Zone of Enders (the first one) for the PS2 is the epitomy of a game that had potential, but also had problems. I can''t think of any game, ever, that excited me as much as WATCHING my friends fight each other in that game, let alone playing it myself. It is... thrilling, to say the least. On the first day I played it, my friends and I all agreed that it was the best game we ever played.

As it turns out, there are only two or three decent characters in VS mode, and the single player mode wasn''t really all that great, which was very disappointing.

I haven''t played the sequel, but I haven''t heard much about it so it can''t be TOO awesome...I''m still waiting for a true follow-up to the ZOE experience.

I thought Command & Conquer: Tiberian Sun was going to turn out way better than it did. I still liked it, but the hype died the minute I started playing it.

The 11th Hour (sequel to the 7th Guest) was a huge letdown. The concept behind the sequel was just lame.

Emporer: Battle for Dune - I LOVE this game... but not too many other people did. You''d log on to Westwood Online and there would be ten people in the main chatroom, and the other rooms would be empty. The list of current multiplayer games fit on half a screen, and ladder matches were against the same people all the time. I think that killed Emporer.

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I think, therefore I''''m annoying.
http://www.downfromearth.com

The most disappointing game for me was Dungeon Siege. Great reviews all around, but the game sucked! There was no gameplay. You just wander environments while tons of monsters are thrown at you and you click them til they die. It sounds like Diablo II but that game was fun since you could fiddle with skills and all the items (unique, set, runes, gems, etc.). Dungeon Siege doesn''t let you customize your character -- it''s either weapon or magic, and you just get whatever spells you find.

Also there was no story or atmosphere and magic-users could not solo; if you wanted one, you had to put it way back where it''s safe and just play a fighter. To build up the hitpoints of a magic user, you have to stop being a magic user and use a weapon to build up Strength, which increases hitpoints. Moronic. It''s perfectly fine building weapon experience from using weapons, or magic experience from using magic, but requiring one or the other to modify fundamental stats is stupid.

I only played the first two levels if I remember right; I couldn''t stand it anymore. At least Dungeon Siege 2 (due 2004) will use the same engine, meaning the team will actually create a game this time instead of a glorified engine demo.

~CGameProgrammer( );

quote: Original post by photon9
I think Mafia didn''t hit it big, although in my opinion it was a truly great game. Great graphics, awesome sound, solid story, and realistic as hell.

You forgot to mention incredibly bad playability. In my book, graphics, sounds and realism mean nothing if playability sucks. But Mafia does fit this thread well, as it had potential to be awesome.