3 Massively-Hyped Games That Look Completely Average

After getting hands-on with a number of eagerly-anticipated titles at Eurogamer Expo, Jacques Voller explains why three of gaming’s most hyped up-and-coming experiences really don’t seem anything special.

[Mad_Mack]

The Expo this year was for me (barring a few stand out games) an utter snooze fest. I really do worry for innovation in the industry.

[zeeshan]

Inclusion of the upcoming Tomb Raider game in that list is shocking! Did the author suffer a head injury or something? I know to each his own but seriously, this is the first Tomb Raider game in years that in its first presentations attracted me. This is coming from a guy who has played only two TR games and didn't bother to finish it (back when it came out). This one though looks fantastic!

[jagstatboy]

It does look great....For a Tomb Raider game. Problem is, it's been done before as it looks like a female Nathan Drake/Uncharted game. That said, it looks good to me and I like Uncharted so I will probably buy it.

[Legion]

@jagstatboy "Problem is, it's been done before as it looks like a female Nathan Drake/Uncharted game."

Did you just say that Tomb Raider has been done before and it looks like a female version of an Uncharted game?

I just have to laugh.... hahahahaha

[guitarded77]

I disagree with all three of the games on the list. The gameplay I've seen of both Hitman and Tomb Raider looks really fun, and PSABR will be multiplayer heaven for Sony junkies like me. Only issue I have is PSABR, Wii U and CoD:BlOps2 all come out within a week of each other, devastating my wallet. I already started paying everything off now, so I don't get hit with $600 of games and consoles right before Christmas.

[RXL]

Tomb Raider was Uncharted...before Uncharted was Uncharted lol..

smh@ these kids...

but the problem with Tomb Raider..is the gameplay problems and juxtaposition of a lot of the mechanics..

[sikbeta]

Why is the pic of Battle Royale there? afaik no one is hyped for that game, just saying...

[Highlife]

@legion & RXL
I have played tomb raider as a kid and have to say that it doesn't play like uncharted. Tomb raider always had clunky controls and a very slow and boring pace. So I would say that the new Tomb Raider is more like Uncharted than Uncharted is to tomb Raider.

SMH

[MaxXAttaxX]

It's like none of you haters have played a Tomb Raider game before or Uncharted.

Tomb Raider was more of a puzzle heavy platformer.
Uncharted is more of an an action shooter. Gameplay mechanics are different.

"but treasure hunter = Tombs Raiderz derp".

Anyway, new Tomb Raider on the other hand, looks a lot more like Uncharted.
So guess who's copying whom now.

[Frankfurt]

Older Tomb Raider had actual gameplay, unlike Uncharted, which plays itself half the time, with cinematic "gameplay" (running, automated platforming, etc).

[camel_toad]

@Legion - I can't believe the amount of disagrees you got. Must be a lot of people on here that are too young to know Tomb Raider first showed up on PS1 looooong before Uncharted was even a thought.

[GrahamGolden]

why surprised ?

this tomb raider is a pure uncharted clone
and dont tell me uncharted is a tomb raider clone...

Check the originals tomb raiders and check uncharted...now check uncharted and check the new tomb raider...see the difference ?

[MariaHelFutura]

Ancient man was raiding tombs before Tomb Raider.

[Highlife]

@cameltoad
And your point. Played that game as a kid as well. Sorry just cause it is a treasure hunter game doesn't make them the same. Uncharted plays much different. I think you need to go back and play it again as your memory must be fading as you age.

[Outside_ofthe_Box]

None of the games listed here are massively-hyped to me.

Any hype regarded to Battle Royale died down when it was revealed that the game will ship with the already revealed disappointing abysmal 20 character line-up. If you think the game looks 'completely average' that is your opinion. The game looks like it has a lot of depth to me.

I don't see any over hype for Hitman. If anything there is a lack of it and there isn't enough shown, at least for enough for me, in order to say the game looks 'completely average.'

Tomb Raider isn't "massively" hyped. I feel like it's moderate. The game looks pretty good to me from what I seen which is definitely above 'average.'

To each his own.

[TopDudeMan]

Hitman should be awesome. It has to be.

