Six overhyped 2011 games that probably won't deliver

PC World writes: "2011 is promising some pretty impressive gaming titles, but will they be everything they're vaunted to be? We've picked out six titles we think will disappoint gamers this year.

We're not saying they won't be good -- but we don't think they'll be as good as they're being hyped up to be, whether it's by marketers or by rabid fanboy gamers."

[Jio]

Disagree with all of them (except maybe Driver: I want a return to the old Driver)

[Christopher]

Vehemently disagree with 4 out of the 6. Not a very good list, IMHO.

[a_squirrel]

I don't know about the star wars one...
*rage*
Make a Battlefront 3 already! >:|

[BakedGoods]

This is becoming the norm of N4G--doom and gloom headlines.

"This game failed"
"That game will flop"
"Why this game will/does suck"

It's like the people who have games to play are busy playin' them, while those who don't complain about 'em. Protip: Buy a PS3. That will solve all your gaming dilemmas.

[thugbob]

I agree will the list expect LA Noire.

Portal 2 will be like GT5. Over hyped, but still one of the best games of it's genre this gen.

Diablo won't flop, but will not deliver up to the hype.

Duke Nukem won't deliver.

Star Wars will flop.

Driver... Is this even hyped? If it is it won't deliver.

LA Noire will deliver. Rockstar, nuff said.

This is just my opinion anyway.

[ExplosionSauce]

I know what to expect. So far it looks as great as the first game, but with more features and harder. Can't wait!

[EDIT]
Ok wow! It's a PC fanboy article claiming that consoles will dumb Portal 2 down. Haven't heard that before...

It amazes me how this person is not aware that the first Portal game ALREADY WAS on consoles and it was the EXACT SAME game it was on PC.
It can only get better from there.

Also, Rockstar has nothing to do with the Mafia games made by 2K.
Give Rockstar a chance to see what they can do.

[Ducky]

Surprised that it didn't mention DeusEx. That game has some shoes to fill.

[malamdra]

I really have a bad feeling about Portal 2, I hope I'm mistaken, but those two comic relief robots from the picture above are all kinds of wrong

[TheLastGuardian]

The only game on the list I care about is LA Noire. I think it will live up to the hype.

[morganfell]

Portal has been over-hyped? Really? Really? I do not believe the writer understands the meaning of the word hype nor the actions it entails.

[Seferoth75]

LMAO.. Yeah buy a PS3 the console with the poorest software sales and the biggest amount of raging fanboys that do exactly what you are talking about, trash games. Yeah good call, that is exactly what we need. More raging fanboys not buying exclusives and crying nonstop..... I guess your answer to end world hunger would be to destroy all the food too?

[nveenio]

First of all, a game's hype is relative to the people talking about it. For instance, the only people I've seen talking about most of these games are people online. And even then, only in certain circles.

So the definition of "hype" is flawed. When I game punctures through to all circles (when pretty much everyone you talk to wants it and wants it bad), then you can say it has a lot of hype. For most of these games, however, the hype train hasn't even left the station.

Finally, few games ever deliver to the hype, and those games are triple-A award winners. Not every game can be an award winner.

That being said, I'm anxious for Portal 2 and inFamous 2 <-- My most wanted games of the near future. I don't think Portal 2 won't live up to the hype. It's a puzzle game. The first had little story, and it was still awesome. Just the concept is awesome. So I think it's good to go.

[MysticStrummer]

Seferoth, you need to purchase a mirror, and take a long look at yourself. OT - This list is not very good. I agree with FatOldMan. Deus Ex has something to prove.

[Buttons]

"Ever since the game's announcement, we've been bombarded with LA Noire marketing material"

Um, what? The game was announced in like what, 2004? And there was literally nothing on it until maybe a year ago? Uhh...

[Cheeseknight28]

I see absolutely no way Valve will disappoint with Portal 2. Since Portal was never a full game, Portal 2 has the potential to turn what was once an amazing concept into a true fully-fledged game. Also, co-op.

L.A. Noire will only fail if it pulls a Heavy Rain and has plot holes, plot holes everywhere.

Old Republic *looks* in the physical since, like garbage. Even Cataclysm looks better. And if Louse was right, it's going to be weak.

Diablo III shouldn't have problems. It's Blizzard. They don't make bad games.

Driver and DNF I'm indifferent of. DNF might fail because the game's mechanics are stuck in the past. But that might go in it's favor.

[Lich120]

Their logic with Diablo 3 was that it has too big of shoes to fill when the exact same things could and were, said about starcraft 2, which was and is still a fantastic game. I hadn't played many RTS games since the original and yet Blizz drew me right back into the scene. If anything, the weight on SC2 was bigger than Diablo 3 since theres a massive competitive league surrounding it.

[Finger-Eater]

Lol at their reason for L.A Noire failling.

"After the intense disappointment that was Mafia 2, we're no longer confident any new guns-'n'-gangsters game can stand up to our fond memories of the original Mafia"

What a fucking idiot. You are a detective that solves crimes that take place in the height of the mafia years. You aren't part of it, you don't go around shooting people when you want like mafia 2 and gta, and its more investigation then gunplay. It's like saying I was disappointed in Black ops so now I wont buy any FPS games set in Vietnam... ummm WTF?

[Lich120]

Actually in a way Finger, their claim is more ridiculous than your vietnam simile.

[metsgaming]

i thought this was going to be one big troll article but its not so bad. I kind of agree but in the end there will be alot of people that will like the game regardless if it does deliver what we think they would.

[showtimefolks]

and i know i will be pleased with each

resistance 3
ratchet all 4 one
uncharted 3
twisted metal
rage
la:n
mass effect 3
saints row 3
infamous 2
ico/sotc
and few others

[Fire1792]

Uncharted 3 is all I'll give ya. Not dissing the other games. It's just I'm not really into them, I'm sure they're great but Uncharted 3 is the one I'll agree with you 100%.

