The second edition of
Reach for the Stars fits into this Category. I was on my "sabbatical" from SEIV at the time and saw RFTS on sale (yes, I ignored the first warning sign, but mea culpa
). I thought, why not, and bought it. Well, I didn't know it, but SEIV had ruined me as far as my expectations for being able to work with a game. Rearranging the given shipsets and scrolling percentage changes for environment and agressiveness was OK, but you didn't have much else to distinguish the various opponents (or your own race). And there was little else to flavor the game besides that. The combats looked neat, but just didn't have the same appeal as SEIV tactical - after awhile it just got boring watching two lines of ships blow each other up. The scrolling galaxy map looked nice, though. Good graphics. But gonzo graphics don't equate to keeping your attention ala replay value. And SEIV delivers that in spades, despite the "primitive" graphics.
Another nominee I'll spend less time on is
Starships Unlimited - Divided Galaxies. STUN had some interesting aspects, but in all honesty, the combat system was a royal pain - especially when you tried to fight things other than neutral planets' automated defenses. I gave up on STUN even quicker than on RFTS.
[ June 15, 2003, 21:59: Message edited by: General Woundwort ]