[showtimefolks]

tomb raider is still few months away i think it early 2013, what i have read of previews and seen is pretty good so not really hyped for it but will keep an eye on it

battle royal- disagree all you want but if some really wants this game to be all that than delay it and get everything right. Just to release it because we need exclusive games in fall 2012 isn't a legit answer. This game needs more development time

hitman-now this is one game SE have never really gone out and spoken about or shown bunch of previews. This is so under the radar. Hitman games were always for a select few and while this one is trying to expand its fanbase i don't believe it will succeed

[doogiebear]

I just starting getting into fighters again, but am a noob and knew i'd get owned if i joined the community this late...so, i decided i'll get a game that is beginner friendly. So, I was on the fence between Playstation All-Stars and Persona 4 Arena. After much deep research, I had to go with Persona. PSASBR looks absolutely boring, is too slow, many beta players say it's a snore fest, plus the supers-for-kills system is much too anti climactic. The interview video's of the developers of PSASBR always featured that super monotone, lethargic, boring, no-personality-having guy (the African American guy who is the lead designer at Super Bot...I forget his name), man that dude is boring as all hell and his lack of personality (though he seems knowladgeable about fighting mechanics) is why PSABR is so boring looking, boring playing, and lacking in any charm (from what others say). Plus it has that bland lack of color. Blah! -_-

So far Persona 4 Arena has all the qualities that i'm looking for.

[PurpHerbison]

Well Persona 4 Arena is actually a fighting game while All-Stars is a party game. Hope to see you graduate from P4A soon though.

[Xof]

Kids like you have no business worrying about the future of the industry.

Trade shows aren't geared toward consumers, they're geared toward the industry. They're never very exciting, and never have been. The games that revolutionize the industry will come or not regardless.

[the worst]

where halo4 that should be on the list too

[andibandit]

no but TLOU should.

[Tenac87]

Lol, Don't forget that no matter how average Halo is, Everyone's still going to freak out over it. Look at literally every other Halo.

inb4 1000 Disagrees and people telling me how wrong I am.

[Optical_Matrix]

To all the people gunning the guy who said it looks like Uncharted with a woman, after playing it at Eurogamer, I can't lie, it did feel like that. Gone is the feeling of adventure and exploration the older Tomb Raider games gave.

You're funnelled through environments via incredibly Uncharted-esque set pieces and it all feels extremely scripted. I'm looking forward to it but it felt far too much like Uncharted than it did a Tomb Raider game.

[GuyThatPlaysGames]

Honestly, how many "hyped" games were really graphical powerhouses?? Not many at all that I can think of. People worry too much on graphics these days and the main core of gameplay suffers because everyone just wants better graphics. Gameplay is what makes the game fun and keeps us coming back to it.

[GenericNameHere]

There's still some innovation, but just doesn't come up as much. Look at Journey. It's only a downloadable game, but it's a new IP, just came out March of this year, and it's already one of the most acclaimed (from Ctitics and fans alike) games this year.

Now, I have a few ideas why there aren't a lot of innovation recently.
1. NO ONE BUYS THESE GAMES!! Sure, Journey is a new IP, and it became one, if not the fastest (not sure about that), selling games on PSN, but look at games like Sleeping Dogs or Darksiders II (not new, but still a relatively young IP). Well received, reviewers said there were problems but could easily be fixed in sequel, etc, and still no one bought these games. Everyday, we all bitch and moan about lack of innovation today, when it's our own fault, buying yearly games like Mario, Pokémon, COD, Assasins Creed, all selling over 2 Mil each, mind you, while Sleeping Dogs and DII barely makes that 500,000 sales unit. I'm guilty of this, so I blame myself for lack of want for innovation.

2. We are nearing the end of this gen... No, wait. We ARE at the start of a new generation, with the Wii U coming next month already (yes, deny it all you want, but the Wii U IS next-gen). Why make new IPs now, when next-gen is already here (and we all know some developers ALREADY have PS4 and Xbox 720 dev kits sent to them), and you have better tools and starting over on a new platform, where you can improve on your past games and start anew?