And I want to get BF3 and see some more stuff on Dead Island before I decide.

[DigitalPiracy]

You're not a Sony fanboy......

[BlmThug]

@Jio I Agree, Out Of All 6 Driver Isn't Hyped & Isn't Like The Original Driver Gamers,

P.S Driver 1 & 2 Rocked

[DeadlyFire]

Portal 2 is on this list? wha? Obviously this novice doesn't know what Valve equates to in gaming terms.

Duke Nukem Forever? Honestly. Whyyy? Just because its taken forever to get here. That is the whole point of the game existence. They will either deliver or be buried by the gaming community for destroying Duke.

The Old Republic. I kinda agree with. Its looking alot like a typical MMO. Well it is a MMO. So what else is it gonna look like?

Ubisoft hopes to reboot the series with Driver SF. That is the whole point of the game to shake those bad dropping game reviews of last two titles.

LA Noire is well LA Norie. Its not meant to be a Mafia game. That is not the point. You are a detective in the 50's. Mafia linage goes to 2K games anyway.

[thehitman]

idk I agree about diablo 3 being overhyped. Even though it is blizzard and they usually seem to get it right SC2 felt like a huge disappointment like it was rushed out the box even though it took them 10 years to deliver it. Not to mention the same team who worked on D2 isnt on D3 and certain directions about the game havent made me happy. I think this game success if there will be a success will be solely because of the name aka halo syndrome. A lot of the other games he chose I can see as possibilities of being over hyped also.

[ASSASSYN 36o]

You must not know what probably means.

[Solid_Snake-]

well said jio. by the looks of driver and how they cheaped out of a free roaming game into a "wheel man" ripp off.

the rest will deliver.

lol@ portal 2 not gonna live up to the hype. it is by far the best mod ever. and most original game in gaming history. no other game does that kinda stuff.

[f789790]

I agreed with them all, EXCEPT PORTAL 2!!! OMG!!! *foams at mouth*

[tdogchristy90]

Personally I feel that diablo 3, portal 2, and LA Noire can live up to the hype.

I can't really speak for the others, but knowing the devs like blizzard, valve, and rockstar, I think they'll do fine.

swtor would do fine because bioware is up there in terms of good developers....but since it's an mmo, mmos always always seem to have trouble.

[RedDead]

Don't forget, the one's who are actually developing the Old Republic are only new to Bioware. It i stheir first game. The bioware team who made Mass Effect, Baldurs gate and Kotor are differant

[Seferoth75]

LOL first year... Yeah like you can make an MMO in a year....

Seriously you really think they are spending 50 million or more on a huge franchise MMO like Star wars, doing it all in a year and putting people with no experience on the game at all?
Really? I got some cheap ocean front property in Arizona I'd like to sell you

[DanSolo]

@Seferoth75

I would love to take a look at that Ocean front property that you are selling in Arizona, I don't need to view it as I am sure it is great. However would you mind throwing in earthquake insurance?

I will have the money just as soon as the pyramid scheme I have recently joined pays up!

[Baka-akaB]

@RedDeadDestroyer

I know it's hardly the same , but it's not their first online rodeo .

Their neverwinter nights 1 game even managed to have a persistant online world component

[kyl277]

This is sounding stupid

"Now that it's being tailored for consoles as well as PCs, and it's getting the mass-market treatment, we think Portal 2 is going to be dumbed down and cutesier than the original"

Portal 1 was on 3 platforms and Portal 2 is on... 3 platforms. Obviously a good gaming site.

And how is Driver: SF overhyped? I hadn't heard of it until now and noone is talking about it.

[TheBlackSmoke]

"Now that it's being tailored for consoles as well as PCs, and it's getting the mass-market treatment, we think Portal 2 is going to be dumbed down and cutesier than the original"

..Cant argue with that logic /s

[mephman]

They're saying that the original was designed specifically for the PC. It was later ported to consoles, yes, but it wasn't designed for that market.

[HenryFord]

How is Portal 2 any different? Just go ahead and aks Newell: Portal is still aimed at the PC-Market - Valve is veeeeery loyal to the PC-Platform. The probability that Portal 2 will flop is around 0,00* % - seeing the past of Valve (L4D2 was a great game, totally lived up to the hype, Half-Life 2 (Episode 1 + 2 as well), Team Fortress 2...)

[cochise313]

I think all of them will deliver the goods except for Duke Nukem and Driver. L.A. Noire will likely be the best imo.

[Kon]

Agree with most of them except L.A Noire and Portal 2. All other games are extremely overhyped. Let's take duke nukem for example: Ugly graphics and boring mechanics, but everyone is hyping the game to hell just because it's duke nukem.

[BiggCMan]

Well it is Duke Nukem :D Come on, no one is expecting (at least not that I know of) one of the greatest games ever made. Its just a pure fun, crazy, action packed, next gen Duke game, and thats what the fans have wanted.

[Merivigian]

I agree, the LA Noire thing is bogus.. I believe it will legitimately bring something new and exciting to the table.

[femshep]

my only problem with it is it has poor detective work in it every trailer ive seen there touching evidence without gloves which contaminates the evidence there for making it worthless to the case

[DanSolo]

@ femshep

Were you being sarcastic?

As back then they didn't have forensics and I highly doubt that wearing gloves was required. Just look at police work in the 1970's and how it has changed since then.... and LA Noire is set just after the war, in the 1940's.

I admit though, I am a bit "worried" that the crime solving part might be a bit weak. I am hoping that it feels like actually trying to solve the crime using your brain, as opposed to a sequence of gameplay types that if you do it right solves the crime.
When I played Heavy Rain I enjoyed the game alot and I'm glad I played it.... but the crime solving side of it was very poor.... as an interactive movie the game excelled... but it was not like you could actually solve the crime... you just kind of went through the motions until the end! I am hoping that LA Noire is not like that!

