Games That Could Have Been Great

[BillyHW]

What games could have been great, but weren't because of one (or more) fatal flaw(s)?

 

Today I was thinking about Silent Scope, the arcade game.

 

It was such a cool concept. And the cabinet was interesting with the special sniper viewer on the gun. It had real potential to be a cool game.

 

However, every time I tried it, by the time you are able to find your target in the viewer, you're dead because somebody shot you that you didn't even see. Plus, it was at least a dollar to play, and this happened every single time I put money in the machine.

 

So disappointing.

 

The whole point of a sniper rifle being cool is that you can just watch and spy on people and then wait for the perfect opportunity to nail them. It would have been cool to just see people doing stupid things through that scope before shooting them.

 

And this wasn't the Pac-Man era of gaming. It's not like they needed to shove people off the machine to make way for more players and more quarters. I've never even seen anyone on the damn thing. I would have played the game a lot more and put a lot more money into it if it just gave me an interesting experience that was worth my money.

 

What a waste.

 

[+GoldLeader]

TWISTED METAL for PS3!

 

The one game I thought would save modern video gaming as far as I was concerned. All they had to do was make a proper sequel using the power of PS3, easy right? Nope! They completely screwed it up! They had the graphics, they had the music, Hell they even (probably) had the gameplay. And by putting in an online component I could finally see if I was as good as I thought. Unlike most video games, Twisted Metal was one game series I was actually quite good at.

 

But they screwed with the game in the one place they Never should have changed a thing. The CONTROLS! No longer could you control the car using the D-Pad like in ALL OTHER Twisted Metal games! About 15 seconds in I realized I was never going to be able to control the car using that stupid little analog stick. I put the game back in it's box and, give or take some stuff for my Wii and maybe something to do with pinball, I don't think I've bought a modern video game since...

[Pixelboy]

I could probably come up with several examples, but one that comes spontaneously to my mind is Quest for Quintana Roo, more notably on the ColecoVision. The crappy graphics completely ruin this game, more so than many other video games I've seen with sub-par graphics. If there's any game that could have benefited from a 3D isometric perspective, it's this game.

 

EDIT: Another game that could have been great was Mega Man Collection on Game Cube, but Capcom had to ruin it by reversing the fire and jump buttons on the controller, and by making these controls unconfigurable. With the buttons reversed, I simply couldn't play any of the games, and I got rid of this turd in record time.

[Tanooki]

I would argue Wing Commander (and the Special Ops 2nd cart) for the SNES.

 

While the stages, cutscenes, audio and visuals are basically intact they jacked it up in the two worst ways possible. One -- no battery with an annoying password. And Two -- the really unforgivable deal breaker, the motion of the ship as you steer clips along like an on-off switch in little leaps. It's impossible to smoothly steer towards an enemy ship and move along taking shots at it.

[+phoenixdownita]

Superman for N64, if only they knew how to make a great game .... with superman in it.

[BillyHW]

Superman for N64, if only they knew how to make a game .... with superman in it.

 

But I don't think Superman came close to being a good game in the first place. I'm talking about games that were nearly great, but just one (or a few) small things ruined it completely. And they could have easily been fixed with one (or a few) simple/obvious changes.

[+phoenixdownita]

But I don't think Superman came close to being a good game in the first place. I'm talking about games that were nearly great, but just one (or a few) small things ruined it completely. And they could have easily been fixed with one (or a few) simple/obvious changes.

I believe the sarcasm got lost in my post.

 

But if you think deeply at it, the single fatal flow of Superman 64 in order to be a great game is that Titus generally didn't know how to make a great game to begin with although Crazy Cars a decade earlier was fun.

 

Note: I'm poking fun at the title and first sentence of your post because all non great games fall into it. I understand you mean what good games could have been great with one fix, just horsing around here.

[xenomorpher]

TWISTED METAL for PS3!

 

The one game I thought would save modern video gaming as far as I was concerned. All they had to do was make a proper sequel using the power of PS3, easy right? Nope! They completely screwed it up! They had the graphics, they had the music, Hell they even (probably) had the gameplay. And by putting in an online component I could finally see if I was as good as I thought. Unlike most video games, Twisted Metal was one game series I was actually quite good at.

 

But they screwed with the game in the one place they Never should have changed a thing. The CONTROLS! No longer could you control the car using the D-Pad like in ALL OTHER Twisted Metal games! About 15 seconds in I realized I was never going to be able to control the car using that stupid little analog stick. I put the game back in it's box and, give or take some stuff for my Wii and maybe something to do with pinball, I don't think I've bought a modern video game since...

They made it too hard and complicated. I played it for maybe 20 minutes and realized I wasn't going to remember all the controls or like the game. Seriously, it uses every single button. That wouldn't be so bad if the game had a beginner or easy mode. I think it has a skirmish mode, so I may try it again one of these days. Last time I played it was two years ago though.

