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[RetroGamingUK]

Which games truly made you giddy at the thought of owning them and the long wait to play them unbearable?

Here’s mine…

Virtua Fighter 3

The Saturn and PlayStation had only been out in the west for little under a year when first screenshots of this appeared in magazines and wow, VF2 was already great on Saturn, but by comparison this was next generation stuff in 1996! When I found this in an arcade in 1997 it pretty much killed the current generation consoles for me, a graphical paradigm shift with stages that felt like places instead of flat rings. Took until late 99 for me to be able to play it at home

Tekken 3

This came out at the right time for me as hanging around our local arcade was something me and my friends would do regularly. First time I saw grown men participate in a gaming tournament too. When the free demo was put on the demo pod in our HMV the crowd was impressive

Sonic Adventure

As with VF3, this one brought out the graphics whore in me. The Sega equivalent of Mario 64 with gorgeous graphics and spectacular action, screenshots in magazines looked amazing but didn’t prepare me for how incredible this would look in person

Metal Gear Solid 2

That E3 2000 demo video (that took an age for me to download at the time) was just incredible, the rain soaked atmosphere, the real time cinematics, all the moves and stage interactions. The first time I saw a game that made me believe games could be like action movies, the nearly 2 years wait for the UK version was unbearable

 

[joeygreco1985]

Metal Gear Solid 2
Halo 2
Halo 3

 

[elbourreau]

My god, the good old days...

My personnal number one.


1080p


And this one



I miss those old days...

 

[Men_in_Boxes]

Splinter Cell Spies vs Mercs.

One of the rare instances where my anticipation wasn't met with disappointment.

 

[Kupfer]

• Half Life 2 - bought Counter Strike Condition Zero for the included HL2 footage demo disc
• S.T.A.L.K.E.R. SoC - I scoured every magazine for screenshots and information, I was there from the beginning
• Dead Island - the first trailer was from another world
• TLoU - even work colleagues who had nothing to do with gaming wanted a PS3 for the game
• GTAV - I took a few days off to immerse myself in the game
• CP2077 - was hooked from the first trailer and I was looking forward to the game for years, what followed the release is no secret

 

[jburdick7]

I’ve been burned so many times lately it’s hard to remember the last time I got incredibly excited for a game .

Recently it’s really just been Elden Ring & Shadow of the Erdtree.

All time? It would probably have to be something like Arkham City or Twilight Princess back in the day.

Feels so long ago that I felt like I didn’t need to approach new releases with pessimism & keep expectations tempered.

 

[RaduN]

Snake Eater
Devil May Cry 4
Guns of the Patriots
Final Fantasy 15

 

[Dr.Morris79]

Sadly, the wait wasn't worth it.

 

[TintoConCasera]

Pokemon Gold/Silver. I was like 12 y/o and everyone at my school was hyped beyond belief. We even went to a electronics store and asked so much about the game that the dude imported one of those multi game cartridges that came with the japanese version of the game, which would crash right before the Pokemon league, I guess because of lack of space.

Other games I've been super hyped about were Metroid Prime, Dark Souls 2, Elden Ring, SMT V and Dragon's Dogma 2. There have been many other but I think those had me the most hyped. I remember even dreaming about Dark Souls 2 and yes, my dream was way better than the final game.

 

[Cakeboxer]

Command & Conquer: Red Alert
Dead Rising
Commandos
Brood Wars
Dungeon Keeper 2
Blood 2 (Man, what a dsiappointment it was)
Duke Nukem Forever (Man, what an even bigger dsiappointment it was)

 

[ADiTAR]

Max Paine.
Baldur's Gate 2.
Any new Legend of Zelda.

I also wanted MadWorld cause I loved the style, but the game was meh.

 

[Kupfer]

Pokemon Gold/Silver. I was like 12 y/o and everyone at my school was hyped beyond belief. We even went to a electronics store and asked so much about the game that the dude imported one of those multi game cartridges that came with the japanese version of the game, which would crash right before the Pokemon league, I guess because of lack of space.

Other games I've been super hyped about were Metroid Prime, Dark Souls 2, Elden Ring, SMT V and Dragon's Dogma 2. There have been many other but I think those had me the most hyped. I remember even dreaming about Dark Souls 2 and yes, my dream was way better than the final game.

Oh yes, being of school age when the Pokemon games, series and trading cards were big was unreal. It really felt like Pokemon were part of our lifes.

 

[Hawk The Slayer]

I was really hyped for Elder Scrolls V Skyrim before it's release and the same with Fallout 4. So I guess my next two games that I'm looking forward to the most would be Elder Scrolls VI and Fallout 5. There's tons of games I'm really hyped above but Fallout and Elder Scrolls would be the highest for me.

