Net Ten: Ten Hugely Overrated Games (page 1) Subscribe to this RSS feed

Best Game Evar, huh? Not if we've got anything to say about it. These games may be great, but true classics they are most definitely not.

#10 Half-Life 2 - [ PC ]

Don't get us wrong: Half-Life 2 is a great, great game, and easily one of the best games released in 2004. But in some ways, it's almost a victim of its own past success. The first Half-Life was truly revolutionary, so players naturally expected that Half-Life 2 would continue that legacy. And though it's an excellent FPS title, the single-player game has several serious shortcomings. Enemy variety is a major issue (enough with the Combine soliders, already!), and the lengthy mid-level load times are a total buzz kill. The wishy-washy weapons are also aggravating; why does the Pulse Rifle only have 30 rounds per clip? Why can you only carry three clips? Why only five grenades? True, the Gravity Gun is a huge contribution to the FPS canon, but even its appeal wears off after a few hours. Half-Life 2 is a wonderful tech demo and an awesome FPS game, but it's not a true classic. That honor goes to the original Half-Life. Still, it's great game--look for the Xbox version this September.

#10 Half-Life 2
96% average
critic
score

#9 Duke Nukem 3D - [ PC ]

Upon its release in 1996, Duke Nukem 3D blew plenty of minds. In fact, the entire first episode ("L.A. Meltdown, aka the shareware episode) still stands as one of the best FPS experiences ever constructed. Ever. So after months of delays, the full version released to huge sales, but the quality was all over the map. Fans were disappointed to learn that the entire second episode ("Lunar Apocalypse") was a boring space romp. The third, urban-based chapter ("Shrapnel City") was a vast improvement, but it was still awfully repetitive. In the end, the extra episodes couldn't match the intensity and ingenuity of the shareware chapter. Still, reviewers ignored many of these issues when they rewarded the game with their highest honors. Here's hoping the long-delayed Duke Nukem Forever (or whatever 3DRealms is now calling it) is the game The Duke truly deserves.

#9 Duke Nukem 3D
94% average
critic
score

#8 Halo: Combat Evolved - [ Xbox ]

Why not Halo 2? Easy--because Halo 2 is a much, much better game than its predecessor. Outside of the addictive multiplayer mode, the first Halo is almost painful to play, especially for extended periods of time. First, there are the well-documented framerate problems. Furthermore, the single-player mission is a long, tedious slog through endlessly repeating environments. The designers clearly padded out the game by shamelessly inserting copy-and-paste architecture (and not only on the Library level: for proof, replay the Pillar of Autumn and Covenant ship levels). Halo 2's single-player mode, in comparison, alleviated the worst cookie-cutter level designs, and upped the ante with its incredibly thoughtful and balanced Xbox Live multiplayer mode. Ultimately, the first Halo is a good, but flawed, game. Halo 2 is the true masterpiece.

#8 Halo: Combat Evolved
94% average
critic
score

#7 Jade Empire - [ Xbox ]

Another good game that was mistakenly heralded as a classic. In a way, that's understandable: developer BioWare has an almost obsessive fan base, and their games tend to elevate and innovate. But Jade Empire represents a bit of a stumble. This mythological Chinese action/RPG game has interesting art design and an inspired concept (it is still the only "kung-fu RPG" on the market). But the control scheme is dangerously overworked; the game uses every button on the Xbox's massive controller, which is never a good sign. And during combat scenes, the camera is often your biggest foe. It can be a pain to merely keep your character on-screen. In the end, BioWare deserves kudos for even attempting to create this game. The end result may be flawed, but it's at least interesting.

#7 Jade Empire
91% average
critic
score

#6 Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty - [ PS2 ]

This game almost sucked. Almost. After an awesome first act featuring series badass Solid Snake, the game infamously switched its focus to the whiny, bottle-blond crybaby Raiden. Metal Gear fans never quite forgave Konami for that nasty bait-and-switch. The rest of the game had its flaws, too. The boss battles were goofy (remember the roller-skating, bomb-laying Fatman?), the oil rig setting was drab and dull, and the storyline eventually deteriorated into surreal Matrix-inspired nonsense. The game's political grandstanding didn't help, either. Konami has worked hard since then to prove that they've learned their lesson--Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater is an excellent game. But unless you're a MGS diehard, you can probably skip Sons of Liberty.

#6 Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty
98% average
critic
score