Yahoo Finance The 5 Worst Video Games of 2015
For gamers, 2015 was an embarrassment of riches. Massive open-world RPGs, slick action games, gorgeous shooters: Great interactive experiences were readily available all year long.
Unfortunately, so were the stinkers. And few games stunk quite as badly as the following five misfires.
Save us, Jet Jaguar! (Image: Bandai-Namco)
Godzilla
A giant monster smashes buildings and fights other giant monsters. How hard is this to make awesome? Apparently, the answer is “super-hard” if Bandai-Namco’s disastrous Godzilla is any indication.
Its sluggish star fights like a punch-drunk boxer, throwing inaccurate haymakers and wildly spraying his underpowered electric breath. Its terrible controls turn the big lizard into a lumbering tank. Its cheap graphics would look comfy on a PS3 (or PS2, even), while its awful mission design requires incessant grinding. The King of All Monsters? Hardly. Go play Rampage instead. Read the Yahoo review
WTF is even happening here? (Image: Versus Evil)
Afro Samurai 2: Revenge of Kuma Volume 1
Bad games are a dime a dozen, but it takes a special kind of bad to turn even a game’s creators against it. Afro Samurai 2 is that kind of bad.
Based on the popular manga, the game was riddled with bugs and saddled with broken controls. In fact, it was so lousy that roughly 24 hours after appearing on the PlayStation Store and Steam, Afro Samurai 2 magically vanished.
Except it wasn’t magic: It was intentional. From the Afro Samurai 2 website:
“Despite our best efforts, Afro Samurai: Revenge of Kuma Volume One did not meet the quality standards that we require. As a result, we have decided to voluntarily refund the purchase price of the game and its associated Trilogy pack with our sincerest apologies. We have also decided to cancel all future Afro Samurai episodes.”
Kudos to publisher Versus Evil for offering players a full refund, though it’s hard to forgive them for charging money for Afro Samurai 2 in the first place when they knew it was clearly not ready for prime time. Or any time, really.
Right into the fire. (Image: Activision)
Tony Hawk Pro Skater 5
Skate or die? If you spent money on this overpriced dud, you probably had a hard time deciding which was preferable.
What was supposed to be a feel-good return to form for the once proud king of extreme-sports gaming turned out to be a wipeout of busted graphics, repetitive objectives, and annoying mechanics. Not only was it far too expensive, but the game’s minor tweaks to the franchise’s well-worn formula weren’t for the better. Grind slam? What?
The one consolation? At least they didn’t stick gamers with a lame peripheral this time. Read the Yahoo review
Hate sells, but who’s buying? (Image: Destructive Creations)
Hatred
The name pretty much sums it up.
Designed to spark controversy, this depressing game about a sociopath who indiscriminately murders innocent civilians was initially barred from Valve Software’s popular Steam distribution service. Eventually, Valve relented, and while it got a rare AO (Adults Only) rating, Hatred was released on June 1. According to its designers, it’s not just a game about a remorseless killing machine, it’s also an artistic statement about video games and political correctness.
Except it’s also a bad video game. Boring, ugly, and uninventive, its instantly forgettable gameplay was the perfect match for its abhorrent premise. Gamers, naturally, hated it.
Maybe Batman can help us fix these glitch…oh. (Image: WBIE)
The PC Version of Batman: Arkham Knight
This might be the first time in the history of video games that a game could legitimately win a Best and a Worst of the Year award.
But that’s exactly the case with Batman: Arkham Knight. On the Xbox One and PS4, it was a stunning open-world action game, featuring terrific visuals, tight combat, and wonderful performances by its beloved cast of voice actors.
On the PC? It sucked.
Rendered nearly unplayable because of countless bugs and glitches, the game was removed from both Steam and retail shelves shortly after its release. Warner Bros. Interactive suspended sales until it could fix the bevy of technical issues. But unlike Batman’s methodical takedown of Scarecrow, the publisher would go on to lose the war. Even after a rerelease in late October, players still reported tons of errors. A technical analysis backed that up, and while Warner Bros. continues to work on the game, the bat’s out of the bag and it ain’t coming back.
More gaming stories for Yahoo Tech:
Ben Silverman is still shellshocked over that terrible Godzilla game. Comfort him on Twitter at @ben_silverman.