3. Maybe almost all the good ideas have already been taken? Gaming has been around for over 30 years. We're all bound to start seeing repetition here and there once in a while. It takes a while to think of innovation, and maybe this gen of consoles isn't ready for this idea you have, so you wait for a new generation and see if the technology is up to your original vision.

I myself don't mind the lack of innovative games the past few years. As soon as next-gen is available to a lot of people, then we will see the abundance of new and innovative IPs, THEN complain about the lack of them again, and rinse and repeat :D

[givemeshelter]

Tomb Raider started it all...Uncharted was an evolution of Tomb Raider. TR is definitely taking cues from Uncharted now because of its success, however that's how this industry works.
But to say TR copied Uncharted? Only on N4G.COM

[IAMERROR]

Tomb Raider actually looks quite nice IMO

[lastdual]

Yeah, and the author's main complaint about Hitman is that it doesn't hold your hand enough.

Apparently Hitman is supposed to give you big glowing indicators of every way to kill your target, because God forbid a game ask players to think creatively...

[camel_toad]

Yeh I'd love to know the authors thoughts on Dark Souls. I love games that don't hold your hands - so tired of having to go through mundane 15 min tutorials at the start of a new game unless it's blended in well.

[camel_toad]

I think tomb raider looks good too but I totally disagree with the author that it's over-hyped. There are several games that are getting way more attention/hype than tomb raider and they don't all deserve it.

[Sizzon]

I gotta agree with PSABR, I was hyped and wanted it first, now I don't think I will even buy it. It doesn't look that fun in my opinion and with characters like new Dante... pff, but yea theres still some goodies there tho like Parappa and Sir Dan.

And with only being able to kill or be killed by supers I dunno that seems to be quite boring after a while.

[Carl_Shocker]

You would think after years of wanting this game they would finally develop the game when they know they can secure certain iconic playstation characters who are now third party, not add characters which relate more to promotional reasons then what gamers want.

"And with only being able to kill or be killed by supers I dunno that seems to be quite boring after a while."

I have to agree a little on that, it seems fun and I applaude them on giving a game like this a new twist in gameplay but theres two things wrong with it.

1) People, especialy online, are obviouisly going to use characters which have an automatic level 3 finishing move which kills everyone on the screen for them instead of manualy or a one which has a chance to miss targets.

2) Watching the same level 3s over and over again, especialy when your against someone really, really good online who keeps getting them, your going to get more annoyed that the game is being stopped at certain points to show a small scene of your rivals character using his level 3...can you imagine seeing Heihachis level 3 with the rocket again and again and again.

Why couldn't they of added an OPTIONAL health mode like the one in The Outfoxies or Super Smash Bros...is a health mode really that hard to put in the game. All you need to do is make sure the characters kick and punch again all deal the same damage so no one is gaining the advantage on basic attacks...then once and a while special orbs will drop on the field which will give you a Super attack ranging from your level 1 to level 3.

I main thing I hate so far is the third party support it's getting.

I think it's worse for people who have been waiting for years for this game, raised their expectations to the max and get this as the final product.

It's not a bad game, it looks fun and I will buy it but it could of been so much more. I really hope they will adress these things in the sequel.

[-Alpha]

Sigh, I can understand skepticism, so I will say that it's just something you have to play to understand. It really is fun, but it truly requires the experience rather than basing it off of what you pre-conventionally expect. Supers actually works really well, I dont even miss health mode. This is coming from someone who was just as skeptical as you.

And while it is unfortunate that they couldn't secure a lot of the third party names, this is a first entry that will hopefully prove itself to a point that becomes successful enough to warrant a bigger budget to get bigger names.

1) Automatic level 3 supers are not the best options by any means. Guys like Kratos can manage 7 kills while Auto Kills manage 3. A good player may be able to dodge Kratos a few times, but the chance of getting 4+ kills is still higher than an auto super. Also, super 2's and 1's can be more viable, depending on your situation. Auto kill supers are rather worthless, but can be used for strategic moves like cancelling an enemy's super 2 (Parappa's skateboard, Fat P's chicken).