I think it will deliver though!

[WitWolfy]

LA:N is gonna be GOTY mark my words!!!

[theonlylolking]

Ugly graphics and boring mechanics, but everyone is hyping the game to hell just because it's duke nukem.

I bet you like half life when it is the same thing.

[Killzone3___]

i agree :)

here a bubble , iit seems that you need one :D

i really don't like the bubble system..

[dumahim]

Driver is extremely overhyped? I haven't even seen or heard anything about it this year. I had completely forgotten about it.

[HeavenlySnipes]

Diablo is not my style but I doubt the fans will hate it, was it in development for like 5 years?

Duke will (don't flame me) probably not be that good and will get an 8.5 from IGN because they wouldn't want to score it higher than they think it deserves but to not to low o upset fans.

Driver, well I finished the one on PS2, (I think it was Driv3r, with that 3 cleverly placed there) and it was horribly put together.

[Stunt]

These people are on crack. Portal 2 and L.A. Noire will definitely deliver.

[iHEARTboobs]

I'm hoping they do!

[jony_dols]

Portal 2 and LA Noire are guaranteed to be amazing.
Both Valve and R* have near immaculate records, so I see no reason why they would change now.

The rest on the list have the potential to flop.

Duke Nukem could turn out to be a bit of an Alien 3.
Talented people at the helm, but there have been too fingers interfering in the pie....

[Stunt]

Matt, one of our staffers, played a bit of DNF at PAX. Said it "was not what [he'd] hoped".

http://scrawlfx.com/2011/03...

[Commander_TK]

Smoke some crack

[Raven_Nomad]

I kind of agree with this list. I hated the first Portal game and the not a single game on their aside from maybe Duke Nukem interests me.

I doubt many of those games do very well.

[qadsia123]

l.a NOIRE!!!??

[Pintheshadows]

You don't think Portal 2 or LA Noire will do very well? Or Diablo 3? But you think Duke Nukem will? I respectfully disagree.

[Raven_Nomad]

I never said Duke would do well, I said it interests me. The other games not at all.

[KaBaW]

So, because some games don't interest you, they won't do very well?
That what you saying? Anyway, like most, 5 out of 6 of those game interest me.

[Raven_Nomad]

Well if you look at the amazing amount of quality games coming out this year, it's obvious a lot of games aren't going to fare well.

Couple of those are P.C. I believe, so right away that is a huge disadvantage in sales.

[Baka-akaB]

this is silly , even blizzard believe diablo 3 will actually erode their World of Warcraft base . That's how strong the franchise it .

Sure there are plenty complaints about d3 ... some probably valid ... but with the kind of silly and bitching the game had right at its reveal , like change in colours ? It's universal success is certain ... too many people cared for it not too , even if the game was crap .

[sp1deynut]

How the hell is it "overhyped"?? I think anyone with half a brain knew it was going to be a flop, the day it was announced. It's been completely off the radar, ever since it was delayed...nobody gives a sh*t about it....so it's certainly not overhyped.

The rest of that list is bogus....the author is obviously an idiot.

[DanSolo]

lol yeah, the first driver was a good game for its time... but every one since has been crap!

I am not contemplating getting the game, and I have not heard anyone else hyping it!

[Mista T]

Duke will be awesome. No doubt in my mind it'll be the most fun game of the year for me and that's all that matters.

[qadsia123]

I agree with Swotr,driver and duke nukem but the other three!? you MAD!?

[No Way]

Lol, I'd agree with a game that I didn't know the name of, as well. :P
Swotr? It's Star Wars: The Old Republic. (SWTOR)

[qadsia123]

Oh yes a spelling mistake means I dont know anything about the game and yes I believe it will be over hyped and will not be anything special or new to the MMO genre. Diablo 3 and la noire I dont even have to justify why there gonna deliver aswell as portal 2.

[No Way]

It was just a joke, hence the ":P" .. lighten up. :)

But, I personally disagree with you. I don't think it's going to some WoW..
Though, I certainly think it'll have it's own 'pop,' and if players embrace it..
Well, then, fer sure, I think it can be something 'special,' as I said below.

And, most definitely, I agree with you on Diablo 3, LA Noire, and Portal 2.

[telekineticmantis]

I'm getting it.

[ELite_Ghost]

ps3 version, even if my ps3 is 700km from home!

Cause obv i can play it on pc :P

[Motorola]

I dont know too much about the other games. But Portal 2 def wont fail

[mixelon]

Silly list. Their complaints about Portal 2 and LA Noire are particularly off kilter.. I mean, how is LA Noire's hype any different than any other high profile R* game? Don't they always tend to deliver recently? Likewise with Valve. And Blizzard.

As for Duke, its always going to be a niche title, I'm sure however it scores it's going to be amazing to some people and hopeless to others.

ST:TOR is a safe bet too. It's the individual's responsibility to expect reasonable things and see through promo BS. If TOR disappoints I bet it'll be entirely because people get frustrated at it for issues inherent to the genre; IE looking at it for what it ISNT (and isn't trying to be) rather than what it IS.. I hate it when reviewers do that.

[Spinal]

Precisely. SWTOR is going to be a decent MMO from the looks of it. People expecting Innovation and the 2nd coming of Christ are going to be Bitterly disappointed.

I'm looking forward to SWTOR but i'm highly aware that its not bringing anything new to the table. And it should be a good MMO.

Tho I hold Guild Wars 2 and Diablo 3 on a higher platform to SWTOR. but hey im a fan of the genre so i'll be trying em all.

[Gawdl3y]

I personally can't wait for Guild Wars 2 or Diablo III, as well.

