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The Worst Game Ever


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"How can a company release such a poor game, it's so boring." - Fothergill on Harry Potter & the Deathly Hallows Part 1

 

"I've been gaming for 18 years since I was 8 years old, no game has made me sick like this poor shitty game." - Vueguy on Kane & Lynch 2: Dog Days

 

"...this game not only should be free but we should get paid for making us play this shit." - louk76 on Spare Parts

 

"...just platted X-Blades and thought that was bad, well this... this takes 'bad' to a whole new level." - ratchet232 on Alone in the Dark: Inferno

 

"Is it just me or is this the hardest game to drive and most boring crap ever made." - Super Smith on Ferrari Challenge

 

"It's so frustrating I wanted to break everything in the room." - scuba on Sonic Unleashed

 

"God I regret putting this piece of shit in my PS3." - Da_Dope_Boy on Madden NFL 11

 

"Do they even test games anymore?" - JacobWHUFC on Terminator Salvation

 

 

The Worst Game Ever

As trophy hunters / enthusiasts, I think it's safe to say that roughly 99% of us have played a particularly bad and grueling game "for the trophies." Sometimes we get disgusted and quit on the game despite reports of an easy plat or 100%, and live with the eyesore on our profiles forever, a reminder that sometimes maybe we shouldn't play games just "for the trophies."

 

Other times we press on and finish the game, and force ourselves to get that plat or 100% because we are compelled to by OCD, some sick masochistic fascination or to challenge our patience and give the TV a final shouted "Fuck You!" with two middle fingers when the last trophy pops.

 

http://i27.photobucket.com/albums/c199/GoblinStands/Games/WorstGame_AMYHardTrophy.jpg

 

I played through AMY to 100% this past week (got it for cheap during the PS+ Halloween sale), which was a frustrating experience and a test to my patience, to say the least. I normally don't play bad or shoddy games. I generally take a look at the forums or reviews before starting a game, but in the end take it with a grain of salt. We all have our own opinions of what is bad or good, and I prefer to find out for myself. I have loved some games that have been universally bashed.

 

Sometimes we make threads about it. After seeing a thread in the AMY forum called "Worst game ever?", I decided to do a search and see what others I could find... which is where the quotes above come from. Lots of people think lots of games are the worst ever. Some are trollish, some are genuine:

 

AMY - Worst game ever?

Harry Potter & the Deathly Hallows Part 1 - Worst Game Ever!

WRC FIA World Rally Championship - This is The Worst Car game ever

Kane & Lynch 2 - One of the worst games in video game history, period!

Need for Speed: Shift - worst game ever in gaming history

Spare Parts - Worst game ever? Yes or no?

Alone in the Dark: Inferno - Worst game ever!!!

Death Track: Resurrection - Worst racing game ever?

PDC World Championship Darts Pro Tour - Worst Game Ever

Ferrari Challenge - Worst PS3 Game Ever

Sonic Unleashed - Worst Game Ever

Terminator Salvation - Worst game ever?

LittleBigPlanet - Worst Game EVARRRRR

Madden NFL 11 - Worst Game. Ever.

Aliens vs. Predator - the worst game ever

Leisure Suit Larry - Do! Not! Buy! Worst game of the year!!

 

And there are many more, some specific to things like the loading screen: Worst Loading Screen

 

Is It Really That Bad?

Now, I've played some of the games listed above. AMY, Alone in the Dark: Inferno, Sonic Unleashed, LittleBigPlanet... I even have the plats for Alone in the Dark and Sonic Unleashed. Many times when I see a thread called "worst game ever" and then play the game myself, my response is typically, "you don't play enough games if you think it's that bad."

 

Obviously people are frustrated and exaggerate. Gamers do that. We are masters of hyperbole. I do it, we all do it on occasion. I frequently talk to the TV when frustrated, and I'll say things like "This is IMPOSSIBLE!" only to get past that impossible section 20 minutes later.

 

But worst game ever? Hardly. Reminds me of a scene in Napoleon Dynamite...

 

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ge-SfYxfJDo]Napoleon Dynamite Pretty Much Worst Video Ever Made - YouTube[/ame]

 

As Kip says, like anyone could ever know what the actual "worst game ever" is. Many of those the Angry Video Game Nerd reviews would be up for the running, though. And I've played some that are abysmally bad. By far some of the worst games I have ever encountered were on the Atari 2600, when video games were in their infancy and some developers just did not know how to make a proper game. Ones like the legendary flop that was E.T. or the nonsensical and confusing Swordquest: Earthworld come to mind for me.