2) For timed modes, level 3's are seen once, twice if you are really good. You are also not taking into account how long it takes to save to super 3's and how you can lose AP, let alone the fact that super 2's and 1's are more common. Your complaint here is vastly exaggerated.

The meta-game of meter management, meter awareness, situational awareness, dodging, anticipating moves, chaining combos, setting up tag team moves, and bargaining super levels makes this game a ton of fun-- all of this which comes from a simple mechanic. Health could have been an option, but there's plenty to enjoy here for itself, and it'd be a shame if everybody judged this game on another game's standards. Major Fighting games all evolved from earlier titles, there is no reason a brawler game like this can't do the same and be successful by its own merits.

[majiebeast]

Nobody uses the auto kill all believe me all the players who played parappa used his lvl 2 including me. The game is just really fun even with a 4 character roster and has tight controlls something i missed in brawl that game was very floaty.

The game just has alot of elements like Parappa is really good at AP management with the AP boombox but his attacks are really close range. Kratos on the other hand gains more AP the more he combo's his lvl 1 super is probably 1 of the weakest, his level 2 is decent if you can get everyone at close range. But his lvl 3 can be godly if the player knows where his targets are moving, highest kill count i got with it was 6

[Carl_Shocker]

"Sigh, I can understand skepticism, so I will say that it's just something you have to play to understand"

I've been playing the beta...I managed to get in luckily so it's not about "You havent played it yet"...I have. I wouldn't of commented if I didn't try it first

I still miss health mode...as I said it should of been optional, it's not hurting the people who wouldn't want it.

[-Alpha]

@Carl

You said "it looks fun" as opposed to "it was fun", so I didn't get the impression that you played it. You further criticizing the Auto Kill super 3's as being the go to choice for online led me to also believe you didn't play, since no one in the beta would save to Parappa's super 3 as often as they would use his Super 2.

If you did play it, then O.K, it's not for everybody, but I don't find your criticisms to be particularly true, or likely

I'd like a health mode, but insofar as it'd be nice for variety, but I'm too invested in the super mode to care at this point. I imagine if they could, they would have, but it's probably not as easy as you make it sound. All the focus should be on making sure their main concept is perfect, instead of trying to bite off more than they can chew. As it stands, the super system is nicely balanced (nowhere near what you make it sound like regarding insta supers), and there is a deep meta game that comes out of the supers system. If you dont like it, fair enough, but I'm judging this game for what it is, instead of what it never tried to be.

[Carl_Shocker]

@-Alpha

Yeah I was talking about the full game when I was writing my comment. If the article was about the beta I would of talked about that instead.

"but I don't find your criticisms to be particularly true, or likely"

Why...because you have a differn't opinion then me, that dosen't really make mine invalid.

"but I'm too invested in the super mode to care at this point"

So because your too invested...it shouldn't be added at all. It's the whole point of wanting it optional so the people who do want it can enjoy the game aswell even more...that seems selfish to be honest

"You further criticizing the Auto Kill super 3's as being the go to choice for online led me to also believe you didn't play, since no one in the beta would save to Parappa's super 3"

I've seen people do it...just because you havent dosen't mean people don't do it whats so ever.

[Kaos_Vll]

@carl
Your comments are so full of sh*t carl.

It's clear by the way your comment is formed you haven't played the game or the beta, because you would have mentioned it and formed your statement differently.

People speak and write a certain way when they have firsthand knowledge of a subject. They do so to set up the validity of his/her opinion and they do this first.

A persons opinion is only as valid as his/her knowledge of the subject, and everyone wants their opinion seen as valid.

it's fine to have a different opinion then others, just don't expect anyone to think it's anything but sh*t if it holds zero substance.

And save the I don't care what others' think of my opinion speech because otherwise you'd keep that crap to yourself.

that is all

[Carl_Shocker]

@Kaos_Vll

Wow how mature are you stopping low to a personal attack saying I'm full of crap

Believe what you want I've played the game, your just p***** off that my opinion is differn't to yours.

Seriously Kaos_Vll your just immature...like a little kid.

[TekoIie]

@Carl

Every time I read your comments I remember this video: http://www.youtube.com/watc...

