If there are two ways to get people riled up on the internet, one is to question their religious or political beliefs, and the other way is to make fun of their favorite video games. You see that your favorite game franchise of all time is listed on Old-Wizard’s most overrated video game franchises? Surely it can’t be! You know us though, we have a knack for knocking down the typical things people enjoy. In this list, we tried to think of video game franchises that just plain piss us off because everyone else loves them and we think that they’re total ass. Going into our thinking process when considering these overrated video game franchises were their lack of creativity and a lack of entertainment that they possessed, as well as the fading quality of each subsequent game in the series. We don’t think that these next ten video game franchises are necessarily bad, but we also don’t think that they deserve the critical acclaim that they’ve received either. <
10. God of War
God of War 2 on the Playstation 2 had to be one of the most over-hyped video games to ever be released. The reason could be that IGN gave the first game in the series a 9.8, even though it was pretty much nothing more than a repetitive hack and slash game. While there are puzzle portions to these games, they are really slow and they only serve to slow the games down. There’s also no real innovation in either game. But if you’re a big fan of mindless button mashing with good graphics, you’ll probably like this series, but I doubt that many fans of the golden age of video gaming who have played classic games like A Link to the Past and Chrono Trigger would give this game a 9.8.
9. Guitar Hero
I’ve never been able to figure out why anyone likes the Guitar Hero series. Why has this franchise sold so many games? Is it because of the shitty background graphics? Or maybe it’s the bad music in the series, especially in the third installment, the so-called “Legends of Rock,” which features songs from overrated bands like Kiss, and the Sex Pistols. It’s because of these reasons that unlike many of the other franchises on this list, the Guitar Hero games aren’t just overrated, they aren’t even good. When you think about how bad these games are, it’s hard not to laugh at the fools who pretend to “riff” with their most rock star inspired poses in their dorm room, surrounded by a bunch of drunk or stoned friends. It’s also hard not to include Guitar Hero on this list.
8. Tekken
Every time I hear someone say that Tekken is the best fighting series ever made I think that he or she is a rookie. Anyone who has ever played the Street Fighter series would laugh when hearing this claim. The graphics in the Tekken games are good, but the fighting is utter crap. It mostly consists of button mashing. You’re either executing a 9-step combo that takes away half of your opponent’s life, or you’re getting in one hit that puts them in the air and then you juggle them until they die. Or my personal favorite, you knock them on the ground and do three sweeps before they can get up. Compare this style of game play to a much more fun fighting game like Super Smash Brothers Brawl where it’s much harder to button mash effectively, and you’ll see one of the many reasons why Nintendo is currently dominating the video game market.
7. Halo
When someone tells me that Halo is the greatest video game franchise ever made (and believe me, this happens a lot. O-W must have received a hundred emails asking us why we left all three Halo games off of our Top 100 Video Games List) the first thought that pops into my head is that the person telling me that is twelve years old. I don’t think that you’ll find too many old school gamers who have played truly epic games like A Link to the Past or Super Mario 3 saying that Halo is the best video game franchise of all time. Does Halo really compare to old SNES classics like Super Metroid or Mega Man 2? The first game is short, has repetitive level designs, and a pretty small array of guns. The second game is often heralded for how “revolutionary” because players can wield two weapons at once, steal vehicles and have online multiplayer. Have these people ever played GoldenEye or pretty much any other first person shooter made since Doom 2? Yes, the Halo games can be entertaining for an hour or two at most, but don’t ever say that either one is better than Super Metroid.
6. Sonic
Sonic 1 was a pretty good game, and Sonic 2 could even be considered a great game. Even we wouldn’t deny that. But after Sonic 2, the Sonic series was worn out. While Sonic 2 was an improvement over Sonic 1, in the third installment of the series everything stayed the same. There’s Sonic, and Tails, and new levels with shitty music (compared to the often overlooked soundtrack of Sonic 2.) Sonic 3 though is championed amongst Sega gamers as continuing the Sonic “tradition” of always improving games. Oh yeah, you could play as Tails. Whew, what an improvement that was. And then when Sonic went to 3D, we saw a new low point of the series. The 3D games veered further and further away from Sonic’s simple, yet elegantly satisfying roots, and entered into a territory of uninspired game play, pointless mechanics, and annoying supporting characters.
