Games People Shouldn't Play 213
MBCook writes: "I've been a video game player for years, and I must say that the average game seems to be getting worse. Exihbit 1: Games People Shouldn't Play, an article on MSNBC. This article shows what the author thinks are the worst games on the current crop of systems. You've got to agree with calling a game bad if "...the only way to get in [the minigames] is by buying hats... How do you buy the hats? Why, by picking up garbage." If that doesn't make you want to play a game, what would? I agree with the author when he says: '... who knows what kind of disease your children might get from overexposure to these games.'"
I agree wholeheartedly. (Score:1)
Re:I agree wholeheartedly. (Score:1)
If I had the money I would buy an x-box and a ps2... but right now I am a po' cheap bastid so I have a GC... and it don't just got kids games. oh and
Oh yeah there are also bad games on the PC... Dungoen Seige for one... completly over hyped... Kinda like an advanced version of Soulbringer
And I suppose books shld be judged on # of pages? (Score:2)
Hopefully, this was a troll. If not, I presume you believe that the latest harry potter should be judged better than, say, hamlet, for its superior duration?
Scientific Evaluation (Score:5, Funny)
Doling out masses of crap (Score:4, Insightful)
Re:Doling out masses of crap (Score:5, Insightful)
Objectivity is not something that I have ever seen in the game press.
Re:Doling out masses of crap (Score:1)
Electronic Gaming Monthly. Since when I was a kid (and its issues were 400 pages long), EGM was and still is the only respectable news source when it comes to gaming. That and Acts of Gord [actsofgord.com] are really the only things worth reading for video games.
Re:Doling out masses of crap (Score:2)
Re:Doling out masses of crap (Score:2)
No, they don't, nor am I that screwed up.
I say this because I've been around the gaming industry for a 'while'. Half of my friends have worked for either Sega, Sony, or Nintendo. I've heard the rumors and 2nd hand stories from these guys.
These game magazines can make or break a game. A few of these magazines are nothing but hype generating eye candy.
Ask around some of your former / current co-workers and see if they've heard anything, bet they have.
Here's one rant. [unhelpful.org]
Oh, btw, have you read my FAQ [google.com]?
Waaaiiitt a minute... (Score:3, Funny)
Too true (Score:3, Funny)
You're not kidding, I'm still in therapy over Daikatana.
Re:Too true (Score:2, Informative)
Pretty Skies! (Score:3, Insightful)
From the article: Blood Wake, Microsoft's attempt to spread the popular car kombat genre to boats, has some of the best-looking skies ever to appear in a game.
Just like the pretty sky background in XP was the best reason to upgrade from 2K, we all need an Xbox now... actually physically going outside is so 90's!
Re:Pretty Skies! (Score:2)
Re:Pretty Skies! (Score:2)
It came down to horrible control and even worse it only lasts about 5 minutes until it's old.
Well worth the price.
We're in video game doom right now... (Score:4, Informative)
We've got 3 systems out right now
No really good games....
Smells like 1983-1984 [emuunlim.com]
What about. (Score:2)
and ...er...
Grant Turismo 3?
OK. You got me. I've been waiting for an original game for A LONG DAMN TIME. What have we got?
Rez.
Ico.
Both new and interesting games in their own rights, but not the bold sweeping inovation that has been missing from video games in recent years. Games to day are either A) Shooters, B) RTS varients, C) Sims varients, or D) combination of the above.
Yawn.
Re:What about. (Score:2)
Halo
Re:What about. (Score:2)
Re:What about. (Score:4, Interesting)
Grand Theft Auto III, on the other hand, is the most fun I've ever had with a video game. It doesn't reinvent the wheel, but I couldn't care less. It's a lot of fun, and that's what I play games for.
Ultimately, there's only so much revolution you're ever going to see in video games. You're always going to be using the mouse and / or keyboard or controller to control a guy / spaceship / car / abstract cursor to blow things up / build civilizations / complete goals. That's just the way the medium is, I think.
Re:What about. (Score:2)
For sort-of fighting games, the Dreamcast ownz. Powerstone II handles more like a mix of Super Smash brothers with Mario 64 then a fighting game, and has four player freeplay. Virtual On Oratio Tangram is a really really unusual approach to head-to-head mecha combat.
