10.0
GotY Awards 2010 – Worst Game Everyone Played
Medal of Honor – These days, a well established name will go a long way – as shown by 2010′s Medal of Honor. The single-player seemed servicable, but buggy and way too short. The multiplayer? A shocking combination of Battlefield and Call of Duty, and not the good kind of shocking. But, again, stick a man with a bad ass beard on the box as well as the words ‘Medal of Honor’ and you got yourself a tonne of sales. Great job, and thanks everybody for buying it. Medal of Honor is kind of bad, sorry.
And in Close Second…
Fable III – Fable III is here because, honestly, there isn’t anything I’ve played more than this game that deserves this award. No Force Unleashed, like Josiah. Nothing like that, so as weak as this close second is…I have to put something, right? Though the Fable series, in my eyes, hasn’t been particularly stellar, I liked it. I bought both the first Fable and Fable II on their day of release because I could, and had some good fun out of it. I’m pretty sure I went back for another playthrough or two of the first game, and am part way through a second playthrough of the sequel. Fable III, though? I didn’t buy it. Hearing what I heard (the main comment being that it was worse than Fable II) meant I didn’t end up buying it, though I did play it a little. Such a shame, because that Peter Molyneux likes to talk the talk, and I always cut him some slack. Not anymore. Not anymore.
Star Wars: The Force Unleashed 2 – Sadly, a big name can get you a long way in this industry. It seems like Star Wars games always get a large amount of attention, not because of the past quality of the games, but because it’s Star Wars. You know, based on that movie that was kind of a phenomenon? There have been some great licensed Star Wars titles in the past, such as Knights of the Old Republic and Battlefront, but the majority of them are just cheap cash-ins that rides the success of the franchise. The original Force Unleashed was on top of the hype train back in 2008, being touted as the first time you will truly feel like a Jedi. Apparently, the life of a Jedi is a tedious one, where certain enemies have a very odd immunity to the force and swinging your light saber is a chore. While having a solid story, TFU fell far below expectations, and left the dream of a suburb Star Wars action game in the hands of a sequel. The Force Unleashed 2 (Nope, they didn’t even try to add a new subtitle) was released this year with almost all of the same problems as the original, but minus the compelling narrative. With the first game being so lucrative, the developers must have thought they had stuck gold and the best plan would be to not mess with a good thing. While not selling at the same pace of the original game, TFU2 is still reaching far too many gamers who should have learned the first time. With this money, you could buy good games that don’t get as much press, like almost everything I have reviewed. Bad games don’t need anyone’s support, just a swift kick in the gonads and a bus ride home.
And in Close Second…
Medal of Honor – I think the purchase of a game like Medal of Honor plays out one of two ways. First, the uninformed parent walks into the local game store looking for that new, action-packed shooter for Jimmy (I don’t anyone named Jimmy either, stay focused). He sees the badass with the beard on the cover of the recently released Medal of Honor, thinks it looks about right, and buys the game with no concept of its quality. Second, and even worse, gamers who do follow the industry hear about the game, realize they have an entire month to wait for the new Call of Duty, and purchase Medal of honor to tide them over until a better game comes out. If this is you, stop it. Quit reading this, go return the game, and send a formal apology to either Treyarch for not waiting or Dice for not buying BC2. If you’re lucky, they will forgive you. Patience is a virtue gamers, and you should never settle for mediocrity.
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Really? How can you possibly have a strong enough opinion on Fable 3 to place it as your “Close Second” Worst Game of the Year when you’ve only played it for “a little.” You clearly have a heavily biased and non-journalistic perspective on this game. If you enjoyed the others, PLAY Fable 3. All the hate this game receives is ridiculous. The story is leaps-and-bounds better than Fable 2, which (in my mind), was unsatisfying and boring. The combat is everything Fable 2 had, but tighter. The cast of characters is likable (for the most part) and the decisions you have to make as ruler are not based solely on whether or not you want to be a dick or a saint.
My point being, play the game before you hate the game.
…And as a journalist, you should know to largely ignore Molyneux’s all-too-ambitious ramblings and judge the game based solely on what it is: a game.
Like I said in my post, Fable III is an incredibly weak choice, but it’s the only game I could think of that would fit in this category (other than my first choice) that I’ve played. It would be foolish to leave it blank, and as you may or not be aware, I don’t really have any sort of income. I am forced to pick and choose which games I buy, and which games I don’t – but I try to play what I can regardless. This is a perfect example of this. I will probably eventually play this game and give it a chance, but for now, Fable III stays here. Also, everything you’ve stated about Fable III, whether it be more true than all ‘the hate’ is still opinion. Respect my opinion of what I’ve played and my reasons for choosing it, and I’ll respect yours. This all boils down to one thing – a lot of people played this game, and it wasn’t very good.
I completely understand your position, but I felt compelled to share my opinion. The game scored an 80 on Metacritic, so clearly it’s not trash. But is it the best game of the year? Not even close. Is it the worst? Not even close.
I apologize if I came off a little “hate-y”, that wasn’t my intention.
Of course – your opinion, and the opinions of others, are always welcome here. No, the game is certainly not trash, but it’s not ‘my’ Fable – I think that is the best way to describe it. Little things that were changed seem to change the experience, for me anyway, and I disliked it. Yes, I agree. Not the best at all, not the worst either – and yes, you did come off a little “hate-y”, but come to think of it, I’m the worst person for that, so no worries.