Take no notice of the people who bang on about the "good old days" - this is truly gaming's golden era. More great games are released each year than we have time to play, and that trajectory doesn't look like it's tailing off any time soon. But just so the games industry doesn't get too big-headed, we've made a list of the worst games ever to sully the Xbox 360.
We've not gone for the easy targets: we've put aside the casual game tot-fodder, horse-hugging sims and Hannah Montana tie-ins, and focused only on the games from which we had a reason to expect more. It's a shower of bilge, but it makes one heartening point: the only way is up.
In no mood for vitriol? Here are our best Xbox 360 games of 2012 so far - the list probably needs updating, come to think of it. Oh, and here are 10 of our favourite Xbox Live Indie games.
1. Duke Nukem Forever
(2K, Gearbox, 2011)
You can have fun in Duke Nukem, but it's not often because you're playing it. Instead, you have to approach its mortified remains as an archaeologist might examine a freshly exhumed bog-man; a Time Team special on a '90s satire of '80s action heroism that somehow fossilised well before it died. Turf through its calcified guts and you can see which stale memes it ingested as it staggered on through the millennium, each leathery fold concealing a once-new FPS mechanic: recharging health, QTEs, destructible cover and so on.
In its ugly and shambling frame you can see a development long gone sour, a desperation to patch over the decay with gaudy new features, every addition more hurried than the last, eventually compromising a focus on the basics. It even struggles to offend: its frat-house humour might once have been noxious, but this old boy doesn't have many teeth left.
2. Avatar: The Last Airbender - The Burning Earth
(THQ, 2007)
As is now famous, you are able to earn The Last Airbender's full 1,000 Microsoft Points in the very first level by standing in a single spot and continually pressing B for two minutes. That's two minutes longer than anyone should have to play this heinous, cynical guff.
3. Sonic the Hedgehog
(Sega, 2007)
The arrival of Sega's mascot on this generation of consoles had every reviewer simultaneously reaching for a roadkill pun. Ghastly, twitchy controls and a camera keen on facing the wrong way are not a happy match with instant death plunges.
4. Leisure Suit Larry: Box Office Bust
(Codemasters, Team 17, 2009)
In the original adventure game, if you decided to romance a prostitute without using the appropriate protection, Larry keeled over from a horrific STD. So, in one sense, this ghoulish cash-in has stayed true to its roots: it's every bit as funny and sexy as knob-rot.
5. Harry Potter & The Deathly Hallows: Part 1
(EA, EA Bright Light, 2010)
Touted as 'Gears of Wand', this was the first Potter game to try to go after the 'hardcore' gamer. "Stupefy! Stupefy! Stupefy!" Harry shouts. We agree, Harry - it does.
36 comments so far...
Captain_Chao5 on 6 Oct '12 said:
Thankfully none of those are on my 'played' list... Personally I would have included Brink on the list. Utter crap that it was.
Clanger67 on 6 Oct '12 said:
I too haven't experienced any off these.
comabob on 6 Oct '12 said:
Ive played the majority of these i hate to admit...
Though Two Worlds was a decent game - id suggest replacing it in the list with Looney Tunes Acme Arsenal or Naught Bear.
I mean stuff like Sniper:Ghost Warrior was bad but at least it had its moments. LT:AA has nothing nor does Naughty Bear.
Decent_Jam on 6 Oct '12 said:
If this list was 'The 50 most disappointing games on Xbox 360' then I think Red Faction Armageddon deserves a mention. That was probably the last game I had my hopes pinned on and was really looking forward to, only for it to end up being a shadow of its former glory.
Can't say I've played any of these, so I'm safe. I thought you might also include Perfect Dark Zero, I did try to play it (got it for 2 quid in CEX) but just couldn't, really really couldn't.
Slopoke on 6 Oct '12 said:
Indeed, most of these games are horrible but I, for one, quite enjoyed N3 and BulletWitch, it's a shame they're in this list.