[acemonkey]

duke will
Swotr I have no idea
Portal 2 I dont know
but LA Noire NOPE

[No Way]

Diablo 3: I think will be the best of the series, I have faith in Blizzard.
Not to mention, the previews, gameplay, and information I've seen looks great.
And, the new multiplayer game modes that they've come up with, looks like tons of fun.
And, personally, I'm here hoping that they release the game on consoles.

Star Wars: Other than being a MMO, I think it will do fantastic.
BioWare is making it, and if it's anything like KoToR it will be fantastic.
Though, I still wish they would make a proper KoToR 3 or Battlefield.

Driver: Uhm .. not sure about this one. So, I'll give em one.

Duke Nukem: I'm not sure, I haven't seen much about it, however..
If it's anything like the past games, it'll be a heluva blast to play.

Portal: Never did play the first game, jus didn't get around to it.
But, I have faith in Valve, and they said this the best they've done, yet.

LA Noire: One of my most anticipated titles of this whole year.
And, I mean, Rockstar is involved, so that's always a plus!
Besides, for me, it's a welcomed fresh take on video games.
Doesn't seem to be many games like it, so that's awesome!

[KotC]

I think Portal 2 and Diablo 3 will fail.

[Gran Touring]

Blizzard has NEVER made a bad game. Go ahead, try and name one

[KotC]

Thats why I feel it's time for Blizzard to fail. Portal 2 will fail because the only reason the first was a success was because of all the content packed in The Orange Box. I don't think Portal 2 will survive on it's own without Half Life.

[ELite_Ghost]

that atari kid makes no sense...

how do u fail making a 3rd installment 10 years after its release?

[Lich120]

I point it out higher up, but people were saying the exact same thing about SC2. Ill admit I was a little worried because it had so much riding on it. But after Blizz nailed that, I have complete faith in them nailing Diablo 3, since overall I think its a easier feeling to capture.

[Solidus187-SCMilk]

because those are the two on this list taht are most likely to be great and not fail.

I have a bad feeling about the new duke. D3d is one of my favorite games but Ithink this one wont live up to the original, I dont even think it will be close. Who knows it could be great, but it seems like it was salvaged from the garbage bin.

[DtotheRoc]

fuckin idiot LOL! you can't be serious that the only reason portal was successful was years later on a console?! you're insane dude. ever heard of MOD before? yeah it's a mod of half-life 2. so is counterstrike and all three of those games are probably the biggest in PC gaming history for FPS genre aside from battlefield 2 and 1942. anyway counterstrike and portal were free back in the day so how were they NOT successful? everyone loves free. you console kids are too young to know what gaming used to be and why it's never going to be as great again. that said LA NOIRE hyped? well it went dormant on information for like 5 years lol and portal 2 hyped? everyone knew it would one-day come but aside from the official annoucement at E3 that it would be on the ps3 as well it's definately going to be even more successful. portal is one of those games anyone can appreciate--which actually includes the cod fanfools (also note i love me some cod4 which is as close to counterstrike with SnD as you can get in todays generation) duke is going to be great to some naturally and awful to others. that game is all about the community of nostalgia based games for anyone with any memories of duke nukem 3d you know this is going to be great fun/humor for sure. finally the others on that list i cannot speak for as i'm not a fan of strategy/rpg style games but i did beat the original diablo on ps1 and it was damned good for being a cheap ten dollar game for me.

[palaeomerus]

PCworld writes sucky "list for hits" articles now? Oh look. It's a bunch of popular upcoming games listed as 'probably going to be disappointing'. Maximum tolling for hits and controversy confirmed.

How sad and lame is that?

[RandomDude655]

Welcome to the sad state of game journalism where professionalism and dignity go out the window. What ever happened to giving us top ten new features or moments in games. What happened to liking games with these idiots? Everything now must be a negative...that's why I no longer take gaming sites seriously

[Brian5247]

So pretty much all the great games, huh?

Fu*k off, PCGamer.

[Kran]

Actually its PC World.

[Kran]

Portal 2? Really? Valve hardly let's us down on games. Why would they start now?

[KotC]

Half Life 2 ep 1 and Left 4 Dead 2 kinda sucked for Valve games.

That was supposed to say "ep 1" my bad :(

[csimpson]

Yeah, Left 4 Dead 2 was a disappointment (so similar to original) and HL2Ep2 was so short. Valve better pick up their game (pun) with Portal 2 and HL2Ep3.

[LightofDarkness]

Whoa, Nelly, Episode 2 far from sucked, it was much better than Episode One and felt like a logical interlude between HL2 and HL3. But they'd better get that shit out soon, I remember clearly being all psyched for Team Fortress 2 when I first heard about it... in 1998. Don't pull that one again, Valve. For the love of GOD.

[solar]

i thought L4D2 was a huge leap in terms of MP compared to t he original.

as for Ep.2.....no where near agree with you. id go into detail but i do not want to spoil the episode for anyone who hasnt played it :)

[marichuu]

Diablo 3 on the list? THIS IS BLASPHEMY!!!

I'm not a hardcore Diablo 2 fan, but think about it... It's Blizzard. How many of their titles have actually failed? That's right, none.

[csimpson]

None have failed, sure, but D3 is totally not going to live up to everyones' hopes and dreams. It's going to be so fundamentally similar to D2 and D1 that old-school players will just be stuck thinking "well, what's new?"

That said it'll still be another massive success commercially for Blizzard, just like Starcraft 2 (common Metacritic complaint is that it's so similar to SC1 and BW)

[Spinal]

Diablo 3 is gonna be a newer Version of Diablo 2 which IS exactly what the fans Want.

This time its not gonna be just left click or right click for spell use, now we will use hotkeys 1-5 for example to use our moves aswell. And have you not seen gameplay vids? Its looking awesome.

And now the addition of a PVP arena?? This was never in Diablo 1 or 2. So how about you stick to subjects you know about? Cuase you have no fricking clue about Diablo 3.

[Solidus187-SCMilk]

thats all I want, a game so similar to diablo 2, since well...Diablo 2 is one of my favorite games ever.

