Even though I stated yesterday that I won't blog so often, I'm making an exception today because I've seen something I would like to voice out my opinion on. Namely, the Top 25 Most Overrated Games of All Time GameSpy has made few years before.

What I'm going to do now is to state my opinion on every game from this list, one by one...

#25: Neverwinter Nights (PC): How do the GameSpy editors motivate the presence of this excellent RPG title in their top 25? Well, it seems they expected from this game to be the Holy Grail of multiplayer RPG and a game with one of the most user-friendly developer tools ever to be seen. People, like me, however, expected to see something else - another c*lassic RPG by Bioware, this time with outstanding 3D graphics, without compromising the gameplay. Which was exactly what we got, but these editors are voicing out about collateral aspects of the game - one of those editors, for eg., only says about how disappointing the developer tools were for him. Subjective point of view, but still concentrating on something that isn't vital for the quality of a game isn't the thing to be done. In my opinion, of course.

#24: Super Mario Sunshine (Gamecube): This game shouldn't be in a "Most Overrated Games" list, but in a "Most Disappointing Games" list. SMS is just a victim of it's own hype, but what followed after the initial hype isn't what we should call an overrated game.

#23: Battle Arena Toshinden (PSOne): Ha, ha, ha. There's actually someone who remembers this game. Funny how a game like this can enter such a list, especially when there are fighting games like the Mortal Kombat series that would deserve to be there instead. Yes, there were people praising at that time because of the excellent graphics, in spite of the lackluster gameplay. I agree, but BAT never got the publicity necessary to get into this list. I played the game at that time and I considered it OK. The graphics were really good for that time, but other than that there's nothing too remarkable at the game...

#22: Star Trek: Starfleet Command series (PC): This game is here only because whoever made this list was only looking at the fanboys (personally, I have noticed that at almost every entry of this list). In this case, the Star Trek fanboys. Starfleet Command was never an overrated series, except by it's fanboys, but that sounds normal. I don't know how could the editors possibly forget that there are games like Elite Force which have lots more attention from fans than Starfleet Command. The SC series consists of games that are dedicated to that type of gamers called "hardcore gamers". There's nothing in here a casual gamer or even a normal game could truly enjoy - and many trekkers could be considered casual. And anyway the Star Trek FMV series from Simon&Schuster Interactive would rather deserve to be in this list than the SC series... By the way, I'm not a trekkie. :wink:

#21: Morrowind (PC/Xbox): These editors are really weird. They put this game in the list, and then after that you seen one of them praising the game and another one stating that it doesn't deserve to be in the same league with Baldur's Gate II, even though I have never seen anyone comparing Morrowind with BG2. They are both excellent RPG games, but they fight in different leagues. And personally, I think Morrowind deserves all it's hype, unlike many other hyped games. Oblivion would rather deserved to be here.

#20: Impossible Creatures (PC): This was added to this list solely pertaining to the hype BEFORE the launch. Yes, IC was an average game with a slight twist of originality, but personally I've enjoyed the game. The graphics and the overall visual st*yle are excellent and I would really like to see more games in the same visual st*yle. Not what it was supposed to be, but still a game that's better than the average.

#19: Battlecruiser 3000AD (PC): You know what? Derek Smart should have been a politician. All he does is promising without actually delivering. Period. The only one who is overrating this game is it's creator. If the editors would have set this criteria, the presence of this game in the list would have been more logical.

#18: American McGee's Alice (PC): Alice is a special experience and should be treated so. It might be a bit too graphics-centered, but it deserves it's acclaim, because it's one of those rare games that manage to make you say "WOW!" at every 5 minutes. Probably not as great as Okami, but it deserves to be in the same category. One of the few original games EA had the courage to publish.

#17: The Getaway (PS2): I wholeheartedly disagree with their opinion and also with GameSpot's opinion. I think that The Getaway is what GTA should be. Players have accused the gameplay experience of being restrictive, but I believe it's just the right medium between total linearity and total liberty (like in GTA). Personally, I have enjoyed the game more than GTA, especially because it lacks of all the things I hated about GTA. But if you want, we could go more in-depth some other time...

#16: Mortal Kombat series: Finally, a suitable choice for this top 25! There are still kids over here in Romania that play the antique PC version of MK4, because there are few of them who own an Xbox. Mortal Kombat is, without a doubt, an "all flash, no substance" game. Kids, there are far better fighting games out there that still have the certain degree of violence you want. All that MK offers are blood and fatalities. Period.

#15: Dungeon Siege (PC): All combat-oriented RPGs are overrated and Dungeon Siege doesn't make exception. At first, liked the idea, but in the end, I think Morrowind offers a much better RPG experience overall.

#14: Dead or Alive 3 (Xbox): DOA3 is almost everything a male fan of fighting games could want (and you know what I mean :wink: ). Too bad the gameplay isn't comparable with series like Tekken or Soul Calibur. At least it looks pretty...

#13: Battletoads (NES): I actually agree that its fame isn't justified at all by its quality. Not really deserves to be called an old-school cl*assic as it doesn't have an addictive gameplay or a more inspired gameplay mechanism to justify the difficulty of the game.

#12: Unreal II: The Awakening (PC): I loved the first Unreal and always considered it a revolutionary FPS. Now, I don't think Unreal II is a mediocre shooter or anything like that - just that it somehow doesn't deserve to wear that name. A name which is a big reason for the appearence of this game in this list, but I don't actually remember too many people praising the game just for it's name.

