By just about anyone’s measure 2009 was an amazing year, but that doesn’t mean that the year didn’t have its fair share of letdowns. Now that the year is over, we thought we would take a moment to look back at the games that rode in on a wave of hype and rode off into the bargain bin. So here they are in all their mediocre glory: the biggest letdowns of the year.

Wet (Xbox 360, PS3) [Full Review]

A super hot chick diving in slow mo shooting and slashing people in a game influenced by everyone from Robert Rodriguez to Max Payne to John Woo sounds like a no brainer. The screen shots for this game had game journalists salivating with anticipation. Too bad the end result was a mediocre shooter that was quickly forgotten a week after release.

Killzone 2 (PS3)

Hyped up to be the Halo killer Sony has been waiting for, Killzone 2 featured some of the best graphics ever seen. However, the game lacked that ineffable quality that separates the Call of Duty and Halo series from the rest of the pack. Looking back, there are no levels or moments that stand out in my mind, and I would have to go to Wikipedia if I wanted to know who the characters were. For a game that was going to change the console landscape, adequate is not nearly enough.

Halo 3: ODST (Xbox 360)

Halo 3: ODST wasn’t a bad game per se, it simply failed to truly push the series forward. With one of the most terribly designed and boring hub worlds of any game ever and graphics that are starting to show their age, ODST felt like Halo was treading water while Call of Duty was swimming away. ODST wasn’t going to convert anyone to the Halo fold. The only saving grace from ODST was the bounty of multiplayer maps and the newly added Firefight mode.

PSP Go

Sony’s PSP has been taking a tremendous beating from the DS ever since the launch of the DS Lite. The Go is Sony’s latest salvo in the handheld wars and they needed it to hit with the force of a neutron bomb. With an asking price roughly twice as high as its main competition and an online download-only model, the Go launched with all the fanfare of a sparkler dipped in peanut butter. Retailers didn’t want to carry it, parents were confused by it, and the new DSi is stomping it into the dirt.

Operation Flashpoint: Dragon Rising (Xbox 360, PS3)

Huge, huge, huge (did I mention these maps are huge?) size maps were not enough to overcome numerous glitches and “Hey, is that a bush or a bad guy?” gameplay.

Section 8 (Xbox 360)

Dropping into the thick of battle from orbit sounded like a neat way to make spawning into a match fun. Too bad the rest of the game felt like “Generic Sci Fi FPS #97″. Horrendous single player and so-so multiplayer are not enough in this day and age.

Prototype (Xbox 360, PS3)

This one might be more of a personal letdown because I was very, very excited for some Prototype. With its ridiculously over the top action and violence from the guys that made Incredible Hulk: Ultimate Destruction, this one looked poised to suck up days of my life. Instead, I quickly set the game aside due to its poor play control and horrible missions. No one likes escort missions. People who say they do are liars and should be punished playground style with the lighting of their pants.

Bionic Commando (Xbox 360, PS3) [Full Review]

Those of us who were gaming back in the NES era have fond memories of the original Bionic Commando. When we heard Capcom was creating a new entry in the series, we were stoked. When they first showed screenshots and the main character looked like this, we began to get a little concerned. When they finally released the game and we could get our hands on it, we began to weep. The new Bionic Commando feels like a punishment from God. Everything from the ill conceived story to the terrible controls seem to suggest that someone on the development team had a vendetta against the Bionic Commando series. The only thing gamers took away from this game was the term “Wife Armed“.

Indiana Jones and the Staff of Kings (Wii, DS, PS2, PSP)

When Lucasarts first began talking about the new Indiana Jones game, it seemed like they were treating it like a potential blockbuster; using every development trick they had. This included their nifty new Euphoria engine. Every sign seemed to be pointing in the direction of awesome. Instead of the game that was going to stand toe-to-toe with Uncharted, we got the abomination that is The Staff of Kings. With all the graphical prowess of a game from 1999 and featuring none of the awesome that was originally promised, The Staff of Kings can be found in a bargain bin near you.

Tags: 2009 year in review, bionic commando, disappointments, Halo 3: ODST, Indiana Jones and the Staff of Kings, Killzone 2, Operation Flashpoint: Dragon Rising, Prototype, PSP Go, Section 8, Wet

This entry was posted on Monday, January 4th, 2010 at 5:00 am and is filed under Features. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.