It seems mediocrity is the rule these days...

[zacd]

5-6 of the games on that list that are either sequels to successful franchises or in Beowulf's case, an adaptation of a movie. Often games like those are made just for a quick profit for the company using old games as the model. Nothing new and no innovation, hence the low scores.

but as previous posters mentioned, this holiday season has LOTS of great games. the video game industry is bigger than the movie business now -- so there are going to be lots of games, most of which will be terrible, but that doesn't mean good games won't be made.

[Senor Cardgage]

What I'd really like to see some more of: 2D action/adventure/rpg/whatever. I want some next-gen Wizards & Warrios action, some suped-up Faxanadu, twenty more Metroidvania games. Anything good in this vein out lately? My latest system is a GameCube, so I don't know the lineups of the next-gen stuff too well. But, yeah, some good 2D games would definitely pique my interest.

Oh, and I'm more interested in console stuff than handheld, but I guess handhelds are more likely to have this kind of game.

[TheSalche]

I think what OP is pointing out a lot of games that were hyped up quite a bit yet turned out to be disappointing. From his list specifically Kane and Lynch, Hellgate, Jericho and maybe blacksite.

This holiday season still has quite a few strong titles, but if you take a look at some lists compiled from July/August, theres a few that got dropped.

[Blarg]

The complaints about Hellgate were worse than I anticipated.

[Fadook]

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I think what OP is pointing out a lot of games that were hyped up quite a bit yet turned out to be disappointing. From his list specifically Kane and Lynch, Hellgate, Jericho and maybe blacksite.

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Yeah, I don't think this year has been any better or worse than previous years. It's just that there have been quite a few high-profile let-downs.

[RivaLiva]

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5-6 of the games on that list that are either sequels to successful franchises or in Beowulf's case, an adaptation of a movie. Often games like those are made just for a quick profit for the company using old games as the model. Nothing new and no innovation, hence the low scores.

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I was thinking the same thing. Cabella's Big Game Hunter and the Area 51 game are probably made at such a low budget that it doesn't need the ratings that the blockbuster games need to break even. Also there is not a huge market for games like these so they aren't marketed the same.