2007 Disappointments feature

This list of 2007's disappointments is by no means a list of the worst games this year (although there are some stinkers amongst them), but a list of those that failed to deliver on their potential, as decided upon by Gamestyle's staff writers.Transformers, multi-format (Garry Webber)I fully accept the blame for this disappointment, because I really should have known better. It's a game based on a summer blockbuster aimed at kids, so that should have sent warning alarms ringing in the cavernous space between my ears. It's also based on Transformers, a franchise I loved as a child myself... and, as we all know, the things you liked as a kid just aren't that good when you look back at them as an adult. It's one of the many things that sucks about getting older.But, for some reason, I was blinded to this, and I think the case was three-fold:1) The movie was actually quite good! Okay, it had huge plot holes, and some of the actors seriously need some lessons, but on the whole it was a good two hours of robot action, even if you couldn't tell who was hitting who in the fight scenes.2) The game was by Travellers Tales, who created one of the most enjoyable licensed games ever with Lego Star Wars.3) It's a game about giant robots that turn into jets, helicopters, cars, and spaceships. In my defence, how the hell do you screw that up?Well, Travellers Tales certainly found a way, with terrible controls, despicable missions and horrific boss battles, to name a few of the things wrong with this game. Yet, no matter how bad it is, it's purely my own fault for believing that, despite all the evidence to the contrary, it would be enjoyable. In retrospect, I should have remembered that TT also made Sonic 3D: Flickies Island, which started the fall of the cerulean speedster from which he still hasnt recovered.Lack of Time, all formats (Chris Faires)Simply put, I haven't had enough time for gaming this year. Too much time is taken up by work, a relationship, playing with the cat (can't use joypads, I've tried), not enough time is left for shamefully barely-started games like Half-Life 2, which is very disappointing.Hotel Dusk: Room 215, Nintendo DS (Daniel James)My expectations of Hotel Dusk were quite high, seeing as it came from the people behind the delightful (though short) Another Code: Two Memories. I would have hoped that the shortcomings of Another Code were a result of its rushed arrival as an early DS title, and that naturally Hotel Dusk would be a far improved experience. It turns out Cing simply aren't very good at making adventure games.The story is an intriguing one, as is the setup. The entire game takes place inside a hotel, over the duration of just one night, with a handful of guests and the staff making up the only characters. As you talk to people, you discover connections between them and a few too many coincidences. Where the game fails is in its amateur execution of fairly basic adventure game traits. Frequently, you are prevented from doing things in an order other than the game allows. You can't pick up objects that you aren't supposed to have yet; people won't appear in certain places until a previous event triggers their arrival; and you're often completely stuck in a certain place until you complete a task then and there. This goes some way to break the illusion of time passing, which is a common theme throughout its chapters. There are even times when you can fail (game over) just for saying the wrong thing out of two very similar things.I've played through the game twice, but all it proved is that it's not a game to play more than once. I like the story, I like the characters, I adore the art style... I was hooked for a fair few hours, desperate to know what happens next, and I'd recommend everyone give it a go just the once for the same reason. But a good adventure game needs to succeed as a game, not just a story, and this seems to be a trait lacking not only in Hotel Dusk, but other adventure games on the system as well. Its failure to fill that void, especially after looking so promising, is why it was a disappointment for me.Bioshock, Xbox 360 (Andy Lucas)Before you say it, this article is about the most disappointing games we've played this year, not the worst. Don't get me wrong, I actually enjoyed playing Bioshock. So if I enjoyed it, how can it also be my most disappointing game of the year?Bioshock is a beautiful game; the underwater city of Rapture is perhaps the most enthralling place in which I've shot stuff this year. But therein lies the disappointment, because under the Emperor's new clothes hides an FPS by rote.Bioshock's missions are little more than simple collect quests that we've all done a hundred times before; Sander Cohen's tasks are a perfect example of how mundane they are. The splicers are one-trick ponies, and once youve gotten over that trick (that crazy shouting!) you'll realise that the AI controlling them is nowhere near as advanced as that in titles like Halo 3 or F.E.A.R.. Indeed, it's possible to get through a large chunk of