Cyberpunk 2077 – not quite what was expected (pic: CD Projekt)
Readers reveal the games they got the most hyped about before release, from Halo 2 to Resident Evil 4.
The subject for this week’s Hot Topic was suggested by reader Gannet, who asked what’s the most you’ve ever anticipated a new video game and how did the dream compare to the reality?
The video games industry isn’t short of heavily hyped games, both those that lived up to expectations and those that didn’t, but as is often the case the anticipation can be more enjoyable than the final product…
Perfect hype
I’d have to say it’s Cyberpunk 2077, which is obviously a complicated issue. I know I was not the only one that was absolutely hyped for the game. Coming off the back of The Witcher 3 and amazing looking gameplay trailers it seemed like this was going to be the perfect game and a major milestone in gaming and it was… a broken, buggy mess that one of the most trusted developers in the world clearly lied about.
I claimed my money back on it, it was so broken, but the hype was so strong that I couldn’t help but rebuy it later (at a considerably cheaper price) to see how it was when everything was fixed. I’m still not entirely sure what I think, given how it started, but I’m still relatively disappointed.
There’s a lot to it but I never enjoyed it anywhere as much as The Witcher 3 and never really got into the characters or story. How much of my opinion was affected by the initial bugs? I’m not sure, but first impression count, you know.
Worthsom
No comparison
The most excited I’ve ever been for a release was DRIV3R. I had really enjoyed the Driver games on PS! but only ever got to play them at a friend’s houses. So when I got my PlayStation 2 and saw DRIV3R was announced I simply couldn’t wait. What made me anticipate it so much was at the time there had been GTA 3 and Vice City, I was incredibly envious of my mates who owned both games and, again, playing them myself was incredible and gave me the itch for an open world game of my own. Unfortunately, my parents wouldn’t allow me an 18 rated game, which is why I couldn’t just get those GTA games myself. DRIV3R though was a 16, which was apparently OK with them.
The story of DRIV3R’s release is well known now. It didn’t review very well and was known to be quite buggy. But whilst it didn’t meet my high expectations, I can honestly say I had a good time with it. Maybe it was because I didn’t have the GTA games to compare it to, which helped but I sincerely thought the driving model and damage modelling of the cars was really good. To this day I’m still a fan of the franchise and would love for it to return someday.
Angry_Kurt (Twitter)
Now playing: Resident Evil 4 remake (PS5) an Zelda: Tears Of The Kingdom (Switch)
Bad influence
The most excited I have ever been for a game was after seeing the Halo 2 E3 gameplay demo in 2003. Somehow Bungie had improved on Halo. How was that even possible?
I watched that video many, many times. I could not wait. I pre-ordered as soon as I could. I needed that game.
And when I finally played it was a huge disappointment. Halo 2 was not a bad game, but it never came close to the promised highs of that trailer. And the E3 scenario was not even in the game! I had been deceived.
I have not allowed myself to get hyped like that since, it is just a recipe for disappointment. 20 years ago I became a cynic, old before my time.
Nowadays I will make a note of games that looks promising, but I will wait for reviews before buying a game and allowing myself to dream. Zelda: Tears Of The Kingdom is the only exception I can think of and even then my levels of anticipation were a mere fraction of what I experienced with Halo 2.
PazJohnMitch
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Evil delay
The game I got most excited about was Resident Evil 4 on the GameCube.
I was a massive Resident Evil fan at the time and I owned, and still do to this day, every Resident Evil that appeared on the GameCube.
I remember playing the demo which came (ahem free) with a rather expensive for its time magazine that took you up to the famous ‘Bingo?’ line. So I knew this game was going to be special.
I was in the minority as most the people I worked with and gamers that I talked to owned a PlayStation 2 at the time.
So I thought to myself, not many people own a GameCube and even less are going to go out and buy Resident Evil 4. My plan was to jump on the bus into town and pick myself up a copy on the day of release.
Boy was my judgement wrong. Every single shop I went into didn’t have it.
I spoke to numerous staff in different shops and the general consensus was that Nintendo decide how many they ship out and they just hadn’t sent out enough to meet demand.
Whether they didn’t think it was going to be that big of a hit or not, who knows?
I suspect it was just Nintendo being Nintendo again though.
Anyway, I sulked all the way home before getting my hands on a copy about two weeks later.
freeway 77
Driving passion
Still love playing games, but don’t really look forward to upcoming games these days in the same manner as I used to do. Yeah, I keep an eye on things on t’internet, make a note of the games that interest me, put them on my list and eventually get around to playing them. I don’t get hyped up for games much anymore and I very rarely buy a game on release. In fact, the only game that I’m looking at with any degree of anticipation is the Codies’ WRC game, supposedly due out this November, but it wouldn’t surprise me if it slips into first quarter 2024.
Different story back in the PS1/N64 days. I bought a PS1 late ’97. That meant I had a decent backlog of PS1 games to play. And also, with the help of the array of magazines on sale every month (how times have changed), and especially the demo disc in Official PlayStation Magazine, I couldn’t wait for some of the games being showcased to be released in 1998. Bu, the game that I was most hyped up for, ever, was the very first Colin McRae Rally.
I read the previews, played the demo to death and read the reviews. I hardly slept the night before release. Went into town early the next morning, did some shopping, bought the game, got home, had a bite to eat, started playing about half 12 in the afternoon, played it straight through for 10 hours. Superb game, loved it and played it regularly until the sequel came out. It was everything I was hoping for and definitely did live up to my expectations, no question.
And now, 25 years after the release of Colin McRae Rally, Codies, courtesy of EA, have the official WRC licence for the very first time. Let’s hope they do it justice.
Paul C.
As advertised
For me it’s probably Red Dead Redemption 2. I’ve never liked GTA as much as most people but I loved the first Red Dead Redemption and the sequel looked amazing in terms of graphics, like the best I’ve ever seen.
I had to say the end result was pretty much exactly what I hoped for and not a disappointment. Definitely not in terms of the graphics and open world, which to this day are still the best I’ve ever experienced.
Danson
More: Trending
Missing its chance
The games I had been looking forward to most of all were Chrono Trigger, Zelda: Ocarina Of Time and Fallout 3.
Though Chrono Trigger was infuriating to me because it was never released on the PAL Super Nintendo, to my disappointment!
I read a six page spread in a Nintendo magazine ,possibly Nintendo Magazine System (NMS), and enviously read the print and soaked up the images available from this magazine and others available.
The only game I played previously, which was similar to a point was Zelda: A Link To The Past. An action adventure game with a similar top-down view. I remember going to a K-Mart in Richmond, Virginia and watching demos on a screen near the back of the store and choosing titles to watch from like a jukebox. Demos of games ready for future releases, though, again knowing I won’t be able to play this game anytime soon.
The game later came out on Nintendo DS, and it was one of the best games ever! But it was many years later and other Japanese role-players had since entered my life and changed the way I thought of gaming forever. So, by the time Chrono Trigger came out it had been eclipsed by other experiences.
At least the other two were able to be played at the right moments, and Ocarina Of Time and Fallout 3 will forever be the games which were hyped up by me and delivered right when I needed them. I’ll keep these memories treasured forever.
Alucard
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Readers reveal the games they got the most hyped about before release, from Halo 2 to Resident Evil 4.