Sonic Adventure II has some really interesting new gameplay concepts, and a nice set of multiplayer gametypes.
On the PSII, try Armored Core. It might look like a typical behind-view shooter, but it sure doesn't feel like one - the best mech design system I've ever seen on a video game, and it handles like a dream (the rocket flight system in that puts other jetpack games to shame).
Of course, this is from my personal "single player is masturbation" perspective. I guess those Metal Gear and Final Fantasy games might have something to them, but if I wanted to play on my own, I'd only be using one hand and I don't have to pay for that joystick.
Re:We're in video game doom right now... (Score:2)
Halo - Graphics, Music, Gameplay, Depth
PGR - Tons of tracks, great music, great graphics, tons of features
Oddworld - love it or hate it, the game has character and if you beat the darn thing you think of munch as a friend!
Virtua Fighter 4 is out, i still play My DC for there is nothing comparing to Soul Calibur.
I tell you what though, halo is awesome. Crank up the sound, get a decent component input tv, turn off the lights and be prepaired to be glued to your tv and pissed off when you feel the pinch of the enemy coming after you with nothing to do but run
seriously, the AI is great. When your team is ambushed and yelling to fall back and you have to roll with them because there are 4 enemy drop ships coming in and there is no ammo left you can't do anything but run and feel your heart racing. Get behind a rock, sniper our some enemies and keep on running hehe.
great game, and it DOES require skill as long as you don't choose "Easy".
Re:We're in video game doom right now... (Score:2)
I'm no Star Wars fanboy, but this game just plain rules.
$8oo plus tax in game systems... (Score:2)
Everyone is talking about how great these systems are, but let's be honest...
I just don't have $300 and then get Halo..
(And then another $300 when your Xbox breaks in 91 days... LOL)
Another $300 and then get GTA3...
And then for over another $200 for a Gamecube to let it sit warmed up and plugged in fot the next Zelda and Mario game.
Everyone is screaming about the one great game, and not screaming about the price to buy the dang systems.
Looks like an ad (Score:1, Insightful)
Re:Looks like an ad (Score:3, Informative)
Re:Looks like an ad (Score:2, Interesting)
remember (Score:5, Funny)
MSNBC reviews xbox games... (Score:1)
Cartoon Based Games (Score:1)
Re:Cartoon Based Games (Score:1)
Funny read (Score:4, Interesting)
P.S. This is the second time that this has happened, but I submitted this too! This gives me an idea for Slashdot. When our submissions are accepted or rejected, we don't know which editor accepted or rejected them. Maybe we could be told that on our homepages (or somewhere else). It would be like this:
Skydive for Atari (Score:2, Funny)
Anyone who played it can't tell me they didn't have hours of fun just pounding their jumper into the ground time after time after time. Take away my points - see if I care!
Re:Skydive for Atari (Score:2)
I believe that would be "Sopwith Camel"... which I used to play on an AT&T PC6300 8086 box as a kid
Unfortunately, no Linux version seems to exist... perhaps I should code one up?
Re:Skydive for Atari (Score:2)
Hm, that's not actually an arcade game. O well.
Airworlf for 2600 (Score:5, Interesting)
And a couple of gems that have literally stolen months of my life...
Link's Awakening? (Score:1)
Re:Link's Awakening? (Score:1)
A horrible game.
Re:Link's Awakening? (Score:1)
Phew, he wasnt degrading one of the most significant games of my childhood life
Re:Link's Awakening? (Score:2)
Difficult is being naked in Ghosts and Fucking Goblins.
Difficult is DODGING THREE MISSLES FROM A SUBMARINE IN "TOP GUN" LEVEL 4 THEN HAVING TO REFUEL *AND THEN LAND*
Re:Airworlf for 2600 (Score:1)
Re:Airworlf for 2600 (Score:2)
Re:Airworlf for 2600 (Score:2)
With Final Fantasy III people just started making up absurd rumors for fun. A lot of them were pretty funny.
Re:Airworlf for 2600 (Score:2)
And you're gravely mistaken with your quote about Zelda. Zelda II: The Adventure of Link [legendofzelda.com] was a decent game, but it was *not* Link's Awakening [legendofzelda.com], as you said. Many, many people will argue that Link's Awakening [legendofzelda.com] was one of the best, if not the best in the series (I would disagree personally).
