There are games lists that celebrate the best and brightest in gaming. This isn’t one of those lists. It’s time for the third annual top 10 worst games we’ve reviewed.
Some games are memorable for a unique feature. Some games are memorable for their particularly flashy graphics. Some games are even memorable for their incredible sound track. Some games are memorable for, well, failing to provide any decent amount of entertainment. We’ve played a number of games over the years and provided lists of what we found particularly bad. We’ve done this at the end of 2014 and repeated the process in 2015. Still, in spite of those lists, there are still plenty of bad games out there and this lists encapsulates our worst experiences this year. Here is the top 10 worst games we’ve reviewed in 2016!
10. Mega Man 6 (NES)
Picture a game that did many great innovative things. Picture the sequel to improve on those innovations and make it a great game. Then, picture the next game just copying the same thing. Then, the next game once again copies the same thing to make those innovations a tired repetition. Now, picture that series doing the same thing two more times just because it can. Those innovations eventually become something you would want to scream out and say, “Enough! Give me something new and cool for a change!” That’s pretty much what this game did. It took a set of innovations and turned them into tired old cliche’s and had the audacity to not care and repackage it too many times. With a lack of innovation, Mega Man 6 kicks off our top 10 list.
Score: 58%
9. Codebreaker (Atari 2600)
It’s up to you to crack the code and beat the game. Sounds like a nice start to a game, right? Unfortunately, this game barely goes beyond the tech demo stage and into a truly playable game. While decent if you want a computerized version of the board game Mastermind, this game just doesn’t do much more then that.
Score: 58%
8. Flag Capture (Atari 2600)
You expect a game to be about pirates or sailing on the high seas. So, what do you get? Stick figures that you move around on squares as you hunt for, uh, flags in a random guessing game. Where are they? Who knows? You might get a vague hint or two from flipping other squares, or you might get blasted by a bomb and send yourself to the beginning. What does that have to do with pirates? I really don’t know.
Score: 58%
7. Super Mario Advance (Game Boy Advance)
Super Mario can often be a great franchise to turn to when Nintendo wants to show off what a new platform is capable of. It can show off new camera capabilities, graphic capabilities, and a whole lot more on what a system can do. This game not only didn’t really do much to show off the handheld system capabilities, but also rehashed an old arcade and NES game – and not really in a good way either. It even went so far as to make one of the classics virtually unplayable.
Score: 56%
6. Motocross (Atari 2600)
Oh Atari, it’s often difficult to tell if a game is going to be great or a miserable fail. With high hopes, I thought Motocross was going to be a half decent top down racer. Instead, we got a racer with flags with unclear uses, a fuel tank that randomly runs dry, and graphics that are inferior to other console games at the time, this game just misses the mark.
Score: 56%
5. Video Chess (Atari 2600)
How can you go wrong with chess? After all, this is a system with limited capabilities, why not throw on a chess game tat is equally simple, but fun. Unfortunately, you can go wrong if you end up with a half broken game.
Score: 56%
4. Casino (Atari 2600)
Yet another game that simply doesn’t get off of that tech demo stage. This game does feature a few casino games, but some of the other games are nowhere to be found in any casino. I know of gambling games that are certainly worth playing, but this is definitely not one of them.
Score: 52%
3. I Want My Mommy (Atari 2600)
While the premise is a kid going through a nightmare world. Playing this game winds up being a nightmare. Boasting only 2 – yes, 2 levels, this game has barely any content whatsoever. With confusing concepts and a poorly thought out concept of directing this to kids, this game just flops on many levels. This isn’t even touching on the “What the-?” art in this game.
Score: 44%
2. Mario is Missing! (SNES)
While there was some impressive emphasis on architecture in the art department, that is about where the positive elements in this game ends. It’s impossible to die. The concepts found in this game are confusing. They even made Yoshi look a bit like a green penguin. This game shows that the road to hell can be paved with good intentions with it’s education-minded concept. Still, it may come as a surprise that this game comes at number 2 for some. What could be worse than this game?
Score: 32%
1. Blackjack (Atari 2600)
Not only is this little more than a tech demo, it’s a tech demo with only one game. Not only is this a single card game minded game, but the game wasn’t very well implemented. This game tilts the odds in the computers favor. If you hit a push, you still lose. With an unfair disadvantage built on top of what is little more than a tech demo, there’s little wonder why this game is the 2016 worst games we’ve played all year.
Score: 30%
There you have it! Another year of remembering experiences that we’d rather forget. Stay tuned, though: tomorrow, we count down the top 10 best games we’ve reviewed all year!
Drew Wilson on Twitter: @icecube85 and Google+.