 

You don't know gaming agony until you've tried to complete one of those games - without the help of the internet or any guide. I can still remember with perfect clarity, sitting in the basement as a kid, in front of one of those huge console televisions, running around Earthworld for hours with no idea what I should be doing. Or trying to get E.T. out of that God-forsaken pit by pumping his head up and down with the crappy Atari joystick.

 

http://i27.photobucket.com/albums/c199/GoblinStands/Games/WorstGame_ET.png

 

I hate you E.T.

 

But such old games primarily suffered from bad level design. Games today can still be pretty sketchy, but even the worst ones of the last few generations are leaps and bounds above early video games. Game design and development have come a long way, and today games are bad for a different reason. Some still have bad level design, but to me there's been a shift, and now I think the biggest culprit is...

Edited by Vyrastas
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...The Controls

The controller is our interface into the game. It's the only way we can interact with it, provide input, influence the world. I personally cannot stand poor controls in a game. It's the most important element in developing a game, in my opinion. Without good controls, you can't even properly play the game.

 

Today's games are frequently 3D, with 12+ button controllers and dual analog sticks. This will inherently breed complications with controls as the number of commands and button combos increase. And so, when controls are complicated and clunky, awkward, non-intuitive or unresponsive, we get frustrated with the game, it gets harder than it really is... and when gamers like us (who play a lot of games, and should be above-average players in terms of skill) get frustrated, we get "worst game ever" threads and potentially break controllers.

 

http://i27.photobucket.com/albums/c199/GoblinStands/Games/WorstGame_BrokenPS3Controller.jpg

 

Everything seems to stem from bad controls now. Would you really call a game the "worst ever" because of the graphics? That's all subjective and a game can look like crap but still be very fun, so I don't think so. Occasionally a game is a glitch-fest or has a bad saving system, which is definitely frustrating, but virtually every game I've played that has gotten panned by reviewers and players had a bad control/input scheme as the main culprit. Think about the horrible games you've played and complained about and you may notice the same thing. Level design is generally secondary - if you can't get past the controls, who cares how bad the level design is.

 

AMY

I'm not going to get into a lot of examples, but let's look at AMY, since that prompted this entire article in the first place. There were other problems with this game initially (save system, unskippable cutscenes, status resets at checkpoints) that were addressed in a patch. But the worst offender is still the controls, which were left as is, from what I can tell.

 

The combat controls in this game are quite poor, almost as if they regressed a few generations. They might have been trying to make the game as realistic as possible, but when the game is Survival Horror, people are going to be tense and react appropriately and do things like mash attack buttons, try to turn quickly, run etc.

 

I don't know about you, but when I press a button, I expect a response - yet the animations in this game can't be interrupted, so you're left mashing your controller and yelling at the stupid bitch to move while she slowly straightens up into a "ready" stance after getting hit. Zombies surround her during this time and are about to hit her again and you can only flail about helplessly. I've never been attacked by zombies in real life, but if I were, I can tell you I would not react in that manner.

 

http://i27.photobucket.com/albums/c199/GoblinStands/Games/WorstGame_AMY.jpg

 

I mean... it looks cool, right?

 

Only when I learned to just press a button once and take things slow, and go against my gaming instincts, was I able to succeed. The combat became palatable... until they threw it out the window with infinite hordes of zombies later in the game. That's just one aspect of the shoddy controls in this game. If you want to know more... try it for yourself. If you dare.

 

Lesson Learned?

Now, I'm not saying that you should just get over bad controls or poor game design and "deal with it." I managed to for a few games which I ultimately loved. For something like AMY, I will never touch it again nor recommend it... unless you are craving a rather difficult and interesting 100% for your trophy collection... or you are a student of game design or a developer, in which case I order you to play it through to completion so you know what not to do in any future games you might help create.

 

I would hope that VectorCell and Lexis Numérique (developer and publisher of AMY) learned something as a result of the bad press / reviews the game got after release. Given how some companies keep putting out games with crappy controls, however, they probably won't, because some people still continue to buy them.

