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| Spoon
137th Post
 
Regular Customer
   
|  "The good premise, bad delivery thread"
, posted Sun 22 Feb 13:37
Promise... without delivery!
Post here about anything (games, or whatever) that presented incredibly exciting and interesting premises, but failed to deliver on them.
This is a thread about wasted potential. Fill it with tragedy!
One sticks out in my mind: the DOS game Dreamweb. Filled with potential, fails to expand at all on the intriguing story it sets up. So you're a guy living in a not-quite-cyberpunk future who's sleep has been haunted lately, with voices telling you about someone you need to kill to save the world... it drives you nuts, so you go and nervously get a gun and kill that person... and before the security guards gun you down, you get teleported away into a weird sanctuary. You are told about someone else you need to kill by some robed figures, then the ground falls out from under you and you appear somewhere else in the city. The people you kill are all aware of who you are, but you'll be damned if you can figure out why it's you who has to do this, or what these people are exactly, or who those robed people teleporting you around are... it's never revealed or expanded on. Dark? Oh yeah. Mysterious? Sure. Vague? Definitely.
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| Spoon
138th Post
Regular Customer
| "Re(2):The good premise, bad delivery thread" , posted Sun 22 Feb 22:30
quote:
Did you beat the game? While it's not spelled out for you, it's pretty clear what happened in the end. I don't actually remember much of the ending though since it's been a long, long time since I played, though I found it very satisfying.
I'd go for Splinter Cell. The promise of realism deliver with doors that only open when they're scripted to and 90% of the visible area completel inaccessable.
I remember having sound for the first part, but when I got around to beating the game, I was forced to play without any sound... so whatever it was Bennett (i think that was his name) was saying, I didn't get to hear. Maybe it was a revelation.... but I guess I missed it >_<
Now, did any of you ever get to try Drowned God? I thought that looked neat, but I never got my hands on a copy of it... heard it had major problems with the game interfering with the story
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| israfel
63th Post
Occasional Customer
| "Re(3):The good premise, bad delivery thread" , posted Sun 22 Feb 23:14
I'd second that one on splinter cell, great premise, pretty fun gameplay, way too linear.
One I would think of is Gundam: Federation vs Zeon. I know it was a popular arcade game and all, but whenever i play it I can't help but keep thinking about the game it could have been. The encounters are far too similar, basically you plus useless comrades fighting enemy units.
It had a fun mission mode following the story of the one year war, but it lacked scope. It let you manage your mobile suits and pick which one you wanted to use.
I suppose I shouldn't be too hard on it being it is an arcade port and all, but i expected more. Some bigger and more varied enviroments, interesting mission structures, a little more tactics involved, and a little quicker and tighter combat (although the combat was pretty fun!) would make it a great gundam game.
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| Iggy 2834th Post
Platinum Carpet V.I.P- Board Master
    
    
    
    
 
