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Technically Brilliant But Ultimately Crap Games

zxspecticlezxspecticle
edited February 2008 in Games
My vote goes for H.A.T.E by Costa Panayi of Vortex Software (one of my fave programmers by the way)

H.A.T.E.'s diagonal scrolling was so smooth and fast you wonder how it could be possible on a humble speccy - but boy did that game suck!

Can anyone else remember a game that introduced a really exciting new programming technique but was attached to a game that sucked?
Post edited by zxspecticle on
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Comments

  • mel the bellmel the bell
    edited February 2008
    all the 3d ultimate games :P
    i never really liked em...........specially gunfright

    the games like driller / total eclipse...were ok but too slow and tbh a bit boring
    Professional Mel-the-Bell Simulator................"So realistic, I found myself reaching for the Kleenex King-Size!" - Richard Darling
  • def chrisdef chris
    edited February 2008
    I'm gonna get dissed for this but i don't care...Elite on the spectrum:(

    it's so much better on the BBC 'B'....

    on the spec it kind of loses everything....I can't even explain it properly so I won't bother.
  • dm_boozefreekdm_boozefreek
    edited February 2008
    def chris wrote: »
    I'm gonna get dissed for this but i don't care...Elite on the spectrum:(

    it's so much better on the BBC 'B'....

    on the spec it kind of loses everything....I can't even explain it properly so I won't bother.

    ....and I'm going cop a complete beat down :D

    I hate that game in all forms, totally overhyped and dull to new extremes.
    Every night is curry night!
  • mel the bellmel the bell
    edited February 2008
    dm_boozefreek wrote: »
    ....and I'm going cop a complete beat down :D

    I hate that game in all forms, totally overhyped and dull to new extremes.

    as ive said before, i wouldnt say i hate the game.........but i just cant play it so find it boring, dull and too complicated :(
    wish i could play it...sounds once you get into it its a full on "experience"
    Professional Mel-the-Bell Simulator................"So realistic, I found myself reaching for the Kleenex King-Size!" - Richard Darling
  • def chrisdef chris
    edited February 2008
    dm_boozefreek wrote: »
    ....and I'm going cop a complete beat down :D

    I hate that game in all forms, totally overhyped and dull to new extremes.


    uuhhh. it's an open battle-ground now...

    If I'd never played the bbc 'b' version I might agree with you because I also hated the atart ST and amiga versions...only the bbc b version of elite was any good IMO.
  • Dwayne DibleyDwayne Dibley
    edited February 2008
    And the winner is -

    Gyron


    Did ANYONE enjoy this game?

    Oh , and Zoids
  • dm_boozefreekdm_boozefreek
    edited February 2008
    def chris wrote: »
    uuhhh. it's an open battle-ground now...

    If I'd never played the bbc 'b' version I might agree with you because I also hated the atart ST and amiga versions...only the bbc b version of elite was any good IMO.

    Prepares for mic fights and plus the cold war :D
    Every night is curry night!
  • Matt_BMatt_B
    edited February 2008
    I Of The Mask. It's like Gyron, but even more so; a very simplistic maze game dressed up in spiffy 3D graphics that are almost utterly irrelevant to the gameplay.
  • def chrisdef chris
    edited February 2008
    dm_boozefreek wrote: »
    Prepares for mic fights and plus the cold war :D

    yeh, I'm on planet zeutron right now, buying 16.4k of fuel for a profit. ready to blast off in my 'viper' you can't touch me.
  • dm_boozefreekdm_boozefreek
    edited February 2008
    Opa-Opa from Fantasy zone will blast a viper ship down in one shot, 3 at the most.

    I don't really like shoot em' ups at all though really.

    Hyperlane and Dominator for the Speccy.
    Fantasy zone 1 and 2 Master system/arcade.
    Super fantasy Zone, Gynoug/Wings of Wor for the Megadrive.
    Parodius, Pop n' Twin Bee games Arcade.
    Starfox/wing SNES.
    Panzer Dragoon 1 and 2 Saturn.
    Starfox/wing/Lylat Wars N64.

    ...and I think that is every shoot em' up I've ever liked :D
    Every night is curry night!
  • def chrisdef chris
    edited February 2008
    Elite's not a shoot-em-up it's more like a way of life, yo.

    nah I know what you mean. nowadays I'd probably prefer playing a standard scrolling shoot-em-up than get bogged down in a game of elite again. good for it's time tho' ..
  • zxspecticlezxspecticle
    edited February 2008
    Dwayne Dibley wrote: »
    And the winner is -

    Gyron


    Did ANYONE enjoy this game?