#11: Pool of Radiance: Ruins of Myth Drannor (PC): Yes, it stayed for few weeks at the top of the sales charts, but it was overrated only before the launch and during it, but not after that... However, like a GameSpy editor said, nostalgia is a dangerous thing. This remake was also a disappoint for me, but I get over it pretty easily, especially since I didn't managed to play the original.

#10: Halo: Combat Evolved (Xbox): Indeed. Halo is, without a doubt, a great FPS game and one of the best FPS games ever to touch the consoles. But outside Xbox, Halo is just a good game, but not a revolutionary game that would justify scores like 9.5 or 10. Being used to mouse and keyboard, playing Halo using Xbox's gamepad feels odd - a flaw Halo 2 didn't repaired and sometimes made it worser. My feelings about the PC version are definitely more warm, but still don't know what's the fuss. If I were to rate Halo for PC, my rating would be something like 8.5-8.7. Probably even a 9 if it weren't for the boring level design. Overall, it's a cl*assic but not a revolutionary gaming experience. Definitely deserves being in this list.

#9: Donkey Kong Country (SNES): Tons of copies sold, two other sequels made in very short time, but for what? DKC is just another example of a "all flash, no substance" game. Sure, the graphics were excellent for that period, but DKC offers nothing special, nothing too innovative when it comes to gameplay. I wouldn't have been so upset if everything was OK, but because of overrated platformers like DKC or Rayman, the truly great platformers like Abe's Oddysee have to stay in the limelight. Not fair at all.

#8: Lara Croft Tomb Raider Angel of Darkness: Another game that doesn't deserves it's place in this list. How many times do I have to mention: there are only 5-10 people who love this game. Otherwise, Tomb Raider: Legend would have released ages ago. And personally I loved the Tomb Raider series, but Angel of Darkness is far from what it should have been - an innovative installment in the series and not just a blasphemy.

#7: Final Fantasy VII (PSOne): It's so acclaimed because of it's emotional impact, but you don't need to be a FF maniac to notice that this isn't the best installment in the series. Sure, a very good FF game, but not the best. Personally, I prefer FFX, since FFVII sometimes seems to me just a cheap Japanese soap opera. Even though it isn't. And also FFX has far better graphics, soundtrack, cinematics, feeling and so on.

#6: Blinx (Xbox): It was hyped before the release, but once again I have to mention that this isn't a "Top 25 Most Hyped Games" list. There are many games which had far more hype than Blinx and if the editors have a personal hate regarding Blinx, that doesn't mean the presence of Blinx in this list is justified. Not to mention we're talking about the 6th place.

#5: Quake II (PC): While enjoying the Quake series overall, I never felt Quake II deserves the Quake-killer title. Even though it's a cl*assic, I wholeheartedly agree that this is very overrated. The game was praised to the degree of seeing lots of AAA ratings even from game mags I respect, in spite of the flaws the game had, flaws that wouldn't justify the "Best PC Game Ever Made" tagline it got from a game mag that was once my favorite mag, but vanished many years ago.

#4: Daikatana (PC): The same thing from #6 also applies here. Overrated before the release, but even after, I admit it isn't an abysmal game. In spite of all the flaws the game had, it also brought some innovations and also I thought it was more fun than other games that got scores from the same area.

#3: Enter the Matrix: Yet another proof of the fact the editors only looked at the sales and the hype before the release. Any comment from me is absolutely useless, because no matter how much I try to sweeten things up, it still doesn't deserve to be associated with the Matrix franchise. The cinematics are the only reason you should buy this - if you're a hardcore Matrix fan.

#2: Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty (PS2): Another example of flashy graphics without a real support. Even the MGS fans were disappointed, but those players who didn't liked the first MGS hated MGS2. I am not afraid to admit, I played the PC version of MGS and it's lackluster. I don't get why this game is so overrated. There are far better stealth games like Thief, and still MGS is considered the best stealth shooter ever. Yeah right. Same thing goes with MGS2: I haven't played the entire game to be frankly, but I could say that even so I clearly wasted my time. Probably I would have forgived the huge amount of cinematics if those were excellent like in the FF games, but no. Two years after, I got my hands on Subsistence, the PC version of MGS2, and in spite of all the bonus features, it hasn't changed my opinion regarding MGS. Probably, MGS4 will change my mind, but until then, there's a lot of wait involved...

#1: Black & White (PC): Once again, the editors have proved to be very confused regarding the difference between "overrated" and "overhyped", which is why B&W got on the no. 1 spot. This time not the fanboys are to blame here, but the videogame mags who tried all their best to hype this, thanks to the numerous articles and titles like "The best game ever produced" that appeared a long time ago before the release. Personally, I believe the final results didn't come up to well. Even within the god-game section, there are better games than B&W - for instance, Populous 3, produced by (what a coincidence) Bullfrog right after Molyneux left them.

Overall, I feel like this isn't a proper list. Yes, it is made in 2003, but even at that time, there were enough overrated games that should have faced the list. But no, no, no. Titles like Halo 2 would deserve to be #1, but on other hand Wolfenstein 3D should have appeared here too. Yes, it's the first in it's genre, but compared to FPS games released years after, it simply doesn't stand the test of time. At that time, a truly extraordinary gaming experience, but today we can't understand the hype anymore. Even though games like Unreal or Quake 3 have proved that a FPS can still be enjoyable after years.

In fact, #1 should be Counter-Strike. Without a doubt.

~Ionesco Florin