| "Re(1):The good premise, bad delivery thread" , posted Mon 23 Feb 00:45
quote:
This is a thread about wasted potential. Fill it with tragedy!
Jojo PS2.
Was announced for years, succeeded to transpose the weirdness of the original manga's graphical style, had some pretty goos idea, then.... was a complete flaw. There was nothing to save in it, as a game. I looks like nobody played it before it was released.
I still think the game could have been a vs fighting game. Abaquio could have been good, Man in the Mirror could have been funny to play with, Oasis also, King Crimson who had a mu no kyouchi 2 years before Samusupi 0...
But finally, there was nothing left. No interest at all. Maybe finally it was so complete crap from the beginning that even 2 years of tweaking were not enough to save it. And no Rizzoto? bouuuuuh...
．．．人はパンツをセンタク機にほうり込むのは、どんな時だ？
答えは一つ。
．．．それを脱いだ時、だぜ。
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| Undead Fred 1345th Post
Red Carpet Executive Member
| "Re(4):The good premise, bad delivery thread" , posted Mon 23 Feb 03:44
quote:
I'd second that one on splinter cell, great premise, pretty fun gameplay, way too linear.
Argh... how was Splinter Cell bad in any way? I thought it was great... Have you guys played all the way through? Personally, I wasn't expecting any kind of free-roaming gameplay. They give you a mission, and you get to work on accomplishing it. The stealth and enemy AI were great. I loved the light levels and the sound sensitivity. Way more realistic stealth game than something like Metal Gear.
Anyway, back to the topic, I remember reading about Soul of the Samurai on PSX a long time ago, and I finally found it in the stores. I bought it, and was forced to read the manual from cover to cover because I was away from my PSX that weekend... and when I finally got to play it, it totally blew. The concept was like some sort of early Onimusha except with clunky controls, bad storytelling and character development, and so on and so on. The only cool thing about the game was getting a tachi sword (or whatever those Ukyo Tachibaba-style swords are called). You couldn't even get the real ending unless you played with one of the characters. You're expected to play through with the guy, not get the "complete" ending, then play through with the girl and get the real boss fight. Not just from playing with one character then the other, but by playing with one particular character and then the other.
BLARGBLARG PLACE YOUR BETS!
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| Undead Fred 1348th Post
Red Carpet Executive Member
| "Re(6):The good premise, bad delivery thread" , posted Mon 23 Feb 12:17
quote:
There was nothing realistic about Splinter Cell at all. The whole lighting thing was a gimmick since you could hide in shadows and be clearly seen by enemies, but because the game said it was too dark, they passed you by. I think I got halfway before turning to MGS2, which is probably more realistic despite the loopy story. At least there are far fewer magically locked doors.
Did you play it on XBox or PS2? I had it on XBox... I assumed that maybe the PS2 version's lighting was a lot less effective, so you ARE "hiding" in fairly well-lit area. I don't know. I'd argue for Splinter Cell more, but I'm not sure what version you guys played and what your expectations were and all of that, so I'll just leave the issue alone.
Juan- Sweet! Pepsi Blue may be dead, but at least I've got a good recipe for making my own Pepsi Blue now, thanks to you. Heh heh.
BLARGBLARG PLACE YOUR BETS!
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| israfel
64th Post
Occasional Customer
| "Re(7):The good premise, bad delivery thread" , posted Mon 23 Feb 16:52
I played splinter cell on the xbox, all the way through. I really did like it, the stealth lighting was implemented very well, but it felt so linear. Like when you are supposed to sneak into some building, its basically a track from the parking garage to the 2nd floor, over the wire between the buildings, into the lobby, etc. I want some choices with my stealth action games.
In the first scene in the first Metal gear solid, they tell you three ways to get into Shadow Moses- the front door (which you actually couldn't get in, but they did mention it), the top ventilation shaft, or the bottom vent. Even though those choices were quite limited, I thought it really helped in the immersion of the game, the fact that you got to choose your own stealth path. Its really a shame they didn't elaborate on that idea later in the game.
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| Spoon
141th Post
Regular Customer
| "Re(2):The good premise, bad delivery thread" , posted Mon 23 Feb 17:17
quote:
This is a thread about wasted potential. Fill it with tragedy!
Jojo PS2.
Was announced for years, succeeded to transpose the weirdness of the original manga's graphical style, had some pretty goos idea, then.... was a complete flaw. There was nothing to save in it, as a game. I looks like nobody played it before it was released.
I still think the game could have been a vs fighting game. Abaquio could have been good, Man in the Mirror could have been funny to play with, Oasis also, King Crimson who had a mu no kyouchi 2 years before Samusupi 0...
But finally, there was nothing left. No interest at all. Maybe finally it was so complete crap from the beginning that even 2 years of tweaking were not enough to save it. And no Rizzoto? bouuuuuh...
I didn't play it, and the fact that the North American release was titled "GioGio's Bizarre Adventure" instead of the familiar "JoJo's Bizarre Adventure" made me think that for sure it should've been good! They got the proper/hardcore spelling of the name! And then I heard about how it played...
Gee, I didn't expect such a lashing on Splinter Cell (not that I played it... I miss out on a lot, huh?)... before we know it, FF7 is gonna spill into this thread like it does with EVERY xxx-disappointment thread!
But... since I heard Splinter Cell was all in all at least a decent game... let's try to keep things to things that were at the very least mediocre in the end, if not outright bad: that way, we keep out the usual high-profile suspects (e.g. FF7).
I was disappointed with Fire and Ice, the sequel to Solomon's Key. Heck, my dad was disappointed with it, Solomon's Key being one of the few games that he actually really got into discussing with us. Solomon's Key has intensity and action that Fire and Ice doesn't even try to match; Fire and Ice plays like a more typical puzzler, while Solomon's Key was sublime puzzle/action hybrid.
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| Hungrywolf 2703th Post
Platinum Carpet V.I.P- Board Master
| "Re(2):I'll probably be hung for this..." , posted Thu 26 Feb 09:16
quote:
...but I have to say that Zelda: The Wind Waker, while good in concept, was very poorly done. It took way too long to get anywhere (even with warp points), and some of the objectives in the game were boring. And the "Find the Triforce in the ocean" bits weren't very appealing. I would rather have battled through more dungeons than go fishing for them.
To me, Ocarina of Time is the best Zelda game, followed by Link to the Past.
Hung for it? Most of the people who played the game agree with this. Nintendo games have been lacking in polish on the GC in general. They're not as bad as Sonic Team yet though.
Most people not being me, as I found Wind Waker to be the best Zelda game second only to The Legend of Zelda (NES) and The Adventure of Link (NES). I think those two are tied for first for me. I think Wind Waker is no where near the good premise, bad delivery section. And it's not because I'm a hardcore Zelda fan. I mean, I am a hardcore Star Wars fan but I agree with the good premise, bad delivery of Ep. 1, though I did enjoy the movie.
However, there will be no hanging today. I'm too busy. You got lucky this time, Burning Ranger.
"no again my apoligizes for anyone i offend!!!!!"
Hungry Like the Wolf
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