Every time I read one of your comments I read it as though I'm hearing an angry child in my head. Lighten up a little. Basically in about every comment you post your ranting/raging...

ON TOPIC:

I dont know if Tomb Raider looks average tbh. It got shown at E3 2011 and then disappeared for a while until E3 2012. I'll be pre ordering it though so I'm looking forward to its release :)

[Tonester925]

This is what people are failing to realize about Playstation All-Stars Battle Royale.

1. Gaining your Level 3 super means that you have to be fighting the whole time, staying engaged in the battle, and not getting attack by any weapons, and not getting grabbed. You have to regulate everyone's Super Meter plus gain AP for yourself. This game becomes extremely strategic once people KNOW HOW TO PLAY. Yes, there are some automatic kill Level 3 supers but you have to stop them from getting their Super Bar that high.

Just think about it. If your opponent was about to get to a Level 3 Super, you obviously weren't playing right and/or was getting tossed around like a rag doll. This game is about evasion and offense at the same time. Where in Smash Bros someone like, DK, could just charge his punch up, WAIT until someones % is high, then come super punch everyone and kill them.

In this game, if you wait around, you don't get any points.

2. SuperBot has minimal control over these characters. Saying this, Ninja Theory told SuperBot that they want the "New" Dante in. I would rather the new one than no Dante at all. He's a great character for this game and his combos are crazy.

3. No one is playing the Retail Version of this game. It's all demos!

4. People are blaming the game for their own lack of skill and intelligence while playing PSASBR. "Kratos is overpowered because I suck" The author kept losing the the CPU! C'mon now!

[omarzy]

DK actually loses his punch wind up if you wait. Same with Samus and her charge beam. Same with Mewtwo in Melee and same with Lucario in Brawl. Pretty much lose your charge if you are hit or wait.

[TooTall19]

The game plays way better than I expected. I'm buying it for sure.

[Eyeco]

I facepalmed when I saw the game I was like 'really Sony?' I love the ps3 I think it's the best console this gen but lets be open minded, your being delusional if you think this game is gonna enjoy a critical or commercial success especially when weighed against SSBB,

I mean look at the roster , Paraper the Rapper does anyone understand how obscure that game was and this was 15 years ago , let alone now in 2012 , you can't say that wasn't reaching

[TekoIie]

I think it could go anywhere. It could sell well or just flop. Just have to wait and see....

[TrendyGamers]

I'm still excited to play Tomb Raider, it looks fun.

[3-4-5]

All 3 have a niche audience though and will sell based on that alone.

PS Allstars might sell decently well.

[MrDead]

To many whiny bitches, if you don't want/like or are not interested don't buy it and STFU you bunch of Cornwall United Netball TeamS.

[NastyLeftHook0]

halo 4 wonderbook

[Emilio_Estevez]

Disagree with both. Nobody is hyping Wonderbook and Halo probably deserves the hype.

[Blankman85]

You're entitled to your opinion, however ridiculous it seems to the rest of us.
I'd say alot of great games look average next to halo 4. They are throwing alot of content; 2 campaigns, a multiplayer and free dlc. I'd say the hype is warranted.
Wonderbook on the other hand, the only person hyphing this game on this game is GribbleGrunger.

[Audiggity]

How did Hitman make the list? That makes no sense... if anything, it is being underhyped given the ambitious nature of the game.

[JellyJelly]

It's one of my personal most wanted games and looks phenomenal.

[shaun mcwayne]

yeah Hitman is one of the few im looking forward to.

[Ilovetheps5]

I played PSA:BR today since Playstation came to my college. They had 16 characters to choose from. I played it for about 30 mins. And after playing it, I am still very skeptical of the game. It got very repetitive real quick. The stages seemed very small and so there wasn't much room to evade people. I still don't like the idea of having only specials to kill people.

The balancing in the game was way off. Some characters were much better than others. Kratos definitely felt overpowered. I played as Jak mostly and he played fine, but some characters were just too powerful.

I've been wanting a Playstation game to rival Super Smash for a long time, but this just doesn't play well to me. I doubt I will be buying the game.

