The 10th Hour 11.23.07: Top 10 Most Overrated Games

Posted by Derek Robbins on 11.23.2007

Thousands upon thousands of games have been released, but what does 411 columnist Derek Robbins think are the ten most overrated among them? The 10th Hour this week covers the games that perhaps get a bit *too* much credit. All that, plus a quick rundown of what you missed out on in last week's column of the top-10 best villains.

Hello and welcome to the second edition of the tenth hour! Technically this is the third edition, but…thanks to some spelling and grammar issues last week's top-10 list went the way of the Dreamcast. Early termination.

Since I don't feel like doing the same list twice in a row, I'll be skipping the top-10 villain list (which I'm sure I'll write again someday) and going right into the top-10 most overrated games list.

Before I hit that, though, let me note a couple of things:

-I am writing this on Thanksgiving! Right now…I'm just trying to mentally prepare for tomorrow. "Black Friday" at Toys R Us means opening at 4:30 AM with tons of angry parents looking for the hottest deals! Seems…'fun'.

-I don't know if I plan on buying Mass Effect or not. I know it's supposed to be really good, but…I'm not a huge fan of WRPGs (That's ‘western RPGs')…so…I don't know. I imagine that I'll at least rent it. The commercials intrigue me.

Ahh, I guess I don't have anything else to hit on for now…so I'll get on to the actual article now.

Top-10 most over-rated games ever

Alright, I figure I should run down some rules. There are none. Any game from any generation is eligible. I also intend to include franchises if every game meets my criteria of ‘over-rated'. Anyhow, let's get started. These kinds of lists are tricky, since odds are I'm going to list a game that someone loves and someone will get up in arms, but really…that's half the fun!

10-) Sonic CD (Sega CD) - Let me start by saying that I really enjoy this game. I think it's fun and a worthy addition to the Sonic series, however…you'll hear videogame magazines heap endless praise onto this game and even refer to this as the finest Sonic ever. I'm sorry, but anime cut-scenes and time travel (which doesn't effect the levels as much as you would think) don't make it the best rendition of the series. Sonic 3 and Knuckles, in my opinion, is where Sonic Team hit their creative peak…14 chaos emeralds, Knuckles and Tails playable…Sonic CD is good, but to call it the best Sonic game is to turn a blind eye to a lot of quality titles.

- Good game, but best Sonic ever? Please.

9-) Goldeneye 007 (N64) - When this game came out, I would venture to say that it was the motherfuckin' bees knees. There are STILL people that claim this is the best first person shooter ever. Sorry, but in order to be the finest FPS of all time it would require that it was the finest FPS on the N64 as well. It's not. Perfect Dark does everything Goldeneye does but better…including the ability to play with bots and create your own characters. Yes, Goldeneye was good for its time…but we have come a long way since its release. Seriously…if Goldeneye was the best first person shooter…the gaming industry would be in a ton of trouble.

One of the better games based off of a movie yet, but it's hardly one of the best games out there.

8-) Mortal Kombat Series (Arcade/various consoles) - Mortal Kombat housed a pretty lousy fighting system when compared to Street Fighter. Really, the only reason people liked the game – in my mind at least – is due to the bloody fatalities. I think that if they had no blood…or at the very worst Street Fighter II blood (Which you can't really call blood, it's pretty tame)…that this game would not have been remembered. It would just have been a 90's run of the mill fighting game. Blood and gore does not make a good game. The twelve year olds of today would do good to learn this.

- FATALATIES.

7-) Mario Kart 64 (N64) - This is an example of a game that was pretty good when it came out, but people still swear by it to this day. I hate to say this as I am a pretty big fan of the Mario Kart series, but Mario Kart 64 has aged horribly. I downloaded it for the Virtual Console and was pretty un-impressed. Yes, I played it when it first came out for the N64, but now a' days it really isn't anything special. Anyone who claims that this is the finest kart racing game ever probably hasn't played a kart racer since this game came out. Nostalgia can really blind us sometimes, and I think this game is a prime example.

- Unlike the original Mario Kart, this game is not an age-old classic.

6-) The Sims Franchise (PC) The games for casual gamers. You go to a friend's house who doesn't really enjoy playing video games and there is a chance that they are playing the Sims. I think something about being able to control human lives appeals to people, I don't know. Problem is…I'm not a casual gamer, and I don't get this phenomenon. Oh sure, creating your friends is fun…for a while…but eventually I feel like your Sims become a chore. In one of my houses, I got fed up and forced two of my always bitching room-mates to be permanent maids – who weren't paid – because I just couldn't make them happy. This game is fine for casuals, but for gamers who actually dedicate time to their hobby…you'd do best to look elsewhere.

- The epitome of ‘casual' gaming. The kind of person who plays a lot of the Sims, from my experience at least, is the kind of person that if you ask them if they play video games they say: "Oh yeah, I play a lot of solitaire."

5-) Harvest Moon Franchise - Ugh. I hate the Harvest Moon series and sometimes I feel that I am the only person out there who does. What's so fun about working and doing the same damn thing every day? Oh hey, if I actually wanted to work…I would GO to my job and not get a second digital job that in some ways is more aggravating than real work. Yes, I realize Harvest Moon is like a ‘life simulator'…but is it supposed to be so accurate that the game comes off as dull and repetitive? I doubt it. I don't know what people see in this franchise, and to be honest I would probably be quite pleased to see it be canned. I'm a fan of game diversity, I like games that get more people to get into gaming (I know I mentioned the Sims earlier, but just because I don't like it personally doesn't mean it's not good for the industry)…but I would not be sad to see Harvest Moon go.

- Enjoy your work.