 

[Superkewl]

Think the only game I ever got hyped for was Cyberpunk. While I do like the final product, still doesnt come close to the hype before launch.

 

[Danjin44]

Before this game I never thought we get new Nier because Nier Gestalt didn't received well and also sold poorly.

 

[Azelover]

Shenmue for the Dreamcast. I got a japanese copy of it. Played the whole game holding a dictionary.

Virtua Fighter 3 was incredible. I played it a lot in the Arcades back in 97. Actually I'm what's considered a master at VF3. I won a bunch of tournaments. I even got prizes, they gave me a themed T-shirt and a hat. I was about 13.

 

[Shubh_C63]

I was actually most excited for Starfield & StarCraft 2

I missed the train with Skyrim & Fallout, and with a space theme I was hell bent on getting it Day1. Even upgraded my SSD for it. What a shame.

 

[Robb]

Super Smash Bros. Brawl for me. I don’t think anything will ever come close. That game kind of deflated my hype levels for everything else afterwards.

 

[PeteBull]

Those are all amazing games u listing guys, but if we talking global overall most anticipated game of all time



over 216m views with 11,7m+ likes/only 235k dislikes
Its not even a contest, since its predecesor sold over 200m copies too

 

[CliffBronger]

Fallout 3 and Cyberpunk

 

[violence]

Zelda OoT
Perfect Dark
Metal gear solid 2

I tried to ignore hype sometime after. I’d rather just enjoy games than be disappointed.

 

[Hawk The Slayer]

I was actually most excited for Starfield & StarCraft 2

I missed the train with Skyrim & Fallout, and with a space theme I was hell bent on getting it Day1. Even upgraded my SSD for it. What a shame.

Starcraft was already released for years by the time I got into that game but I remember I was really hyped for Starcraft 2 when it was announced.

 

[RetroGamingUK]

Shenmue for the Dreamcast. I got a japanese copy of it. Played the whole game holding a dictionary.

Virtua Fighter 3 was incredible. I played it a lot in the Arcades back in 97. Actually I'm what's considered a master at VF3. I won a bunch of tournaments. I even got prizes, they gave me a themed T-shirt and a hat. I was about 13.

Yeah Shenmue was another game that, when revealed (as Project Berkeley) looked and sounded absolutely incredible. The scale and detail of the world along with the variable weather really excited me when it was announced

 

[Hawk The Slayer]

Those are all amazing games u listing guys, but if we talking global overall most anticipated game of all time



over 216m views with 11,7m+ likes/only 235k dislikes
Its not even a contest, since its predecesor sold over 200m copies too

Definitely over 200 million lifetime copies sold, biggest game of the 21th century. Can't wait for this too since Vice City is my favorite GTA city and I'll like to see a current gen graphic version of it!

 

[Azelover]

Yeah Shenmue was another game that, when revealed (as Project Berkeley) looked and sounded absolutely incredible. The scale and detail of the world along with the variable weather really excited me when it was announced

Exactly. They showed so many things ahead of time. Yu Suzuki really played with my imagination. It was wonderful, magical.

 

[xVodevil]

Diablo 3-4
Heroes of Might and Magic 5-6-7
Resident Evil 6 and later games
Splinter Cell Chaos Theory
Max payne 3
Witcher 3
MGS V

 

[Labadal]

I was unreasonably hyped for Final Fantasy IX, and Octopath Traveler II. Both games delivered.

In second place, it would have to be Yakuza 5.

 

[Killjoy-NL]

The one and only GOAT:

 

[Hawk The Slayer]

Fallout 3 and Cyberpunk

I remember not being too hyped for Fallout 3 since I was used to Morrowind and Oblivion and never played a Fallout game before. Glad I played it and Fallout 3 is now one of my favorite games of all times modded. Which caused me to be mega hyped for Fallout 4.

 

[jmiller180]

Definitely Halo 2 and Halo 3 for me. With Halo 2, the hype leading up to it was through the roof. The preview videos promised a lot and I felt the game delivered on everything, with the exception of the story and its ending. Halo 3 releasing on the relatively new Xbox 360 was an amazing introduction to the HD era. Being a teenager certainly helped with my enthusiasm.

As an adult I was moderately excited for Cyberpunk 2077 and Starfield. I don't get as excited for releases any more - could be age, exposure over the years, or disappointment like from those titles I just mentioned

 

[Golgo 13]

For me:

Red Dead Redemption 2 - Lived up the the hype. One of the few that did. Probably the most immersive video game ever, and still one of the best despite some valid criticisms regarding combat etc.

