Mentions in dispatches....
Worst let down-
Oblivion (PC)
Screwed-up economy, less of everything than Morrowind, enemies level up with you so you can't do the old 'I'll be back when I'm stronger' tactic. How is a skill with a dagger the same as a claymore? NPC's not noticing what race you are - them slagging off x race when you are an x. In fact, many of the pains in Fallout 3 started here first.
Not what it said on the tin-
Dungeon Siege (PC)
Pick a weapon type. Make sure you have supplies. Pick up a few NPC's. Every time you reach a town, buy better weapons and armour. Repeat for 20 hours. role playing? Yes, you play the role we tell you to. Henry Ford offered more colour choices for his Model T than the choices in this game.
Promising but too loooong and hard-
X2-The Threat (PC)
Big starships! Big battles! Yay? Well, to afford these things, you need to trade. Cue 20 hours of boring trading of energy crystals. Got some cash? Buy a another transport, continue trading. Repeat 10 times. Buy some space stations, but you have to micromanage them all 'cos the AI is really thick and will crash into asteroids or not supply your factories with the goods needed. All while you are flying yourself. And you can't pause and set them up like other simulations. As the levels of infomation stored for you is so little, you will need a brain the size of a football stadium to remember it all.
Bug central-
Moon Base 2020 (I think it was called) (PC)
Story - humans exticnt on Earth, only a base on the Moon survived. You have to re-build humanity. Hmm. However, you need copper to build anything. And the Moon does not have any. The only time I've seen a bug make the game literally unplayable.
Handles like a shopping trolley-
Blazing Skies (SNES)
WWI flying. Interesting concept. Only its controls mean if you do anything you will go into a nosedive. And you can't do anything to stop yourself. Cue the funural march.
What were they smoking?-
Dreams to Reality (PC)
Installed it. Tried again and again. Was unable to work out what to do. Literally. If anybody actually knows what this game was about, please tell me.