5. Half Life
I’ve owned Half Life for about six years now and I can honestly say I’ve maybe played it for a total of two hours. The Half Life games suffer from several shortcomings, not the least of which is a complete lack of enemy variety. People often ask us why we’re such big fans of older games, as opposed to newer games. Compare how many different types of bad guys there are in Half Life 2 to a game like Super Mario 3 and you’ll see why we like games from the 16 bit era so much more than the games released today. The game play is repetitive, and neither game in the series has a huge selection of weapons. I’m not saying that Half Life 1 and 2 are bad games, but neither game is deserving of the massive hype that surrounds this series. With Half Life 2 receiving an average rating of 96%, and Maximum PC calling it “The greatest game ever made” we think that the Half Life series deserves its spot on this list.
4. Ghosts N’ Goblins
Talk about overrated. For some reason the Ghosts N’ Goblins series is one of the most loved video game franchises among retro gamers, and yet I have to wonder when the last time any of the people who constantly defend these games had actually played them last. 1/8th through the first level of the first Ghosts N’ Goblins you’re surrounded by mounds and mounds of enemies. As you’re walking as your character, you’re basically surrounded by a force field of enemies coming at you from every possible angle. Okay, maybe if you had a lot of energy or someone decent armor, you could take the level one onslaught of nefarious enemies. As you walk, you see that you do have armor, looks like pretty strong armor, until a weak ass looking bird swoops down, barely hits you, and your armor comes flying off. Not even faux-Halloween armor is this poor. I’m pretty sure that if a bird touched a plastic suit that you wore for Halloween, it wouldn’t come flying off. As your worthless armor comes flying off, you’re left with an almost-naked character who is left with nothing on except underwear. Q: Who wears nothing under armor? Am I inept to mid-evil tradition or is there something completely untenable about someone wearing nothing under armor? You’re basically left naked running around in the wild with a force field of petulant enemies surrounding you at every second. This stultifying game play leads you to give up after 1 to 2 minutes making you feel like shit and making you retire to much more germane games with more sane difficulty levels. If you still wanted to play Super Ghouls N’ Ghosts after playing this game, then you’re probably insane.
3. Resident Evil
If there was ever a video game franchise that didn’t deserve the endless praise from the mainstream video game press it’s the Resident Evil series. Before you even read the reviews of a new RE game from IGN and Gamespot you just know that it is going to get a nine point something. Resident Evil 4 received a 9.8 from IGN and a 9.6 from Gamespot. Really, is RE4 a close to perfect video game? Sure it looks cool for a while, but then it becomes dull as hell. You walk around and random things attack you. Its not scary, it just bad horror flick shit when someone comes from behind you trying to attack you. You get the usual weapons to fight off the usual suspects. You can get devoured by parasitic monsters everywhere you turn. Where have I seen this before? How about every fucking Ghosts N’ Goblins remake there ever was. The over-the-shoulder approach to this game couldn’t save it from being just plain dull. I’m not saying that the Resident Evil games are bad games, they just don’t deserve the exorbitantly high scores they constantly receive from the mainstream video game press.
2. Grand Theft Auto
Old-Wizard’s dislike of the GTA series is well known. Like many modern day video game franchises, the GTA games focus too much on being realistic and too little on the actual game play. IGN gave GTA 4 a 10 out of 10, while giving a really fun game like Super Mario Galaxy a 9.7. The only rational explanation for this is that press version of GTA 4 must have come with some drugs. Was GTA 4 really perfect? Did these guys even play the game before Rockstar gave them a boatload of cash? Why is this game perfect? Is it because it looks good? Is it because you have a cell phone in the game (which is fucking annoying by the way)? Anyone who can’t find some little fault with a video game shouldn’t be a video game critic. While the sleek graphics of the Grand Theft Auto games may look good enough to fool the sheepish mainstream media, anyone who reviews the game for themselves will notice how they mimic our worst instincts of modern pop culture, like our love for unadulterated violence and hedonistic images. The Grand Theft Auto series is unquestionably one of the most overrated video game franchises of all time.