 

Another game that could have been great was the 2010 Aliens vs Predator game. The multiplayer was fun, but everything else was just OK. It definitely felt rushed. The campaigns were short, you couldn't crouch, and there weren't too many different weapons for the Predator or Marine. Compared to the two previous games it was disappointing. Maybe if Sega gave them more time and only released it for PC it would have been better.

 

Darkman for the NES could have been great if you didn't slide all over the place and if enemies didn't take so many punches. The game has some cool menu designs.

 

Predator for the NES could also have been great if the developers weren't high and based it on the movie a little more. If it had just the standard side scrolling run and gun moments shooting bad guys from this plane of reality, some platform jumping parts, and other parts that had the full Predator, it would have been fine. I have no idea what half of the things are in the game. It's like a dumb drug trip most the time. If they removed whatever the hell those things are it would have been a decent game.

Edited March 23, 2017 by xenomorpher

[Lost Dragon]

@Xenomorpher:I put the question of what went wrong with 2010 AVP to Rebellion as for myself as well it was very dissapointing.

 

They admit they were under publisher pressure to make the game easier and more core-market friendly.

 

Plus, due to publisher pressure they lost around 5 months work, so game wasn't as polished as they would of liked.

 

I get the impression it wasn't quite the AVP game they wanted to make..

 

They did annouce a sequel as original apparently sold well, but never heard anymore since original annoucement.

[+GoldenWheels]

What games could have been great, but weren't because of one (or more) fatal flaw(s)?

 

Today I was thinking about Silent Scope, the arcade game.

 

It was such a cool concept. And the cabinet was interesting with the special sniper viewer on the gun. It had real potential to be a cool game.

 

However, every time I tried it, by the time you are able to find your target in the viewer, you're dead because somebody shot you that you didn't even see. Plus, it was at least a dollar to play, and this happened every single time I put money in the machine.

 

My memory is pretty fuzzy (been 15+ since I played it) but you're supposed to identify targets by looking at the screen with your eyes, put the on screen reticle around them (still using just your eyes), THEN look through your scope, aren't you? Maybe I'm reading you wrong but it sounds like you are playing the game 100% of the time via the scope (and playing SLOWLY), whereas the way I played it you were constantly going back and forth between eyes only and scope, quick like. I think.

Edited March 23, 2017 by GoldenWheels

[+GoldenWheels]

Oh and so far as games that could have been great: Castlevania 2.

[+davidcalgary29]

Cybermorph. They should've deleted the game and just featured a giant, bald, rapping, stuttering disembodied Skylar head superimposed on the VLM background. Like Max Headroom, but even more amazing.

[godslabrat]

Mission: Impossible for the N64. One of my favorite games for the system, I love the concept and think it's CLOSE to being great... but the controls needed more tweaking. The instruction manual has hints that the developers knew this, but there was nothing they could do about it.

 

It didn't help that it's a strategy game, but faced lots of needless comparisons to GoldenEye, which was a FPS. M:I needs to be appreciated on its own merits, not in comparison with something else.

[Cynicaster]

TWISTED METAL for PS3!

 

The one game I thought would save modern video gaming as far as I was concerned. All they had to do was make a proper sequel using the power of PS3, easy right? Nope! They completely screwed it up! They had the graphics, they had the music, Hell they even (probably) had the gameplay. And by putting in an online component I could finally see if I was as good as I thought. Unlike most video games, Twisted Metal was one game series I was actually quite good at.

 

But they screwed with the game in the one place they Never should have changed a thing. The CONTROLS! No longer could you control the car using the D-Pad like in ALL OTHER Twisted Metal games! About 15 seconds in I realized I was never going to be able to control the car using that stupid little analog stick. I put the game back in it's box and, give or take some stuff for my Wii and maybe something to do with pinball, I don't think I've bought a modern video game since...

Wow, my experience was almost identical. I've been a huge fan of Twisted Metal 2 since it came out, so I bought the PS3 game with high hopes. I played it for 20 minutes, got hopelessly frustrated with the controls, put the game back in its case, never played it again, and haven't bought a modern game since.

 

If the game had at least provided the option to use the TM2 control scheme, I probably would have loved it. Heck, I'm even OK substituting the left analog stick for the d-pad, but all of the buttons need to perform their TM2 functions. I just couldn't shake 10+ years of muscle memory. If, in 20 minutes, I get absolutely nowhere in getting used to the controls, then they're implemented wrong... at least for me.

Edited March 23, 2017 by Cynicaster

[+GoldLeader]

Wow, my experience was almost identical. I've been a huge fan of Twisted Metal 2 since it came out, so I bought the PS3 game with high hopes. I played it for 20 minutes, got hopelessly frustrated with the controls, put the game back in its case, never played it again, and haven't bought a modern game since.

 

If the game had at least provided the option to use the TM2 control scheme, I probably would have loved it. Heck, I'm even OK substituting the left analog stick for the d-pad, but all of the buttons need to perform their TM2 functions. I just couldn't shake 10+ years of muscle memory. If, in 20 minutes, I get absolutely nowhere in getting used to the controls, then they're implemented wrong... at least for me.

