Best & Worst of 2013: Most Disappointing Games of the Year

While many of this year’s highly anticipated games lived up to expectations, there are others that did not fare so much with us here at Entertainment Fuse. Our most disappointing games of the year range from long awaited reboots, a hedgehog’s debut on Nintendo’s latest console, the most popular first-person shooter not making a good first impression on the next generation, and more. Without further or ado, here are our picks for the most disappointing games of 2013.

Matt Rowles: Tomb Raider

By no means a bad game, but Tomb Raider was still my most disappointing game of 2013. The game was fine but really lacked any sort of ambition and felt like a watered down version of what it potentially could have been. Uncharted stole the Tomb Raider formula and made it better to the point that at times I felt like I was playing an Uncharted rip off but with less spectacle and fun.
Leaked concept videos showed horseback riding, monsters and even a flame thrower weapon. The graphics were very nice and the game played well, except the frustrating and immersion breaking QTEs. I think the game nailed the tone, character, and was a safe first step in rebooting the franchise, but I definitely look forward to an inevitable sequel which I have very high hopes for.

Edward Oliveira: Sonic: Lost World

If I had to choose a disappointing game for 2013, I’d first look at Sonic: Lost World for Wii U. In this upturn for the franchise for the last few years with games like Sonic Colors and the racing titles, I thought the next-gen Nintendo-exclusive Sonic would be another step forward. The first tidbits sounded awesome with Super Mario Galaxy-style levels and even Sonic Team acknowledged some problems that they’d fix. Sadly, what we got was a botched game that that failed to even be a good platformer, hell an upturn to the series.
There’s at least a silver lining to this game. Sega announced that the game would be updated to fix some of the issues. While the said fixes won’t fix everything, but it is an attempt.

Jeffrey Dy: God of War: Ascension

The beginning of the end for the current console generation also meant unnecessary prequels to established franchises. From Gears of War: Judgment not living up to standards of that franchise, one prequel suffered worse, which was Sony Santa Monica’s God of War: Ascension. Don’t get me wrong. The God of War franchise is one of Sony’s landmark franchises in recent years, but after playing Ascension, you can tell that this was a game that had to fill a void before the Playstation 4 came out.
The story, which takes place before the first game, was not memorable as I just trucking through it hoping that it will end. Combat was limited with elemental attacks, which was surprising for the series even though there were still some interesting set pieces that were on par compared to previous games. Multiplayer was the big addition to the franchise, but after a month like many games with multiplayer components, I wasn’t compelled to keep playing despite additional weapons, maps, and outfits. Now that the Playstation 4 is out, I hope Sony Santa Monica is back on the drawing board on the next game for this franchise assuming there is one in the works beyond 2014.

Paul Lawford: Call of Duty: Ghosts

I don't think this is a bad game, In fact as first-person shooters go it is up there with the best, well it was. For this year’s most disappointing game I am picking Call of Duty: Ghosts. Why you ask? Well the problem is I don't actually think the game is that bad. It is just the fact the same thing has been rehashed Christmas after Christmas for five years now. The graphics have not improved, gameplay has not improved, and the campaign, which let's be honest has never been the greatest, is just the same as the last one, but in a different country with different voice actors.
Where Battlefield 4 seemed to progress, COD: Ghosts has remained dormant. I completely understand the appeal of competitive multiplayer in these FPS games, but there is no reason now why you shouldn't get BF4 (Aside from the bugs) as it is far superior in every way. Maybe the next gen consoles can churn out a new Call of Duty game that blows all other FPS games out of the water. We will just have to wait and see. But until then I would recommend a PC gamer to get BF4 over COD unless you want the same experience you have had the past five years. Some people don't like change though, right?