[Omar91]

I had the exact opposite experience with the game. I went to my local gamestop and played the demo. me and my girlfriend had a blast. My girlfriend doesn't even play games and she told me she "forgot she was in gamestop" while playing the game. Of course what we played was an old build, and a lot of the complaints i've seen are being addressed by superbot such as difficulty in finding your character during battle, balancing etc.

I say wait until the final build

[MySwordIsHeavenly]

What do you want them to do? Increase input lag and give you a smaller move set?

Because that's what Super Smash Bros. is...

[r21]

Gotta disagree with numero 1 and 3. IMO those games have the potential to great and plain fun to play. Number 2 though, I dont know, keeping my eye on it and hoping its not too noob friendly and more like other Hitman games.

[unknownhero1123]

noob friendly? I guess you never played silent assassin and contracts.

[Cam977]

I want TR.

[beerkeg]

'I was told that there were other ways of taking the target out – a sniper rifle in a window for example – but these were not clearly marked and I felt like I missed something by not doing this.'

This is the kind of 'gamer' I worry about who has influence over developers and publishers. Why should something be clearly marked? Do we need hand holding in every game?

I want games that encourage you to think for yourself, that ask you to experiment and try to look for different ways to complete objectives. It's the reason I love the Hitman series on the whole really.

If you want to know why games get dumbed down, this guy is the reason.

[Omar91]

I agree 100%. Playing the resident evil 6 demo, I noticed the game holds your hand for everything! Theres a huge arrow pointing at where you need to go....how retarted is that!?

[SAE]

that's exactly what i am thinking of this generation games , most of them are too easy and tells you what to do in every step you move ...

no challenge to remember that you completed this level easily and be proud of your self or learn how to play and be smarter guy...

they should at least make a mode for us who don't want assist to play a game >.< ...

[telekineticmantis]

PS AllStars is highly anticipated by a couple internet heads. The rest just think it looks fun, max...

[Perjoss]

I have zero interest in Battle Royale, but the other 2 actually look like good games.

[tubers]

Never a fan of such games because I am not really competitive.. I'd take the SP of Hitman and Tomb Raider any day over PSAS.

That's just me ofc.

The very first hitman absolution gameplay trailer I saw looked great but the later ones seem to have had some downgrade in visual quality.. hmm

[Perjoss]

Tomb Raider is one of the games I was most looking forward to this year. But I didn't really like what I saw of it at the Eurogamer Expo. I'll wait for reviews before buying.

[SageHonor]

I actually think Hitman is underrated and tomb raider actually looks quite good.

[Relientk77]

I actually disagree with all 3 of these lol

although its hard to decide on Hitman and Tomb Raider because we havn't seen as much from these games because the releases are farther off

[Ve3tro]

Hitman will be fantastic as the previous 4 titles.

People who usually think they aren't good are the ones who don't know how to play them or just run around shooting everyone.

[Eldyraen]

His complaints with Hitman seem a reach--their based on his time playing a demo and not knowing ,its controls and levels well enough for the most part. I'm sorry but personally more interesting/varied options that require thinking seems a good thing to me. He said controls are solid but that they weren't clearly labeled which means once you actually start to play the game for real it should be fine (as I'm sure there will be typical "tips" as you progress for actions it so will flow better).

Tomb Raider is another game I think he is being too hard on. Tomb Raider had most of the "Uncharted Universe" before there was an Uncharted--biggest difference are the characters and less supernatural settings. Jungles and adventurers have been around forever and I totally think both belong in the Pitfall Universe ;). j/k but an equally assinine comparison.

All they did is finally get a good engine and gave it a more realistic and darker look (was never a big fan of charicturish Lara in the first place). I hope even with the more "realistic" approach they keep the supernatural flavor in as the whole genre suits it well (Indiana Jones after all was probably biggest inspiration for both Tomb Raider and Uncharted).

If not, it still looks great and am interested in more than recent TR attempts by far. When movies based on games is more interesting than some of the newest games it's time to change something. I just hope they don't lose too much of its own identity in the name of "realism". What has been shown though suits the franchise just fine though in part due to the movies being a bit more grounded in reality but still eludes to the supernatural (ala Indiana Jones).