    Oh , and Zoids

    Was zoids technically brilliant?
  • ZagrebZagreb
    edited February 2008
    H.A.T.E.'s a good game. Not only technically quite impressive but a competent shooter. It was certainly overrated at the time but the "carry lives over" aspect is actually quite clever and less annoyingly/frustratingly implemented than in Highway Encounter.

    I think for techincally-good-but-crap I'd have to agree with whoever said I, Of The Mask. It was all very clever and impressive but there's not much game there at all. In its own way it was a precursor to Microcosm on the Amiga CD32 which I gather had the same flaws.
  • NickHNickH
    edited February 2008
    Hard Drivin' was good but ropey. If the Stunt Track wasn't so novel, I think it would have been treated more unkindly.
  • dm_boozefreekdm_boozefreek
    edited February 2008
    NickH wrote: »
    Hard Drivin' was good but ropey. If the Stunt Track wasn't so novel, I think it would have been treated more unkindly.

    Hmmmm, I see where you're coming from on that one.

    But All the home versions of this game were terrible, but a crap arcade does not make a good conversion :D
    Every night is curry night!
  • GreenCardGreenCard
    edited February 2008
    I'm gonna opt for Street Fighter 2.... The graphics were amazing for the Speccy, but the game itself was such a pig to play. Never tried Final Fight, I always thought that looked really true to the original (will have a go when I next get the chance).
  • ZagrebZagreb
    edited February 2008
    Trying to port Final Fight and Street Fighter 2 to the speccy was always a completely insane idea. I'm glad they tried it even though it was never going to work.
  • mel the bellmel the bell
    edited February 2008
    NickH wrote: »
    Hard Drivin' was good but ropey. If the Stunt Track wasn't so novel, I think it would have been treated more unkindly.
    aaaaah another one...i hated hard drivin

    grrrrrrrrrrrrrr
    Professional Mel-the-Bell Simulator................"So realistic, I found myself reaching for the Kleenex King-Size!" - Richard Darling
  • SnakeOilSteveSnakeOilSteve
    edited February 2008
    I remember Dominator, looked way better than R-Type from a technical abilities perspective but played nowhere near as good. ISTR Sly Spy being similarly innovative yet not very good.

    Hard Drivin' was a game I desperately wanted to be good at, but always failed.

    Robocop was a great game in many ways but wayy too easy. Ocean should've had someone from Dinamic on-board to be responsible for difficulty.
  • NickHNickH
    edited February 2008
    Liberal use of the space bar to re-centre the steering wheel makes Hard Drivin' a LOT easier.
  • mel the bellmel the bell
    edited February 2008
    SnakeOilSteve wrote: »
    Ocean should've had someone from Dinamic on-board to be responsible for difficulty.
    abu simbel profination :P
    Professional Mel-the-Bell Simulator................"So realistic, I found myself reaching for the Kleenex King-Size!" - Richard Darling
  • ZnorXmanZnorXman
    edited February 2008
    Mire Mare - A gold-plated, diamond-encrusted fart in the wind.
  • mel the bellmel the bell
    edited February 2008
    NickH wrote: »
    Liberal use of the space bar to re-centre the steering wheel makes Hard Drivin' a LOT easier.
    but wouldnt that make it easy driving then?
    Professional Mel-the-Bell Simulator................"So realistic, I found myself reaching for the Kleenex King-Size!" - Richard Darling
  • zxspecticlezxspecticle
    edited February 2008
    Just thought of another one (although some of the review scores suggest otherwise)

    FAT WORMS BLOWS A SPARKY

    technical masterpiece utter pants game!
  • ÆlitaÆlita
    edited February 2008
    mel the bell wrote: »
    all the 3d ultimate games


    Yep, I never took to them either.

    My vote goes to Tau Ceti..innovative, but ultimately boring.
    I stole it off a space ship.
  • zxbrunozxbruno
    edited February 2008
    Carrier Command.
  • SwainySwainy
    edited February 2008
    I'm going to go for Robocop 2. Better presentation than the first game, didn't play anywhere near as good.
  • GreenCardGreenCard
    edited February 2008
    Swainy wrote: »
    I'm going to go for Robocop 2. Better presentation than the first game, didn't play anywhere near as good.

    True, but at least it was a lot better than Robocop 3... Didn't enjoy that in the slightest (superb on the Amiga, though).
  • SwainySwainy
    edited February 2008
    I never did try part 3 on the Speccy... It wasn't compatible with my grey +2. Agreed about the Amiga version though!
  • NickHNickH
    edited February 2008
    What is the general feeling about Robocop 2? I watched the RZX and it looked interesting.
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