Net Ten: Downward Spiral: Game Series That Jumped the Shark (page2) Subscribe to this RSS feed

#5 Tony Hawk - [ PS2 ]

The first two Tony Hawk games captivated millions, but that stellar streak went into a skid with Tony Hawk 3, a tepid rush-job for the PS2. Set to a corporate punk score of sonic sellouts (we'll give a pass to the Ramones), the game was a significant downgrade in almost every important department, from level design and control to realism. It moved at a blistering 200 miles per hour and emphasized silly, impossible tricks (like handstands) over the sleek simplicity that had defined the series up to that point. By the time Tony Hawk 4 rolled around, the series was running on fumes and the developers knew it; to compensate, they squeezed in some Grand Theft Auto-inspired sandbox gameplay, but gamers weren't fooled and sales were solid but unspectacular. Activision later re-launched the series as Tony Hawk's Underground, with a focus on celebrity (Bam Margera, anyone?) and spectacle over solid, respectable skating. For shame, Activision. For shame.

Shark Jumping Moment: After the massive success of the first two games, Activision quickly came to rely on Tony Hawk as a major source of profitability. And rather than focus on making the most comprehensive or realistic skating sim on the market, it instead focused on churning out another Tony Hawk game each year. The results have been disappointing, to say the least. But hey--Tony Hawk's American Wasteland now has BMX biking! Huzzah.

#5 Tony Hawk
83% average
critic
score

#4 Mortal Kombat - [ PS2 ]

The first two Mortal Kombat games are legendary, but Mortal Kombat 3....not so much. The costumes (mostly consisting of spandex and face paint) were cheesy enough to make Macho Man Randy Savage blush, and the trademark Fatality moves were watered down to pale imitations of their former selves (and Animalities? Puh-lease). Needless to say, series fans were left wondering, "what's up with that?" The series sagged to even murkier depths with the atrocious Mortal Kombat Mythologies action/adventure spin-offs; the less said about those games, the better. The two most recent brawlers, MK: Deadly Alliance and MK: Deception are a definite improvement, but they still suffer from hit-or-miss production values and goofy character designs. Here's hoping Shaolin Monks, as well as the much-rumored next-gen MK fighter, can get the series firmly back on track.

Shark Jumping Moment: Quality control quickly became a major issue as Midway sought to cash in on Mortal Mania. It also didn't help when series stalwarts like John Tobias left to pursue other interests (like founding development house Studio Gigante, developers of the crappy Tao Feng: Fist of the Lotus and the crappier Wrestlemania 21).

#4 Mortal Kombat
75% average
critic
score

#3 Street Fighter - [ PS2 ]

Street Fighter II instantly legitimized the embryonic arcade fighting game genre with its tight, ultra-accessible gameplay. Fans ate up the next two expansion packs, but Capcom didn't stop there. By the time the company was finished with the series, it had released five different versions of what was essentially one game, not to mention the endless stream of home ports for the Genesis and SNES. Capcom went on to milk the franchise further with spin-off series like Street Fighter Alpha and Street Fighter vs. X-Men. These were fine games in their own right, but they were still variations on a well-worn theme.

Shark Jumping Moment: There was no formal moment when the Street Fighter series jumped the shark, but players got the idea when Super Street Fighter II--the fourth version of the fighter--hit arcades. At this point, all players really wanted a true, honest Street Fighter 3...which didn't come along until six long years after the original SF II debuted. By then, all but the most devout fans had moved on.

#3 Street Fighter
78% average
critic
score

#2 Tomb Raider - [ Playstation ]

You knew this one was coming. In her earliest days, Lara Croft was heralded as the savior of video gaming. But by her disastrous sixth outing (the appropriately-named Angel of Darkness), Lara had come to embody every negative video game stereotype imaginable: rape-and-pillage marketing efforts, preposterous storylines, and non-existent gameplay innovation marked Lara's latter chapters. Starting with Tomb Raider II, Eidos increasingly focused on Lara's questionable sex appeal while leaving the game mechanics almost completely untouched. Angel of Darkness then tried to change everything at once, going so far as setting the action inside high-tech bases and ritzy museums. Um, what happened to the tomb raiding? There is a glimmer of hope, however. From what we've seen, the upcoming Tomb Raider: Legend looks like it's headed in the right direction...here's hoping Eidos lets the game speak (and play) for itself.

Shark Jumping Moment: A perfect storm of overblown hype, diminishing gameplay innovation, and increasing competition from other, better third-person adventure games led to Ms. Croft's downfall with the spectacular failure of Tomb Raider: Angel of Darkness, but these problems were evident all the way back in Tomb Raider II. Oh, and that Tomb Raider producer getting busted for sex charges--with a nine year-old girl, no less!--certainly didn't help matters.

#2 Tomb Raider
69% average
critic
score

#1 The Entire Bond Series - [ PS2 ]

The wrongs instigated on this franchise are hard to ignore and harder to endure. By all accounts, Goldeneye 007 is the Bond game to end all Bond games. It single-handedly silenced Nintendo's critics, sold millions of copies (as well as Nintendo 64 systems), and popularized first-person shooters among the mainstream console audience. Since then, it's been a steep, slippery decline for the Bond franchise, climaxing in the spectacular travesty that was Goldeneye: Rogue Agent. There have been a few Dr. Nos amidst the Moonrakers--Agent Under Fire and Nightfire were definitely solid--but the losses vastly outweigh the wins. And the less said about the upcoming From Russia With Love, the better.

Shark Jumping Moment: To pick one disastrous moment out of Bond's gaming history is like choosing the best way to die: whether you're drowning, being electrocuted, or burned at the stake, you can be sure the outcome will be the same. We'll just politely suggest that Goldeneye 007 is your best bet and quietly leave the room.

#1 The Entire Bond Series
56% average
critic
score