(electronic chiming) - [Falcon] Let's face it,
some games just don't succeed. They had the budget, a
ton of marketing, and... (computer error chiming) So, it didn't last. That doesn't mean there
was no good content in it. Hi, folks, it's Falcon,
and today on Gameranx, 10 genius missions in flop games. Starting off at number
10, "Marvels Avenger's" To Find Olympia. What's weird about "Marvel's Avengers" is that there's a shell
of a great game in here, but it is all held down by
that game as a service junk tied around its ankles
like a ball and chain. I mean, the game makes a
pretty good first impression, as long as you can get past the weird-looking knockoff Avengers. I mean, seriously, they look
like the Dollar Tree versions of various action figures. It's not there. Not quite there. But beyond that, the first stretch of the game isn't bad. Makes the game look like it's all gonna be pretty good actually, but it then goes on forever. Anyways, the second main
mission of the campaign, not counting the prologue, is probably one of the game's best. For one thing, it really
lets you cut loose as the Hulk for the first time. Even if what you can actually
do is kind of limited, the level's really well-paced and mixes things up every so often. And even has you switch back to Kamala Khan for a section. Like it's, in general, really fun and a cinematic level that ends with one of the highlights
of the entire game, a fight with one of the actually very few supervillains that
show up in it, Abomination. It's not the best fight
in the world or anything, but it looks great and it caps off with what
is really genuinely a fun and action-packed mission. And (sighs) everything pretty much starts to go downhill
immediately afterwards. This game then introduces the War Table with all the boring multiplayer missions. It's hardly the best mission of all time but compared to everything
else in the game, and just the fact that it's actually a really fun, enjoyable level, it deserves a spot at
number 10 on this list. (Hulk growling) - [Hulk] Shut up! - [Falcon] At number nine
is "Hitman: Ablution's" Shaving Lenny. "Absolution" is no doubt the black sheep of the "Hitman" series, and with the three recent games all being probably the best "Hitman"
games of all time, it's easy to overlook "Absolution" as simply being a misstep
and not a lot more. It's easy to write off completely, but there are a few bright
spots here and there. What makes this game different
from other "Hitman" games is how it tries to be more
of a linear adventure, instead of being a series of open-ended assassination missions. I mean, it ends up giving us a lot of more confined environments
and less options. There's still a few of
the more traditional "Hitman" missions in the game and all of them are
pretty much the standouts. At the end of the day, the
best missions in this game still aren't as good as pretty much of the individual missions from any of the recent games, but that doesn't mean they're terrible. Shaving Lenny, in
particular, is a standout. In this mission, you're
tasked with taking out members of the Hope Cougars, and
there are a few fun methods for taking out each of these guys. The level itself is
also visually cool too, taking place in a pretty unusual setting for a "Hitman" game. The area's dense, detailed,
and really well designed, even if it has to be split into two parts. Some people prefer other
missions like the Chinatown one, but, for me, this one was the
most interesting environment combined with the most fun kills. And like I said, it's not as good as anything in the later "Hitman" games, but for "Absolution,"
definitely one of the best. At number eight, "Assassin's
Creed Unity's" time anomalies. Here's another game from a major franchise that sort of fell on its face at launch. You could come up with an entire laundry list of problems with this game, but the primary one was the bugs, well, and the performance
and the clunky gameplay, and the disappointing story. But I think that everybody
remembers the bugs more than any of those things. I don't really remember a lot
of the story at all, even. But those bugs! It's ironic because some of
the best missions in the game are kind of glitches. Like in-world, in the
story they are glitches. Every once in a while, the Animus, the thing projecting the simulated world that the past in the
"Assassin's Creed" universe takes place in, it starts to glitch out. The only way to survive is
to enter a time anomaly, which takes you to like
a different version of Paris throughout history. (grappling hook whirring) (lightening crashing) - [Woman] There you are! And you found the exit, good. It's an unstable vortex of energy, so there's no telling how it
will disrupt the simulation. - [Falcon] The first takes you
to turn to the century Paris and has you dodging trains, getting a good look at the Eiffel Tower, and an under-construction
Statue of Liberty. Pretty much all these
missions are pretty scripted but it's a really fun
little amusement park ride through a much more
modern version of Paris than the one you see in the game. The second anomaly takes you
to Paris during World War II where you get to climb the Eiffel Tower, and you're basically getting
shot at by German planes. The final anomaly, it's
