The Ten Biggest Potential Disappointments Of 2015

Dealspwn: "Whoa there. Calm down. Let me explain.

The problem here isn't with the game, rather it's with some of the crazy expectations I see day in, day out, from people who don't know what No Man's Sky actually is. "

[FuzzyPixels]

No Man's Sky is the one that intrigues me most. Without getting some serious hands-on time with it, there's just no way to know what it's going to be like and where the compelling factors will come from.

I think cautious optimism is certainly going to be the way forwards rather than rampant hype.

[Blues Cowboy]

Yeah, the key is that we want all these games to be great, but we need to keep our expectations in check and publishers need to make sure that their hype is actually appropriate!

Even a great game can still be a disappointment if gamers expect it to be better, or something completely different.

[thekhurg]

Everyone knows The Order is going to be shredded in reviews. Too much hype around the game much like all of Sony's exclusives this generation. Gamers will love the game, "professional reviewers" will hate it.

I can't wait to play it and enjoy it, I just know to expect a sub 70 metacritic score because reviewers have to "be real" about it.

[FuzzyPixels]

I think there's merit in everybody (reviewers too) realising that scores of 5, 6, 7 don't mean bad games.

A game can be mechanically/aesthetically/ systemically terrible but still prove engaging and fun.

This is why the words in reviews matter more than the number :-p

[Lightning Mr Bubbles]

Final Fantasy XV looks pretty good to me, lets hope it doesn't disappoint like the FFXIII series.

[medman]

@fuzzypixels
I prefer rampant hype, especially with a stylized game like No Man's Sky. It's gorgeous, and it gives me the ability to explore and discover new planets and life forms. If that was all it was, that would be enough for me. I've been sold.

[Kane22]

so your taking quotes from others and think the order is gonna be bad just cause they said it. im looking forward to the game. if it doesn't excite you now and then i highly doubt it'll excite you by february.

[Blues Cowboy]

Erm, not quite.

"Which, like so many shooters from Gears to Ghost Recon Future Soldier, involves controlling Galahad's pistol arm in a drab rail-shooting section. Shoot some grunts in the face. Then some more run out. Great." - Me"

It's based on and linked to personal experience, but with luck, it could be a surprise contender that shatters low expectations!

[Kane22]

as i said before. i highly doubt you'll like it by release date. this is pretty much the same stuff i heard about from "heavy rain".

[jb227]

I hadn't heard of any rail shooting sections in previews or seen any in gameplay, are you using it as a euphemism? T2 was great fun on the arcade machine back in the day but for some reason I highly doubt The Order will involve no spatial input from the player at any point during its playtime. I'm personally excited for the game. Seems to me this criticism about generic cover shooting mechanics should be launched at the genre as a whole yet instead its being lobbed at this game in particular as its an easy target because the devs seem uninterested in utilizing the popular buzzwords of the day & are more interested in making the game that they want to make. I like that developer ideal, that instead of creating a game in order to hit some bullet points, the game goes in the directions it naturally will instead of the ones that devs think gamers want to play. I agree w/ Kane though in that this game will most likely not sway its critics because they've already made their mind up & this is an issue of saving face over being impartial. That's why we have so many cult classics…we are bound to have more than ever in a few years time when people are more concerned w/ the experience than the discourse about it.

[DigitalRaptor]

At the end of the day, the headline should have read "MY ten potential disappointments of 2015".

Most of the feedback The Order: 1886 is getting from PSX, has been very positive from media and gamers ( http://n4g.com/news/1639354... ).

Kane22 has pretty much hit the nail on the head in both statements, especially the one that compares this hate to Heavy Rain's. That game had the EXACT same cycle of love/hate on the Internet as The Order has. Turns out, Heavy Rain was a critical darling, despite people's "concerns" about the gameplay for months on end.

And this is where the double standards start, and the media suddenly forgets the cycle we go through, to realise the stupidity. And the media and fanboys have fogotten again, what happened with Heavy Rain. Forgot that it has even more QTEs than The Order does, but was still loved by millions and got great reviews.

