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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
00:27is
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 eighth 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
01:19today. Those monstrous bugs have mostly been ironed out, and the core game presents you with a classic
01:24Assassin's Creed experience. The patches have turned Unity into a much better product,
01:28and it's hard to think of a better option if you want to relive the old-school simplicity of the
01:32series. Plus, losing these technical issues helps you focus on the game's best-selling points like
01:37the gorgeous Parisian setting. Many were, rightfully, quick to write this one off upon its release,
01:43which is why not enough people know that it has much improved since.
01:469. 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 60-90 FPS, well over that of the 30 FPS cap that is found on
02:45consoles.
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.
02:518. 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.
03:06For Honor's online connectivity problems were dreadful, as the game didn't even run on dedicated
03:11servers. Then there were crashes and disconnects galore, which is naturally a death knell for any
03:16online multiplayer experience, and it also came with a fair few bugs, which remained consistent
03:20post-launch. This all led to a mass exodus of the player base, with For Honor's initial promise
03:25left to fester in disappointment. But as of right now, the game is in its best state that it's ever
03:30been. There are still plenty of problems, but the game runs much smoother. The online connection is
03:34stronger, and 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
04:071986 film
04:08Aliens to the FPS action genre was mouth-watering, especially after those epic gameplay footage
04:13trailers. But then it came out, and gamers felt as though a xenomorph had ripped their hearts out.
04:17There were bugs everywhere, game-breaking glitches, and most egregiously of all, utterly abysmal AI on
04:23the titular aliens. If the terrifying enemies barely functioned, then why even bother playing
04:27this game? However, that last issue has, in a rather unexpected turn of events, been vastly
04:31improved. It was discovered years later, as revealed in a report from Kotaku, that a typo in
04:36the game's coding was actually messing up the creatures, and fixing it made them a hell of a lot
04:40smoother. Shockingly, this improvement was diagnosed and executed not by Gearbox, but by an
04:45intrepid modder. Of course, the game is still far from being an excellent title, but with that issue
04:50fixed, it's at least worth trying. 6. Street Fighter V
04:53With the release of Street Fighter VI this year, it's safe to say that Street Fighter fans are
04:57eating 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 did it
05:12experience a slew of technical issues like its broken servers and bugs, but it was also missing a bunch
05:16of content. I mean, where were all the bloody fighters? The roster was tiny! Plus, there wasn't even an
05:21arcade mode! How could this even be called a AAA 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
05:402020 and 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
06:09Shadow of Mordor should have been a loving exploration of the iconic fantasy property
06:13and an update to the game's nemesis system, but its use of microtransactions and controversial
06:18endgame left 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 the
06:27issue by making a series of improvements. One of the most notable updates was the complete removal
06:31of the marketplace. Bye-bye, microtransactions! And the endgame was also revamped, with the number
06:36of missions required to complete the Shadow Wars greatly reduced. Beforehand, the game's true
06:40ending was locked away behind a monstrous grind, which encouraged you to spend real-life money on
06:45loot boxes to try and get useful gear. But if you want to pick the game up now, you won't
06:48experience
06:49such 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.
06:57It was
06:58a 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, those damn
07:06matchmaking issues. The multiplayer connectivity problems were so bad that it caused fans to turn
07:11on the 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. This vicious
07:25cycle continued on for some time, like a snake eating its own tail. But thankfully, things did
07:29eventually get better, even if many had already moved on. By 2018, the patches produced for the
07:34title managed to get it into a more playable state. There were still problems, but they were
07:38less common. In 2023, though, the game is very much worth it, with the majority of issues nowhere to be
07:43seen and plenty of incentive to enjoy the once-died multiplayer suite. 3. Mass Effect Andromeda
07:49Returning to the world, or universe of Mass Effect, was something that fans were pretty skeptical
07:54about. The Bioware trilogy was, barring a controversial ending, pretty much perfect, and sometimes it's nice to
07:59just leave things alone. Sadly, all of those fears were realized when Andromeda came out,
08:03and it was utterly laughable. Just like AC Unity, you only need look at a couple of shots of the
08:08game's poorly rendered characters to see what was wrong here. Space might be scary, but the
08:12horrendously 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. Andromeda
08:33still has its problems, as following up on the previous games was just an insurmountable task,
08:37but it's a lot less broken now, with many of the technical issues being eradicated. If you want a
08:41galaxy-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 game
09:06could be seen instantly, as it was decided that this would be a multiplayer-only AAA release with
09:10no story mode. While not every Battlefield game has come equipped with a full single-player campaign,
09:15it has been a recent trend for the series for one to be included, and it became an instant turnoff
09:19for a lot of players that BF2042 did not even include one. Then there was the gutting of the
09:24class-based system that left a sour taste in many mouths. This all somehow got even worse
09:29after 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,
09:38they 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,
09:47the class system was then reinstated, and post-launch content has added depth to the game. It's no
09:52surprise that many slept on this title, but if you liked the franchise, you might not be as
09:56disappointed to dip your toes back in. 1. Star Wars Jedi Survivor
10:01Star Wars Jedi Survivor was quick to become the whipping boy for gamers everywhere, as they pointed
10:05to it and said, well, AAA games should not come this broken. Truthfully, this backlash was entirely
10:10justified, especially considering that the title was supposed to be a shining beacon of next-gen gaming,
10:15but EA have done their best to remedy it, with September 2023's Patch 7. Survivor was released with
10:21plenty of noticeable bugs and a deplorable habit of dropping frame rates, especially whilst in
10:25performance mode. And while you can forgive lag in some titles, it's hard to write it off in a
10:30game like this, which takes the souls-born approach to combat. Losing a couple of frames when you need
10:34frame-perfect precision is a death sentence to Cal, which becomes very obvious during boss fights and
10:39battles with large hordes of enemies. However, finally, gamers can play this game at 60 fps on
10:44consoles thanks to recent updates. The game runs far better now, as the performance mode has been
10:49reworked. The save system has also been tweaked to avoid save game corruption, bug fixes have been
10:53implemented, and plenty of other issues have been addressed. Now would definitely be the time to
10:57pick this game up if you're waiting for it to get fixed. And there we go, my friends, those were
11:0110
11:01broken AAA video games you didn't realize got fixed. I hope that you enjoyed that, and please let me know
11:06what you thought about it down in the comments section below. As always, I've been Jules, you have
11:09been awesome, my friend. Hope you're treating yourself well, and also, big love from me to you,
11:13you massive ledge. Now go out there and absolutely smash it. And also, while I've got you,
11:17why don't you swing it over to the FGS, or Future Game Show YouTube channel,
11:20where I'm doing all of my gaming content going forward, and it would be lovely to see
11:23you over there, my friends. Until then, take it easy, big love, goodbye.
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