And as some people have mentioned in other posts, it's General Leo that everyone wants to be able to revive, not Cid.
Re:Airworlf for 2600 (Score:2)
Re:Airworlf for 2600 (Score:3, Funny)
Duck Hunt is only fun for shooting at the person next to you. What's fun is if you've got a particularly wanky gun, you can set a high score this way.
Re:Airworlf for 2600 (Score:2)
Speaking of airwolf, does anyone else here fondly remember that show and wish for re-runs? Airwolf, The A-Team, Knight Rider... I want to see them all over again!
Re:Airworlf for 2600 (Score:4, Insightful)
Re:Airworlf for 2600 (Score:2)
Re:ah, the 80s (Score:2)
I often thought they should have combined Knight Rider, Airwolf, and Street Hawk into one big show where everybody drove around black, high-tech vehicles.
All they were missing was a boat. If it had been ten years later, maybe they could have used Knight Boat! [teamknightrider.com]
Re:Airworlf for 2600 (Score:2)
Re:Airworlf for 2600 (Score:2, Informative)
-prator
Re:Airworlf for 2600 (Score:2)
Given that T2 came out in the summer of 92, what did you expect? I didn't know they were even still developing games for the C64 in 1992.
Re:Airworlf for 2600 (Score:2)
Maybe in single player mode, but wtf plays fighting games for that? I can assure you, as a Soul Calibur fanatic, that mashing will get you no where against someone with even moderate experience.
It's about love, damn it (Score:5, Insightful)
Take a look at Morrowind, the upcoming game from Bethseda. I've spent a week with it, and while it's still beta and crashes, you can see that they give a damn if people like what they're doing. It's not about how much money you spend - the game Starships Unlimited [apezone.com] and Serious Sam [croteam.com] were made on a low budget - but they were both fun, entertaining games that succeeding in spite of their backgrounds. (Let's face it - who would have thought a no-name Crotian programming house would have made one of the best games of 2001, and 2002 with Serious Sam 2?)
Then look at Final Fantasy X. Basically, it's a movie that sometimes you walk from point A to point B to watch the next movie. And it tells - the designers just didn't have that same love, that same pride in what they did (except in making great movie scenes and giving a reason to make sure Lulu won so you could check her out when she bent over.)
It's true with fucking everything. If somebody doesn't care about what they make and what they do, then neither will anybody else. It doesn't always work (Battlecruiser 3000 - lots of love there, but not universally loved), but it's true with your work, your spouse, your children - and the games you play.
Of course, that's my opinion. I could be wrong.
Re:It's about love, damn it (Score:2)
Heh.. (Score:2, Interesting)
(MSNBC is a Microsoft - NBC joint venture.)
for no apparent reason.
[And for you guys who, I suppose, didn't bother to read the entire article, the guy rips on the X-Box games just as bad as the rest of them.]
Re:Heh.. (Score:2, Informative)
Memorandum to the Clueless (Score:1)
Re:Heh.. (Score:2, Interesting)
"rips on" by saying it has the most realistic (or was it "beautiful?") sky, islands and water and the physics were *too real* so it was overly challenging.
that sounds more like marketing to me
Re:Heh.. (Score:3, Insightful)
The only way this could be considered marketing vs. an honest review is if you think graphics are far more important than game play. In that case, it sounds, from what this guy said, that this game'd be for you.
Playability is why we own consoles (Score:5, Insightful)
If we wanted complex story development or AI, we would use a computer.
If we wanted real tactical or strategic challenges, we would use a computer.
But we don't. We own consoles because:
We own consoles because the games are easy and fun to play. Any development shop that misses these points is bound for the garbage heap of business history. The article hits this right on the head. Anyone who claims this is about any one console missed the point.
Re:Playability is why we own consoles (Score:3, Insightful)
However, the reason I got a PS/2 was mainly down to the social aspects. I had a few mates round on Saturday night for a PS/2 session; any multiplayer session before was something like HOM&M3, in which you spend at best half your time playing, the rest is waiting for the other player(s) to finish their turns. The PS/2 on a widescreen TV was much more fun with a group of people, even when we were doing 2 player SSX tricky. Two people played, the other 2 laughed their asses off as people crashed and burned, often painfully...