Story-based, cinematic, QTE. Great game: http://www.metacritic.com/g...

I'm gonna be looking for the double standards when this game reviews, because it's obvious they're gonna be there.
--------

@ jb227

That was a fantastic comment. "Well said" bubble for you.

[FuzzyPixels]

See, I disagree with your last point Kane. I wasn't a huge fan of the preview demo, but there'd been no context, I wasn't invested. Linear games rely so much on early framing and an immersive story keeping you engaged that the fact all there was to go on was instafail stealth and hand-holding gameplay for preview was always going to be a disadvantage.

I'm really hoping to be proved wrong with The Order, and having a killer story with exciting setpieces would certainly be one way of doing that. Narrative framing, pacing, tone, direction, these are all key things that are difficult to convey in preview. The demo was bad and didn't paint The Order in the best light, but I'm not going to write off the full game because of it.

It could be disappointing, it could be really good.

[uth11]

No Man's Sky has the classic set-up to be a major disappointment. They've show little gameplay, but people have projected onto it to be the ideal sci-fi game they've always wanted. I hope I'm wrong about this!

The Order on the other hand has been talked down so much at this point that I don't see how it can disappoint. It will most likely surprise us by not being as disappointing as everyone said it would be!

[Blues Cowboy]

Well said. Nothing can kill an innovative if niche game faster than unrealistic expectations and hype.

Actually I also wonder if The Order might -- might -- benefit from the low expectations. Fingers crossed.

[Kane22]

the order is the only game pretty much that has been talked down the most. im expecting all kinds of awful reviews.

[DigitalRaptor]

The Order won't be disappointing. Most of the PSX impressions were really positive ( http://n4g.com/news/1639354... ) but a lot of people still think the game is definitely going to be a stinker for some reason, so it definitely has room to shock and surprise based on those expectations.

It will get mixed reviews, but I can see most of them being positive (unless the reviewers feel like unleashing some insane double standards). It will be called "disappointing" or worse by the fanboys or the clueless bloggers who have been baselessly hating on the game since its first showing, but the quality has been showing for months now.

And from what I've read about some of the theories from NeoGaf about the game, it could really have some KILLER plot twists, and that would explain why RAD have not wanted to show off too much of the game. That's always made lots of sense to me. Makes more sense than it being a bad game, because we're getting positivity. And they've mentioned the game being a series. These theories would set up sequels perfectly.

[mxguy93]

I think for my top games that I think will be a disappointment will be:
Halo 5 (beta could change it though)
Evolve
The division

[Grave]

Anything that Ubisoft and EA are doing, but that has become an industry standard.

[Fizzler]

Only idiots get disappointed.

[jambola]

Was the internet always this negative?
or is it a more recent thing ?

[Blues Cowboy]

Nah, it's just that negative gets hot/noticed and most of the joy tends to go largely ignored. :(

[TheGrimReaper0011]

Is it announced that Final Fantasy 15 is to be released in 2015?

[Blues Cowboy]

The demo is coming in 2015 with Type-0. If the game doesn't follow towards the end of the year, then Squeenix should never have announced it so stupidly early - and that'll be a disappointment right there I guess...

[IGiveHugs2NakedWomen]

The Order and No Man's Sky won't be disappointing. There are other games coming out in 2015 that people need to be wary of.

For the PS4
Let It Die
Tearaway Unfolded
The Tomorrow Children
Wild

For Xbox One
Fable Legends
Halo 5
Crackdown

Multiplatform games to be leary of
Dead Island 2
Dead Or Alive 5
Grave
Homefront The Revolution
Mad Max
Resident Evil Revelations 2

[DigitalRaptor]

Good assessment.

Except, I don't think WiLD is coming out next year, and Tearaway is a critically acclaimed gem - don't see how they could not make it a great experience on PS4 too.