Top 5 Most Overhyped Video Games

With the release of Halo 3 just over two weeks away, fans of the sci-fi shooter series are vibrating with unbridled excitement. Human tuning forks, almost.

But many a game has stumbled over its pre-release ballyhoo, whether said hype was deliberately conjured through marketing or generated spontaneously by fans. And the bigger they are, the harder they fall.

While we've got high hopes for Halo 3 when it debuts Sept. 25 on the Xbox 360, a quick glance at the history books reveals a video gaming past littered with the husks of titles that couldn't live up to their lofty expectations. Here are five classics that stand out.

[Jdash24]

Halo 3 is sooo hyped because millions of people loved the first two and KNOW that the 3rd one is going to own and millions bought a 360 just to play halo 3, this game derserves all the hype it gets being one of the best franchises ever and going to be an instant classic

[JokesOnYou]

personally I agree with this guy I didnt like Halo2's ending, otherwise it was on par with the first Halo which is a masterpiece as far as the campaign goes, also this being the final Halo???? you know the ending will be a surprise either way, still Halo2's multiplayer was the best ever so I think it should get a lil more credit since its kept many gamers playing for quite sometime now, even though many other dev's tried but failed to deliver a better experience. either way I take his opnion with a grain of salt because I think he sounds like he just hoping Halo3 will be the best of them all, Bungie knows the world is watching from what I've seen and all the news I read on Halo3 it will be a huge hit, of course the usual suspects will hate it but I think Halo fans will definitely enjoy it=

JOY

[BLUR111]

'

[toughNAME]

compared to Halo 1, Halo 2 was crap

but overall...Halo 2 was an amazing game worthy of its reviews

pretty good list...did not know Winnipeg had a 'sun'

[Scrooge]

I know that I'm alone in my principles here, but I like halo2 much better than halo1. Halo2 is what pulled me into the series, not to mention the legendary multi-player, while halo1 failed to do all that for me. After I finished halo2 for the first time I had to go back and finish halo1 cause I had never finished it. I just went through both campaigns again this week just for hype's sake and I still liked halo2 better, even though halo1 had the superbly epic ending with the warthog escape. sorry, I simply disagree with everyone that says halo1 was better than halo2.

[power of Green]

Halo is not hyped its liked you either get it or you don't and many get it(like it). Like calling FF over hyped to me its not; many like it but I don't get it(like it) should I attack it spewing that FF is over hyped cus I dont get it?, nope!.

Has every FF been ace's in the holes?.

[ASSASSYN 36o]

2 games that made people stand outside late at night. And a third game that will do the same. All are affilitated with micorsoft and have spawned millions of fans. No halo 2 does not belong on this gay lists. No ps1,2 or 3 game made me or anyone I know want to stand outside late at night to make sure I got my copy...3 times.

[MK_Red]

WTH is MGS2 doing there? It was not overhyped. It deserved all the buzz and hype.

[RadientFlux]

actually I think MGS2 deserves to be in the list, after the great storyline and pacing of MGS. MGS2 was a bit of a letdown with Raiden and an overdone plot.

I also agree that Halo 2 should be on the list as well. While I really enjoyed Halo 2 the ending was such a letdown and was planned as such.

[Kenshin_BATT0USAI]

I think most people disliked it because they had to use Raiden, but there was no difference anyways. They both played the same.

Another thing people dislike was storyline because it was hard to follow.

I think people are idiots for thinking that, and I don't think it was over hyped. I know tons of people who have never heard of the MGS series.

[ASSASSYN 36o]

What halo 2 ending...Halo 3 is the end.

[TheMART]

I think they meaned MGS3

But what they certainly can put in there is

LAIR

Supposed AAA got marks like 4.5, 4.9 and 5.0 from reviewers like IGN, EGM and Edge... My god

BTW Halo 2 sp wasn't good. Halo 2 multiplayer though one of the best ever, most played games on live. So that's a twisted one. Halo 3 will make up for it. Great SP, insane MP

[Bathyj]

Lair wasn't even that hyped. Sure we were all looking forward to it, biut I didn't see any cinema adds or billboards. If anything I always thought it looked nice and would be a low to high 8 and I still do.

