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Domestic | Feature

Feature: Top 20 Gaming Lows of 2004 -- Page 2

Feature by FUNKYZEALOT | 01/04/2005 | 14:21:37 PM PST

12) Boy Threatens to Kill Dad for Video Game
Woe to those who stand in the way between a kid and his Pokemon--A 13-year old Hong Kong teen threatened his parents with a knife after his dad pulled the plug on a video game. Although police reported that the kid wildly thrashed around with the blade, no injuries occurred from the incident. The gaming rage was instigated by dad, who cut the power to the game to enforce bedtime. Meanwhile, innumerable teens across the U.S. threaten to kill others over voice chat for being cheap and using Rocket Launchers in Halo 2.

11) Smugglers Used and Abused in Star Wars Galaxies
Back in the tail end of 2003, folks at Sony Online Entertainment promised big changes for Star Wars Galaxies for 2004, among them being the Great Civil War (GCW), combat revamp, and smugglers. The developers promised the changes would take place before the release of expansion Jump to Lightspeed, restoring peace in the Galaxy. None of them happened, instead further bashing the Smuggler profession further into the ground. Ignoring the hundreds of carefully crafted posts and suggestions, SOE implemented an Imperial scanning feature that leaves Smugglers susceptible to getting punished for carrying illegal "sliced" items--while giving Imperial Officer players a pat on the back for doing the same.

With longtime players deserting and turning servers into giant wastelands of empty vendors, SOE again released a statement at the end of 2004 promising Smuggler, GCW, and combat revamps--few are holding their breath. And Vader chills in a retreat while Jedis run wild in supposedly Imperial-controlled cities. Han and Chewy prefer cantinas.

10) End of Acclaim, End of Cool Shooter?
After more than 15 years, Acclaim shut its doors in September, leaving games Juiced and Red Star in limbo. Although Juice will ultimately see a release by THQ, Red Star still has its fate up in the air, despite being more compelling than a (yet another) tuner racing game. The game is basically finished, and now awaits some courageous publisher who would valiantly pick up a non-sequel-based title.

9) 400lbs RTS Gorilla Beats MMORPG Giant
Hiring Hollywood talents of Heather Graham and Christopher Lee wasn't enough to save this once superior franchise from falling, overshadowed by the common sense genius of World of Warcraft (WoW). Seemingly anticipating a losing battle, SOE releases EverQuest II before WoW--but gamers remained unphased, ignoring calls to become a cat-headed warrior. The launch of WoW was a stunning success, trumping EQII despite having less technologically advanced graphics, no voice talent to speak of, and no voiced dialogue. "Evercrack" had its highs--but now the withdrawal pains seem to be kicking in hard.

8) Nokia Admits Taco-Shaped Handheld Not Selling
Kudos to Nokia for trying to open itself to a new market--but they still haven't got the hang of it. The launch of the original N-Gage was disastrous, seeing one of the quickest console price drops (from $299 to $199 in less than two weeks after launch). A technophile's nightmare, the gaming/cell phone system required users to take out the battery to change games, and needed to be held sideways to talk on the phone--spurring a website dedicated to "side talkin'." Nokia quickly went into damage control, releasing the more bearable N-Gage QD, but still retaining its small screen and eye-burning motions. "This is where" ads are no longer anywhere to be found.