the game simply using the wrench to batter enemies to death. But even if it wasn't and you needed to use the other weapons in your arsenal more, you'd never be short of ammo, as it's sprinkled around with such reckless abandon that no caution needs to be applied in its usage. The Resident Evil titles have shown that the sparing provision of ammunition can be integral to creating tension and atmosphere - a lesson not learned by Bioshock.Perhaps one of the most crushing disappointments is the ridiculous twist, used to artificially prolong Bioshock's life when there really was no need to. Whether this was shoehorned into the otherwise engaging plot to prolong Bioshock's life is unclear, but it feels so forced and unnecessary that its inclusion grates horribly.There are many other flaws I could pick on - the complete lack of a southpaw control scheme for one -but it's perhaps better to say that, after all the hype and anticipation (partly built up by a great demo), and after experiencing the incredible in-game production values, to discover Bioshock is just another FPS makes it my most disappointing game of the year.The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass, Nintendo DS (Adam Gulliver)I love being controversial, which is why, for my most disappointing game of 2007, I've chosen this abortion of a Zelda title. How this has received such good review scores, I will never know. I swear a lot of the reviewers just look at the name "Zelda" and then automatically give it a 9.First up, the controls are terrible. You're forced to use the touch screen, which wouldn't be so bad if it wasn't so useless. I'm tired of trying to roll around and getting that little elf to run. It's odd that everyone looks past this when Lair offered motion control only instead of a standard control system and instantly got slated for it. And, like Lair, these controls only work 80% of the time.Finally that Ocean King temple. Whoever thought this was a good idea needs to be sacked and never work in video games again. Returning to the temple for what felt like the 100th time, I lost all will to live and threw this terrible title in the bin. The only saving grace seemed to be the graphics and the ability to draw on your map, both of which aren't worth the price of this hugely disappointing title.Eragon: The Game, multi-format(Colin Whiteside)It's not all fun and games at Gamestyle Towers - for every chance to play a game before anyone else, there are five games landing on our doorstep that don't quite cut the mustard. Eragon: The Game certainly had the full backing of the movie, with all those authentic voice actors and character faces attached to the lumpy, gangly potato men you control. But there has to be more to a hack-and-slash game than just a Hack button and a Slash button, and with an unstoppable combo unlocked within an hour's play, it wasn't hard to get into a repetitive rut.At least they kept it short, which is a small mercy, given how absolutely God-awful the boss battles were. If it had been bad enough to be hilarious, it wouldn't have been so unbearable, but I want my six hours back! "I regret nothing!", cried every fifth goon I dispatched with my magical blasts and sword swipes, as if his martyrdom to the cause of my spiralling boredom fills his tiny digital life with purpose. I hate you, Eragon, hate you in your fat smelly face. You're not the worst game I've ever played, but by God you're easily the most tedious.Heavenly Sword, PlayStation 3 (Jason Julier)In my view, there was no bigger disappiontment in 2007 than Heavenly Sword on the PlayStation 3.It certainly wasn't the worst game I've played this year, but after Halo 3, Heavenly Sword took the biggest tumble after all the hype.Bungie's epic may have had an impressive online facility to satisfy most fans, but Ninja Sword's oriental tale relied solely on its poorly-executed main mode.Really, the alarm bells were ringing in the run up to its release,with Sony focusing heavily on the graphics and production capabilities.We even received a clutch of short animations providing the background story, which were unfortunately not available within the game from the start.You could not fault the effort that was spent designing the characters and environments, and the huge cost of bringing these to life through animation and voice acting.The gameplay in comparison lagged behind on the list of things do to, or at least that seemed to be case.Five years, or thereabouts, it took to create this game and you have to wonder if SCEE ever considered pulling the plug, but by then it was already too late. Heavenly Sword was already installed as one of the great hopes for the system and the weight of those expectations eventually were its undoing.Offering little more than repetitive scrolling combat with the odd quick time event, Heavenly Sword arguably belonged to a previous generation of gaming.As a PlayStation 3 owner, Im still waiting for that exclusive release to really grasp the possibilities the system offers. In the meantime, I'll just keep folding at home in anticipation.