People will love diablo 3 nomatter what, and I bet it kicks ass.

I doubt they would let one of their biggest series fail. Im guessing that a Diablo MMO is being considered for someday in the future. I believe that blizzard knows taht a future Diablo MMO is their only shot at making a game as big as WOW ever again, and they wont let the series go down hill before they try taht.

[Tzuno]

Diablo 3 will be a masterpiece. The guy who included Diablo 3 in the article is amateur.

[NoobJobz]

I agree with many people in here. Portal 2 and LA Noire won't disappoint. Those are two of my most anticipated games of the year. BTW, the releases dates of both are getting close.

[No Way]

Oh yeah! May 17th for LA Noire (and Brink, too) but when is Portal 2 set to release?

[NoobJobz]

Portal 2 is April 19th I believe. Right around the corner!

[LightofDarkness]

Only game on this list that's in danger of not delivering is Duke, but that depends on what you're expecting. I'm expecting the game they were going to deliver around 2001, gameplay mechanics and all, a shooter that's almost entirely free of the current mod-cons of FPS games. I will still enjoy it, I imagine.

Technically, Diablo 3 will utterly fail to deliver this year as it's simply not going to be delivered this year. There are to be no major Blizzard releases in 2011, and that's a fact. They covered it in their latest AGM.

[despair]

other than Driver I think all others will deliver, and since when is Driver "overhyped" I really haven't heard or seen anything about it that looked good or better than the last few crappy Driver games.

[csimpson]

Maybe not overhyped... but it's going to disappoint. Bet it'll be a racing game that sucks at racing. C'mon, 'shifting' magically between cars in the middle of a chase? What a stupid idea....

[therapist]

Diablo 3 will Decimate every other game!
Just like Starcraft 2 did last year, I still play it almost every day, the online is PERFECT!

Portal 2 looks horiible, like the first 1

Driver...??? Really, they still make those games

Duke Nukem....??? Really, they still make those games

Star Wars MMO ... might be decent, rift just shit on every other mmo besides wow, Star Was game to beat is rift, nothing will touch WOW for a few years, until blizzard makes a new mmo

L A Noir looks fu@king terrible, to me at least. Rockstar has such shitty graphics and terrible cutscenes I can't get into their games.

I think the best games this year will be The Witcher 2
Skyrim
Battlefield 3, all on PC, obviously.

Dragon Age 2 is my dissappoint of the year so far, after that demo, I'll be waiting for the $15 sweet spot

edit...
@ Solar

I just didn't like the ladies voice (gladys) the generic repetitive rooms, the dull puzzle only enviroments, the "humor" that was not funny to me (favorite comedy is idocracy or maybe step brothers)
I did not like the game as a whole package, it was a neat little tech demo for sure

Maybe many of these issues will be addressed in the second game, if steam has a demo (i'm quite sure they will) I'll check it out, i just think it is a "B" franchise, nowhere near a AAA game like they are trying to make it out to be, a $20 game maybe, I got portal for free with some other game long ago, ran perfect, literally 300 frames per second the whole time (thats as fast as it will go) but, in the end, i was bored

[solar]

what was horrible about Portal 1 in your opinion?

[Spinal]

I agree to an extent. WOW won't be killed of course and Diablo 3 will PWN every game.

I do think SWTOR will kill Rift tho. I actually think Rift will swiftly lose subs on the release of SWTOR. I think most people playing Rift are only waiting for the next best thing. Cause WoW players know Rift don't have staying power.

[Lindsey]

" it's getting the mass-market treatment, we think Portal 2 is going to be dumbed down and cutesier than the original. Don't get us wrong, we'll play it, but we just think it's going to be aimed at the kiddy, easy-to-play market."

What are they talking about? When has Valve ever been known to "dumb-down" their games?

[dumahim]

To be fair, I think there is room to raise the question of being dumbed down a bit. I've seen multiple interviews where they talk about 2 parts in the first Portal that people got stuck on because you needed some quick reflexes to accomplish your goal. WIth Steam, they saw that a very high number of people were exiting the game during these 2 specific spots. They've said they've removed instances like this from Portal 2. To me, the game just focuses on being a thinking game and solving the puzzles rather than frustrating people who can see the solution, but have a hard time pulling it off. I don't really see that as a bad thing.

So if anything, since they got this data of when users were quitting from Steam, it's actually the PC players to blame.

On the flip side, I've also heard comments about timed events being used quite a bit in the co-op mode, so I don't think quick reflexes are completely gone.

[solar]

Gabe himself said Portal 2 is the best game Valve has ever done. HL2 is a masterpiece and still the game that every other FPS is compared too and strives to be. if Portal 2 is 75% of what HL2 is ill be happy. can. not. wait.

[csimpson]

Hahah, and Mr Newell is the be-all-and-end-all is he? The guy doesn't have a good track record, he said the PS3 wouldn't take off because it was too hard to dev for and he hates Xbox Live. Clearly not a gamer!

[solar]

you are correct. gabe has a terrible track record. i totally agree with everything you said......really....i do.

[plb]

And Gabe also admitted he was wrong and apologized for it. How many other devs have done that?

[Pandamobile]

Gabe doesn't have a good track record?

Aha.

AHAHAHAHAHHA.

[SilverSlug]

Portal 2... o.o

[ME1989]

Terrible list, and even worse reasons given.

I was facepalming the whole time.

[Visari]

Portal 2

will definitely deliver. I'm not the biggest fan of Valve but Portal 2 looks amazing.

Diablo

I have no clue on as I've never played the games and probably never will because of my crappy PC.

Duke Nukem Forever

is 50/50. It will deliver on nostalgia and laughs but it's not going to be able to compete with other shooters. Then again, it's not trying to compete with other shooters so I think it will do fine on it's own especially when the only closest competitor is Bulletstorm and that game was butt.