[DEATHxTHExKIDx]

I disagree with 1 and 3. I am neutral on 2 Cause I have never played a Hitman game. Playstaion all stars to me is gonna be a fun beat em up. Tomb raider reboot looks great.

[JKelloggs]

Assassin's Creed 3

[smashcrashbash]

You see that is where the author slipped up. PASBR only LOOKS average until you actually play it and then you see what the people who are talking about it being good are talking about.If it isn't your cup of tea I understand but saying it looks average or saying no one cares about it is juts another example of gamer ignorance that runs rampant in this day and age. Don't confuse your opinion with fact. There are many people who are enjoying PASBR right now and can argue otherwise. I can say that the new Tomb Raider looks over blown but that doesn't make it so. So just because some people agree with what the author is saying doesn't make it true.No one has played the complete version of any of the games so it is a little premature to be claiming that any one of them look average. And calling PASBR a 'complete ripoff' of SSB and that 'SSB is far superior'just adds to the ignorant fanboy tone of his whole article.I have heard people saying that PASBR is plays much better then SSB in several ways.

[MySwordIsHeavenly]

So, this author doesn't like video games?

[MasterD919]

I don't get the appeal of PS All Stars...None of those characters blend together nearly as well as the characters in Super Smash Bros do. Nothing against Sony, but clearly it is a SSB clone anyways. Not my kind of game.

Hitman I actually pre-ordered and although I can't guarantee I'll keep it, I was impressed by one of the street missions I saw. I played all the other Hitman games to death, so I'd like to think this could/would be the best one.

[Hicken]

Please explain how the characters in SSB blend any better than the characters in PSAS do. I look at the two games and I don't see much difference at all in how they "blend," but I've heard that line of reasoning before.

What I HAVEN'T heard is any solid explanation BEHIND this reasoning.

[smashcrashbash]

The people who say it have no explanation. Many of the characters in SSB were so big or too small compared to others. Samus, Marth and Snake did not fit in with Jiggy Puff, Kirby and Ness. Ness was supposed to be a little boy but somehow was bigger and wider then Samus, they had a little boy throwing Pokeballs next to people armed with swords and guns.King Koopa was so big he stuck out like sore thumb, Pikachu was tinier then every one in the whole game. Samus is a full grown woman but is somehow smaller then Ganon.To a blind Nintendo fanboy they thought it blended perfectly but it was a mismatch of characters that barely even looked like they belonged in the same game. They only think that because they think that Drake and others are human compared to Sly and Parapper therefore it doesn't look like it belongs.

Because it isn't made up of puff balls and brightly colored rainbow people that make funny sounds instead of talking it doesn't fit together. Strange how people played Marvel VS Capcom without blinking despite the fact they had Mega Man, Roll, Viewiful Joe, Okami and Phoenix Wright fighting Spiderman, Sentinel, Magneto, Strider and Juggernaut but no one thought that didn't blend well together and played it all day long. Just another lame excuse against PASBR. At least get some new material for the love of cake. We heard the 'characters don't blend well' excuse a hundred times already

[Ven1000]

Smashcrashbash summed it up nicely.

[omarzy]

It isn't so much that the blend or not. Neither game has characters that blend together. What people who say that mean(i think) is that the characters in PSAS are separated by something like over a decade of releases. Smash Bros mostly consists of Characters that have released on home consoles and handhelds in the same generation for over 20 years. It is not that they blend together, it is just that these characters have been together for a very long time. Neither games have blending character, but this is just how i see the reasoning.

Another thing is that some characters in PSAS are very new as i said with the time difference. People do not think it blends because of that. If the ps3 is not your first PS console than seeing Nathan Drake with ps1 characters confuses people. Old PS fans don't really think Big Daddy and Drake when you say Playstation. At least i believe that. I think GoW, Ratchet and Clank or GT. I don't know, rant done i guess, but i'm just getting some ideas out.