actually the least interesting. It takes you back to medieval Paris, where you go under the Bastille. It's not as wild as dodging planes but it's also still a
pretty cool adventure. None of these missions needed to be there, and they add almost nothing
at all to the story, but being able to go on short little tours of different versions of the same location is a brilliant idea. And they only take a few
minutes each to complete, but they add so much to the game. At number seven, "The Order:
1886," Agamemnon Rising. For a mostly mediocre and
forgettable launch game, "The Order: 1886" does have
a real standout mission, the one where you infiltrate the blimp. The actual plot that's
supposed to be happening is kind of muddled and weird. Like your dudes know that rebels
have infiltrated the crew, but instead of just interrogating soldiers to find out who's a fake, they just sort of sneak around
and choke everybody out. Then when the shooting started, where were all these rebels hiding anyway? So, story-wise the
sequence is a little shaky, but the actual mission
itself is breathtaking. From the starting sequence where you repel down the side of a blimp, with all of London below,
to this ornate interior, it's just an all-around amazing
mission that still holds up. Most of these visuals
look like they could be from a PlayStation 5 game,
not a launch PS4 game. There's even a fun moment where you're supposed
to stop an assassination by identifying any fake
guards in a large room. It's a little too basic
to be called brilliant, but it's a really interesting moment. This one is all environmental
details and visuals. For me, the gameplay, not revolutionary. But again, this game
was kind of a short game and a little half-baked in terms of most of the other elements, but I feel was kind of intended
to be a tech demo of PS4 and therefore was really
linear, really specific, and really good-looking. Like impossibly good looking for its time. Of course, it deserved
the spot on this list. (guns blasting) At number six is "Silent Hill: Downpour." And we're basically just talking
about the side quests here. 'Cause you see, "Downpour" is kind of
a boring game, overall. Main story's nothing to write home about. Nothing particularly new happens. But if there's one good
thing about this game, it's the side quests. Now there's not much incentive
for doing these things in terms of in-game rewards, but in terms of creative design, this is where the game actually
does interesting things. Like your reward is that these
parts of the game are good. Like this one side mission that starts if you decide to investigate the theater, you can find rolls to film that allow you to enter the
movie that's being played. And you actually have to explore multiple films to find the solution. There's another with a gramophone, where you see someone get murdered while turning the music crank, and then save them by
turning the crank backwards to reverse the song. There's another creepy one where you can hunt down a missing girl by following a trail of ribbons that lead to the girl's tragic end. It's a lot of stuff like
that, and it's all optional, but it's easily the
best stuff in the game. (men grunts) And number five is "Duke
Nukem Forever's" Duke Burger. "Duke Nukem Forever" is a
universally reviled game for a good reason. The shooting is bad. The humor is sophomoric and
stupid, not in a good way. The level design is dull
and the list goes on. It's not a good game. Some of the humor you could get away with if it were a good game, it's not. That doesn't mean the
entire thing is terrible. There is one level that is at least pretty
interesting actually. At a certain point, you randomly
end up at this location. It's a fast food place, named after Duke Nukem
for whatever reason. And also, probably more
arbitrarily than the name, it's on top of a skyscraper, I guess. I don't really understand what's supposed to be happening here, but the level itself is really fun. There are these moving cups with little shrunken enemies inside, and you eventually get shrunk down and had to platform around
inside of a kitchen. Now, the controls are not great but it's a fun concept that
doesn't overstay its welcome. And the level really comes up with some creative uses for shrinking. It's kind of the only level that captures the classic "Duke Nukem 3D" feeling, where you're exploring an
interesting environment while blasting aliens. Rest of the game, totally
forgettable. Even bad. But the Duke Burger section's
actually kind of cool. (guns blasting) And number four is Hold
the Line from "Watch Dogs" in the "Bad Blood" DLC. Comparison to other games on
the list, it's not a bad game. Disappointing, to say
the least, but not bad. There's actually a few missions that really stand out as good. If I had to choose just one I'd probably go with Hold the Line though, it's from the "Bad Blood" DLC Like I said. Instead of playing the game as the world's most
generic man, Aiden Pearce, in the DLC you play as T-bone who is feuding with the hacker Defalt. And in this mission, his silo base gets assaulted
by an army of Fixer Thug. What makes the mission so great is how it actually incorporates
the mechanics of the game. The place you're defending
is filled with defenses that you can set off at
the press of a button. And with the amount of guys
