The 10 Worst Games of All Time

[squirrellydw]

I saw this on the MSN website.  It's there list of The 10 Worst Games of All Time.


1. E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial (Atari, 1982)
Platform: Atari 2600

2. Super Columbine Massacre RPG (Danny Ledonne, 2005)
Platform: Windows

3. Custer's Revenge (Mystique, 1982)
Platform: Atari 2600

4. Daikatana (Eidos Interactive, 2000)
Platforms: Windows, Nintendo 64, GameCube

5. Pac-Man (Atari, 1981)
Platform: Atari 2600

6. Smurf Rescue (Coleco, 1982)
Platforms: ColecoVision, Atari 2600

7. Shaq Fu (Electronic Arts, 1994)
Platforms: Sega Game Gear, Sega Genesis, Super Nintendo, Amiga, Game Boy

8. Make My Video (Digital Pictures, 1992)
Platform: Sega CD

9. Prince of Persia: Warrior Within (Ubisoft, 2004)
Platforms: PlayStation 2, Xbox, GameCube, Windows, cell phone, PlayStation Portable (as Prince of Persia: Revelations)

10. Elf Bowling (NStorm, 2005)
Platform: Nintendo DS

[Donkey_Kong]

#5 ?? That is bull!! That should be on the top ten best ever!!

[squirrellydw]

I hated the Atari version myself.

[AtomSmasher]

Obviously they've never played Superman 64 or the latest Aquaman game both of them deserve to be on every worst game of all times lists.

[Donkey_Kong]

7 years old and being able to play pacman at home on the TV in 1981...PRICELESS!!

[MrQuan]

Why isn't Minesweeper on the list? 

[ahofle]

Custer's Revenge?  Try firing that one up at a party after people have been drinking and you will hear laughter like you've never heard before.

I also think ET is unfairly always given the #1 spot.  I personally would rather play ET (at least it had a primitive plot/goal and an anti-climactic ending) than Atari 2600 Pacman anyday.  I personally used to hate Atari 2600 football.  I remember making fun of it even back then.  What is with the little 'fart' sound when your 'square' is 'tackled'? 

[sidekick]

I agree E.T. was pretty good...

also so was Pac-Man for its time and technology

[grueinthebox]

I also think ET is unfairly always given the #1 spot.  I personally would rather play ET (at least it had a primitive plot/goal and an anti-climactic ending) than Atari 2600 Pacman anyday.  I personally used to hate Atari 2600 football.  I remember making fun of it even back then.  What is with the little 'fart' sound when your 'square' is 'tackled'? 

I was under the impression that one of the major criticisms of E.T. was the fact that it had no ending - one part was supposed to be literally impossible to pass due to poor programming...  Or maybe I'm thinking of another game.

Agree with ahofle on Custer's Revenge, though - great one to pull out when friends are over, especially when drinking.

[shardian]

Wow. Prince of persia warrior within made the 10 worst list?? Was it really that bad. I've played the sands of time and thought it was pretty good.

[AtomSmasher]

Wow. Prince of persia warrior within made the 10 worst list?? Was it really that bad. I've played the sands of time and thought it was pretty good.

Ya, that one really makes no sense being on the list.  A quick glance on gamerankings.com and every version of the game (except the psp version) is over 80%

Also, Super Columbine Massacre RPG wasn't a widely released game, it was a random game released as a free download for windows from their web site.  If it wasn't for its Columbine content, no one would of even heard of it.  If we're including every game, large or small, thats been made, then the list would be completely different.  I think this list was made by someone who just listed games they didn't like and didn't actually do any research as to what the worst games of all time actually are.

[Hoopz]

Wow. Prince of persia warrior within made the 10 worst list?? Was it really that bad. I've played the sands of time and thought it was pretty good.

Ya, that one really makes no sense being on the list.  A quick glance on gamerankings.com and every version of the game (except the psp version) is over 80%

Also, Super Columbine Massacre RPG wasn't a widely released game, it was a random game released as a free download for windows from their web site.  If it wasn't for its Columbine content, no one would of even heard of it.  If we're including every game, large or small, thats been made, then the list would be completely different.  I think this list was made by someone who just listed games they didn't like and didn't actually do any research as to what the worst games of all time actually are.

Except Daikatana.  That game was really that bad.

[SirPoonga]

For those thinking pacman shouldn't be on that list do you realize they are talking about the 2600 version?  I would rate that as the worst game ever.