I notice you left out all the good scores it got as they dont suit your needs. One of the first reviews out was the crappy EGM one which they admitted was done on unfinished code and its so easy for other sites just to get on the bandwagon then to buck the trend give a good score when others have already said it was bad. The fact the scores are so varied, says to me the game is hit or miss and you will either love it or hate it depending if you give the controls a chance or not.

Anyway hype can be a bad thing. It raises expectation too high, and some games that are mearly good can be jugded overly harsh and punished. A good reviewer should ignore the hype and judge what is in front of him.

[FirstknighT]

Lair got good scores??? Well the only good scores are the ones created by the fanboys in ps3fanboy.com. Lair is averaging a 58% from most sites/mags. The control is only one problem of many: Freezeups, clippings, bad lockon, bad AI, framerate issues...this game has nothing but problems. But Lair was heavily hyped. It was the game that was supposedly gonna show the "power" of the ps3. As you can see with a 58% average, it failed miserably.

[BLACKJACK VII]

1.Lair
2.Haze
3.Heavenly Sword
4.Resistance
5.Killzone 2

[xplosneer]

Hyped by fanboys who have no idea how the game will play, not by the media. That's why you are seeing the games you are seeing on that list.

[b777conehead]

mart lair wasnt over hyped every thang from a xbot like you is halo 3 this halo 3 that and i hope on the 25th you will be playing halo 3 and not on the sony boards

[Bathyj]

I've been deliberately not reading the Halo 3 articles. There so damn many of them. I just want to get the game and enjoy it for what it is without 6000 other opinions clouding my judgement. The whole Halo series is overhyped in my opinion but considering how good the first one was and how important it was to Xbox (read, extremely, vitally important) I forgive it.

To me the most overratted and over hyped game was Gears of War. I was fun sure but offered nothing that couldn't be done on PS2 aside for pretty graphics. I guess what upset me the most about that is that Rainbow 6 a game superior in so many ways had to live in its shadow and go largely and noticed by the masses.

Anyway I know alot of you guys love Gears, almost to the point of being religious about it, so I'll just remind you you this is just my opinion. I think RB6 would have done alot better without the overratted Gears around hogging the glory.

[Scrooge]

Gears was deffinitely not overrated, as of right now it's the best 360 game to date. However, I agree with you about RB6 vegas. Such a great game deserved more copies sold, but it also had the unresolved ending that made so many people hate halo2.

[ukilnme]

There were many consoles and games over the years that I was hyped about but none of them had me willing to wait in long lines outside and overnight for days. I was probably most hyped about Ninja Gaiden for Xbox and it delivered what I wanted and more. The single player campaign for Halo 2 left me feeling like the game was almost great. Better than good but not great. I can't speak on the online portion because I never played it but Bungie obviously did it right as many people are still playing it online.

[FirstknighT]

Well Halo 2's story and ending is my favorite part of the Halo 2. I love the Halo story but it is a little to adult for some people to understand. Ending a story with a cliff hanger is a great way to keep everything exciting. Look at classics like the Lord of the Rings trilogy or the Star Wars trilogy. The Halo story is not your typical Aliens vs. Humans. It's a great science fiction story.

Most overyped video games have to go to the Final Fantasy series. Offers the same gameplay over and over and over again with the same metrosexual heroes. Time to kill this dying horse.

[GameOn]

I didn't think any of the lord of the rings or Star wars had cliff hanger endings. Pls refresh my memmory.

[Maldread]

With MGS2 being too hyped up. The Raiden-section really broke the game for me, and it just got to weird near the end. I`m not sure if you know Mart, but MGS3 has NOTHING to due in such a list, since firstly it didn`t have as much hype as MGS2, and secondly it delivered one of the best games the PS2 has (THE best for me, although i`ll have to agree with you if you didn`t like the beginning of it, because it starts out pretty slow).

I`ll most likely get flamed and disagreed the hell off for this, but the first Killzone game should probably on that list. It didn`t deliver to all the hype it had around it, due to all the gaming sites hyping it to be a Halo-killer. It wasn`t as bad as some people would have liked it, but it had it share of problems. I hope history dosn`t repeat itself, but i`m sure Killzone 2 will turn out better than the first one after seeing it in action.

