Yesterday I posted my top 5 games of 2008, today I will be posting my top 5 disappointments of the year. Let me know if you agree, disagree, or your picks in the comments section.

 

5. Tom Clancy's End War (PlayStation 3, Xbox 360)

This is a glorified game of rock-paper-scissors with voice control added in as a gimmick. Don't get me wrong, the voice control works very well, I was able to play the game with only voice very easily even while having food in my mouth and talking in different tones. Although many are heralding this game as an answer to the RTS problem on consoles I wouldn't be so sure. Although the voice system was easy to use it was even easier to just look at a target and hit the accept button and your units would attach. When I think of the RTS to beat in regards to battle animation it would be Age of Empires 3, even though the game play took part during colonial times, with single shot muskets and all, the battles were still a pleasure to watch. End War on the other hand leaves much to be desired as both sides of the conflict simply don't move during combat and simply shoot. Save yourself the $60 and rent this game instead of buying it.

 

4. Final Fantasy Tactics Advanced 2: Grimoire of the Rift (Nintendo DS)

This is the sequel to the Game Boy Advanced Final Fantasy Tactics Advanced. That game was an amazing handheld turn based strategy game, easily the best I have ever played. With the announcement of the second game along came the increase in amount of available classes, weapons, and storyline; I was looking forward to a game that would surpass the first. Although more classes were added to the game Square Enix decided to only allow certain races to be certain job classes, this was in the first title as well but not to the extent as in the sequel. The way that weapons and armor are acquired has also changed. In the new game you must trade for new items on the in game black market and you don't trade for the individual items but access to a certain type of item that unlocks individual items.

 

3. Animal Crossing: City Folk (Wii)

Talk about a game that takes no steps forward and about 5 steps back. This game is nothing but the Nintendo DS game, thrown on a disk with slightly more polygons. The only real thing that was added from the GameCube version was the inclusion of an online mode that allows people to play with others at the same time. Let's talk about the GameCube version for a minute, within the game you were able to find NES games cartridges that would allow you to play the titles in game; you could use a connecter cable to connect a Game Boy Advanced to the system and your character could travel to a special island and collect fruit and items; the same GBA connectivity could be used to create patterns for clothing or you could collect cards and use the e-reader to receive items and characters. This list, off the top of my head, is the things that they removed from the Wii version. Wouldn't Nintendo DS connectivity only help this title, the touch screen and stylus would be great for creating patterns, and with the increased power of the DS over the GBA the possibilities for a secret island in great. This title had so much promise if only Nintendo cared to try.

 

2. Mario Kart (Wii)

Once again, a Nintendo property that is getting the short end of the stick. The Super NES, Nintendo 64, Game Boy Advanced, and Nintendo DS versions where amazing. The last two home console versions, GameCube and Wii, versions are leaving much to be desired. Online multiplayer has finally come to a home console Mario Kart, leaving much to be desired. Gone are the everyone for themselves battles and in are team only battles. There is also online racing, as long as you enjoy racing that feels like it is always on ice. By this I mean is that I feel like I am constantly driving on ice. Driving on ice is not fun in real life or in games. This is Nintendo's second game on the list, although they may be the console leader, they don't seem to be able to create good sequels of their main franchises.

 

1. Fable 2 (Xbox 360)

Read my review of this game, I was less of a fan of it then I would have liked to be. I really tried to like this game but the game play was boring, the side quests were dull, the way an individual makes money was painfully boring and pointless, the lack of any depth in character creation was abysmal, the decisions that made one believe they were creating a good or bad character was a joke, and most positive aspects of the first game have been removed or broke. The story of this game also spits in the face of everything that the first one was. The story is skin deep and it is hard to care about any of the characters within this game, even your trusty dog. The only character that returning players may find interesting is the sage that saves you early in the game. There are major parallels between this character and a certain character in the first game. Outside of this character I really don't care what happened in the hundreds of years between the two titles or even what is going on during this game. This is why this is my most disappointing game of 2008 for me.