 

I am so glad to have read this post! I was beginning to think I was the only person that felt this way! I mean I thought it was rough Every time they changed the controls on a Twisted Metal game and Totally agree they should have just stuck with the Twisted Metal 2 control scheme throughout, but minor differences were ok as long as the main controls for the car were on the D-Pad. I always thought the analog control was just for those few outsiders who preferred it, and though I never asked my friends the question; I thought almost all of them used the D-Pad. And unless they were solely using millennials as their beta testers, shouldn't someone play testing this game have raised this concern?

 

For me this really was the final nail in the coffin for modern video games. With each new game coming out being an even more bland first person shooter or playing like a movie full of cut scenes nobody wants to watch or having an instruction manual that read like a list of chores; I mean here they had a perfect formula. All they had to do was give us new level designs, maybe some new characters, and ever so slightly improved graphics, and we all would have been so happy.

[enoofu]

Castlevania 2 Simon Quest, just needed some polish on the bosses from exploits, and the missing bosses added in the empty castles plus with better dialogue and it would be probably the best Action RPG on NES

[toptenmaterial]

I see a couple of votes here for Simon's Quest. I beat that game when I was eight by using the Nintendo power. That's what every kid did, because the game was totally non-intuitive. Zelda II has non-intuitive elements too but was is much closer to the criteria of being nearly great (the two games before and after have greatness). I think that the RPG elements of Simon's Quest must have surely influenced the Metroidvania games. But I don't recall it approaching greatness at all.

[StopDrop&Retro]

Cadillacs and Dinosaurs on Sega CD. They had one job. Just port the damn arcade version to console. Instead they made one of those stupid half FMV half corridor shooter things. What a waste.

 

Castlevania III would have been a masterpiece were it not for the ramped up difficulty on the NES version.

[xenomorpher]

@Xenomorpher:I put the question of what went wrong with 2010 AVP to Rebellion as for myself as well it was very dissapointing.

 

They admit they were under publisher pressure to make the game easier and more core-market friendly.

 

Plus, due to publisher pressure they lost around 5 months work, so game wasn't as polished as they would of liked.

 

I get the impression it wasn't quite the AVP game they wanted to make..

 

They did annouce a sequel as original apparently sold well, but never heard anymore since original annoucement.

If they were given enough time, I would be happy if they had another crack at it. I listened to an interview from I think the head of the project and you could tell the passion was there, just not enough time. If they were given the same amount of time Gearbox had for Colonial Marines, I'm sure it would have had more content. Maybe if the upcoming films are successful they'll get another chance. If not them, Monolith Productions would be great.

 

Another game I thought of was the Turok reboot. I enjoyed it, but the thing that held it back was the health system. It would worked if it didn't have so many action orientated parts. The knife kills were great, the dinosaurs looked amazing, and the environments were well done. It was just too easy to die. If they made you a little more harder to kill and gave you a few more creative weapons the series was known for, it would have been great. And human blood and gore. Plus we need more dinosaur games.

Edited March 24, 2017 by xenomorpher

[+phoenixdownita]

...

Castlevania III would have been a masterpiece were it not for the ramped up difficulty on the NES version.

Ahem ... I think it already is.

[Neo 64]

KOF Maximum Impact could have been good but the clunky controls hamper it.

[Tempest]

FF XV could have been great if they actually finished the damn thing. Huge open world, lots of quests, a semi-interesting story, but then half way through you're suddenly you're thrust into a very linear and obviously half-finished game that makes no sense. Not only is it a genre switch, It's like the first half of the game didn't matter.

[Lost Dragon]

@Xenomorpher:I've always felt the Windows'95 AVP was the AVP game Rebellion wanted to make and weren't confined by marketing decisions.

 

I was never a fan of the changes made for the Gold edition.

 

 

If their A.I routines could of been used in Monolith's AVP II, i feel that could of made that game very special indeed.

 

But yeah, i would love Rebellion to do another AVP game, espically if they embraced VR.

 

a man can but hope.

[xenomorpher]

I was never a fan of the changes made for the Gold edition.

 

What was changed in the Gold edition? I just thought it had some new weapons and multiplayer levels. Back in the day I had the regular edition and I have the AvP 2000 Classic version, which I think is a tweaked Gold edition, on Steam but with the Redux mod. Edited March 24, 2017 by xenomorpher

[NE146]

While I think 2600 Donkey Kong is sufficient for what it is, I think it could have been made "great" by the simple change of showing Donkey Kong getting defeated after clearing the rivet stage. This could have been anything.. maybe a 2 second cut scene showing you with Pauline, or drawing a "heart" next to Pauline, or turning DK upside down.. ANYTHING.

 

Yes, even though you'd be repeating it ad-naseum it would have just rounded out and completed the game and not make it feel like an endless treadmill that it currently is, is all I'm saying. I mean what was the point of reaching the top of the last stage if nothing happens?

 

<edit> I should say these were my actual thoughts as a 13 year old back in 1982.

Edited March 24, 2017 by NE146