[Hoopz]

For those thinking pacman shouldn't be on that list do you realize they are talking about the 2600 version?  I would rate that as the worst game ever.

Why?  It may not have looked like the arcade version but we played it all the time.  How else could you play Pacman at home in 1981 without having rich parents who bought a real pacman machine?

Compared to modern games, it doesn't fare well but thats not the point.  At the time, it was fun to play and all of my friends with Atari VCS's had it, played it and enjoyed it. 

[AlanS17]

I've got one for you - Bible Adventures for the NES.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bible_Adventures

[TOK]

As far as ports for the 2600 go, Pac Man was bad, but Donkey Kong was heinous. 2 levels, flicker that made Pac Man look rock solid.


Color A Dinosaur for NES should be on that list. It's pretty commonly regarded as one of the worst games ever. I was just at an expo and there was a copy of it signed by Tommy Talarico with the quote "Worst game ever!" written on it.
I don't think Daikatana should be on there... It was one of the most over-hyped games ever, but is just average. Prince of Persia doesn't belong on there at all. What about some of the other commonly know horrible games, like Night Trap by Sega?

[monkeybomb]

I've got one for you - Bible Adventures for the NES.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bible_Adventures

I've played that, pretty darn bad!


As bad as the 2600 atari Pacman was, I must say that I played it a ton.  It seems like a bad game is one that people tried and didn't continue with because it wasn't fun.  Pacman was fun and we had other games that simply didn't get the use, so what if I was 5.

[sodapopinski]

for the 2600. Raiders of the lost ark was really bad.

[sac01]

Ummmmm.......

Anyone know if that Columbine game is Cab friendly?

[SirPoonga]

How else could you play Pacman at home in 1981 without having rich parents who bought a real pacman machine?

By going to the arcade

[Hoopz]

How else could you play Pacman at home in 1981 without having rich parents who bought a real pacman machine?

By going to the arcade

Heh, hence the "at home" part.   

And I disagree about Donkey Kong also.  I can easily remember when a friend called to tell me they had DK for his Atari.  All the commercials said it was coming out for Colecovision first.  Got off the phone, ran over to his house and was amazed that he had it.  It was, and probably still is, fun to play regardless of the number of levels and graphics.

[rumpelstiltzkin]

That smurf game blew me away when i was a kid.  Top gun on the nes should have been in there plus superman 64.

[SirPeale]

also so was Pac-Man for its time and technology

There were other Pac games released on the 2600.  Ms Pac-Man and Pac-Man Jr.  These were far superior to Pac-Man in many ways, including color choices, sprites, music.  Pretty much the 2600 version of Pac-Man was rushed out just so they could say 'here it is, buy me.'

[BamBam]

Command & Conquer: Renegade for the PC absolutely sucked.  It was like a bad car accident.

[AtomSmasher]

Command & Conquer: Renegade for the PC absolutely sucked.  It was like a bad car accident.

The multiplayer in that game was awesome though....well, assuming you found a server that wasn't laggy and players who knew how to play the game.  I was in the multiplayer beta test for that game and that was one of my favorite games until it was released, at which point I was no longer playing on the developers dedicated server or against players who understood how to play the game.  A coordinated flame tank rush was a thing of beauty.

[leapinlew]

also so was Pac-Man for its time and technology

There were other Pac games released on the 2600.  Ms Pac-Man and Pac-Man Jr.  These were far superior to Pac-Man in many ways, including color choices, sprites, music.  Pretty much the 2600 version of Pac-Man was rushed out just so they could say 'here it is, buy me.'

I got it for Christmas when I was 8. Looking back on it, I remember my dad was more excited than I was. The game was definetly rushed, but it was a game we played a lot. It doesn't deserve to be on the same list that includeds a small released game like Colombine (which I'm sure is there only for shock value).

[More Cowbell]

What about Journey Escape for the 2600? I hated that game. If you get the manager, you're invincible, game over, you win. Got old after playing it about 3 times.

[Chris]

I think some of these games are on the list because they were disappointing in some way, not because they were truly bad.  I'm sure any true list of the worst games ever would mostly involve titles that no one ever heard of.

[mvolke1]

I don't know how the Swordquest games didn't get mentioned in this conversation. Those were horrid pieces of crap. All three of them. They just made no sense, even with the comic book story lines.

E.T. could be the worst game ever made, though. I don't know what they were thinking. Oh yea, let's make some money off a popular movie.