[felidae]

Snake Eater is the best.

Playing it right now (Subsistence).

Great Game!

[Maldread]

Yeah it`s great. I only have the regular version, but how`s the camera ?

[felidae]

very much better than in first version of Snake Eater.

i love this game.

[Daxx]

Atleast Halo 3 is going to meet the hype.

Also I still don't understand why people say that Halo 2's campaign was the worst thing ever. People can be sooo damn picky sometimes. I for one loved it and I actually liked playing as the Arbiter unlike a bunch of whiney brats that had to be all "It's not Halo if we have to understand why the Covenant are actually a structured civilization with a cast system and that it is falling into pieces and destined for civil war."

[beavis4play]

your comment that "halo 3 will live up to the hype" says why you don't understand why people didn't like halo 2 campaign. all the halo fans will buy and like this game even if it isn't great. unless you are a devout halo fan, how can you say that you KNOW halo 3 will live up to the hype? i think the whole series is a good, standard shooter-nothing more. RFOM and bioshock are better games with much better stories.

[MattFoley]

Again Beavis you are a moron.

[Biasmania]

As a disgusting Metal Gear fan, I sadly have to agree with Metal Gear Solid 2 being in this list. This game was supposedly the be all, end all of gaming. You couldn't pick up a magazine, or really have a conversation with a gamer with out it coming up. The last two hours of the game made about as much sense as my president does sometimes.

The one that kinda of took me back was Mario Sunshine, I remember Mario being hyped a tad, but not to the extent those games where, plus Mario... Well it's Mario. If a Nintendo game is going to go there. I thought the Zelda : Wind Waker was the one that had the fans split down the middle?

[XENOCIDE]

I've wondered recently what do many (gamers and game industry folk alike) consider to be "over hyped". Is it when a game is so ridiculously hyped up but doesn't deliver? Or is it that one get's sick of hearing about the game everywhere they turn, regardless of how well it does?

Personally I consider it to be the former, and with that being said there's no way MGS2 nor Halo 2 should be anywhere near this list. Where's Brute Force, Killzone, Advent Rising, etc.? Neither MGS2 nor Halo 2 were as great as the respective games that came before them in their franchises, BUT, they did what counts; delivered, in spades. They were games well worthy of dropping $50.00 bucks for. The only game I remember playing a sequel to that actually toped the feeling and greatness of it's debut was GTA: San Andreas. If the only way sequels and franchises can overcome their hype is only to be better than the first installment (regardless of how great a game it is, how many copies it sells, and it's production outdoes those that come even years after it in the same genre) then all are destined to be doomed of over hype.

As someone stated already, people are just too picky sometimes.

[BloodySinner]

Since when were cliffhangers a bad thing? It's no different than deliberately telling the player there's going to be a sequel. If it's the developer's way of unraveling the story, then what's the problem?

Hell, for those who beat Gears of War, look how that game ended.

[leinadem2]

http://www.derekhail.com/20...
it just for disney's fans

[felidae]

GEARS OF WAR

[BLACKJACK VII]

6 million copies of Gears sold in it's first 2 weeks.

*Still* the most played game on XBL a year later.

Won numerous GOTY awards & swept 6 awards from Gphoria 2007, winning *every* category it was nominated for including GOTY, again.

That is not hype - that's a game that delivered.

#1 overhyped game of all time: LAIR

[Salvadore]

Twilight Princess and Lair.

[nirwanda]

Rise of the robots hyped beyond belief for the cd32 ameiga pc megadrive and snes bloody awful mess of a fighting game

Also driver 3 was bad and hyped

[Mr PS3]

It has to be Halo 3 with its over the top colours and over the top hype and expectations this is gonna be a huge dissapointment not a giant leap from Halo 2 and nothing grounbreaking for a so called next gen FPS
AGREED

[Funky Town_TX]

You played Halo3, OMFG.

[Funky Town_TX]

Haters say hype, lovers say marketing. Same with PS3, it was suppose to be the next coming of Jesus. It has been more like Nacho Libre, but it will be great if you wait like me.

[AbyssGravelord]

I don't care what anyone says but Halo 3 deserves all of the hype that it gets, best game evar!!!

