The Hype Machine #1

February 13,2007 - Over this past generation there have been many games, some not even covered in this installment, that have been touted and praised prior to their respective releases. Unfortunately, millions of gamers have been left disappointed, playing games rushed to release, missing entire features, and ultimately feeling broken. In this first edition of The Hype Machine, we cover five games from this generation that stand out among the crowd for being ultimate let downs to their cult followings. Some of these games are still good, but compared to their promises, they definitely missed the mark. Note: This edition is focused on this past generation.

FABLE

When Fable was first revealed gamers became excited to learn that Lionhead Studios front man Peter Molyneux would be leading the charge. Originally titled Project Ego, the game would feature real life movements and behaviors in a living, breathing world. Every action your character performed would change the overall outcome of the game, anything from killing a lonely drifter or chopping down a tree in the center of town. The basis for open-ended gameplay was set, and Molyneux made sure everyone knew how great Fable was going to be.

Surely Fable sounded like a pretty cool title, simply because Peter Molyneux made it so. The designer himself dubbed Fable as his “dream game,” one in which he waited his whole life to make. Throughout the months leading up to Fable’s release, Molyneux kept feeding the fire by adding remarks that Fable was one of the greatest games ever made and even stated that the game would go on to sell millions and be one of the highest selling games on the Xbox.

Overall, it was Molyneux’s boldness which caused the hype which surrounded Fable. Features, which were promised to be in the game, such as upgradeable weapons and armor, destructible objects in all areas, and nearly unlimited missions, were vaguely represented in the overall product. The combat was frustratingly simple as well, just a simple hack-and-slash affair capable of dispatching every enemy in exactly the same manner. Even the aging dynamics, which were the main selling point for Fable, did not even work properly as your young hero would eventually grow up to look older than everyone in the game despite the fact he was younger than everyone in the beginning.

After Fable released, Molyneux himself apologized to fans and gamers, stating how some of his promises were overlooked and many of the features simply could not be fit into the game before release time. Although he managed to perfect his game and release a newer version later on (Fable: Lost Chapters), Fable ultimately was a letdown for its massive hype, which failed to deliver on any of its promises.

WHAT IT DID RIGHT: Fable managed to sell well over one million copies in the first few months of release, making it one of the fastest selling games to reach a million sales on the Xbox. Along with the PC version, to this day Fable has sold more than three million copies. Although not as grand as once mentioned, the story and hero aspects worked quite well, allowing the player to become evil or good depending on the situations. Characters in the worlds acted differently depending on which route the character chose making replay a very noteworthy feature. 

KILLZONE

In 2004, Halo reigned supreme over shooters and helped Xbox become a definitive product in the console race. Sony, in an effort to stop Halo’s glory, decided to enlist the help of Dutch developer Guerilla Games in hopes they would create a game capable of crushing Halo and prove that the PS2 was the all-around better system. In short, Killzone was born, a shooter which would quickly be hailed as the “Halo-Killer,” and committed Sony into a no-holds-barred battle against Microsoft.

From the start, Killzone had promise. A futuristic sci-fi setting in which an enemy group known as the Helghast who began a war against the human settlers of a distant planet. Equipped with futuristic weapons, players were then thrust into the middle of a giant battle that spread across the reaches the space. Even the term “killzone” was secret to gamers as the developers hinted that a special gameplay mechanic would be implemented which would further add mystery and intrigue to the Killzone name. Sony, liking what they saw, officially signed an exclusive contract with Guerilla Games.

Killzone released a few months later and was what some reviewers called “one of the biggest letdowns of the year.” The ‘Halo-Killer” was found to have an incredibly unstable frame rate which caused the game to slow down in the midst of gunfights, as well as loose controls which caused your character to run around in spastic motions. Killzone also suffered from a pack of glitches, some of which caused bullets not to register when hit or bodies to just disappear from the battle. Although Killzone supported 16-player online multiplayer, it was a complete and utter mess as servers crashed constantly and players often found it hard to join any game.

All in all Killzone proved that even with the littlest title of “Halo-Killer,” the game brought with it the biggest expectations. Even future sequels, such as Killzone: Liberation for the PSP, have received mixed reviews for its terrible controls and bad shooter dynamics. While Guerilla Games has announced future Killzone titles to be released, it will always be compared to Halo, and that may be its ultimate downfall.

WHAT IT DID RIGHT: Killzone managed to sell very well despite all of the technical problems. After only a year out in stores, Killzone quickly became a Greatest Hits title where it eventually sold nearly 50 percent more than it did originally. Killzone managed to gather a massive following, and online play has been steady up to the launch of the Playstation 3. An impressive E3 trailer of Killzone 2 shows promise for the Playstation 3 version as well, but any information since that trailer has been kept secret. 

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