 

Um... like me, who bought AMY. :facepalm: I guess I didn't help, did I? Sorry.

Edited by Vyrastas
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LittleBigPlanet has a 'worst game ever' thread? :confused:

 

Nice read. Controls and by extension gameplay I've thought have always been the most important aspect of a game. If you can't play it, it's a crap game.

 

I haven't played any of the infamous games like Superman or E.T., so I would be one of those to say Spare Parts is probably the worst game (for it's time at least) that I have played. Not that I'd give it a 0/10, but it's certainly flawed when it comes to gameplay. I've learned not to play games just for the trophies after this.

 

Terminator: Salvation on the other hand I thought was quite enjoyable. :whistle:

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In the end, it all comes down to opinions, which are based on the games you've played. You can't actually know 'the worst game ever' until you've played them all. You can't ever (challenge accepted?) play all the games made.

 

One of the worst I've played recently, is American McGee's Alice. A while back I obtained the (P) for Alice Madness Returns. Not a bad game, but didn't like it. Just last week I finally decided to get my 100% for Alice Madness Returns. American Mcgee's Alice is an old game. Probably a good one for its time waaay back. But after playing it.. 'Worst game evah!1!!1!11' :p The controls are frustrating! Ugh. And it's a platforming game!

Edited by Vuule
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Nice post, good to see people complaining about what's important in a game (gameplay, controls) and not the least important factor (graphics).

 

And I was thinking of getting AMY on that offer lol ...Money saved.

 

Same, I was one-click away from buying it the other day, decided I've still got too much to play already and backed out. So glad I did, really don't need anymore raging at the TV/funds totally wasted

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Nice post, good to see people complaining about what's important in a game (gameplay, controls) and not the least important factor (graphics).

 

As much as I love a good story, I actually think it's the least important factor in making a good game. Graphics determine how pretty a game is, and surely something has to look good? Games are made of nothing but computer generated imagery after all.

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Everything is blown out of proportion nowadays.

 

"Worst game ever" is always subjective to what the person has played. Which isn't every game ever. So a more appropriate name for any game anyone complains about should be "worst game I've ever played."

 

I agree. Also, many people say that a game is the "worst ever" when they get stuck on a challenge or can't unlock a trophy. That doesn't make it a bad game necessarily, just difficult.

 

It's all down to opinion anyway, each person to their own.

 

Great read Vy, cheers :)

Edited by C-IRVINE-94
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Worst game ever for me so far is Tomb Raider: Underworld. Worst ever, ever.

 

As much as I love a good story, I actually think it's the least important factor in making a good game. Graphics determine how pretty a game is, and surely something has to look good? Games are made of nothing but computer generated imagery after all.

 

Hmm, I'd forgot about story, I could really go either way I don't consider either of them vital. Personally graphics don't bother me at all, I still play the original GTA even though it looks like poo by todays standards, and most stories I completely ignore lol there are some good ones though

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Extremely disappointed in this thread. Title is "the worst game ever" but not once did you talk about Okami. :p

 

Incidentally the reason I hate that game so *#%$ing much is because of the controls. They just don't work. So I pretty much agree with that half of the article. Since you mentioned AVGN, I feel it's only right to quote a line from the

: "What's the most aspect about any fucking game? Well being able to fucking play it!" Games are an interactive medium, that's what sets them apart from books, movies, music, and TV. It's not just reading, watching, or listening to something somebody else made. It's you playing and creating your own experience out of each game world. So when the controls are horribly broken, that game is nothing less than a colossal failure. I don't care how good your story is or how nice your graphics are if I can't play the game. I might as well watch the cutscenes on YouTube and save myself $60.

 

This is also why I'm insanely intolerant of games that crash all the time. How am I supposed to play the game if it keeps crashing or freezing or locking up and making me turn it off and try to restart it? This isn't something I can look past either. You can forgive a stupid plot or bad checkpoint system or less than stellar graphics if the game is still fun, but if you literally cannot play the fucking game, how do you expect me to forgive that? Maybe your game would be fun if I actually could play it, but how the hell would I know that when you released a horribly coded piece of shit that does nothing but crash crash crash? If I spend more time fighting with getting the game to work properly than actually playing it, then that game is also a colossal failure. Fuck Fallout New Vegas and Red Faction Armageddon, constantly crashing pieces of shit! :mad:

 

So yeah, things that really make a game stink? Things that stop you from playing them, and what to things are most universal in stopping people from playing: bad controls and constant crashing (making you literally unable to play even if you wanted to).