1. Pokemon
Ask almost any twelve year gamer what the best RPG of all time is, and they’ll probably tell you that it was Pokemon. But ask any old school gamer who has ever played Final Fantasy 3 or Chrono Trigger what they think of the Pokemon games, and they’ll tell you that they were an annoying fad at best. It was because Pokemon Red and Blue that civilization had to endure the endless amounts of Pokemon-mania that came after it. The characters were irritatingly soft, and the game play tried too hard to be simple, and lacked the kind of depth needed to make a RPG great. The games in Pokemon series certainly tried to act like an RPG, with turn based battles and areas in which you could speak to another friend, but c’mon, look at some of the enemies you had to face; happy bats and mice that looked like the kind of mice your cat brings back to you to show you affection. RPGs are great in that they transcend the small ambitions of the real world and escape into epic fantasies. Pokemon lowered the standards for the great game style of the RPG
Just my thoughts and opinions about your list.
10. God of War
Ok, yeah, it was a repetitive hack n slash. But it was fucking fun. I never thought of it to be overreated. Fun game to me.
9. Guitar Hero
Alright I’m in the same boat with you on this one. I could never figure out what was so damn good about this game either. Definitely overrated.
8. Tekken
Wow, I thought I was the one who thought this game got more credit than it
Just my thoughts and opinions about your list.
10. God of War
Ok, yeah, it was a repetitive hack n slash. But it was fucking fun. I never thought of it to be overreated. Fun game to me.
9. Guitar Hero
Alright I’m in the same boat with you on this one. I could never figure out what was so damn good about this game either. Definitely overrated.
8. Tekken
Wow, I thought I was the one who thought this game got way more credit than it deserved. But I’m not gonna lie. I actually liked the series, but it really is just a bunch of botton mashing with crappy graphics. It can’t even compare with the likes of titles such as Street Fighter, Smash Bros, and the VS. games. Soul Calibur is even better. P.S. The only characters I actually liked or could play with was Yoshimitsu and King.
7. Halo
Or as I like to call, Gaylo. Anyone who knows me knows I have a deep hatred for Gaylo and always refur to it as Gaylo. This game is overrated in every way. I’m personally not a huge fan of shooters but I did enjoy Gears of War and Call of Duty A LOT and consider them to be way better than Gaylo. If there’s anything wrong with Gaylo being on this list, its that it wasn’t in the top 3.
6. Sonic
Idk about this one. Idk if I can really call it overrated. I played Sonic 1 & 2 and Sonic & Knuckles but after the 2D games, the franchise pretty much went down hill. For that reason I don’t think its overrated. If anything, you could say the 2D games are/were overrated but I think you could’ve left this slot for something else.
5. Half Life
Really can’t speak on this one because I’ve never played it. But from what I hear, its actually a good game. I also wouldn’t think its overrated because I don’t hear many people talk about it.
4. Ghosts N’ Goblins
…So what the fuck is a Ghosts N’ Goblins?? Next!!
3. Resident Evil
Never really got into the RE series but I do like it. Once again, not a fan of shooters but I’ve always liked watching people play this game. I never thought of it as overrated though.
2. Grand Theft Auto
I 100% agree with you. I’ve always thought this game was overrated.
1. Pokemon
Okay, Pokemon got big when I was around the age of 8 or 9. I started playing the game at about 10. I’m 20 now and if I had it, I would STILL play the shit outta this game. I freakin love this game. Its in my top 5 favorite video game franchises of all time. Whatever, call it overrated. I don’t care. Its still one of the greatest games ever in my opinion.