[jcgamer]

fortunately they haven't, in the slightest, made it "uncool" to BUY Halo...do you really think MS would market the heck out of it if it didn't deliver? Think about it...you didn't hardly see any promotion for Blue Dragon in the States, besides online banners...but they marketed Bioshock instead...Halo 3 will come through...the lady who was the first to finish the campaign said that "it was one of those epiphany moments when I got really, really happy and realized how much I loved my job."...see where I'm going...I think the word hype and overhyped is "overused", especially when talking about videogames...

[beavis4play]

that lady you speak of is the editor of OXM magazine and is a hardcore supporter of the 360. did you expect her to say anything else?
i do agree that there are people who try to make something uncool just because they don't like it. the greatness of halo has eluded me. i don't like the story and it seems like a standard shooter but i don't ignore the fact that it is a mega-popular series. the fans of halo have every right to be excited.
you said ms wouldn't market halo the way they have if it wasn't going to deliver. i agree. but iv'e read some of your posts being very critical of KZ2. i will ask you the same thing you just stated about halo-do you think sony is marketing killzone 2 the way they have because it will be a failure?

[jcgamer]

the whole "Halo killer" stuff...I am actually looking forward to KZ2...I also said on past posts that both MS and Sony ended their E3 conferences with a shooter...I know Sony is marketing KZ2 because they are very proud about it (especially Phil Harrison)...I don't think I have ever been unfair to KZ2...if I have came across that way, it certainly wasn't my intention...I'm ps360 buddy...I love shooters...I said on a past post, and I quote myself, "we 360 guys can't hate on KZ2...you know how we love our shooters"...KZ2 is looking like a must play...

[Covenant]

Enter the Matrix sold millions of copies, but does anyone really think it was memorable?

Halo 2's multiplayer definitely lived up to the hype, but the campaign, while solid, was a bit of a letdown. Too many platforming elements, not enough @ss kicking.

And then there's Daikatana...perhaps the most overhyped game ever, and its interminable delays, high cost, and disappointing gameplay make it one of the truly great bombs in the history of gaming. At least E.T. never said he would make us his b!tch.

[sumfood4u]

Look what happen to it! SSBB on the Wii is not overhyped, an will be devastating! If u disagree look out for a turtle shell online. lol

[Funky Town_TX]

Sony hoos will be in full force. Looking for anything bad about Halo3. After Sept 25 I will not be on N4G for a while. I will be to busy gaming.

[eLiNeS]

~

[harv052]

@ BLACKJACK VII
6.3 - Top 5 Most Overhyped Video Games
1.Lair
2.Haze
3.Heavenly Sword
4.Resistance
5.Killzone 2

All PS3 games...Well we know who's side you're on...Typical fanboy childishness

As for overhyped games, I never could get into Halo. I just don't like it. It ain't revolutionary and doesn't bring anything new. I just don't see what all the excitement is for...I have to agree with LAIR though. As for Killzone 2, I don't think it's overhyped, it's going to be an awesome game. 2GB+ a level, come on, try to fit that on a DVD9. And you know Gears of War 2 is going to be massively publicized, but also for good reasons, it's going to be an awesome game!

PS there doesn't seem to be anyone neutral in this console war anymore..

[pshizle]

but it still was amazing game just was expecting a little more...

final fantasy should be on that list

killzone should be on that list

lair should be on that list

HS should be on that list

Haze should be on that list

oh ya.....BRUTE FORCE

and FABLE

[UltramanJ]

Halo 2 and MGS2 are both fine examples of titles that were hyped beyond belief and failed to surpass the greatness of the previous title in the series.
I'd also add Fable to the overhyped list. While I did enjoy it, it wasn't even close to the game that Molyneux was hyping it to be.
Gears of War is one of the few games that received tremendous hype and lived up to it.

[jackdoe]

What I find funny about Halo 2 and MGS 2 is that they suffer from similar short comings. A weaker narrative than the first game and a split narrative between two main characters. Hell, I was disappointed to play as the Arbiter in the final Halo 2 mission as I'm sure everyone else was. Same with MGS 2. Though I have to admit I did like the Katana in MGS 2.