Of course, your points about "easy fun" and easy accessability are good too. On the PS/2, time between switch on and playing is around 30secs-1 minute. On a PC, you need about that to load the OS, let alone get a game started. That and the fact that shutdown is so much easier; you can pull the plug on the PS/2 without a problem (unless you're saving to the memory card at the time!) but a PC has to be shut down properly, taking 30 seconds or more (OK, you can switch off if you have a journaled filesystems, but I still use FAT32 for sharing between linux and XP).
Re:Playability is why we own consoles (Score:3, Funny)
Really? I got a PS/2 [tripod.com] and let me tell you...my social life went in the shitter after that...Stupid jocks...
Re:Playability is why we own consoles (Score:2)
Definitely bad in one aspect (Score:5, Informative)
On the other hand, on this topic someone asked "why is beating up on other races bad, but beating up cops and prostitutes (in Grand Theft Auto 3) OK?"
Re:Definitely bad in one aspect (Score:5, Informative)
Political Correctness has been applied to quite a few games that a many of you own. For example In Return to Castle Wolfenstein single player, you are allowed to run around and shoot Nazis. Banners depicting swaztikas hang from every precipce and Adolf's portrait hangs wherever convienant, all there ready to be shot-up by whatever weapon the player has handy.
Now in multiplayer mode, the swaztikas are gone replaced with a deformed W with funky wings and Hitler's portraits are nowhere to be seen.
You see, it's politicaly correct to kill Nazis, but it isn't to play one in a fantasy game depicting WW2.
Wtf? Did the meaning of the word fantasy change since the last time I checked.
Just because someone plays a Nazi in a game dosen't make them one.(People have been doing it for years. I mean those Avalon Hill board games wouldn't have as many cutouts if nobody can be Germans. Anybody remember those? The ones where they had those folding sections of maps that could be aranged in all kinds of ways. Came with a thousand cardboard squares representing various units. Whatever happend to that company? I should consult google) Just as much as playing GTA3 makes one a copkiller or pimp.
Besides wich, whose to say what's politicaly correct? While the term is moderen the concept has been with us for centuries. Galileo was tortured by the Inquisition for supporting the Copernican Model of the solar system. Why? Because it underminded how the church said the universe functioned. A big no-no at the time. This is an example from the Middle Ages about political correctness was used to suppress unpopular ideas or thoughts, by focusing on the books that Galileo and others like him wrote. Wich was at the time the only mainstream media. The church was the big power and got to decide what was politicaly correct. As the monk Victor Bruno dicovered when he wrote that maybe there could be other worlds around other stars, and got burned at the stake for it. So much for the whole 'thou shall not kill and forgiveness' bit.
I'm thankful in a way, it has been much worse in times past. Political correctness today is more annoying than dangerous.
Avalon Hill [OT] was Re:Definitely bad in one a... (Score:2)
They made a whole bunch of kick-ass board games, to wit: Advanced Civilization, Titan, Diplomacy, Cosmic Encounter, Acquire, and more. Recently-ish they got bought by Hasbro and are reprinting select games in fancy boxes with flashy boards and pieces.
Re:Definitely bad in one aspect (Score:2)
And that's before legal concerns.
Prostitutes..well, that one I can't defend.
Re:Definitely bad in one aspect (Score:2)
Re:Definitely bad in one aspect (Score:2)
And yes, in GTA3 you get paid for doing the various missions. Also, I think some of the missions involve killing cops, so it is a main part of the game at least occasionally. At least, I remember in one part of the game you work for a crooked cop and have to destroy evidence, etc.
Re:Definitely bad in one aspect (Score:2)
I thought the definition of a "hate crime" involved state of mind. I.e. if I kill someone of another race just because I was mugging them, that's a crime. But if I kill them because I hate their race or sexual orientation or whatever, that's a hate crime, and has a more severe punishment. (Not saying I necessarily agree with the reasoning, but I thought that was the legal definition of hate crimes in a nutshell.)
biased view (Score:1)
Hey, I -liked- Bloodwake! (Score:5, Interesting)
Seriously, one of the most fun moments I've had with that game is trying to outrun torpedoes and turbo-boosting over a reef, sending my boat into the air while the torps hit the reef and blew up behind me. Smooth sailing from there. It may be Microsoft, but MS's games department tends to hit fairly often...