The fact that you use the word “gay” as a negetive tells me you are a fucking idiot and are probably 12? All of your opinions became defunked to me as soon as you used Gay as a negetive term. Moron.
Hey adamF obviously your a halo fan boy, so how about instead of calling you gay, I refer to you by another negative connotation like, for example, a fucking dumbass? That mature enough for you?
Yeah, definitely can’t be more than 12.
Hahahaha wow this list made me laugh so hard. Yes, most of the games on this list are overrated. But most overrated? Not by far. Final Fantasy fills that role just fine, or Fallout 3. Half-Life is the greatest FPS series of all time and completely reinvented the genre. Most of your claims are laughable.
And by the way, Pokemon has depth. A lot of it. Go looking at the competitive community.
Sir, I fail to see just what innovations Half-Life brought, outside of a storytelling mechanic that has been used in other game genres before it.
Is your definition of overrated highly successful? Or a good game that you simply dont enjoy? Thought so…
Where is Call of Duty, Gears of War, any next gen Final Fantasy game and Devil May Cry? Now those are some over-rated franchises.
God of war 2, i dunno I love FFIII and Link to the Past but I’d still have a high place for both of these types of games. GOW is just so polished. I turns your brain off and is pure eye candy. Zelda and FFIII pull you in a lot more, yes, but this hacker game is really enjoyable. Strangely enough I don’t like Darksiders or Dante which are essentially clones of GOW.
Half Life is one of the most innovative story telling in games. You are with Gordon from the very beginning and you’ve seen it all through his eyes. Stressing on enemy variety really seems to be missing the point and there are a decent amount of enemies anyway…Combines, Strikers, Hunters, Choppers, Headcrabs, Zombies, Zombie Civil Defense, a dozen alien types, agents, military troopers, monitors…what more do you want? Plus being the papa of the counterstrike engine, Team fortress and Portal. Blasphemy!!!
Just because you can’t press the circle button fast enough in God of War doesen’t mean that it’s one of the most overrated franchises of all time.
Why are you hating on the newer games. Sure the classics are classic but it seems like ur just a bunch of nintendo fanboys who can’t stand that they have fallen behind. If you love the old stuff so much put down your current computer and go back to an Apple II, and if you love Mario so much go suck Miyamoto’s dick
LOOOOL, Mario fanboy alert. That franchise should have been no. 1. All 3D Marios are crap, and SMB3 is overrated.
wow. sounds like somebody cant get over the fact that games are progressing, and hate that people arent just rehashing old games. sure the old games were fun, but move on.
Your list is the biggest pile of shit I’ve ever had to read through. Almost every comparison you make is that of some shitty (and insanely overrated) Nintendo-exclusive overrated shite which isn’t even in the same genre
“you’ll see one of the many reasons why Nintendo is currently dominating the video game market.” Invalidates your bullshit opinion right there. Your mom bought you a shitty Wii because you couldn’t afford a PS3 or a 360 with your pocket money and this is the best way for you to justify your purchase? By badmouthing every franchise Gaytendo didn’t give you? Way to go, dickhead…Sonic overrated? Sonic has been dead ever since it went 3D and yet in your opinion it has had too many rehashes? You are a fucking moron, plain and simple. I doubt you played any of these games, probably watched some gameplay movies to make some cheap shitty references to try and look like a smartass. Get the italian plumber’s (Mario’s) dick out of your mouth next time when you make a list, because you fucking fail at life, tool.
Metroid, Mario and Final Fantasy are the most overrated franchises ever and suck donkey cock, as do you and your shitty list and if you weren’t a gay little Nintendo fanboy living in your mom’s basement (which you are), you’d already admit it.
Wow everybody whose hating this list and especially Nintendo, you guys are missing out. This list is definitely a bit too critical, but come on for the most part totally right. And Scott, Pokemon is good, but come on the depth level isn’t even close to most other RPGs.