4-) Madden after EA sports bought the exclusive rights to the NFL in videogames (Various) - I love Madden. That is to say that I ‘loved' Madden until EA decided to eliminate the competition (2K Sports) and create a football monopoly. Ever since that point in time – Starting with Madden NFL 2006 – the Madden series has done absolutely nothing. Since it has no competition and drones of people are going to buy their game no matter what…why even try? Let's be honest here. The next-gen iterations of the Madden franchise have been pathetic. Up until 2008, the games include barebones gameplay modes…and even with 2008 there were STILL some things they left out. I'm lead to believe the only reason they tried to do something with 2008 is because of 2K Sports all-pro football. Yet people still buy this shit. I guess the lack of competition really helps them. I'm not buying another Madden until they get their act together and start actually making NEW games. I know that there is only so much you can do with football, but COME ON. At least show some appreciation to your freaking customers.

- Screw you EA Sports. It's pretty sad when a game released three years ago (NFL 2K5) is practically better in every way than your current garbage.

3-) Animal Crossing (Gamecube) - Animal Crossing has a charm to a lot of people for some reason. I guess this game ties into my hatred of the Sims in that it's more of an interactivity game than an actual game. Like Harvest Moon, at times it can feel more like work than actual game. Sure, you can interact with your townspeople, but when you write them letters…they don't really know what you're saying. You can say the most horrible things and they'll be all: "Thanks for writing!" That's some ‘quality' interactivity. There is no point to this game in all honesty. You're always doing chores, and if you slack and don't play the game for a few days? The town sprouts weeds all over the place! How lovely. Yes, collecting furniture and decorating your house can be neat, but with how annoying it is to get money and the fact that you get a lot of these bits of furniture by doing "GO HERE AND HERE AND HERE IN OUR SMALL TOWN" types of things it can be a bit bothersome.

A game everyone but me seems to enjoy.

2-) Final Fantasy VII (PS1) I want to start this by saying I like Final Fantasy VII. I've owned it as long as I've owned my Playstation. It's a fine game. My point is, you have people running around claiming this is the finest game ever. Good game? Sure. Best game ever? Hah! If you've played any earlier SNES RPGs with an ATB (Active Time Battle) system…then you've basically played a fighting system very similar to that of FF VII. The materia system is kind of neat, but it's certainly not enough to push it over the top. As for the story everyone raves about? Yeah, I love horribly translated messes as much as the next guy, but…what's so special about this? Your generic "bishie" villain is trying to destroy the world? Oh wow, that's never been done before. Cloud Strife makes up for his lack of character – really, we don't know much about Cloud. We know about Zack – by having an obscenely large sword. Hundreds of JRPGs (That's…Japanese RPGs) have had this kind of formula…so what makes FF VII so special? Simple! It was a lot of our very first role playing game. Look people, it's a good game…but the RPG industry has come a LONG way since the release of this game. Get over your generic characters and your average story and open your eyes a little bit.

- A good game. Really though, there are plenty that are better.

1-) The Halo Franchise (X-Box/X-Box 360/PC) As is the case with Final Fantasy VII, allow me to denote that I both own Halo 3 and like Halo 3. I bought the game since pretty much every 360 owner I know wanted it, and I have to be honest…I like to LAN. So, since everyone is going to be LANing it up anyways, I figured I might as well buy it. It's fun, but man, this is such a run of the mill first person shooter. I honestly think if the games included inside the Orange Box got more publicity, the Orange Box would be just as popular as Halo. At least the games in the Orange Box have some sort of innovation and aren't so freaking generic. Halo is my definition of a casual gamer's game. It's good for the industry in that people are buying videogames, but I think that most competent game developers could probably recreate Halo. Nothing, and I mean nothing, separates it from your run of the mill FPS. The only difference I see is publicity, so Halo gets more credit than it rightfully deserves. Fun game? Sure. If fans of Halo tried other first person shooters though, I'm sure they would see the franchise is lacking in comparison to other shooting franchises. Halo 1's single player was the worst piece of garbage I have ever played in my life. Halo 2's was slightly better, and Halo 3's was competent, so at least the series is evolving. Don't tell me that the multiplayer is fun. No shit it's fun. Try to get a group of people together to play a first person shooter and NOT having fun. It's hard. Here's what Halo is: An average game that's easily accessible to casual gamers. Nothing more, nothing less.

- Yep. I think this covers my publicity point.

Wellll, that's it for this week's list. If you wish to play with me on X-Box LIVE I encourage you to add me. My gamer tag is Croix22. I mostly play Virtua Fighter 5, Smackdown vs. Raw 2008, the Orange Box (Team Fortress 2)…and occasionally, yes, Halo 3.

I would have a mailer section this week, but since my last published column was two weeks ago, I'll just skip out on it this week. But I'll include some next week! Just mail me at [e-mail] or [e-mail]. You can send complaints, praise, suggestions, rants, videogame suggestions, questions, your own top-10 lists (I'd particularly like that!), and so on…and they'll appear here next week with my next top-10 list: Top-10 characters I would like to see in Smash Brothers Brawl.

Of course, that's tentative. My list could always change between now and next time.

Before I go, if you were wondering what last week's list went like, I'll run it down for you real quick. Here are the top-10 villains ever in descending order:

10-) Ghaleon (Lunar Series)
9-) Pokey Minch (Earthbound/Mother 3)
8-) Dr. Robotnik (Sonic Series)
7-) Seymour Guado (Final Fantasy X)
6-) Psycho Mantis (Metal Gear Solid)
5-) Ganondorf (Zelda franchise, but particularly the Windwaker)
4-) Kerrigan (Starcraft)
3-) Bowser (Mario series)
2-) Kefka (Final Fantasy VI)
1-) Revolver Ocelot (Metal Gear Solid franchise)

- That would be the invisible man punching Robotnik.

Anyhow, that'll be it for this week. Make sure to come back next week, until then~

Til' the cross-roads