Anyway, I'm surprised not to see Import Tuner Challenge, The Club, DMMM:Elements or Legendery. Those games were the most annoying, horrible games I've ever played!
schwepterbrowser on 6 Oct '12 said:
I've played a few of these - even enjoyed some of them (including Soldier of Fortune: Payback, and no, I didn't skin the neighbour's dog!). Also have a few in my collection that I'm yet play, one of which is Blackwater; part of the reason I bought it (along with only being £10 right on top of release) being OXM's decent review and score of 7 - now it's one of the worst games?
Johnbhoy69 on 6 Oct '12 said:
I picked up Knights Contract for £2 brand new from the Game website, completed the 1st level and haven't looked at it since. That was 8 months ago, didn't think it was great or bad just fairly average for the single hour I played it.
Grummy on 6 Oct '12 said:
There is no good reason for Two Worlds to be on this list. Yes, it has its problems, but its a huge open world RPG, with some great ideas, and it is entertaining to play. I demand you all give each other a slap for allowing this game to be mentioned here.
Iron-Man was OK, wasn't brilliant, but it wasn't awful either. There's probably dozens of other games that should be on this list instead of it.
Superman Returns. Again, had it's problems, but its flying mechanics are exceptional, and if you put the Superman theme on your harddrive and play it in the background, it's awesome to just fly around in circles.
Spider-Man: Friend or Foe. Sorry, no,shouldn't be on this list. You can't criticize it for being a kids game, because as a kids game, it's decent. All of my friends who have kids and let them play Xbox, have played this with them, and they've all enjoyed it. It's a kids game that kids enjoy, you can't class it as one of the 50 worst games on the system.
Infernal, Ninja Blade, any of the Cabella's games, Dark Sector, Blacksite, The Golden Compass, Ratatouille, Jumper, Warhammer BattleMarch, Star Trek Legacy, Armoured Core 4 are all games from my played list that should seriously be on there before any of those.
comabob on 6 Oct '12 said:
Dark Sector?!? But but - it had the bestest most powerfullest shotgun ever!!
I liked it...
Legendary is a good shout though...
JCHN on 6 Oct '12 said:
Ummmm, DNF was not that bad, and certainly does not deserve to be placed among this crap. It has some very fun moments, and if you can get past the off hunour, you will find a decent fps!!!
Wadium_Arcadium on 6 Oct '12 said:
None of them have desecrated my disc tray but as Captain_Chao5 said, Brink definitely deserves a place on the list.
NinthGeorgesw on 6 Oct '12 said:
I liked Brink. Playing with actual people instead of the AI made it a really fun game.
YoungTobias on 6 Oct '12 said:
It's an insult to place Duke Nukem ahead of Sonic 2006 (NOT 2007, as you seem to believe for some reason). At least Duke Nukem is playable and you know what to expect from it, crude offensive filth. Sonic 2006 is literally broken. It has the dirt worst camera I've ever had the misfortune of playing with, the story is frankly insulting, and the gameplay itself rarely feels in any way intense or exciting. It's just a slog for the most part. Also, Silver the Hedgehog. Need I say more?
Not only the worst 360 game, but one of the worst pieces of entertainment media ever created.
Joe90_Remy700 on 6 Oct '12 said:
yup. certainly not the worst game and no way should it be on the list. it was much longer and more varied than alot of what are rated "AAA" titles...
Alaric14 on 6 Oct '12 said:
The descriptions for some of these made me laugh. Particularly enjoyed your summation of Bomberman Act: Zero and that Mickey Rourke voiced soldier Korea thingy...instantly forgettable title, as you can tell.
I played the first Ninety-Nine Nights and for some reason it would never let me get above a B rating on Ilfy's (whatever her name is) last level. Bastards.
chaosslayer on 6 Oct '12 said:
Why did you guys give Blackwater a 7/10 and then list it as one of the 50 worst games? kinda overrated the game huh guys!? or a payoff from the developer maybe?
Where is Perfect Dark Zero, Naughty Bear, Jumper (the worst game on 360), Cabela games and A-Train?
