- yesterday
Sometimes waiting a year or two gets you a great game.
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00:00Now, AAA gaming is a medium that comes with a boatload of great feelings, but there is a yin
00:05to that yang. For every amazing AAA experience, you get plenty that missed the mark, and it's
00:10become all too familiar a feeling for players to get their hands on a game that they're
00:14incredibly excited about, only to find it in a broken and unplayable state. This has led to
00:19growing frustrations within the gaming community, and even some of the best studios can suffer from
00:24this, and at the end of the day, nobody wants to waste their money. But you know what, while it is
00:28easy to point the finger at developers and say, you have ruined my game, there are plenty of times
00:32when a broken title actually gets repaired, becoming closer to what they originally promised.
00:37So let's take a look at them as home jewels, this is whatculture.com, and these are 10
00:40broken AAA video games you didn't realise got fixed.
00:4410. Assassin's Creed Unity
00:46Oh wow, that is a face that sunk a thousand consoles, just look at it. Seeing the once
00:52phenomenal Assassin's Creed franchise turned into a joke was a pretty big gut punch back
00:57in 2014. The highly anticipated release of the 8th mainline AC game was met with jeers and
01:02boos when it arrived with so many glitches and bugs that you could barely look at it,
01:06let alone play it. The infamous picture of a faceless Arno with his eyes and teeth exposed
01:11became the poster child for criticising AAA game development. That was the case then,
01:15but how does it stand up now? Well shockingly, the game is much better if you pick it up and
01:19play today. Those monstrous bugs have mostly been ironed out, and the core game presents you
01:23with a classic Assassin's Creed experience. The patches have turned Unity into a much better
01:28product, and it's hard to think of a better option if you want to relive the old-school
01:32simplicity of the series. Plus, losing these technical issues helps you focus on the game's
01:36best-selling points like the gorgeous Parisian setting. Many were, rightfully, quick to write
01:41this one off upon its release, which is why not enough people know that it has much improved since.
01:46Number 9. Batman Arkham Knight on the PC
01:49If you picked up Batman Arkham Knight on the PS4 or Xbox One back in 2015, then barring some
01:54potential frustrations with the Batmobile or the story, you were likely more than happy. But then
01:58there were those unlucky few who grabbed a PC copy, and oh boy, happiness was the last thing on their
02:04minds. You see, the PC port of the Caped Crusaders battle against the Arkham Knight was woefully
02:08broken. Playing it was damn near impossible, as it was the victim of all of the worst problems a game
02:13can face. You had severe lag, poorly loading textures, unpredictable frame rates, and crashes,
02:19crashes, crashes. Batman would not stand for this. However, somehow, Rocksteady managed to turn public
02:24opinion round, even if not many people, console gamers especially, as she knew about it. Nowadays,
02:29the PC port of the game is not only good, but according to ScreenRant, is arguably better than
02:34the console versions. The bugs, glitches, and constant crashes are nowhere to be seen, and it runs at a
02:39buttery smooth frame rate of 60 to 90 FPS, well over that of the 30 FPS cap that is found on consoles.
02:46After this port's dire release, many avoided it like the plague, but now you'll have no trouble
02:50running it on PC. 8. For Honor
02:53A multiplayer action game where you take on the role of a Viking, a samurai, or a knight, I mean,
02:57this should have been a massive IP for multiplayer gaming. Sadly, it was a concept that Ubisoft
03:02immaculately fumbled, as it was broken as a shield is after being whacked with a warhammer. For Honor's
03:07online connectivity problems were dreadful, as the game didn't even run on dedicated servers.
03:12Then there were crashes and disconnects galore, which is naturally a death knell for any online
03:17multiplayer experience, and it also came with a fair few bugs, which remained consistent post-launch.
03:21This all led to a mass exodus of the player base, with For Honor's initial promise left to fester in
03:26disappointment. But as of right now, the game is in its best state that it's ever been. There are still
03:31plenty of problems, but the game runs much smoother. The online connection is stronger,
03:35and the bugs are lesser. Plus, there's two brand new factions, the Wulin and the Outlanders.
03:40While the number of active players has definitely dwindled, there is still a dedicated fanbase,
03:44so you'll still be able to enjoy the challenging combat against some other skilled gamers. For
03:48Honor will never be the game-changer that it was supposed to be, but it is definitely worth a play.
