Biggest gaming disappointments of 2010

No, really. A tie! This time THREE woeful titles.

First up is Alan Wake. After waiting what felt like a decade of delays Remedy entertainment had plenty of time to make this the standout title of 2010. In the first hour of gameplay it felt like they had nailed it. Creepy, mysterious and ambiguous story telling coupled with solid graphics and gameplay it truly felt like you were playing an episode of the twilight zone. Then, after the initial honeymoon period ended you were left with a game that was bogged down with repetitive combat, scenery and gameplay. The trouble with Alan Wake is that you can imagine on paper the developers had some amazing, grand and fabulous ideas. Only when they tried to make them happen in reality they were hampered with the technology they were using and the constant deadlines set by Microsoft. As a result the finished product is a damp squib, it was the biggest disappointment of the year purely because it could have been a landmark in gaming, instead each level just felt like a photocopy of the last.

Red Dead Redemption also promised so much and delivered so little. Once again on paper, potentially amazing. GTA in the wild west sounds exciting. The problem is, RDR suffers from GTA4 syndrome. Initially its great, getting sucked into the wild west atmosphere is exciting, until you realise that all of the missions are achingly familiar to a point of boredom. Either, escort someone to a destination and defend from attackers OR travel to a destination, kill bad guys when you get there and travel back. Rockstar truly forgot what gaming is all about – having fun. The repetition crippled the entire experience beyond boredom itself.

I was going to mention Crackdown 2 at this point, but felt that it was an obvious choice. Hardly worth the wear on my keyboard it was that shameful (see my review). Instead Splinter Cell Conviction was another with potential. A reboot of a franchise that was unnecessary. At times amazing, slick and polished - kicking down doors and taking everyone out with just two button presses made it feel like you were playing 24. Unfortunately the game suffered from too much reimagining. It was only Splinter Cell in name. It felt dumbed down, too slick and simple. Gone were the sections of creeping around in the shadows and hiding, the clever enemy AI and stealthy takedowns. Instead these were replaced with out and out combat. The developers must have decided that although Splinter Cell was great, they wanted it to attract a wider demographic. It feels like they made an entirely different game, but knew it would fail under a new moniker, so they stuck the Splinter Cell name on it. If it was a new franchise, people, including myself would have enjoyed its dumb, action movie charm - but by making it a Splinter Cell game, they missed the point and ruined it beyond repair. Boo!