Drainwater on 7 Oct '12 said:
Personally I thought Superman Returns had controlling Superman down pat. As others have mentioned, it was fun flying around as him. I also thought it was fun entering the cheat code so you could play as Bizarro in free roam and chuck cars and people around without having to worry about the city health meter. Beyond that though, it did suck royally. When the final boss of a game is a tornado, it almost seems to want to fail.
Also, I never played the more recent Destroy all Humans games, but the first one had plenty of cheesy 50s sci fi humor and other fun game mechanics to let me forgive it for being a sub par shooter. Criticizing the gunplay in DAH seems like making fun of Overlord for being a lame third person hack and slash...that's not the central feature of the game.
tazzrats on 7 Oct '12 said:
I couldn't agree more, Bethesda are my favorite company so i bought it ... died a little inside.
delpoi on 7 Oct '12 said:
I unfortunately was subjected to the let down that was duke nukem
pauloselhombre on 7 Oct '12 said:
Seeing Rise of Nightmares on this list is just stubborn, narrow minded nonsense. You'd think an official magazine would have their Kinect set up properly, but this clearly can't be the case, because even in my dimly lit, only just big enough room, the game recognised every gesture almost flawlessly, only occasionally having a problem with sidestepping because I was standing to close to the wall and could only shuffle. Reporting user error as a flaw in the game's gesture recognition just shows incompetence as both gamers and journalists. OXM's summation of this game is a joke. You can do better guys, you have done better, but let's face it, you clearly didn't really bother with this game.
glavias on 8 Oct '12 said:
I got Saw and quite enjoyed it. Some good puzzles and I actually finished it..
CunningSmile on 8 Oct '12 said:
Did anyone else notice a disproportionally large number of these games came out in 2007 or 2009? Were those just dumping ground years for naffness?
And I'm also disappointed at how many of these games looked and sounded great in the run up to release only to be shockingly bad in execution.
PS3Tard on 8 Oct '12 said:
I've played three... all for the easy Achievements... to my eternal shame.
CrispiestSavage on 8 Oct '12 said:
for the worst games on xbox its simple if its kinect its rubbish. kinect could have been a great idea but its pants. sooner we admit and move on the better.
Kettch on 8 Oct '12 said:
Hour of Victory was the biggest gaming mistake I have ever made. I was glad to see it listed here. Not played any of the others...
Dante x Yamato on 8 Oct '12 said:
What about devil may cry 2? Devil may cry 1 was one of the best games ever made. It was the first properly successful hack-and-slash game and what do they go and do, they change everything completely. Not only did it not live up to its DMC1, it was awful all on its own with terrible graphics, repetitive combos, confusing story and rubbish lighting and camera angles.
ChillieBonBon on 9 Oct '12 said:
They should add Turok on this list. I remember how excited I was at the thought of playing the game (it has dinosaurs in it for gods sake!) but got a slap in the face after finding out how pointlessly difficult it was, that the gun fights are awfull, having to restart on the worst checkpoint ever etc...
GHOSTY05 on 11 Oct '12 said:
They should add minecraft to this list.......
Just kidding by the way!
Toots McCleggan on 29 Oct '12 said:
TMNT.....The worst game ive ever played horrible in every aspect.
badmanlee on 29 Oct '12 said:
anyone still play the game you got in the original xbox 360 box (green case)
FishyGinger on 29 Oct '12 said:
What?
left4bread93 on 30 Oct '12 said:
AMY is actually a really good game i played it on PS3 after they had fixed the dodgy checkpoints and saves, however i dont think the xbox version ever got patched
sonicnluke on 2 Jan '13 said:
good list i agree mostly there but i would say that mirrors edge belongs on the list and spiderman friend or foe was a brillient game but good list and im happy can not wait for gta 5 its the game of the century
JR Texx on 10 Jan '13 said:
I'm so glad Rouge Warrior was on there.. It's hard to believe a game can be that bad.
JR Texx on 10 Jan '13 said:
Mirrors Edge? Mirrors Edge was an amazing game...
Clanger67 on 10 Jan '13 said:
I wouldn't say amazing the shooting bits are shit.But the parkour bits are fantastic,let's hope they keep that in mind for the sequel.