Double Dragon II on XBLA
The SNAFU: Remakes of old games are big business these days. With the concepting and basic gameplay mechanics already done for them, developers have only to upgrade the graphics and port the games to current systems in order to sell a new and improved version of a game to the eagerly awaiting buyers possessed with nostalgia for the good old days. Sometimes, however, this process can go horribly awry, as was the case with the remake of Double Dragon II: Wander of the Dragons on XBLA.
Pokmon X & Ys corrupted save files
The SNAFU: Pokmon X and Y took the 3DS market by storm this fall, selling 4 million copies in a week and becoming the fastest-selling game on the system. X and Y made the biggest changes to the Pokmon franchise since its inception, especially with the jump to full 3D. Unfortunately, the game had the tendency to corrupt your save file irretrievably if you saved your game in the streets of the games largest area, Lumiose City. The glitch was eventually connected to issues in the rendering of the lavish background of the PokWorlds Paris.
Tomb Raider fails to meet sales expectations
The SNAFU: Tomb Raider has been a mainstay in 3D gaming since its debut on the PS1, winning fans with its fun gameplay and visually interesting protagonist.The 2013 reboot of the venerable franchise met with much critical and consumer praise. The new interpretation of the main character combined with the modernized gameplay and cutting-edge graphics saw 3.4 million games fly off the shelves. These killer sales just werent enough for publisher Square Enix, however. Shortly after the games release, Square Enix execs stated in a high-level presentation to investors that the well-received game had critically underperformed their expectations.
Dead Island: Riptide's limited edition statue
The SNAFU: Its become the norm for publishers of big titles to offer special editions of their products, allowing dedicated fans to pay some (sometimes a lot of) extra money in exchange for an artbook and some cheap figurines to put on their mantles. Some of these collector's editions go above and beyond, however, like as Saints Row IV's Super Dangerous Wub-Wub Edition. Deep Silver decided to join this club with an outlandish bonus for Dead Island: Riptide Zombie Bait Edition: a bust of a zombified torso in a bikini. Yeah...
Battlefield 4 gets all the glitches
The SNAFU: Battlefield 4, like many games these days, launched with a fair number of bugs. Unlike many games, though, BF4 has been plagued since launch by serious bigs in its online play (otherwise known as Battlefields life blood). Bugs in the netcode have resulted in players dying after retreating into cover or in just one shot from their opponents as a result of the servers not keeping the players in sync with each other, resulting in a frankly unfun play experience. Other issues crash the game like a GTA protagonist crashes cars, with some gamers claiming that one in three multiplayer matches ends in a fatal crash, if they can even connect at all.
Dead Space 3 trades horror for action and online co-op
The SNAFU: For its first two main outings, the Dead Space franchise thrived on its unsettling atmosphere and the superb use of pacing. The dark corridors of a once-thriving ship populated with bizarre, deeply unsettling undead mockeries of life out for your flesh and blood cemented the series as one of the greatest in action horror. You never know whats around the next corner, and what you dont know definitely CAN kill you. Fans were excited for more of this atmosphere from the third installment in the series; what they got, however, was a game divided. The first half? A great Dead Space experience. The second? A generic third-person action co-op game. It was basically Gears of War with less character.
GTA Online faces serious issues, pays players for forgiveness
The SNAFU: GTA 5 really needs no introduction: it was the biggest of deals, selling millions of copies and garnering critical praise across the board. One of the most exciting features of was going to be the implementation of many gamers dream: an online open-world GTA experience. However, Rockstar just wasnt quite finished with GTA Online when it came time for the main game to launch, so they postponed the online features until October.
Aliens: Colonial Marines fails to deliver
The SNAFU: When Aliens: Colonial Marine was announced in 2006, fans of the classic sci-fi films rejoiced. The game wasnt seen very often for the next few years as it bounced around development hell between developers Gearbox Software and TimeGate Studios. When it surfaced again at E3 2011 with a great gameplay demo, fans and press alike got majorly hyped for the game. No one could have guessed, however, that the demo shown off in 2011 was far superior than the Aliens: Colonial Marines that was delivered in 2013.
SimCitys failure to launch
The SNAFU: Drawing on a deep well of nostalgia, as well as the incredible power of modern hardware, SimCity launched back in March to much fanfare. However, the launch was severely marred by server issues, as the inability of EAs servers to keep up with the launch crowd led to inexcusably long waits to get into the game, with the occasional loss of entire cities (the few that were able to be built, that is).
#XBONE's always-online flip-flopping nightmare
The SNAFU: It was an exciting time for console gamers: the announcement of a new console generation! Unfortunately for Microsoft, the reveal of its new system didn't really go as planned. The Xbox One's first showing focused more on the ability to watch TV on your TV, and there were mixed signals surrounding nearly every element of the console. Fast forward to E3, when the ill-fated company finally started to focus on the XBones gaming capabilities and the inclusion of strict DRM that would prevent used sales, game lending, and the ability to play single-player games without an internet connection.