you're expected to fight off, this is one mission in the game that really lets you cut loose with over-the-top hacking crap. In general, the "Bad Blood" DLC is a big improvement over the main game. Every mission in it's pretty strong, but this is my personal favorite. At number three, "Medal
of Honor: Warfighter's" vehicle levels. Now, EA's short-lived attempt
at "Call of Duty's" crown gave us the very forgettable
"Medal of Honor" reboot and its sequel, "Warfighter." And while they're nothing
to write home about, "Warfighter" at least had some
pretty great vehicle levels. Now, driving sections are definitely not unique to these kinds of games, "Call of Duty" is filled with them. But for some reason,
"Warfighter's" version is some of the best in terms
of both presentation, gameplay, and spectacle. The first one occurs relatively early and has you chasing down a car through the streets of Karachi, Pakistan. You start off at a port, then through some kind
of industrial plant, and then through narrow
streets in a small village. The level of immersion
going on is fantastic, with dust and mud coating the windshield and your guy realistically
using the handbrake when you make sharp turns. There's even a moment where you have to slowly
weave through dense traffic and you never see these in car chases. The second vehicle level
called Hello and Dubai, has you kidnapping a banker named Hassan and escaping through the
modern streets of Dubai while being chased by security forces. There's a real urgency to the mission that adds a layer of authenticity to it. And the way it's paced makes
it feel a lot more real than the sometimes overly quick pacing of "Call of Duty" driving sequences. The rest of the missions in the game are basically just "Call of
Duty"-style shooting galleries. But these two missions really stand out for being unusually well-paced
and incredibly thrilling. At number two is "Kane & Lynch: Dead Men," the big heist from Chapters 9 and 10. If anyone remembers
anything from this game, it is this mission. It starts with this daring
heist on top of a skyscraper and ends with an epic
shootout with the police through the Tokyo streets in
an obvious homage to "Heat." Now, if you're gonna
steal, steal from the best, and the game definitely did
that with these missions. The game itself is kind of ugly and janky but all of this is great. It starts off with this cool sequence where you repel down
the side of the building and ambush this meeting, followed by a crazy
shootout with security. From there, you work your
way down to the lobby where police have surrounded the building and it begins this actual war
through the streets of Tokyo. There's something really
surreal about a shootout through a location like this. It's all well rendered
and visually interesting in a way that the game just
isn't for the rest of the time. The heist part's mostly a cut scene and the rest of the mission's
kind of a big shootout, but it's such a cool
shootout it doesn't matter. If I'm ever going back to the game, it's mostly just to replay this mission. It's by far the best part of the game and one of the all-time
coolest missions out there. And at number one is "Resident Evil 6," the Leon Story, Chapter 1. Now, "Resident Evil 6" is a divisive game to say the very least. But if you ask people what
their favorite part about it is most people will probably
say it's the first part of Leon Story. If you don't know what
makes this an unusual game in the "Resident Evil" franchise, is that there's four separate campaigns. You can play as either Leon, Chris, Ada, or newcomer, Jake Muller. Each of them have their
own different style and tone in terms of story. Like Chris's campaign has a bit of a "Call
of Duty" flavor to it. Jake's is more of a slightly
action-adventure feel. And a lot of the horror
elements of the franchise are pretty significantly downplayed, especially when you compare this game to any other game in the series. And alongside that there's some pretty
annoying gameplay issues that kind of soured people on the game. In contrast, Leon's campaign brings back some of that
trademark spookiness. You battle old-school zombies, while you explore a weirdly
ornate small-town setting, at least for the first chapter, which is also arguably
the game's best chapter. The first chapter covers
this college campus where the story starts, along with a small portion
of the town proper. The environments are really
the highlight here too. The level of detail and
atmosphere is fantastic, on par with the best moments
in the entire series. The actual opening moments of Leon's story are a little slow. There's a lot of walking
and talking and cut scenes. But once you get through that,
the game really opens up. The whole section feels
like a bit of a prototype to the "Resident Evil 2" remake. And while that's probably the better game, no other "Resident Evil" game
gives you the level of freedom and movement that this one does. Like it's practically a "Metal Gear" game with the amount of different
moves you can pull off. I think the game really isn't quite as bad as its infamous reputation lets on, even if the rest of the
game is never quite as good as the opening moments of Leon's story. And that's all for today. Leave us a comment. Let
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