God Of War: Ragnarok - Huge disappointment after loving the 2018 game. Way too much focus on the Son, not enough carnage or set pieces, too long, poor pacing, etc.

Batman: Arkham Knight - Another disappointment after City/Asylum. I remember doing one of the vehicle “side missions” where you had to race around a Joker themed track and thinking “They really made a big mistake here. What the fuck is this?”

Bioshock: Infinite - After the opening 90 minutes or so, it was another letdown after the original Bioshock, but still solid.

Assassins Creed III: With the Ezio series being so great, the bland new protagonist and absurd bloat really brought it down. Tried too many things, didn’t succeed at any of them.

If I can think of more I’ll edit, but those are the ones that really stand out.

 

[analog_future]

Shenmue
Sonic Adventure
Halo 3
Half-Life 2
Cyberpunk 2077
The Last of Us Part II

 

[killatopak]

Anything Resident Evil.

 

[JimmyRustler]

Metal Gear Solid 2 and nothing sill ever top that hype of mine.

Skyrim was also crazy iirc but kot even close to MGS2. It was like the 2nd coming. Had a magazine with a report on the game that I prolly read 100+ times.

 

[HeWhoWalks]

1994:

2005:

2008:

 

[Hawk The Slayer]

Anything Resident Evil.

Any decent budget Resident Evil game is always awesome and welcomed be it sequels or remakes.

 

[cireza]

My pick is Shining Force III. I would see previews month after month in French magazine Mega Force, and eventually got the game day-one. And it was even better than I anticipated. An absolute timeless masterpiece.

In recent years, my anticipation mainly goes towards Sonic Team / SEGA Japan internal (not RGG) / Koei Tecmo / Team Ninja / Retro Studios games.

 

[Jinxed]

Everquest, World of Warcraft, FF7 and Diablo 2

 

[Hawk The Slayer]

Everquest, World of Warcraft, FF7 and Diablo 2

Warcraft 3 and it's expansion was some of the best things ever especially with all the cool custom games which inspired many other games out there. World of Warcraft was definitely a great game. It was like some next gen high budget MMORPG too compared to the rest. Still my favorite mmorpg till this day if I have to choose one now.

 

[darth.shrimp]

Probably Baldur's Gate 2. The first one was still in my Top 5 of all times, but man, the articles about the second one made me super hyped; it looked absolutely gorgeous, there was supposed to be even more classes (I really had no idea what "kits" were but it sounded awesome lol), the promise of having your own castle to manage... and it definitely delivered.

 

[ap_puff]

Starcraft 2, but it didn't really live up to the hype. Great game but one of those situations where the expectations became unrealistic due to overhype

 

[Hohenheim]

The oldest one that pops to mind is resident evil 2.
I Remember reading about it in magazines and being mind blown about the graphics, the fact that it had many zombies on screen at the same time etc.
Then the demo came as part of the directers cut edition of the first one... played it to death.
When the actual game released I was so hyped and ready. I still remember the sensational joy when I got to the part where the demo ended, and I could actually continue playing... pure bliss.

Also, Metal Gear Solid 2.
Again, the demo was played to death! (Part of the Zone of the Enders game, which was ok - but I brought it just for the mgs2 demo.

Most recent: Elden Ring, without a doubt.

 

[Jinxed]

Warcraft 3 and it's expansion was some of the best things ever especially with all the cool custom games which inspired many other games out there. World of Warcraft was definitely a great game. It was like some next gen high budget MMORPG too compared to the rest. Still my favorite mmorpg till this day if I have to choose one now.

I think Everquest has a soft spot for me. I played Ultima online up until Everquest came out and the change to 3d with the immersion was just incredible. A lot of people who worked on WoW was big EQ fans and definitely inspired by it.

I'll never live that EQ experience again, it was magical

 

[Mister Wolf]

Baldur's Gate 3
Breath Of The Wild
Xenoblade 2
Xenoblade 3
Fallout 4

In no order.

 

[Sub_Level]

Metal Gear Solid 4
Final Fantasy XIII

Both are decent games but neither one lived up to my expectations. Fuck.

 

[Heimdall_Xtreme]

Gravity Rush in ps4 and Gravity Rush 2

 

[SJRB]

At that point in time this was the wildest trailer I had ever seen.




This one was sick as fuck too. The game never really delivered on the promise this trailer makes (open world, large groups of enemies, patrols, oppressive atmosphere) but still a damn awesome trailer.

 

[Bruno_Arrais85]

Any mainline zelda game

 

[Gideon]

Next historical total war as long as I can play as the roman empire.

 

[Topher]

Jedi Knight 2: Jedi Outcast

The trailers showing the force powers were mind blowing at the time.