The Sword and Laser discussion

E.T. on the Atari. Worst. Game. Ever.

Hoshigami: Ruining Blue Earth, originally on Playstation and rereleased on the Nintendo DS. It's a strategy RPG but it's so boring and tedious to play.

My choice would have to be Total Recall for the NES. An absolutely horrible game. Thankfully we only rented it and didn't buy the damn thing.

Ignoring all the awful mobile games that are unwinnable if you don't pay money, I have to go with the Miami Vice game from the '80s. Conceptually it was great -- an open world game where you drive around Miami, stopping at various bars and casinos while trying to infiltrate a drug ring. It could've been the 8-bit version of GTA.

The only problem was, the driving controls were impossible. Just turning a corner required intense concentration because you had to be going at exactly the right speed, had to turn at exactly the right moment, and if you so much as clipped the corner with your sideview mirror, your car would explode.

Sean wrote: "The only problem was, the driving controls were impossible. Just turning a corner required intense concentration because you had to be going at exactly the right speed, had to turn at exactly the right moment, and if you so much as clipped the corner with your sideview mirror, your car would explode."

Ah, sort of like trying to land your plane in Top Gun for the Nintendo. lol

Oh, there's such a huge selection of bad games it's hard to pick just one.

Here's my top 3.

NES: X-Men. Was nothing like the awesome arcade game. Was a horrible top down . . . thing. I can't even describe how bad it was.

SNES: The Rocketeer. Wow, what a piece of garbage! You fly in circles in a plane at the beginning of the level. Then there's a crappy 3rd person shoot out, some horrible flying, and awful controls. Was the worst 28 dollars I'd ever spent.

Playstation One: Kileak the DNA imperative. Made it seem like it was going to be some awesome mechwarrior game. Instead, it was a linear corridor shooter with repetitive levels, unfair enemies, horrible graphics, and I don't know what! Simply horrible and takes my top spot on games I've purchased and severely regret.

The X-Files Game (1999) for PS1. *ugh*

My kid liked Ty the Tasmanian Tiger so we played the sequel, which was okay. Then Ty the Tasmanian Tiger 3 was such a huge mismosh of worlds and quests that we couldn't make any sense of it. We didn't rage quit so long as we puzzle-quit in annoyance.

This is a hard question because I never did have much money to burn on any bad games. Even the older games that I think of that weren't stellar were at least fun.

That being said, I'm a HUGE Sonic the Hedgehog fan. So the Sonic the Hedgehog 2006 launch game for the PS3 wasn't just disappointing, it was soul crushing. With such huge potential of making an incredibly epic game, it was bogged down with bugs of all types, unplayable levels, a horrible map and was just... bad bad bad. I never got past the second level because I had no idea where to go next and eventually lost interest. It was like they made a four-year development cycle game in just two years. Oh Sonic. Why do you break my heart so?

I think the only time I regretted spending money on a game was on the second Deponia. It wasn't a bad game by any means but the humour started being pretty insulting towards my demographic and so it wasn't a pleasant experience. I couldn't even finish it.

From a money to enjoyment prospect I think the worst video game I got was a game called Remember Me that came out a few years ago. It seemed like it had an interesting cyberpunkish concept but it was filled with bugs, totally linear and had one of the least intuitive control schemes ever, i gave up on it after a few hours and really regret spending that money. That studio must have really improved though because their new game Life is Strange has been getting great reviews.

2nd place for worst video game goes to Bioshock Infinite. What a chore to finish and what a thematic mess.

Brendan wrote: "From a money to enjoyment prospect I think the worst video game I got was a game called Remember Me that came out a few years ago. It seemed like it had an interesting cyberpunkish concept but it w..."

Brendan, I'm in agreement with Bioshock Infinite. The game felt very repetitive and I was not blown away by the twist ending.

Remember Me was actually an interesting game story wise but the mechanics and linearity were a total failure.

Sebastian wrote: "My next door neighbour had Miami Vice on the Commodore 64. From what I can remember there was no action in the game. I remember walking into empty buildings all the time."

The instructions contained a list of times when the bad guys would be meeting (a kind of primitive DRM -- if you don't have the manual you can't play). But you had to reach the destination at a precise time. Too early and the bad guys would spot your car and run away; too late and they would've finished the meeting and gone home. Given the impossibility of controlling your vehicle, it was dumb luck if you managed to bust up even one meeting.

Brendan wrote: "From a money to enjoyment prospect I think the worst video game I got was a game called Remember Me that came out a few years ago. It seemed like it had an interesting cyberpunkish concept but it w..."

I liked Bioshock Infinite.

I thought BioShock Infinite had a pretty interesting (if a little overrated) story, but I didn't care much for the gameplay.

Brendan wrote: "That studio must have really improved though because their new game Life is Strange has been getting great reviews."

I was totally surprised at how great a game "Life is Strange" is.
It is being released episodically on Xbox One (4 of the 5 episodes are already out)

If you had told me that an interactive adventure game about a teenage girl at school would not only be great, but also be genuinely moving, I'd have laughed. This game is in my top 5 games for 2015.

Tassie Dave wrote: "Brendan wrote: "That studio must have really improved though because their new game Life is Strange has been getting great reviews."

I was totally surprised at how great a game "Life is Strange" ..."

Life is Strange is amazing.

Lamborghini 64. Don't get me wrong I'm a N64 fanboy, still got it, and still play Perfect Dark and Zelda. But this racing game, oh boy, should never have been released. fortunately racers improved drastically after that with Mario Kart and F-Zero-X and Star Wars Pod Racing.

The worst game I ever played - on a disappointment scale -- was At The Carnival by the same designer who created Fool's Errand, which was one of my favorite puzzle games of all time.

Superman for N64. You fly through hoops. Because.

The worst is undoubtedly something I played long ago and have forgotten because I gave up on it so quick.

The worst that I gave a real effort into trying hoping that it would grow on me is Gears of War. I thought the commercials and promos looked awesome but the gameplay was so tedious and repetitive.

Rik wrote: "The worst that I gave a real effort into trying hoping that it would grow on me is Gears of War."

I thought I was the only one. I started, gave up and restarted GOW several times over the years and I could never see what was "supposedly" great about that game.

I feel the same towards the Halo series and I have played and enjoyed FPS before and since. Those 2 are way overhyped.

Hmmm ... Maybe Force Unleashed II? The first was kind of dumb but fun. The second was irritatingly short, recycled assets from the first one, and padded its brief length by running you through most areas twice.