Last thing people might see in PSAS is the mix of very realistic universes with very unrealistic ones. That may be the one place i would say Smash bros "blends" together better. Every character in Smash bros comes from an unrealistic series and it just seems to, well, go together. I don't know how else to say it.

All in all, they do not go together in either game. Link has nothing to do with Samus and Sly has nothing to do with Raiden.

[prototypeknuckles]

seriously all 3 of these games look very very good, but i guess i shouldnt be surprised seeing as how this is the same website that thought DmC looked mind blowing

[ChunkyLover53]

I actually think the new Tomb Raider looks awesome! I'll probably pre-order it early next year. I want to make sure Microsoft doesn't surprise us and announce a new console before April, because then all my money will go into new hardware and software.

I will admit that Hitman draws no interest from me whatsoever. PlayStation All Stars has disappointed me a bit with the characters, but if the price drops to around $30 I'd be interested.

[Tdmd]

I don't see how Tomb Raider Reboot being similar to Uncharted immediately turn it into an avarege game. Quite the opposite! If it is anything like Uncharted, it should be a very good game and just what the franchise needed to become especial again.

[BitbyDeath]

Not really hyped for any of them.
Hitman is probably my favourite of the 3 but i'll probably just wait for PS+ to give them away.

[RGB]

PlayStation All-Stars looks average (Massive PS3 fan BTW).

Tomb Raider looks above average (Possibly decent).

Hitman Absolution looks decent (Probably great and could be my GoTY, all depends when I've played it).

[AHall88]

Guess this guy has never played a Hitman game before.
The whole appeal of the series is that there is no instructions, you're given your targets and then it's up to you to decide how to kill them.
Not the games fault he's an idiot.

[Cerberus29]

I agree, I was initially afraid they were gonna try and dumb it down to make it more "accessible" (ugh, I hate that word when talkin about games) but the more I'm seeing of it the more excited I get.

[Holeran]

It seems funny to me so many people say Playstation All-Stars looks average at best and is nothing more than a Smash Brothers playstation clone (with a little better control feel) but Super Smash Brothers Brawl happens to be one of the best games on the Wii console and a game that has had a massive following. Ya I guess no-one would want anything like that for thier Playstation.

[Giru017]

Am I the only one who found this line hilariously bad?
"The controls are your standard fighting controls: X is jump..."
Fighting controls... Really? As an avid MK, SF, BB, KoF,GG, AH, MB etc fan, I thought that line was just awful.

[stuntman_mike]

looks like the main problem this reviewer had was not knowing the buttons and didnt know where to go in the games lol. i dont think judging these games played at big events is a good idea of how they will be you really need to sit on your own trying them out for a good while to get a fair view.

[sjaakiejj]

" I was told that there were other ways of taking the target out – a sniper rifle in a window for example – but these were not clearly marked and I felt like I missed something by not doing this."

Lolwut? Have you ever played Hitman before? That's the whole point of it - there's countless ways to do it, it's up to you to decide how to.

To summarise his article:

PS All Stars: Not good because I can't win from the Computer
Hitman: Not good because I have too many options to kill the guy, and I have no idea which one to pick
Tomb Raider: Not good because it's like an open world Uncharted. But then with different weapons. And survival. And a more open world. And a female protagonist.

[Saturne3]

Hitman looks average since when? i dont see any other games like that anymore.

[TheCagyDies]

Where's COD: Whack Ops 2?

[Bathyj]

Didnt click on the link, just read the tags.

But I think he's wrong (assuming he is a he)in all 3 cases.

[brew]

All-stars = not overhyped
Hitman = not overhyped
Tomb Raider = overhyped a little

I'm think I'll buy All-Stars and gamefly the other two , what about you guys ?

[OllieBoy]

Interesting how didn't go with the obvious ones (The shooters)

Seriously. Black Ops 2, Halo 4, MoH Warfighter, etc all look like the same old crap.

[Kluv]

Arrogant, stubborn and idiotic writer this guy is. Just in the Battle Royale section, the following mistakes were found:

Mistake one "For a game that is a complete rip off of super smash bros"

Mistake two "Sony’s list of exclusive characters isn’t exactly extensive"

Mistake three "Battle Royal, Mortal Combat,