Mario franchise has been quite the genre defining series, so I wouldn’t exactly call it as a whole overrated; However, I’d say it’s overrated nowadays though. Throw in more tospy tervy shit than the previous installment had, a power up etc. and suddenly it’s the greatest game known to man.
Ah – here we go again all hail the Elite-zeromage, he’s so 1337 and c00l for hating all the popular games. Wow what a rebel! A real internet anarchist, havn’t heard of that kind of attitude before! and is a real nerd not a fake one and is going to nerd heaven when he dies because he’s been saved by the nerdchrist unlike everyone else because they arent special enough like zeromage is, he’s the chosen nerd.
Reminds me of those music ” or film experts” who choose a band that no ones heard of just so they can be ‘indy’ and feel good about there shit identity.
Overpompous, try-hard twat of the highest degree
i hope you choke to death on your next taco..you stupid fuck.
oh great. Another debacle of hate comments. I hate the internet. And please do not say “well why are you on the internet, dumb@$$?” That just shows how much of a smart@$$ you are.
One of the best lists I’ve read on this website which is odd cause I’m a fan of some of these games.
Halo and Grand Theft Auto deserved to be on this list and while I’m a big fan of God of War and Half-Life I can see were you’re coming from. I wouldn’t have scored God of War that high either.
As for Pokemon, why do you hate it? They’re the most addictive games I’ve ever played and for good reasons.
Dude, you like my favorite game: Chrono Trigger.
But you hate some of my other favorites like Half Life, Resident Evil and GTA.
It’s okay for you to say that Resident Evil 4 is not scary, because it is not. But you can’t say that about the first, second and third game. They were classic. You had to save those ink ribbons, save bullets, you had a very tiny space to store your stuff. You were afraid of dying and having to play the whole level again. It’s really stupid to say that it is overated. RE4 is overated. Not the whole serie.
I’m sorry, you think one of the greatest and most fun games of all time is a couple hours of jumping on various turtle’s heads?
And you say Half-Life is repetitive?
I have to say i disagree with almost everything on this list, halo is one of the most revolutionary titles in video game history so is half life. As for GTA, that game practically invented the sandbox game genre. And also I used to love pokemon, it was addicting and fun and thats what matters in a game
I think the Issue here is overrated franchises and people are complaining because they like certain games in the franchise. So here it is, I think this list is well done. Why? lets go in order.
10. God of War, first game was great, That can’t be denied, it was different and introduced the greatness. Second one was pretty much the same as the first, still good, not great. Third one? Same again… Nice graphics, but gameplay hasn’t evolved, still ok, not good/great.Overrated: hell yes.
9. Guitar Hero, these games are insanely overrated, great first game, introduced something new to consoles that was properly done, every other one? totally overrated.
8. Tekken, I don’t think i need to comment.
7. Halo, I don’t think I need to comment, but see above explanation, Halo 1=great, 2 and 3? same thing better graphics/multiplayer… overrated
6. Sonic? I disagree here due to how badly it has been rated in the last several years. But I can see it being overrated because they are still coming out with games and people are still buying them
5. Half life, yes it’s overrated. But just like many FPS’s it’s about the multiplayer. Half-Life wasn’t really innovative like people say, that can go to Doom, but the multiplayer was made much smoother.
4. what? I don’t know why this is in here.
3. RE? very overrated, RE was sweet (innovative), RE2 was good, RE3… and all the subs of RE, 4… yes overrated.
2. GTA, terribly overrated, but this is mainly due to recent happenings. GTA4 was rated 10/10 on some sites like IGN, that is rediculous, the graphics aren’t even great. they got rid of stuff in gta4 and made the game less fun than previous titles, why would you do that? not an overrated series so i disagree here, but GTA4 is probably the most overrated game I’ve ever seen. (I still loved playing it)
1. yes pokemon, oh my god, how many copies of the same game can you have. overrated for sure. the first 2 games were fantastic, but yeah.