Weekend Gaming Roundtable: Most overrated video game of all time?

This week on the we tackle the following question:

What video game (or video game series), do you feel, is the most overrated video game of all time? Why do you feel this way? You can only pick one game (or one video game series).

Josh Harris

If I had to pick one game as being the most overrated game of all time, I would really need to cast my vote for Final Fantasy 7. Don’t get me wrong, it’s a great game. Hell, back when it was first released, I RENTED a PlayStation from Blockbuster Video (yes, you could do that and you needed to give them a $100 deposit), actually bought the Final Fantasy 7 game with a new PlayStation memory card (keep in mind, I didn’t own a PlayStation) just so I could play it. Yes, I enjoyed Final Fantasy games that much when I was younger.

However, enough is enough. The game was great, but seriously not great enough to justify the amount of fan service and spin-offs that Square has given it. What fan service and spin-offs? Well, let’s start with the games: Before Crisis, Dirge of Cerberus, and Crisis Core. Or we could go into the movies: Final Fantasy VII Advent Children and Last Order. You want to see a big pile of crap…go watch Advent Children. Ugh.

Also, let me add, we don’t need a remake of Final Fantasy VII on PlayStation 3. Would it be fun to see the game with next generation visuals? Sure. But there are tons of games out there that would be neat to see redone for a next generation console. And I’m pretty sure if Square hasn’t gone back to the well for a remake yet, you probably aren’t going to see one anytime soon.

Kevin May

If I had to pick I would go with Transformers (specifically for the Wii). The graphics were not great (though I have come to expect this from many Wii games that are meant to look like their xbox and PS3 counterparts) but beyond that, I was unimpressed with the game controls. I found the 3D gameplay to be awkward. I thought it was hard to distinguish targets due to the graphics, and just felt the flow of the game wasn't that good.

I think there was a lot of hype due to the popularity of the original Transformers TV series, the movie, and the whole cult following that it has. I didn't play Xbox or PS3 versions of this game, but the Wii version was just not that good.

Elyas Gorogo-Baker

This is kind of a weird one, but I definitely was not as impressed with Beyond Good and Evil as I felt I should have been. It's not overrated in any sort of commercial sense, but there's this definite mystique surrounding the game that labels it as underrated, a hidden gem, a sleeper hit, or whatever you want to call it. Critically, it was well received and it even picked up some awards.

I bought the game some years after its release because I had heard such good things about it. The plot was frequently praised as being quite compelling and inventive, none of which I picked up on. It took you and the main character, Jade, down a pretty typical path with no real subtleties. The authoritarian government was bad. There was none of the moral ambiguity that the title promised, the evil guys were just evil and the good guys were good. All of the plot twists in the story just seemed to be so obvious and only served to further polarize the characters in the game. The story itself was pretty sound though, even if it ruined its own plot twists.

The gameplay in Beyond Good and Evil could best be described as rudimentary. It featured fighting, stealth, platforming, puzzles and driving/racing which sounds like a lot. The game certainly had variety. The problem was that it did none of these things especially well; they were all kept at a very basic level. There were no real nuances in fighting; you kinda just mashed the same attack over and over until it died. Neither the stealth parts, platforming, or puzzles were particularly difficult or inventive and the driving parts felt clunky and tacked on. At best, it played like a mediocre game. Certainly not one that deserved so many awards.

Don't get me wrong, I liked the game. I thought the main character was pretty fantastic, a female character who wasn't a sex object! Imagine that. And even though the gameplay sometimes felt a bit lacking, it was still fun. The graphics, for the era, weren't too bad either. In fact I would even say that they were the game's high point. I just don't understand what all the fuss is about.

Jason Porembski

World of Warcraft. Wtf? I mean don't get me wrong it's a great MMO but why is it any better than the MMOs that are already out there? I played WoW early in the beginning and while it was fun I just didn't see the need for it. It felt like EverQuest II all over again just with different characters and less realistic graphics. Why so popular? Not only that the crowd is so different and immature in WoW compared to say the crowd in Lord of the Rings Online. I think World of Warcraft is way overrated and is not different or better than any other MMO. Meh!

Dan Horowitz

If I had to pick one overrated franchise, out of all the overrated franchises that exist, I'd have to choose Call of Duty. I really don't see the big deal. Modern Warfare isn't that great, and it caused the market to be over-saturated with shitty first person shooter clones. I really don't think leveling up in a FPS is that innovative or 'realistic' damage is really a big deal at all. Actually, the entire experience is quite frustrating. People spend their lives online thinking their pro's playing Cock of Duty when in reality it amounts to nothing. It's just as bad as World of Warcraft in that respect, which is my other top contender for the most overrated franchise of all time. To me, games are supposed to be a fun and recreational activity that are primarily purchased and played for their entertainment value. It's games like this that amp up the competition, create hatred and animosity between fellow gamers, and suck the soul and joy out of gaming in general. To me, playing Call of Duty competitively and thinking your cool while doing so is just buying into the whole 'Achievement Points= Penis Size Mentality' that sadly plagues the modern gaming scene. Sure, it's fine to play the game and enjoy it and take your performance seriously, but at the same time you need to step back and look at it as a game. And to me, Call of Duty is a symbol of this increased giant penis metaphor, as gamers we should never take ourselves to seriously. Those of us that do and aren't making fat stacks of cash doing it should probably think about getting a new hobby, maybe something like Warhammer.

As always, feel free to post your response to our question in the comments section below.