03:537. Aliens Colonial Marines
03:55Is Aliens Colonial Marines the biggest missed opportunity in gaming? Well, that's a tough question
04:00to answer because there's so many other options to choose from. But still, the fact that so many
04:03people think it is kind of says it all. The idea of a video game tying the aftermath of the 1986
04:07film Aliens to the FPS action genre was mouth-watering, especially after those epic gameplay
04:13footage trailers. But then it came out, and gamers felt as though a xenomorph had ripped their hearts
04:17out. There were bugs everywhere, game-breaking glitches, and most egregiously of all, utterly
04:21abysmal AI on the titular aliens. If the terrifying enemies barely functioned, then why even bother
04:27playing this game? However, that last issue has, in a rather unexpected turn of events,
04:31been vastly improved. It was discovered years later, as revealed in a report from Kotaku,
04:35that a typo in the game's coding was actually messing up the creatures, and fixing it made
04:39them a hell of a lot smoother. Shockingly, this improvement was diagnosed and executed not by
04:44Gearbox, but by an intrepid modder. Of course, the game is still far from being an excellent title,
04:49but with that issue fixed, it's at least worth trying.
04:526. Street Fighter V
04:53With the release of Street Fighter VI this year, it's safe to say that Street Fighter fans are
04:58eating bloody well, but there was a time when lovers of this seminal fighting franchise were
05:02being fed utter rubbish. Enter Street Fighter V. The release of the fifth mainline Street Fighter
05:07game was not a smooth showing for Capcom. It arrived in a deeply unfinished state, and not only
05:11did it experience a slew of technical issues like its broken servers and bugs, but it was also missing a
05:16bunch of content. I mean, where were all the bloody fighters? The roster was tiny. Plus, there wasn't even
05:21an arcade mode. How could this even be called a triple-A release when it was missing so much? Many disappointed
05:26players had to accept this and move on, but a blessing came two years later with Street Fighter
05:31Arcade Edition. This free updated version of the game fixed a lot of bugs and added plenty of content
05:36to make up for the latest release. And if that wasn't enough, the Champion Edition then came in 2020
05:41and buffed the title up even more. With Street Fighter VI kicking butt right now, it's funny to
05:45look back at how Capcom nearly caused this iconic IP's health to drop to zero.
05:505. Middle-Earth Shadow of War
05:52So let's just shout this one quickly from the rooftops. Microtransactions ruin single-player
05:57games! Now, to be fair, they often ruin multiplayer games as well, but there's just something so much
06:01worse about cramming them into a game that absolutely has no space for them. Unfortunately,
06:05though, that is what happened with Shadow of War. This follow-up to the awesome Middle-Earth Shadow
06:09of Mordor should have been a loving exploration of the iconic fantasy property and an update to the
06:14game's nemesis system. But its use of microtransactions and controversial endgame
06:19left people angrier than Gandalf whenever Pippin breaks something. However, while these maligned
06:23features caused problems at first, the devs eventually listened to their fans and fixed
06:27the issue by making a series of improvements. One of the most notable updates was the complete
06:31removal of the marketplace. Bye-bye, microtransactions! And the endgame was also revamped,
06:36with the number of missions required to complete the Shadow Wars greatly reduced. Beforehand,
06:40the game's true ending was locked away behind a monstrous grind, which encouraged you to spend real-life
06:44money on loot boxes to try and get useful gear. But if you want to pick the game up now, you won't
06:48experience such troubles. 4. Halo Master Chief Collection
06:52The Master Chief Collection felt like it was going to be the holy grail for Halo fans back in 2014.
06:58It was a chance to return to one of the greatest gaming franchises ever produced and the iconic
07:02multiplayer mode that brought so much joy to gamers. Then came the matchmaking issues,
07:06those damn matchmaking issues. The multiplayer connectivity problems were so bad that it caused fans to turn on
07:12the game instantly, as you could barely even make it into an online game, and if you did,
07:16you'd experience heaps of trouble. 343 Industries fanned the flames by publicly apologizing,
07:21then repeatedly claiming to have fixed the issues before players realized they hadn't.
07:24This vicious cycle continued on for some time, like a snake eating its own tail.
07:28But thankfully, things did eventually get better, even if many had already moved on. By 2018,
07:33the patches produced for the title managed to get it into a more playable state. There were still
07:37problems, but they were less common. In 2023, though, the game is very much worth it, with the
07:42majority of issues nowhere to be seen and plenty of incentive to enjoy the once-dire multiplayer suite.