Universally Stupid. (Score:4, Funny)
What would have been better is to make a game where you find say a gun and just start capping everyone in line in front of you. Call it 'Universal Studios Rampage.' As a person who used to wait in lines, it would be quite therapeutic. Such missions could include going 'Back to the Future' to destroy Kevin Costner before he makes Waterworld. (Or the Postman, or that crappy movie about Bottles, or pretty much anything after Field of Dreams.)
Best Garbage Collecting Sim ever (Score:2)
It would have been even better if you could have played as a park employee. Think of the action: people who are sick of waiting in line yelling at you, passing out from heat exhaustion in your costume, having small children puke on you... Now that would've been a game.
Waah, waah, waah. (Score:5, Funny)
Anyone who feels that games have gotten 'worse', without qualifying that statement in some way, is full of it, or is simply blocking out the part of their brain which held (or maybe has never heard of) the Wall Street Kid, Amagon, King of Kings, M*A*S*H, Vigiliante 8 parts 2 and 3, Mega Man 4, 5, and 6, Pac Man on the Atari -- the list goes on and on.
No one's saying that Monster Party and Burgertime and Utopia shouldn't get props. But there were over 600 carts [gamersgraveyard.com] released for the NES -- how many of them are you really pining after here?
I'm so sick of this discussion. Have you played Super Mario Brothers lately? It's one of the best platformers ever, no doubt, but it's over in 30 minutes. Games are different now than they were ten or fifteen years ago, and you can dislike what has changed about them, but 'better' or 'worse'? Those are awfully broad brushes. For every Blood Wake, there's a Halo, for every Mortal Kombat Advance, there's an Advance Wars, and for every Mall Tycoon, there's an Unreal Tournament. It's the way of the world. Some things are crap. And this is not a new condition, even in the gaming industry.
Now quit your whining and let me get back to my Sim Golf.
Re:Waah, waah, waah. (Score:2)
I guess that part of the problem with games like the kind you're talking about, which would be cool, is that the modelling it would require to build, say, a fake but believable stock market in your pc, is probably extraordinarily complex. and if you're good at it, you're probably not working for a game company, but for a derivatives firm or something.
I miss the good old days (Score:5, Insightful)
Interesting and almost off topic (Score:1, Interesting)
"The world is full of bias the secret is to know which way it runs"
Re:Interesting and almost off topic (Score:2)
Best and Worst Lists (Score:3, Interesting)
Exihbit ??? (Score:1)
This review has a familiar feel (Score:2)
I'll blame it on.... (Score:1)
The demise of the side-scroller...at least Abe's Odyssey still used it
And your point is? (Score:2, Insightful)
(MSNBC is a Microsoft - NBC joint venture.)
and held my breath while I read the article. Fortunately, it does do a good job of picking on all the top players in the industry, though the article truly has no point.
I found myself hunting around for a "Next>" link at the bottom of the article, confused at the abrupt end. None. Then I re-read the "conclusion":
Playing a fighting game without good controls is like going to a Milli Vanilli concert in which the dubbed music does not work. I mean, what's the point?
That doesn't explain this article at all. It explains partially what to look for in a fighting game.
What is the point of this article? It's clearly not an extensive review of the worst games. I consider myself an adequate judge of a good game, after purchasing (interpret how you may) over 100 games for the original Playstation, and another 20 for the PS2. I've seen far worse games than what they have here, many not worth the price of rental. Granted, there's nothing worse than a fractional frame-rate or the controller-breaking frustration of a ridiculously difficult game, but why warn consumers about the pothole in front of them, only to have them fall into the next?
I counted about 8 games to avoid. I'd be willing to bet there are more than just a few games that serve no other purpose on the shelves than to be load-bearing devices. Few are even worth the price of a blank CD (but you didn't hear that from me).
IMHO, if you want to write an article like this, give the do's and don'ts to selecting a game. Give suggestions on how to weed out the worst from the best. Don't just list a bunch of bad games, say why they're bad, plug a few consoles (any publicity is good publicity) and leave it at that.
(conclusion reduced to prevent conflict of interest)
Pointless article (Score:1)
Numerous philosophers have addressed the idea of perfection and quality. The bottom line is everything changes, everything is good and bad, everything is nothing and nothing is everything. Like a great game just happens without precursors. Like game designers magically hit the bullseye on the first shot every single time. The only thing that article does is hype how great the graphics are in the new game consoles.