 

As for the other part of the article...

Everything is blown out of proportion nowadays.

 

"Worst game ever" is always subjective to what the person has played. Which isn't every game ever. So a more appropriate name for any game anyone complains about should be "worst game I've ever played."

 

Not really. That's about as dumb as all the people who whine "omg u stated ur opinion as fact cuz u didnt say imo!!" Anyone intelligent doesn't need to have imo tossed in there because they already know when something is an opinion. Same with "worst game ever". Anyone intelligent already knows that it's unlikely anyone saying it has played every game ever and that the person is obviously saying it's the worst game they've ever played. We don't need to waste our time writing out "worst game I've ever played" instead of "worst game ever" because we have this magical thing called common sense that tells us "gee, this person probably hasn't played every game ever, so they probably don't literally mean it's the worst game in existence".

 

Of course, let's get to the real meat of the problem (which is the same problem as the whole opinion/fact thing): that the reason people use these nonsense replies is because they disagree with the other guy's opinion. But rather than actually try to start a proper discussion or provide some actual counterpoints or thoughts on the matter, they just foolishly attack how the person picked their words in some vain hope that the person will delete their posts and stop saying bad things about a game they like. No, that's stupid. How about having actual discussions instead of whining over words?

 

I say it's high time for a change. Instead of letting people get away with saying things like "you should have used IMO" or "you should have said it this way because you haven't played every single game ever", we call them out. Point out that they've added nothing of value to the discussion. Report them for derailing the discussion. Mods, delete those posts and hit the offenders with warnings or infractions depending on how many times they've done it. Such posts are nothing but spam that add nothing to the discussions that are taking place, and furthermore, it's stupid spam that goes beyond being politically correct. You know just as well as I do that nothing was stated as fact or that they didn't mean that it's literally the worst game ever, so either add something useful to the discussion or help yourself to a nice cup of shut the fuck up.

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mjc verse

I know. I'm not saying everyone should stop saying "ZOMG WURZT GAIM EVAR"

 

I was merely pointing out, like you did, that "worst game ever" is merely an opinion based on the range of games one has played. It doesn't have to be said that its technically the worst game one has played, but that's how I understand it when I read "worst game ever". And I shouldn't have to say that it's my opinion in how it should be read, because we smart people imply that, right?

Edited by Slamma
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*scratches Amy off of possible games to play list*

 

Not that I ever considered it much anyway, but there's no way that I'll be playing Amy now. I can't stand games with bad controls. Since Amy has those, there's not chance in hell that I'll be playing it. Even if it became free for PS+, there's no way that I'll download it now.

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Leisure Suit Larry: Box Office Bust for me, and I've been playing video games since 1987.

 

I got it from Gamefly just for some easy trophies, and it was so broken, I couldn't finish it. I remember vividly screaming at my tv (similar to those terrible Gamefly commercials by the way), pushing the eject button on my PS3, and furiously stuffing that piece of dung back into the GF sleeve.

 

Just....awful.

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Still can't get over that dude claiming LBP is the worst game ever. Then again, like many have pointed out, he may well think that was his worst game. If he legitimately does believe it though, I feel sorry for him, LBP is surely one of those games you simply cannot hate.

 

A good read though. I couldn't possibly choose a worst game ever, but if I was limited to PS3 only, it would probably be Alpha Protocol or MAG.

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Still can't get over that dude claiming LBP is the worst game ever. Then again, like many have pointed out, he may well think that was his worst game. If he legitimately does believe it though, I feel sorry for him, LBP is surely one of those games you simply cannot hate.

 

A good read though. I couldn't possibly choose a worst game ever, but if I was limited to PS3 only, it would probably be Alpha Protocol or MAG.

 

Good thread Vy.

 

I wanted to share a few thoughts on this. I believe, respectfully, that the current generation of gamers is somewhat jaded when it comes to 'worst games'.

 

I'm not sure that there are any truly awful games now. I'm not sure that it is possible. There are games that don't work well, don't play well, and have poor quality control.

 

But the time and budget it takes to make a game now, IMO, ensures that all but the rarest of the rare, turn out to be at least playable.