07:473. Mass Effect Andromeda
07:49Returning to the world or universe of Mass Effect was something that fans were pretty
07:53skeptical about. The Bioware trilogy was, barring a controversial ending, pretty much perfect,
07:58and sometimes it's nice to just leave things alone. Sadly, all of those fears were realized when
08:02Andromeda came out, and it was utterly laughable. Just like AC Unity, you only need look at a couple
08:07of shots of the game's poorly rendered characters to see what was wrong here. Space might be scary,
08:12but the horrendously uncanny faces pulled by these characters, well, they make cosmic horror look
08:16like nothing. It wasn't just poor animation, though, as bugs and glitches also plagued every
08:20step of the game. Besides the technical issues, players were also disappointed with the lackluster
08:24story that came far from capturing the epic scale or emotion of The Adventures of Commander
08:28Shepard. All that said, though, the game has had multiple upgrades since its release.
08:32Andromeda still has its problems, as following up on the previous games was just an insurmountable
08:36task, but it's a lot less broken now, with many of the technical issues being eradicated. If you
08:41want a galaxy-spanning sci-fi adventure, this is a flawed yet fairly decent option.
08:452. Battlefield 2042
08:47The ups and downs of the Battlefield franchise are about as tepid and unpredictable as being out in the
08:52middle of an ocean during a storm. An all-time low for the franchise, though, was undoubtedly
08:57Battlefield 2042, which rocked the gaming world with its poor decision-making. But those who are
09:02playing it now, well, they're singing a slightly different tune. EA's bizarre choices for this
09:05game could be seen instantly, as it was decided that this would be a multiplayer-only AAA release
09:10with no story mode. While not every Battlefield game has come equipped with a full single-player
09:14campaign, it has been a recent trend for the series for one to be included, and it became an
09:18instant turn-off for a lot of players that BF2042 did not even include one. Then there was the
09:24gutting of the class-based system that left a sour taste in many mouths. This all somehow got even
09:29worse after the game was released. Players were met with a metric ton of issues like extensive bugs,
09:34awful server connectivity problems, and a general lack of features. Whoever paid full price for this,
09:39they felt robbed. But that was then, and EA has surprisingly turned this game around. The company
09:43has patched away at the title and eradicated a lot of its technical issues. On top of that, the class
09:48system was then reinstated, and post-launch content has added depth to the game. It's no surprise that
09:53many slept on this title, but if you like the franchise, you might not be as disappointed
09:57to dip your toes back in.
09:581. Star Wars Jedi Survivor
10:01Star Wars Jedi Survivor was quick to become the whipping boy for gamers everywhere, as they
10:05pointed to it and said, well, AAA games should not come this broken. Truthfully, this backlash was
10:10entirely justified, especially considering that the title was supposed to be a shining beacon of
10:14next-gen gaming. But EA have done their best to remedy it, with September 2023's Patch 7.
10:20Survivor was released with plenty of noticeable bugs and a deplorable habit of dropping frame rates,
10:24especially whilst in performance mode. And while you can forgive lag in some titles,
10:29it's hard to write it off in a game like this, which takes the Soulsborne approach to combat.
10:32Losing a couple of frames when you need frame-perfect precision is a death sentence to Cal,
10:37which becomes very obvious during boss fights and battles with large hordes of enemies.
10:40However, finally, gamers can play this game at 60 FPS on consoles thanks to recent updates.
10:46The game runs far better now, as the performance mode has been reworked. The save system has also
10:50been tweaked to avoid save game corruption, bug fixes have been implemented, and plenty of other
10:54issues have been addressed. Now would definitely be the time to pick this game up if you're waiting
10:59for it to get fixed.
11:00And there we go, my friends. Those were 10 broken AAA video games you didn't realize got fixed. I hope
11:05that you enjoyed that, and please let me know what you thought about it down in the comment section
11:08below. As always, I've been Jules. You have been awesome, my friend. Hope you're treating yourself
11:11well. And also, big love from me to you, you massive ledge. Now go out there and absolutely smash
11:16it. And also, while I've got you, why don't you swing over to the FGS, or Future Game Show,
11:19YouTube channel, where I'm doing all of my gaming content going forward, and it'll be lovely to see
11:23you over there, my friends. Until then, take it easy, big love, goodbye.
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