[jackdoe]

Daiaktana was overhyped? Don't even remember that game. Now Fable extremely overhyped and should have cut the list.

[nobizlikesnowbiz]

H2 should be on the list along with Lair and MGS2.

Halo 2's ending was crappy. The SP wasn't as awesome as Halo: CE's either. But the MP saved it for me.

Lair = hyped by Sonyfanboys are a 360 killer. All the time. Don't deny it. It was listed constantly.

MGS2 was an overall great game. I actually liked it a lot, and think it delivered. But Raiden was a pansy and I hated playing as him. Agree with above about the ending too. Kojima must have been smoking some dank when he wrote that.

[Stretchystrong]

What about Fable? That was hyped and didn't even come close to what it was supposed to do.

[batman2million]

Halo 2 was amazing, so was super mario sunshine! I dunno where this guy is pulling this out from. Enter the Matrix was crap, that i agree on.

And to all those people who keep saying, "halo 3 sucks", "I can never get into halo cause its nothing new", etc. etc.
regardless of what you think, there is a million plus people who are gonna get that game. I can't think of a single ps3 game that is gonna have the hype that this game is gonna get, maybe MGS 4, but we still have to wait and see about that.

[jackdoe]

Halo 2 was a good game, but it was a bit of a letdown, hence the overhype. The narrative in the campaign was weaker, especially the cliffhanger, and the split narrative between the Arbiter and MC was painful. Hated playing as the Arbiter for the final mission of the game. After I killed Tartarus, expected to play as MC in the final mission. Disappointment would be my reaction when it cut to the credits.

[Lakuspakus]

To people saying Halo 3 is overhyped bulls*hit.

How can 5 million worldwide pre-orders be wrong?

[dantesparda]

The same way around 55 million people who voted for Bush could be

[Shaka2K6]

I agree and so far looks like halo 3 will be even a worst dissapointment.
good thing its the last one in this POS overated series anyways its just an average fps now nothing new.
besides who will wanna waste time playing this crap with xbox graphics when you have Haze and Unreal 3 this fall.

[Daxx]

"besides who will wanna waste time playing this crap with xbox graphics when you have Haze and Unreal 3 this fall."

I'm guessing that's you.

[level 360]

Much-hyped title but gave the gamers what they want or will be expecting:
> Gears of War - sure has delivered the goods
> Halo 3 - will definitely deliver the goods
> GranTurismo 5: Prologue ( on Blu-Ray, not on-line ) - will be absolutely awesome
> Uncharted: Drake's Fortune - will be a chart topper sensation
Much-hyped title but is actually or going to be a Bummer game:
> Lair - controls?!?
> NASCAR 2008 - worst racing game ever ( whether it be the real thing or in virtual form )
> Forza 2 - the personalizing/modding feature was actually better than the driving/racing part of the game ( w/out in-car views, it just did'nt deliver the added sense of reality. )

[harv052]

It's really funny!! You can clearly see who's in which camp, this is just a fanboy flame war! So stupid! Except Level 360 which is one of those rare neutral person...We need more of those....

Jeez...Can't we all just get along??

[IRONMAN_X57]

HALo 2 sucked so why is HALo3 even hyped?
HALO3 is the most overhyped crap ever, and watch how many xbots are gonna be dissapointed, sux to be you dont it

[jules]

the only thing they have in common is the h....
talking about hype...
the ps3 is hyped like y2k...hype is mgs4...killzone2...the first kz oh now that was hype...kz2 2 gigs per level...if anything like resistance it will be 3 minutes of gameplay 5 minutes of cg...per level...thats hype

halo3 will level all these and all critics...got my legendary paid for...

[heavyarms]

Halo1 was the best. Halo2 wasnt all that, the multiplayer is ok but nothing really amazing it should have been a 3/5. Having said that i'm waiting for halo 3 because i did enjoy halo 1 so I want to finish the fight.

[The BS Police]

The biggest problem with Halo 2's single player mode, was that it was a second in a trilogy.

Basicly Halo 2 was created to set the stage for Halo 3's storyline.

[BloodySinner]

Yet people don't seem to understand that concept. Bubbles for you, dude.