Most Overrated Game of 2006 - from my 1up.com profile

First; I have been woefully behind in my updates and I have a multi-part post for the following categories arriving tomorrow and thereon until I'm done.

i) memorable videogame moments from a personal aspect
ii) comic book reviews for about twenty comics over the last month

Before all of that, a post that Neuropuff had started regarding overrated games got me thinking about just what games actually ARE overrated. See, Neuropuff is kinda like the 21st century's version of Andrew Dice Clay.

" Gears of War? Yeah; I fucked it! Ohhhh! In like five fuckin' hours too. Bitch didn't know up from down after I was done. "

He's got this whole "assault comedy / videogame review" thing going on which; although not always logical or remotely accurate definitely seems to be a hit with the readers of 1up.com. He throws in something about sex, or some "swears" and it's dubbed funny and great even though it's wrong.

Where am I going with this?

Here; overrated games.

Guitar Hero II for the PS2. I loved the first Guitar Hero and everyone I showed it to loved it as well. The music was memorable and rocked out hard. Even the songs that I didn't know were excellent and I soon found myself humming them afterward or downloading them so I could put them on my mp3 player.

Guitar Hero II? The music is pretty much pants. There are some songs I definitely LOVE. "Sweet Child O' Mine" by GnR and "Girlfriend" by Matthew Sweet ( I loved his album in highschool) are great. So is "Who Was In My Room Last Night" and "Monkey Wrench" (which seemed like my anthem in university.

There are a bunch of songs that just plain suck tho'. I can say without hyperbole that everyone who played the first Guitar Hero walked away from it loving it, and most of them bought the game themselves. The same people that loved the first one are left feeling a bit disappointed by Guitar Hero II and it's due to the music selection.

The multiplayer is brilliant. The inclusion of more opportunities to use hammer-ons and lift-offs are great.

But a game built on the fact that the songs you're playing rock your ass into a coma has songs that just leave me feeling cold and eager to finish the damn song so i can get to one that might not blow. There are entire LEVELS worth of songs that I genuinely don't enjoy ontop of the fact that they do NOT "rock". Sorry but I'm just not feeling it like I did for the first game and playing a shit-song with a friend to help me is STILL a shit song.

"Hey man, wanna rock out to "Tattooed Love Boys" & "Jessica" by the Allman Brothers?"

** This is where my friend punches me in the face for suggesting such a thing. **

Those aren't the only songs that blow. There are a number that DO indeed rock hard, but compared to the first game, the rock-ratio is definitely erring on the side of "lame".

They didn't really add all that much to the sequel except that they laid potentially solid groundwork for a superior third one. If they released the first Guitar Hero with GH2's multiplayer and fine tuning on the 360 I'd buy it in a cocaine heartbeat. No question. Throwing in achievements is just icing on the cake.

Instead they're releasing a rehash of number two for the 360. I'm not excited at all. GH2 got excellent reviews from a great deal of people but I think their desire for the game to BE great is far greater than it's "greatness"; ya dig?

People loved the first one so much and it was so much fun to play; the sequel just naturally rocks out twice as much, is twice as lovable and is twice as fun; right?

Wrong.

I won't say the game sucks because it doesn't but I don't believe it deserves the high ratings that it does because their song selection leaves a great deal to be desired.

Guitar Hero II on the 360 could be brilliant if they actually used their heads. Make the songs from the first game available for download and I will own that game the moment the downloads are available on Xbox live. As it is, it seems like they're more interested in pounding out another game Guitar Hero; 80's rather than polish Guitar Hero II to the perfect sheen it truly could have.

So there's my overrated game. In fact Guitar Hero II might be my pick for Most Overrated Game of 2006.

Anyone with something to say?

Have at 'er.