 

Often times, I think the 'worst game' handles get placed on games that someone doesn't like. LBP would be an example. If you use any quasi-objective markers to evaluate the game, I don't see any way that it could be 'awful'. Not enjoying something doesn't make it awful. LBP had a good story, excellent controls, sharp graphics, some innovative features. Certainly not a candidate for 'worst game ever'.

 

Personally, I find a lot of the current multiplayer modes to be unenjoyable. In many cases, they don't work well - but that is a personal opinion. Doesn't make any of those 'worst games'.

 

There is probably more shovelware these days - movie tie ins, yearly sequels, etc. Most of these aren't going to be game of the year material, but almost all are playable.

 

The absolute worst game that comes to recent mind for me would be Turning Point:Fall of Liberty. Now that was a turd :whistle:

 

But, to come back to my original point. Like you Vy, I have been gaming for a lot of years. In fact, I still have my Atari 2600, and yes, there is still an original ET cartridge around here somewhere.

 

For those of us who have decades of gaming experience - some of those old games were horrid. Back then, there was very little media for games. I remember GamePro coming out as one of the first gaming mags - but even then, the reviews were typically after games were released. There was no internet, no forums like this. And you couldn't rent games anywhere - at least not around here. Back in the 80's we didn't even have Toys R Us in Canada - I had to have my parents drive me to Buffalo, New York to buy most of my games.

 

It was much easier to pass off a crap product. ET is the best example, but there were others. I remember reading about and waiting for months to get my hands on BaseWars for the NES. It was a disappointment to say the least.

 

Now, games like those would be destroyed on the internet before they ever saw the light of day.

 

I think as consumers we demand a lot more, and are probably much more critical of the product we receive. There are still bad games, but for the reasons above, I don't think we will ever see any truly terrible games again.

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Thanks for the comments everyone. :)

 

And I was thinking of getting AMY on that offer lol ...Money saved.

 

This has definitely sealed my thoughts for AMY, I'll surely be avoiding it now.

 

*scratches Amy off of possible games to play list*

 

Haha glad I could help steer a few people away from the game, it's manageable, but overall just not worth the stress.

 

Can't believe Damnation wasn't on this list. Tsk tsk

 

Oh I forgot about that one. I don't think it had an actual thread titled "worst game ever" though.

 

As much as I love a good story, I actually think it's the least important factor in making a good game. Graphics determine how pretty a game is, and surely something has to look good? Games are made of nothing but computer generated imagery after all.

 

Yeah story is not that important to me. I just want to have an entertaining and perhaps challenging experience. I've been able to do that on plenty of games with zero story.

 

Worst game ever for me so far is Tomb Raider: Underworld. Worst ever, ever.

 

I've got the plat on that one... AMY is worse, trust me.

 

Extremely disappointed in this thread. Title is "the worst game ever" but not once did you talk about Okami. :p

 

Okami is an awesome game, you're insane.

 

Fantastic post Vyrastas, nice Read. I think the worst games Ever are the Sly games, but I still played Through them because of the easy "platinums." It was simply too repetitive for me.

 

I loved the first Sly, but I don't like 2 or 3, felt they were a bit boring. They are easy to play, just boring for me.

 

Still can't get over that dude claiming LBP is the worst game ever. Then again, like many have pointed out, he may well think that was his worst game. If he legitimately does believe it though, I feel sorry for him, LBP is surely one of those games you simply cannot hate.

 

That one I felt was trollish. If you've played more than a handful of games this generation you'd know LBP is far from worst ever.

 

I'm not sure that there are any truly awful games now. I'm not sure that it is possible. There are games that don't work well, don't play well, and have poor quality control.

 

*snip*

 

I think as consumers we demand a lot more, and are probably much more critical of the product we receive. There are still bad games, but for the reasons above, I don't think we will ever see any truly terrible games again.

 

Yeah there aren't many complete disasters in games these days. They will release ones with bad controls or glitches, but they are still playable. Back in the day there was no real quality control and while I think it's a good thing that gamers are so critical now (and vocal about it), it can go too far. LBP isn't the worst game ever because someone sucks at playing it.

 

Really, if all games had proper controls, a "worst game" zap would ideally focus on the actual game mechanics, win/loss scenarios, etc etc... not things like controls, save points, story, etc.

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