Star Wars: The Old Republic

Don't know about this one either because it's on PC but I'm not a big fan of Star Wars so I have no clue how this will turn out.

Driver: San Francisco

Won't deliver based on the early videos I've seen on it. I've never been a big fan of the Driver games but the whole teleporting from car to car instead of getting out to steal another just gives me bad vibes about this game regardless of how it ties into the story.

L.A. Noire

Won't deliver as the only thing people are really hyping up is the faces in the game. To me it looks like nothing special but it will still sell a lot because casual gamers think it's a Rockstar game when it's really a game by Team Bondi.

[jony_dols]

Have you not seen the gameplay videos of L.A Noire?
It looks amazing all round, everything from the graphics & voice acting to the perfectly recreated 1950's L.A and the intriguing gameplay mechanics. That seem to be a mix of a more restrained and refined GTA combined with Heavy Rain's emphasis on investigating and character development.

Rockstar are overseeing the project and have had an active participation in the games development.

Journalists who have played it, have said that it is revolutionary.
Team Bondi have obviously done something right.

[DtotheRoc]

i agree la noire if is anyting like heavy rain was will be runner-up for goty. it's so hard to say though because of all the games coming out right now. this year is incredible thanks to all the hype back at e3 last year...which sucks though because so far the games just haven't delivered. prime example crysis 2 isn't as good sa the 1st even which is 4 years old lol and homefront was excellent but looked poor so it got shitty reviews plus it's pretty low on modes/features MP wise. killzone 3 good campaign buggy MP...seems like every game out this eyar so far has been rushed! the only purchase i'm completely happy with this year has been dead space 2...well no wait...i almost forgot about it's tacked-on=rushed MP too. so the only recent game i'm completely happy with then would be ACB from last year with exciting story maybe not better than 2's but i dont' really care it's still excellent and with the twist of a TRUELY innovative competitive MP that works flawlessly aside from a few party system issues that i'm sure hvae been resolved since i stopped playing it back in january.

[Baka-akaB]

blizzard games are usually made with crapy pcs in mind . So i doubt , if its not to much of a dinosaur , that you wouldnt be able to play diablo 3 .

[dbjj12088]

"Here's a list of games we know you're all excited about. In order to generate page views we're going to say that they won't be as good as you hope they'll be."

[DavidBaller]

Classic flame bait Article :/ hate em!

[Serinous]

agree with all except for Portal 2 and Diablo 3!

[sasuke99]

Duke Nukem

inFAMOUSE 2

[Veneno]

One of the games I'm looking forward to most this year is Anarchy Reigns! It's a brawler thats gunna have online co-op. I hope it has a team Vs. mode as well . That would be sick!

[danielle007]

Shut your whore mouth. Valve and Blizzard always deliver. Always.

[DarkSpawnClone]

maybe its the nostalgia talking but I really want Duke Nukem and Driver to succeed,they were great back in the day portal is going to be awesome tho for sure..man there are a few games i want back i would love a new Need for speed underground done like the first 2 tho i hated the third.

[soundslike]

what do you expect?

they pay near double the rest of the world for games, as such any article from down under tends to be jaded.

[Unknown_SNAKE]

stupid list and article
5 overhyped sites will flop:
> http://www.pcworld.idg.com....
> http://www.pcworld.idg.com....
> http://www.pcworld.idg.com....
> http://www.pcworld.idg.com....
> http://www.pcworld.idg.com....

lol

[SnipeySnake]

only ones ive heard of is portal 2 and duke nukem

[SeraphimBlade]

LA Noire's gonna suck because Mafia II was disappointing? Ah, yes, just Mario Galaxy sucked because so did the Sonic Adventure games. I see. LOGIC!

[Bathyj]

Why would Portal 2 be dumbed down for consoles?

Its not like the game is a technical marvel, its just a brilliant idea, beautifully implemented. And I'm sure its not going to be watered down puzzles either, if anything they should be more brain taxing as they've had a long time to think of different ways to bend space and play with physics.

[danielle007]

Portal 1 was on the 360 already anyways. And PS3 got a mediocre port.

I think it'll be amaazing. :]

[Ashriel]

Pretty stupid arguments there...

[MiloGarret]

Valve, Blizzard, and Rockstar always dissapoint. ALWAYS.

What?

Dumbest list I've seen on N4G for a while, and that's saying something.

[DundahMifflin]

I LOL'd when I read Portal 2's reason for flopping. It's Valve, people. Don't worry.

[spektical]

i agree with LA NOIR and DRIVER

gameplay has not been shown on LA NOIR, and Rockstar is just acting as the publisher for the game. Driver has seen a steady decline in quality, but hey its been a good while and we may see the improvements.

[Der_Kommandant]

I facepalmed like 5 times

[palaeomerus]

Are you a hindu deity or a mutant or something ?

[bozebo]

Driver will most probably be a pile of junk.

As for the rest, who can say. TBH I bet Bizzard (or Activision...) announce some crap like diablo 3 goes multiplat or something like that, which will no doubt totally decimate the PC version completely. Also, pretty much every seemingly-good-but-not-yet-rel eased game could be on that list. Like BF3 and The Witcher 2. What I can say for a FACT about BF3 is that it will be incredibly buggy, because every BF game has been. That won't stop me playing and enjoying it though. (but, they will promise patches but just make another BF instead)

The only way to actually know if a game is going to be good is to play it, or watch it played over someone's shoulder.

[iceman2885]

Yeah...Blizzard/Activision will announce DIII will go multiplat just like they did with SC2 and WoW in a money grab...Oh wait, those other two things didn't happen?

Bursts your bubble.

[bozebo]

just wait and see

[goxbox360]

Portal 2 kiddy, easy to play market? aren't many games easier than Portal 1 was. I can't imagine it'll be easier. lol

[Master_S]

Driver overhyped???

