Talk:List of video games notable for negative reception

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The previous discussion has been archived, so I'll set up the nomination system again.

• Post all games for nomination here before adding them to the main page
• Provide a good reason for nomination, plus a minimum of three review sources, ideally from professional critics on well known sites rather than individual user reviews. Meta-review sites that give the game a very low average score (< 25%) are good. Old or obscure games may be allowed to have fewer reviews.

Savager 12:14, 18 September 2006 (UTC)

Game "nominations"

I've taken the undecided games from the archive. As you can see, a lot are missing sources. Also, can someone shorten the hyperlinks? I don't know how.

Airport Tycoon 2

From archive:

Airport Tycoon 2 (2002, PC) scores 0% at Rotten Tomatoes, has an average rating of 3.3/10 on that site, and is rated a rare two stars on Amazon.com. User:[email protected]

I would add it and even add my own opinion if the game installed correctly on my computer, but find another terrible review instead of amazon due to 2/5 equaling 4/10 or mediocre.guitarhero777777 22:44, 3 September 2006 (UTC)

Gamerankings 32% average

IGN review 2,5

Definitely one for this list. JackSparrow Ninja 18:17, 18 September 2006 (UTC)

Ambulance Driver

A terrible Crazy Taxi clone on the PC. It recieved a 1.4/10 on Gamespot.com, and users of Gamerankings.com gave it a 29%/100.Fableheroesguild 18:20, 23 April 2006 (UTC)

[1]

Batman Forever

[2]

Captain Novolin

An odd game designed to teach children about diabetes.

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[5]

GameRankings [6] mentions a site that game a 2.5/5 (50%) score to this game, but unluckily the review is no longer available. Let's see...other than that there's a bunch of negative Gamefaqs reviews [7], Abysmal player ratings at Gamespot[8]... well I guess it's an "unusual" game at most, which is rendered extremely hard by Captain's Novolin inability to attack...and the premise of the game is somewhat controversial ( this particular reviewer with diabetes [9] didn't particularly like the idea behind it). Nope, that's not a great game in my book. Further discussion? EpiVictor 00:32, 29 June 2006 (UTC) on seanbaby's list of the most horrible games and i'm sure some other ones as well. --Philo 04:09, 7 June 2006 (UTC)

It's terrible, add it. guitarhero777777 22:52, 3 September 2006 (UTC)

A hero whose weakness is diabetes? There's no way this can't be added. Savager 18:51, 12 September 2006 (UTC)

I don't think this is a bad game. Misguided, perhaps, but as a side-scroller it's just generic, not terrible. This is one reason why I'm trepadatious about citing Seanbaby as a source. He's a funny guy, but he's writing for comedy first, and makes it quite clear that his process of evaulating games is not making any attempt to be truly scientific or objective. The motivations behind calling Captain Novalin the worst game ever seem to lean closer to "lol game about diabetes wtf" than "this game is truly atrocious, and as one of the 20 worst games ever, it is worse than thousands upon thousands of other games". See the comment above for a good example of this reaction. Sorry if I come across as a humorless nerd in saying this, but he's no Roger Ebert. --70.108.116.231 04:28, 17 September 2006 (UTC)

Yes, but if you looked at the other reviews, Seanbaby isn't the only one who has deemed this game bad. Questionable (in any sense of the word) content of the game along with the poor gameplay aspects is a good enough reason to add it - games like Custer's Revenge and Ethnic Cleansing have their poor gameplay magnified by the questionable theme of the game. Granted this isn't as offensive (though people still took offense, see above) but I think it warrants an add. My earlier comment merely reflected the summarised opinion of the game. Savager 13:20, 18 September 2006 (UTC)

Club Drive

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I'm in favour of including this. Savager 21:42, 18 September 2006 (UTC)

Count Duckula 2 (ZX Spectrum)