I think Arctic Thunder should be the worst ever! (Score:3, Insightful)
Ignoring the slow downs, I haven't really even played it enough to see them, there is just this amazingly cheap quality about it all. I mean the premise is insultingly stupid. I'm reminded of the mid 1990's when there was this glut of first person shooters release, I mean just dozens of them on the PC and they were largely Doom with different levels and graphics, or about that sophisticated and a lot of them you could tell were just rush jobs, someone somewhere hired a few artists and an engineer and tried to crank out a game in a week and make some bucks off the trend. they had this feeling like there was no soul put in to it, the authors didn't even care if they were good or not, that's how Arctic Thunder feels. Honestly, I doubt the authors really cared if it was any good, if not, then they have to be slave programmers in some radically different culture where they've never seen snow or something. There is just something amazingly shallow about it and I've only put about 10 minutes on it.
All shooter games on consoles shouldn't be played (Score:4, Insightful)
Consoles however are great for racing, party and fighting games.
Re:All shooter games on consoles shouldn't be play (Score:2, Insightful)
If you had to play against someone using a keyboard and mouse you would get slaughtered, but you don't so why miss out on one of the best fps's of all time because of imagined problems with the control scheme. It is incredibly fun and, after all, that's what is important.
Now the lack of an online mod community for multiplayer, that is another problem entirely.
David
Re:All shooter games on consoles shouldn't be play (Score:2)
(and Goldeneye's not bad either)
I originally felt like you did, but PD is just so well balanced
What I usually do (Score:2)
When I really like a game I will really buy it in the store to support the company that made the game.
Many games are dvd-rips anyway, so the original will give you some extra music and movies and originals will speed up the loading times, because you don't have to do the swap-trick.
Here's some recent nice games you might want to check out:
-Rez: retro style 3d shootem up, very nice & spacy.
-Blood omen 2: adventure, you are an evil vampire.
-Spyhunter: 3d version of the old arcade game.
Most of the other games a really crappy, basicly they look too much like clones of eachother, they lack the originality I was used to getting from some of the japanese supernintendo games manufacturors.
Lack of competition... (Score:2)
sPh
The games people *really* shouldn't play (Score:5, Insightful)
It's some of the really *good* games that people should steer clear of. Take Everquest, for example. How many divorces, college dropouts, employment losses, etc., etc. has that game caused? How many of you, like me, finally managed to kick the habit after countless months of lost productivity, and yet still struggle with the urge to start playing again?
You don't see any web sites devoted to Kabuki Warrior Widows.
The game that should have NEVER been created... (Score:4, Interesting)
Granted, I haven't actually installed or played the game to verify my fears, but this game (and I really wish I could remember the title) smells very strongly of spyware of the worst kind. And they're targeting kids, albeit semianonymously, as primary info collectors. Aren't there supposed to be laws against this sort of thing?
Re:The game that should have NEVER been created... (Score:2)
Buying Crap Games (Score:2)
This game taught me to be a bit more patient, and wait for the damned reviews. I have never seen such a poorly programmed piece of garbage in my life. Half the time, the characters do not do the moves after being input properly. The opponents are as cheap as they come. This game really frightened me.
I still have it. It hangs from my car rearview mirror, a hole drilled through the ROM chips, never to hurt another, as a lesson to myself to be more patient.
What? No Radical Entertainment games? (Score:2)
uber-difficult games are THE WORST (Score:2)
Difficult is being naked in Ghosts and Fucking Goblins.
Difficult is DODGING THREE MISSLES FROM A SUBMARINE IN "TOP GUN" LEVEL 4 THEN HAVING TO REFUEL *AND THEN LAND*
Ugh. They were fun for about 1 afternoon before you got so frustrated that you burned them in effigy and went back to playing Kung Fu.
I Already Know (Score:2)
by hard experience, Games Not to Play.
Any school child has been thoroughly indoctrinated about these.
For instance, any one with a deck of cards asking if you'd like to play "52 Card Pickup". I only had to play that game once, at age 6.
Another great card game that any 8 year old can teach to a 5 year old is "Janitor".
The worse part of the whole thing is that, despite growing much older and more knowledgable and ostensibly working at a professional job, the workplace is still full of such games and people with mentalities to propagate them.
I especially like equivalents to "Bring Me a Rock".