WTF

[SuperbVillain]

why not just be optimistic about games instead of trying to predict which wont deliver?

[iceman2885]

Article is ridiculous.

Refers to a "major complaint" about Starcraft 2...where was I when all this "complaining" was done. Oh yeah, I was playing Starcraft 2 as were all of these 'mystery' people complaining about it being too much like SC1.

[Soldierone]

Oh no someone said Portal 2 is overhyped and wont deliver! Valve fanboy RAGE! ... again.

Glad im not the only one.

[YodaCracker]

I agree at least to some extent with all of them except for L.A. Noire. It is set to be a huge success just like GTA IV and RDR. Why are they comparing it to Mafia II? While I very much enjoyed that game, it brought nothing new to the table, while L.A. Noire brings the incredible new MotionScan technology for the most realistic facial animations ever seen in games, and innovative new detective gameplay. It seems the writer of the article does not know very much about Rockstar's latest masterpiece.

[Nicaragua]

Faces do not make good games and no-one has actually seen this innovative detective gameplay in action.

Im not saying it will be bad but your just sucking on a big hype dick and regurgitating marketing spunk.

[tmoss726]

The author didn't even mention that TOR IS A FULLY VOICED MMORPG AND HAS NEVER BEEN DONE BEFORE. Seriously, yeah it'll probably be grind and stuff, but it'll be more epic then just reading words on a screen. Terrible article.

[nevermore]

Blizzard wont let us down with diablo 3.

[Vaud-Villian]

They probably swapped out Uncharted 3 for Driver last minute because it looked way too much like hit bait.

Now it just looks like almost but not quite guaranteed hit bait.

Bioware, Blizzard, Valve and Rockstar haven't ever had a game that didnt meet expectations except those of the most devout and rabbid fanboy.

[kasasensei]

Stupid news.

[Masterchef2007]

Was about to call them trolls. But since Gears 3 and Uncharted 3 are not on the list i backed off.

But if theres one game I disagree with is LA Noire. Come one its a game from rockstar its going to be good.

[Samewire]

hmm..

Blizzard, Bioware, Valve, Rockstar develop these games..
Of course they will deliver first class!

And the article said that D3 could be nothing new like Starcraft2. Who cares about nothing new when it is a hell lot of fun? Additionally it is RTS game of the year and the most promising game for esports.

[Karlsfsn]

It's an Aussie site anyway. He's probably just pissed because they'll ban the games and he WONT get to play them to see how much they "suck or disappoint"

[retrofly]

This is blatanatly just done for hits. Looks like it worked too. :(

[ATiElite]

Portal 2..... Overhyped my ass! Portal 2 is made by Valve.....Nuff said! Besides articles of people lucky enough to have already played it are pointing towards something special.

Diablo III.....you could take Diablo 2 and in Crayon add a third I and it STILL would be awesome! Blizzard has strong competition from many other dungeon crawlers this year but guess what Diablo III like SC2 will raise the bar. You can bet your ass on this one.

L.A. NoiRe. I've seen enough already to know this will be good. lots of innovation in game play. Deep story immersion like Heavy Rain but with GTA open world action plus it's Rockstar.

Star Wars the Old Republic: Bioware makes a Star Wars themed game. How can that fail? even if all they did was turn Mass Effect into Star wars it can't fail. It's TOO BIG to Fail.

Duke Nukem Forever is never coming out (joke)
Why is Driver even on this list? The writer should of added Battlefield 3 from DICE to make this crappy article complete.

"editor" let's make an article of the best games from the best Developers and label it why they are over-hyped and why they will Fail.

"Lacky" Brilliant idea sir...N4G will explode with Rage...may i get your coffee now sir.

[Wizziokid]

don't agree with any of them on the list except Driver, never been a fan of the series. but that's personal taste, others may enjoy it so to that I don't agree with the list at all

[kevnb]

This is what I have to deal with on pc.forums. apparently every game will suck and the exclusives I love all suck.

[browngamer4]

WOW..welcome to my world on N4g..if it's Nintendo it sucks!-At least the rest of the(sane) world realizes Nintendo makes THE best games..

[ATiElite]

I think Deus Ex Human Revolution should be on the list. Word on the street is that it just doesn't live up to the standards set by Deus Ex. Several PC Gaming sites are not happy with the end product.

Thanks Square Enix for once again listening to share holders and mess ANOTHER game.

[Baka-akaB]

Even if true , i'm not so sure how it would be SE's fault . It was an eidos project long before SE took over , and their involvement so far was only cgi and delaying the game (so for a smart move given the competition) .

As usual people will blame the publisher they dislike for a failure , and give it no praise if it succeed

[ATiElite]

whoops your right Eidos!!

[corroios]

crysis 2

[blodulv]

Wasn't a huge fan of Portal until I really gave it some time after getting through the Half Life stuff on the Orange Box.

As mentioned before, the fact that the first Portal was so awesome while remaining a relatively small project, Portal 2 has nowhere to go but up. Easily going to be a good experience there.

[CLOUD1983]

seriously wtf Diablo III ? r u insane man say w/e u want for any other game but not for this! this game will sell minimum 5m copies for fun and 2m will be pre-orders also expect to reach 8 to 10m in a year or less from the release, there is ppl who w8 for this game 4ever millions of ppl.. get serious.

[TVippy]

Why does Portal even cost $60? It's a $30 game at best.

[Pikajew]

Skyrim is overhyped

[LimeyOtoko]

A lot of these seem like 'WAAH I LIKED THESE GAMES BEFORE THEY WERE COOL AND MAINSTREAM'

[Kemicalbeliefs]

The gaming blog journo world is quickly becoming the most laziest area for articles.

10 worst this, 10 best that, 5 games that suck cock, 5 games that make you scratch your balls.

Come on guys, decent articulated and well constructed articles for the the future please.
I'll give you 10 reasons why you should.....