This game received the lowest score by far in Your Sinclair magazine, receiving just 9% in December 1992 [14] I would find other review sources for it, but the publishers Alternative didn't send review copies to any magazine - YS had to buy it themselves months after it was originally released (hence the 'Ones That Got Away' tag on the review) - so they must have known it was pretty bad. Sorry I couldn't find a HTML/plain text source for the review; this is a magazine scan. --Stevefarrell 12:15, 4 September 2006 (UTC)

This is going to be a hard one to decide as it's very old and obscure. Perhaps we could do a "worst games by system" layout for the article and have this as one for the ZX Spectrum? Savager 21:42, 18 September 2006 (UTC)

Dark Castle

From archive:

Dark Castle (1991, Genesis) by Electronic Arts, a port of the black-and-white Macintosh game of the same name. The difficult controls of the Macintosh version (keyboard + mouse) were made even more difficult and unresponsive during the port to Genesis. The primitive sound effects were downsampled further (most likely due to the unorthodox compression algorithm used in the Macintosh version) and the graphics were barely colorized. All the bugs from the Macintosh version remain, and several were added.

Needs sources. Savager 21:42, 18 September 2006 (UTC)

Donkey Kong (Intellivision Version)

A terrible port of the arcade classic. Ranked 9th on GameSpy's 10 most shameful games of all time. [15] [16] Poor graphics, bad sound, bad controls, bad jumping, bad collision detection for the hammer, and only two of the levels from arcade version.

More substance and more reviews and you have a game warranting inclusion. guitarhero777777 22:53, 3 September 2006 (UTC)

Dragon Ball GT: Final Bout

[17]

[18]

ECW Hardcore Revolution

This is by far the worst wrestling game ever made. Gamespy gave it 2 out of 10, and IGN gave it a 4 out of 10, and for good reason. Acclaim put little to effort in this title, it feels too much like WWF Attitude, except with the ECW logo on it. This game has also failed to live up to its name, as in its not hardcore at all.

Fight for Life

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I think this is good to add. Savager 21:42, 18 September 2006 (UTC)

Gravity Games Bike: Street, Dirt, Vert

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[23]

From archive:

I would add it, plus add the fact that Official Playstation Magazine gave this a .5 out of 5. guitarhero777777 22:41, 3 September 2006 (UTC)

International Rugby Challenge (Amiga)

From archive:

see here (http://worldofstuart.excellentcontent.com/world/ap/rugby.htm) the review in british game magazine amiga power, it was so bad, because it basically didn't work at all, and therefore shameful to be released, it got 2% (and about 10% in average in the british game press, see also the page for Amiga Power Romanista 14:33, 6 June 2006 (UTC)

Yeah, looks like this one warrants an inclusion. Apparently half of its score is derived from "comedy value". Isopropyl 12:03, 9 June 2006 (UTC)

More reviews. I still say include it, though. guitarhero777777 22:54, 3 September 2006 (UTC)

According to this site (http://amigareviews.classicgaming.gamespy.com/indexi.htm) , the game got 56% in Amiga Joker (a German magazine) and 65% in CU Amiga. For the way those magazines marked games (ie awarding them marks just for existing and having a box, and giving games high marks because the PR people asked nicely), that's also pretty low. I don't know about The One or Amiga Action or any of those though. Amiga Action probably gave it 95%, the same mark they gave everything. --Stevefarrell 23:35, 6 September 2006 (UTC)

Karate (Atari 2600)

i think this game should certenly be on this list. it has teribble and i mean teribble gameplay. you cant even tell if you are actually hitting your opponent. the game plays extreamly sloooooooooow and the fighters are very very blocky. ugh just thinking about that game makes me want to crush the cartridge! do any of you agree? the video game critic site gave the game an f- and the reviewers at gamefaqs gave the game a 2 out of 10 Touth 00:21, 1 August 2006 (UTC)

I concur. This game is very bad, and it scores high in other similar lists on the 'net. --Lomedae 00:44, 1 August 2006 (UTC)

Mad Dog McCree 1&2

Circa 2001 & 2003. FMV games. Acting is mind-blowingly bad, dialogue is cheezy, and continuity errors abound (i.e., Indians who shoot guns at one cowboy, who then falls on the ground, full of arrows). Note: Worst rated games in the US edition of PC gamer with 8% and 4%, respectively. No URL's available, probably because no one wants to remember this terrible game! P.H. - Kyoukan, UASC 01:31, 9 May 2006 (UTC)

It's no worse than your average FMV game, really. Also, PC gamer rated the DOS versions of these games in the 70's when they came out.

