Every console in every generation has those real special titles that only a fraction of the userbase considers true winners, however, up until release 90% of the console owners said this title would be the best thing since Super Mario. It’s inevitable. You pay your $59.99 (if you live in America), you walk out of the store content with your purchase, laughing at your poor friends who’ll have to watch you play at your house and you enjoy that ride home. You pull up into the driveway and you’ve already taken the shrink-wrap off. Meanwhile, your buddies are looking over the instruction manual jealous that you have the latest and greatest. You relish it. You treasure that exact moment and it’s one you’ll never forget – until you finally slide that disc into your console and start playing.

This, my friend, is called the hype machine. It’s when that one game appears to be untouchable by any media site and their review scores must be bias or “hating” on the hottest new title to hit gaming. We’ve all been there and we’ve all experienced this. Due to this, I feel inclined to create a list of the most over-hyped titles of this generation.

1.Haze
If this game wasn’t the first game listed, I think a lot of people (myself included) would be pretty upset. It’s no secret that this failure of a Halo killer not only was the king of hype up until release, but it was probably one of the most disappointing experiences I’ve had with my PlayStation 3. Everything about the game was just awkward. The controls weren’t tight; they were loose as all hell. The A.I. was over-the-top simplistic and the storyline wasn’t anything to write home about. Overall, Haze is pretty much the pinnacle and the new poster child of hyped failures. It’s sad to think about, but I’m just glad I got a review copy and didn’t shell out the $60 for it. Those are the real people I feel bad for.

2.Lair
One word – Dragons – how could they go wrong? You didn’t have to be a Dungeons and Dragons nerd to be excited for the potential that this title was supposed to deliver on. Instead, we were treated to a motion controlled game with clunky controls that later needed a patch, but by that time, it was far too late. Lair had the ability to be something special, the visuals were solid and the gameplay itself was there – it just didn’t have the “it” factor to make it legitimate. It’s tough to admit, but the truth is the truth. This is precisely way this is a bargain bin title now.

3.Grand Theft Auto IV
I’m sure adding this title to our list will get a lot of resentment but let’s face some truths here. Grand Theft Auto IV was given a ridiculous amount of perfect scores throughout the media industry. While I wasn’t one of the journalists to do this, I really couldn’t believe it was happening. How many of you actually played this title beyond beating it within a few days? I’m betting that not very many of you did. The content was entirely lackluster in comparison to previous installment and the competitor, Saint’s Row, was delivering in every aspect of the game it needed to. By the time I left Liberty City, I was glad it was over – I don’t think even downloadable content would have saved this title from the hype factory that didn’t produce.

4.All-Pro Football 2K8
When this football title hit, it left me chuckling. I remember the cries from 2K football fanatics about how this game was going to dethrone Madden and show Electronic Arts Tiburon how to develop a “real” next gen football title. I still laugh about it today. How many of you bought this for under $10 in a bargain bin after the first couple of months of release? I’m sure it was a lot of you. Anyway – This title was a complete disappointment in almost every aspect. Some fans may want to say otherwise, but all of the key indicators point to the truth. I’m starting to be surprised that retailers will even shelve this game now. If I was GameStop, I’d stop buying it back entirely.

5.Bionic Commando
Nostalgia runs deep, doesn’t? I guess so. Bionic Commando was released slightly on the heels of Bionic Commando Rearmed. Unfortunately, this GRIN developed project was nothing even remotely close to as good as the original. This must have left so many old school gamers utterly disappointed. The initial impressions of BC were actually pretty good throughout certain industry events and a lot of people seemed generally happy about it. However, the rate at which this title could be found for under $20 was astonishing. I believe you could pick it up that cheap within 3 months of release. That’s something no game should have to go through.

6.Army of Two
Despite Army of Two receiving a sequel and generating a decent chunk of sales, it falls into a similar category as Grand Theft Auto IV. It just didn’t deliver on the level and scale that a lot of gamers expected it to. The co-op gameplay was tons of fun if you had a competent friend to play along with. But if you were stuck utilizing the partner A.I., you would have been better off just leaving it at the store. It’s fun in short bursts, don’t get me wrong and there are other titles (look above) that were far more susceptible to the hype train, but Army of Two just wasn’t on the platform it needed to be to truly satisfy the gamer at hand.

7.Kane & Lynch: Dead Men
See: Army of Two. Kane & Lynch: Dead Men had a great premise and the dialogue was entertaining. It’s too bad the gameplay was glitch, the controls were easy to fumble around with and everything else was a joke in between. Thankfully, not too many people fell for this ruse and it hit the bargain bin at a decent rate. However, the hype up until its release was pretty significant for how mediocre of a title it was. Of course, there has been worse titles release, right?

8.Resistance 2
I’m going to get slammed for this one by the Sony brigade. I know it, you know it, and they know it. Resistance is a flagship franchise for the PlayStation 3 and Resistance 2 was supposed to continue the amazing lineup of great titles from Insomniac Games. Unfortunately, this expected triple AAA title, never reached that status. Instead, Resistance 2 hit Double A stardom and was overlooked by a lot of people (smartly). To be honest, I couldn’t believe that this title left me wishing it was so much more. I think the developers focused too much on the big picture rather than nailing down all the finer details of the game. While it’s great to be the savior of America, I’d rather do it in a title that matters…like Modern Warfare.