....:P

[DasTier]

i agree 100%, portal was a gimick tha tquickly grew old, an even longer game will just be more tiresome and boring, duke nukem has people expecting so much and i can imagine it being very similar in depth to the turok game from a few years back ( aka it will suck), l.a noire looks like a richmans csi game and guess what their no fun either, driver has never been good in my opinion and i doubt that the old republic is even going to be released this year, im sure itl be pushed into 2012

[Whackedorange]

Very few games lives up to its hype its just that some titles falls alot harder than others do but very few lives up to its hype.

[undercovrr]

Pretty bad article. Portal 2 will be really good because it's innovative. How you ask? How many puzzle games have coop? Diablo 3 will NOT flop. Why? blizzard game--enough said. The only games I agree with are Duke Nukem Forever and Driver. That franchise sucks (Driver) IMO

[baraka007]

As far as portal 2 goes I admit the addition of those two robots does bother me some. I mean they seem like a rip off of the red and yellow M&M guys and the voice acting seems silly but I don't think any of these games will be bad and no game ever lives up to its hype when people expect perfection.

[mrbattle420]

this years gamers should spend time and money on games because we have to many to chose from ,my list and they wont let me down:
pc-rage,brink,battlefield 3,crysis 2,skyrim ,portal 2
ps3-killzone 3,dead space 2,gt,infamous 2,resistance 3,last guardian
xbox 360-mvsc2,fn champion ,bulletstorm,gears of war,project kingdoms ,mass effect 3,mw3,child of eden,mk,L.A Noire,forza 4,xcom,
and the list have some already realese games that i got but so far this is my year!!if i forgot something tell me about it

[RyuCloudStrife]

and the ones I do agree are hyped I don't necessarily think they'll fail to deliver..

[azurechaos]

What a terrible article/list. The reasoning the author used to back these up is just flat out poor. Mafia 2, a game by a different developer, is why LA Noire won't be great? And the fact that they have a team dedicated to marketing/outreach? Another article begging for hits with little integrity.

[Tzuno]

duke nukem is all words and nothing more

[OdinFallen]

Fail article. Bait. Bait. Bait.

[zero_cool]

Duke nukem forever will deliver on being duke nukem & nothing else which is fine in my books.Portal 2 will deliver on being portal & will satisfy those who are into first person shooting,puzzle solving & platforming.Diablo will deliver being diablo & diablo has yet to not deliver the goods that diablo fans loved about the last 2 games.Team bondi are a talented game studio so there a good chance this game will deliver & appeal to those who are fans of the other games they worked on.Bioware previous games they worked on have been solid so there's no doubt they can deliver the experience fans of their games come to expect.Diver on the other hand has had rough path so it's a toss up on this next installment weather it flops or suceeds.

[browngamer4]

As A Ninty fan I do not really have a dog in this fight(none of my systems games were mentioned..as usual..good or bad) But what I can say is I am starting to really get sick of all these flame pieces on N4G-seriously hating on a game before it is even released is pretty petty and stupid..

[Coffin87]

I am REALLY looking forward to 5 out of 6 games on the list.
Not a list for me. Moving on.

[browngamer4]

TOWLELY!!! Where is my Chrons you Bogartin muthafucka!

[Coffin87]

Rofl wut?
What do the words 'chron' and 'bogartin' mean, seriously? I don't get it.

[BeastlyRig]

Valve has always delivered!

[ncstatefan953]

I do not expect much out of Duke Nukem.

[peeps]

Surprised by most of these, especially portal 2. So far any sites that have done pieces on portal 2 have said the puzzles are way more complex than the first and that during the demo's the developers to hand were constantly having to give tips.

Just because of the 2 co-op robots from the video's and hands on previews i've seen it's looking to be portal but with a ton more content and much more complex puzzles = exactly what i'm hoping for

[Rob946]

How could Driver be over rated?, I haven't heard anything about it in months and no one talks much about it.

[NeloAnjelo]

I think the term hype is misunderstood... Let me explain. There is fan generated hype based on anticipation of a game. This is usually to sequels of successful franchises, e.g. The Halos, God of Wars, Uncharteds, etc... Purely fans expecting the game to be good. The other side is publisher and/or developer generated hype. That is, they themselves show, state and/or imply how good the game is. A recent example is Homefront.

The latter is where the problems lies. As this hype is really disguised marketing. Naughty Dog or Bungie don't say their next game is great or the best. However based on their history fans are "hyped". They almost know a good game will be delivered. The same can be said for Rockstar.
With new IPs, Hype is probably needed to generate sales. In this case replace the word with marketing. This is my opinion anyway. As for this article, how many of these games have the developers try to generate sales?

[Shani]

I totally disagree with Portal 2 and L.A. Noire. For other games, I am not hyped at all.

[SuperStrokey1123]

I wasnt aware anyone was hyping driver... at all

[NeloAnjelo]

Seems like this site is pulling crap of it's ass just for hits.

[Lindsey]

That's the nature of the business in the slow two month period between now and E3.

[-Gespenst-]

Bit worried about Duke Nukem, and Driver was never good imo, but as for the rest, well, no way man.

Portal 2 is definitely going to transcend the hype it's being given, which tbh isn't as much as I'd have thought it would receive anyway.

[ShiranaiJittai]

ugh this makes me sick! I commented rather viciously within the article itself. But all that "list" does is generate "hate traffic through controversy the sheer fact of how incredibly poorly researched and hype ridden the list is gives it a ton of traffic, it also makes every journalist everywhere look like a tool because whoever wrote it couldn't have done ANY research. (They contradict everything they say as well as what the other 1000's of other information outlets on the web and in media (who actually research the material they write say) ugh. Why cant anonymous attack this idiot instead?

[ShiranaiJittai]

son of a ***** so the site also took forever to load? spyware on your browser from that crap.