Nickelodeon Party Blast

From archive:

I don't know a lot about this game (designed for the Xbox and PC), but I do know that it scores 19 at Metacritic, and that Gamespot gave it a 1.1 (abysmal); they said something like, "Letting a kid play this might teach them to hate video games, which I sure don't want to do."

Gamespot never gave it a rating. the 1.1 was by IGN, but reading the other reviews, we should add it in. guitarhero777777 04:35, 17 July 2006 (UTC)

NFL Quarterback Club

Imagine a football game where the moment play starts, every single character on the screen got up, and started running directly towards the ball. Blockers didn't block, receivers didn't receive (unless you were explicitly controlling him to go deep) and nearly every play ended in a horrible dog pile. Collision detection was terrible, graphics were bad (even for an N64 game), and AI was terrible. --Whiteknight 22:51, 25 April 2006 (UTC)

Sounds worthy, but needs sources. Savager 21:42, 18 September 2006 (UTC)

Plumbers Don't Wear Ties

I remember reading PC Zone years ago about 1998 or 1999 that in a top 100 worst games feature that this came out as the worst. I never played it myself but on their brief review it appears dreadful and seems to be more of a 3DO game as opposed to a PC Game. Basically comprised of watching still photos whilst a badly acted story played out.

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--Wrh1973 19:20, 30 April 2006 (UTC)

Don't mention the PC Zone, but do include the reviews and quotes from them. Find reviews with scores too, but I say yes. guitarhero777777 22:49, 3 September 2006 (UTC)

I'm in favour of adding this. Savager 21:42, 18 September 2006 (UTC)

Psycho

Psycho (1988, Amiga), a game based on Alfred Hitchcock's 1960 film of the same name. The very poor premise, about several jewels and their caretaker being stolen, is complemented by the fact that you already know who the culprit is (Norman Bates). All you can do inside the Bates motel is find the jewels, the caretaker, and take a fucking shower, and many people are around the house who will put you to sleep. You only have four hours to find everything, so by sleeping, you will be further away from completing your mission.

No sources. Sounds like a person who wasted his money, but has nothing to be able to put it on this list. guitarhero777777 22:42, 3 September 2006 (UTC)

P.Y.S.T. (PC)

Apart from its amusing title, this was considered a poor parody of the Myst series with no gameplay and a bad sense of humour.

[27]

It's an old and obscure game, I can't find any other reviews for it. I highly doubt anyone would have given it a decent review though.

Savager 17:18, 10 September 2006 (UTC)

Robocop

Added by anon, who tried to put it back without discussing it, so here it is, up for discussion. --wwwwolf (barks/growls) 10:24, 2 September 2006 (UTC)

Robocop (Xbox, PC 2003): A first person shooter game developed by Titus Software. It had very poor controls and terrible graphics. Fans of the original film were very disappointed due to the lack of references to the original films and Robocop himself having terrible one liners that he never was known to say when he would take out an enemy, such as "Oh yeah" and "bullseye!". The game received an extremely low score of 2.2 on gamespot.com thus pushing the film to game world to new lows. Add the game, but site more sources. guitarhero777777 22:34, 3 September 2006 (UTC)

Sword of Sodan

Released by EA for the Sega Genesis. I can't seem to find much worthwhile information about this game - like many games in the early 90s, it just sorta vanished into obscurity - but - and I usually refrain from such hyperbolic statements - anyone who has played this game will agree that it's one of the absolute worst pieces of shit ever created. Ever conceived. This game is to side-scrollers what Thundra is to first-person shooters. It's a side-scroller with absolutely abominable control - the single biggest flaw in a smorgasboard of flaws. In addition, it features gratutious, cheesy blood, tacky and irritating voice samples, graphics that mistake digitization with quality, and invisible pits. Invisible. Pits. The only facet of a classically bad game that this game lacks is that it was not based on a licensed property. --70.108.116.231 04:19, 17 September 2006 (UTC)

Star Fox (Atari 2600)

Considered by many as one of the worst Atari 2600 games of all time due to its awful controls and programming.