I didn't mind Pac-Man for the 2600, and I liked Smurfs. In fact, I still play it once and a while.

[Dartful Dodger]

Pac-Man for the 2600 had huge hype.  You had to register to buy it months in advance.  I told my parents they didn't have to give me a Christmas gift if they bought me it for my birthday in March.

25 years later and the crapitude of PacMan2600 still haunts me.

I wont preorder anything.

[Glaine]

That smurf game blew me away when i was a kid.  Top gun on the nes should have been in there plus superman 64.

I still like Top Gun a little bit, know at least one person who asks for it when they come over.

This list just shows as usual popular media focuses on generally popular things in their vague sense of technology. But what really cheeses me off is when the news talks about a new virus or worm and they make all these "poke-your-eyes-out" lame jokes like - "No, not the kind of worms you find in the back yard, these are INSIDE your computer!". A part of me dies when popular media tries to relate to me.

[Texasmame]

also so was Pac-Man for its time and technology

There were other Pac games released on the 2600.  Ms Pac-Man and Pac-Man Jr.  These were far superior to Pac-Man in many ways, including color choices, sprites, music.  Pretty much the 2600 version of Pac-Man was rushed out just so they could say 'here it is, buy me.'

Exactly and that's why is should go down as the worst game of all time.  Not because the hardware/software of the 2600 made it impossible to do justice to the original, but because rushing it out the door, in a half-assed finished state was a more important priority and getting it done right. 

For the TREMENDOUS job Atari did on Space Invaders, they did an equally poor job on poor old Pac. 

[monkeybomb]

As far as sports games go and technology not being there  yet, Madden '95 was one of the most disappointing gifts I have ever received.  We went from very fun cartoon football to block people and it was not better by a long shot.  Obviously it was the start of something cool, but I played it twice and it's still in a closet somewhere.  I was stunned to see they remade that as a classic.

[ahofle]

also so was Pac-Man for its time and technology

There were other Pac games released on the 2600.  Ms Pac-Man and Pac-Man Jr.  These were far superior to Pac-Man in many ways, including color choices, sprites, music.  Pretty much the 2600 version of Pac-Man was rushed out just so they could say 'here it is, buy me.'

Exactly and that's why is should go down as the worst game of all time.  Not because the hardware/software of the 2600 made it impossible to do justice to the original, but because rushing it out the door, in a half-assed finished state was a more important priority and getting it done right. 

For the TREMENDOUS job Atari did on Space Invaders, they did an equally poor job on poor old Pac. 

To be fair, most of the cartridges of that time (when the first Pacman came out) were still around 2K-4K in size.  Some of the better games were 8K or even 16K carts and came along in later years (presumably when the cost of memory dropped enough to make them feasible).  So I imagine the Pacman developers basically had half the resources to work with.  Still, could they not have made his f**kin head turn when going up and down? 

EDIT: You're right about Space Invaders, which was a 4K cart.  OK, they have no excuse haha.

[MinerAl]

What about Journey Escape for the 2600? I hated that game. If you get the manager, you're invincible, game over, you win. Got old after playing it about 3 times.

Seconded.  I remember when my friend got this, and after the first 5 minutes we had to turn the sound off or we would've begun killing people.  "Don't stop believing" has a great bass line, until you've heard the first 4 bars of it over and over and over...

[Pixelhugger]

6. Smurf Rescue (Coleco, 1982)
Platforms: ColecoVision, Atari 2600

Unless you count the topless smurfette easter egg. Hey I was 13.

[AtomSmasher]

6. Smurf Rescue (Coleco, 1982)
Platforms: ColecoVision, Atari 2600

Unless you count the topless smurfette easter egg. Hey I was 13.

Heh, reminds me of an easter egg on a Genesis game made by Naughty Dog, if you entered a code the girl in their logo went topless.  No idea what game it was though.

[Lilwolf]

I always hear that Daikatana wasn't all that bad once you get past the first 5 levels or so..

But the whole cluster !@# of a product... making a bad demo so nobody buys the game... taking years and years to deliver...

[ahofle]

I uninstalled it after about 20 minutes of shooting frogs and dragonflies. 

[Glaine]

I thought Omikron was preatty lame too. Looked so close to being something awesome, but fell short. Coulda made a good online rpg too, except the way they tried to have all genre in one game didn't work very well (it had fighting game and fps components, wasn't that great).