Nintendo Launch ever!

 

Nintendo practically invented the hand held. GAMEBOY was one of the first. Followed by gameboy advance, and it's sexy cousin Gameboy Advance SP. DS was slow to the start but titles such as Nintendogs and Mario Kart made them a hot household item. The DS Lite has held the Guiness world record as the fastest selling system of all time. A few years ago I could not keel them in stock. Boys were willing to buy pink ones just so they could play pokemon. It was insane! The DSI was the Nintendo answer to the ipod touch ad it featured two cameras and wi-fi Internet access. The DSI XL was a larger version of the DSI offering nothing more than a bigger screen.

The 3DS seemed to be the next big money making juggernaught. Very slick. Offering the ability to watch Netflix as the ability to play games in 3D without the use of 3D glasses. VERY Impressive technology! However where they failed was an overall lack of launch titles. Sure there was a Nintendogs, but no Mario anything. Most of the games kind of sucked, and the 3D was spreading rumors of headaches. The system launched at $249.99, but was quickly reduced to $169.99, prior to Christmas. During the holidays the 3DS was not my fastest selling system. People still wanted DS Lites, DS XLs, and DSI. I still have a surplus of 3DS. I could blame the economy, but I blame Nintendo for confusing the **** out of my customers by changing the handheld every six months, and for a very lackluster amount of 3DS games.

 

9. Nintendo Wii no longer plays gamecube games, and is no longer packed with wii sports!

Nintendo? What the hell? In 2007 Nintendo aimed its resources to the casual gamer market, intending to establish a family console where all ages could play together. The affordable price tag at the time launched it into superstars status. For about 3 years this system was impossible to keep in stock. Nintendo's direction was also it's undoing. See, casual gamers do not have the profound need to buy new games every week. We would sell a wii. They are happy with wii sports, and we never see them again. Ever. So for a limited time, Nintendo sells Wii Sports for $20. By limited I mean by a month. Fast forward to 2011. You can get one of two wii systems packed with either Mario Kart, or New Super Mario Bros. Neither system will no longer play gamecube game. Again What the HELL Nintendo? Also. The latest Zelda game uses Motion Plus. If you missed on this tech last year, guess what? You have to spend another $40 on the remote you need to play Zelda. LAME!

 

8. Duke Nukem Forever.

 

Most people have lived an entire life during the developement of this game. Duke Nukem was a popular shooter franchise in the 90's that stole many lines from popular movies. In 2010 3D REALMS closed shop and Duke Nukem 4 got scrapped for good. When most of 3DRealms staff moved to Gearbox, the company vowed to finish it and put it out. What you get is a fish out of water. A game that shows signs of age, and lack of imagination. BY Christmastime we were practically giving this game away. SERIOUSLY. At one point you could have picked this game up used for $8.99! Horrible!

 

7. L.A. Noire

Roxstar makes such classics like Max Payne, Grand Theft Auto 4, and Red Dead Redemption, they put so much into this title, but it's core gameplay is it's ultimate undoing. The game boasted some serious acting ab motion capture, but what we got on day one was a game that ran on tediousness. Picking up countless bottles in an ally might be fun if you are training to be a csi, but not so fun if you are a gamer. I lost interest about two hours in. I felt like I was trapped in a bad episode of Dragnet. There is no open world, just a lot of tedious puzzle solving. GREAT game for prospective cops, nothing for anyone else.

 

6. Playstation 3 network gets hacked.

 

Right after Mortal Kombat came out, reports of network got hacked. During this time Sony held special training sessions for Gamestop Managers. While it was out for a long.time, Sony made good by offering free game downloaded and free month to Playstation Plus.

 

 

5. Brink

 

Our company pushed the hell out of this shooter which boasted a "team fortress" like gameplay in a "waterworld" type setting. It sucked. MOST online. Only games just fail.

 

4. Bulletstorm

 

Demo showed promise, but final results had you playing as a bad mock up of Wolverine in a script written by 12 year oles who just discovered profanity. The novelty of killing by electric fence wears off really soon.

 

3. Marvel Vs Capcom 3

Unless you really wanted to match Wolverine against choice members of Umbrella. This game sucked hard.

 

2. Homefront

 

You would think a game idea from the writer of "Red Dawn" would deliver. No.rental at best.

 

1. Red Dead Armegeddon

 

No open world. LAST GAME USED SANDBOX GAMES

[Darth Avlectus]

However where they failed was an overall lack of launch titles. Sure there was a Nintendogs, but no Mario anything.

Okay so it's like the PS3 when it started out... Things will get better... OH what the hell am I saying I don't even own a 3DS.

 

That new Mario that is yet to come title looks like a NES Mario 3 owner's wet dream, though. Seriously it would be worth the wait IMO. Essentially mario 3 all over again but on essentially an updated Mario 64 esque engine.

 

Most of the games kind of sucked, and the 3D was spreading rumors of headaches. The system launched at $249.99, but was quickly reduced to $169.99, prior to Christmas. During the holidays the 3DS was not my fastest selling system. People still wanted DS Lites, DS XLs, and DSI. I still have a surplus of 3DS. I could blame the economy, but I blame Nintendo for confusing the **** out of my customers by changing the handheld every six months, and for a very lackluster amount of 3DS games.

Fair enough. Admittedly my pal gave me his old DS lite last year, and another friend sold me Dragon Quest IV and Castlevania order of ecclasia. Both very good titles, and yes I only recently got around to them. Sorry I'm not on the front cutting edge of gaming anymore.

 

8. Duke Nukem Forever.

 

Most people have lived an entire life during the developement of this game. Duke Nukem was a popular shooter franchise in the 90's that stole many lines from popular movies. In 2010 3D REALMS closed shop and Duke Nukem 4 got scrapped for good. When most of 3DRealms staff moved to Gearbox, the company vowed to finish it and put it out. What you get is a fish out of water. A game that shows signs of age, and lack of imagination. BY Christmastime we were practically giving this game away. SERIOUSLY. At one point you could have picked this game up used for $8.99! Horrible!

Actually I got it for $8.09. Look, I understand that we all had great expectations. Still after, what, 12 years in development it is impossible for ANYTHING to live up to the hype or expectations. I just take it for what it is, a little bit of fun from the late 90's.

 

6. Playstation 3 network gets hacked.

 

Right after Mortal Kombat came out, reports of network got hacked. During this time Sony held special training sessions for Gamestop Managers. While it was out for a long.time, Sony made good by offering free game downloaded and free month to Playstation Plus.

 

I'm still a little irritated that the PS3 won't play PS2 games. And while I have now a PS2 slim and a few older PS2 units, I was hoping for an upgrade in system so I could retire these. The older PS3s can play PS2 games or so I hear but I'm not about to go out of my way to look for one. Then again I'm probably not going to get a PS3 in the foreseeable future anyway.

 

3. Marvel Vs Capcom 3

Unless you really wanted to match Wolverine against choice members of Umbrella. This game sucked hard.

 

For the most part, it is probably having more to do with the fact that it had been 10 years since MVC2 had been released and Capcom was testing the waters to see if this fanbase could be pressed for profits. I won't say it sucked hard but I will say I found it underwhelming when I demoed it at Fry's down in San Diego last year. I wished it had more gameplay modes and exhibitions myself. They rebalanced it in ultimate. Still I have not bought it. I just wish they had put a little more attention into the overall game.