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I didn't even know there was such a game. I thought you made a mistake for the SNES version. I say yes to adding this, but add more sources and make it clear this isnt Nintendo.guitarhero777777 03:15, 19 August 2006 (UTC)

Survivor (PC)

Game Revolution had to change their review system for this game. They didn't want to give it an 'F' because they thought that was too high. They gave it their first and only 'F-'. The review for it is here; they explain it better (and much more humourously) than I could:-

[30]

Most of the reviews from other websites are pretty low too:-

[31] [32] Savager 16:53, 10 September 2006 (UTC)

Tabloid Tycoon

13.5% at Gamerankings.com

Terminator 2 (Platformer)

Anyone who's played this will know what I mean. Bad concept and execution, poor controls, graphics and sound, and the terminator can be seen driving his cycle backwards during the chase scenes. SNES and Mega Drive, not to be confused with the microcomputer games or the arcade game, which was a noted success.--BaseballFury 00:47, 30 April 2006 (UTC)

Ultimate Duck Hunting

From archive:

Ultimate Duck Hunting (2006, PC) is a duck hunting game developed by Mid Carolina media for the PC. The goal of the game is to shoot ducks and then collect them with hunting dogs, a concept similar to that of the classic NES game, Duck Hunt. Not only is the game so bad only 3 media outlets cared to review it, IGN.com and Gamespot didn't even bother, but the fact it lead to the suicide of the GameTrailers reviewer, pretty much says enough about why the game is on the list.

Virtual Hydlide

I am surprised nobody nominated this title for the sega saturn. The game is probably so bad nobody wanted to play it. It has a framerate dropped down to 5 fps and most enemies had like 3 frames of animation. Dozens of glitches were included such as seeing bats behind walls, it was impossible to turn around without seeing the main character switch to third person to first person and while moving, objects changed to different sizes. It is considered an rpg, but it has nog villages, or text, or shop or even living creatures to conversate with. It doensnt have any experience indicators, instead of that everything is arranged through you score where you can buy items with. The rest of the game is a complete dud. The "map" looks like it was made on computer CGA graphics. It had 2 harder difficulty settings which didn't affect anything but destination points on the map. It has several "dungeons" which make you want to put down your controller immediately. For example, the volcano is like crazy, an enormous maze that has you go walking for ages while it is scattered with lava drops. You can only equip one item at a time and you need to wear the protective anti-lava hurting medallion so this option throughout the game is pretty lame. A detection spell can be casted which marks all the chests on the map, but the game is trying to fool you, containing several useless items like inferior pairs of armour you already have. While the chests are surrounded by lava, it is impossible to take its contents out without getting hurt. How can this possiblly not be one of the worst games. It killed the whole Hydlide series which was already as horrible as it can be.

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Virtuoso

Apparently, a poor 3DO clone of Revolution X, which was a clamorous flop itself

[36]

Where's Waldo? (NES)

Videogame version of the popular books, only with terrible graphics making it very hard to find him, immensely boring gameplay, only eight levels and no music.

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Savager 12:50, 16 September 2006 (UTC)

Rejected Nominations

Army Men

• Reason: series as a whole was considered mediocre, but no individual game was bad enough to be worst game ever

Boiling Point

• Reason: not widely considered that bad

Desert Bus

• Reason: a minigame, not a full game, and intentionally made to be bad

Doom (SNES and Saturn versions)

• Reason: greatly shadowed by the PC version, but not worst games ever made

South Park Rally

• Reason: average reviews too high

Spyro: Enter the Dragonfly

• Reason: by far the worst of the Spyro games, but not one of the worst games ever

Streets of SimCity

• Reason: not widely considered bad enough

Waterworld

• Reason: average reviews too high