Hype-O-Meter 8/13/04
 

The Hype-O-Meter is updated today. It was an extremely difficult one to put together, but here's how it shook out:

1. Dreamfall (unchanged) - Beyond how revolutionary it promises to be, we're that much more excited because we know Ragnar Tornquist is just good at this.

2. Fahrenheit (unchanged) - After the new trailer, this came veeeeeeery close to #1.

3. Myst IV (up 2) - Great new website, awesome demo, tons of mainstream media attention...and appears to be a flawless game as well. Should be a huge boost for the genre.

4. Moment of Silence (up 3) - English-language publisher finally announced, official website opens today. A breath of fresh air for third person fans.

5. Beneath a Steel Sky 2 (down 2) - Okay, we couldn't really keep it at #3 forever considering we barely know it exists. I promise it'll go up once Revolution actually says something about it.

6. Still Life (down 1) - Not anything against this game...just a matter of the games we felt had to go above it.

7. A Vampyre Story (down 3) - Sharp decline shouldn't be a reflection of the game, but rather a cool-down of the early hype. I would think this is as low as this game will go.

8. Sherlock Holmes: The Silver Earring (up 1) - On the eve of this game's release, Sherlock fans hope that the quirks in the demo won't spoil an amazing storytelling experience.

9. Booby Trap (down 1) - Meh. Still #3 on my personal Hype-O-Meter, but the fans just don't seem to be buzzing about it. Which isn't necessarily a bad sign, since we're not really the ones Jane Jensen is targeting.

10. Runaway 2 (new) - A knock-down drag-out fight between this, The Westerner, and Lost Paradise has Pendulo on top (and thanks for the exclusive concept art, guys).

React to me! Show me your lightning bolts! (that's only funny if you're listening to the same radio show as me, so ignore it, but at least I make myself laugh)

I personally wouldn't be offended if BASS2 goes down to around 7, though some people probably would be. We haven't heard anything new about it. It seems the leaked confirmation a few months ago was publisher bait, and the project still has a ton of development ahead of it. It'll go up again eventually, but right now it doesn't have to be at the top of the radar.

I'm ashamed to say I almost forgot about Lost Paradise. Dang! I'm looking forward to that one. Sokal does the big things right... hopefully his team will manage to get the finer details right this time.

When the Hype-O-Meter started it was basically a group of five games fighting for the top spot, and then the rest of the spots getting filled with various games no one was really too excited about. It's a pleasure to see the top 10 has become a real battleground, with truly interesting titles in all slots, and three potentially good titles fighting for #10.

(It's so much fun checking the Hype-O-Meter now that I'm not closely involved in the selection process!)

Dreamfall is my first place . And I'm glad myst came up 2 places after hearing so many times that mysts are not ag.

I agree here. While it is always going to make the top ten, in my opinion, and while I firmly believe that Revolution will make something amazing, it's hard to justify a place when there is no information other than confirmation that it is in some form being made.