We now turn our attention to what didn’t work in games for 2022. We’ve seen some highlights and lowlights on this front and these were the lowlights.
On the side of video games, 2022 was certainly an interesting one. We continued on with reviewing Sega Genesis games, then jumped two generations up straight into Playstation 2 games. Both systems certainly have their highs and lows. So, let’s go straight into what games didn’t exactly end up impressing us.
10. Pac-Attack (Sega Genesis)
A novel concept is always a welcome sight to see in a game. With a very familiar character making a return in a novel new video game, it can push a new gaming concept even further. Unfortunately, not all experiments work out as is the case here. Once the novelty wears off, the game quickly becomes a very repetitive one. As a result, this game made it under the wire for this years top 10 list.
Score: 56%
9. Dr. Robotnik’s Mean Bean Machine (Sega Genesis)
This is one of the many Puyo Puyo clones out there. This time, the antagonist of the Sonic the Hedgehog series takes centre stage. With a difficulty curve that ramps up extremely quickly, gamers new to the concept of Puyo Puyo will quickly be pushed out of the game. With repetition plaguing the remaining players, this game didn’t quite impress us.
Score: 56%
8. The Great Waldo Search (Sega Genesis)
It might be surprising that such an enjoyable book might not be as enjoyable in a video game. After all, you don’t have the pain of someone using a pencil to scratch in the solutions in each book and you get to find out if what you found is, indeed, what you are being asked to find. Unfortunately, this game ends up being an extremely easy and short-lived game with very little replay value. In this case, stick to the original books. It can be a very enjoyable experience.
Score: 56%
7. Call of Duty 2: Big Red One (Playstation 2)
It’s a very well known franchise that helped to popularize World War II FPS games. Unfortunately, this console sequel didn’t quite make the grade. This is in thanks partly due to some of the more interesting features found in the previous game being stripped out or reduced down. With simplified maps, gameplay quickly becomes repetitive. With nothing much to do on, this game winds up on this years list.
Score: 54%
6. Shove It! – The Warehouse Game (Sega Genesis)
One of the many Sokoban clones out there, Shove It features a warehouse worker trying to push boxes in designated loading zones. While an interesting puzzle game concept, it may be only interesting to a very narrow audience. With repetition and unimpressive gameplay, it’s a bit tricky to find this one enjoyable.
Score: 52%
5. Klax (Sega Genesis)
The game encourages you to play it every day. In retrospect, it might be easy to see why the game begs players to keep playing it. Repetitive play makes this game less than impressive. As a result, it ends up being barely passable.
Score: 50%
4. Gargoyles (Sega Genesis)
While this game is based off of a well known 90s cartoon series, this game winds up being a missed opportunity. With a high degree of difficulty and bugs wind up being this games own undoing as it is one of the few games to actually get a failing grade this year.
Score: 48%
3. Blockout (Sega Genesis)
Making Tetris 3D might be a holy grail of achievements. In fact, there have been successful attempts to do so since the release of this game. Unfortunately, this version winds up being a less then successful attempt. With an annoying style of play and high degree of difficulty, this game ends up being a very solid 3rd worst game we’ve reviewed this year.
Score: 42%
2. Space Invaders 91 (Sega Genesis)
How many oldschool gamers can attest to how great Space Invaders was when it first made it onto the gaming scene? Plenty. The game was a runaway success in the earliest days of gaming. So, of course, there have been many efforts to revive this game over the years since. After all, that nostalgia factor must be worth something, right? Well, in this case, the effort ended up falling flat with little new innovative features to make it interesting to more modern gamers at the time. As a result, this game easily makes it to number 2 on our list.
Score: 38%
1. Frogger (Sega Genesis)
This years winner of the worst game we’ve reviewed all year continues the trend of attempting to bring back great old games into a new era. While Space Invaders 91 brought few features, this game brought none. In fact, it’s a carbon copy of a much older arcade version with only the odd picture here and there to spice things up. As a result, this game ends up being instantly dated and dull. As a result, this game completely dominates our list of worst games we’ve played all year.
Score: 20%
Honourable Mentions
It isn’t a full roster of games this year. So, we do know that the games we’ve reviewed are stronger this time around. Still, there are a few games that didn’t exactly impress. Here are this years honourable mentions.
Call of Duty: Finest Hour (Playstation 2):
The best of the worst this year belongs to the first Call of Duty game. Confusing animations and limited features drug this game down a peg for us.
Score: 60%
Aaahh!!! Real Monsters (Sega Genesis):
A steep learning curve and clunky controls was what made it difficult to enjoy this one. Not only that, but you can’t even save your progress.
Score: 58%
Tetris (Sega Genesis):
It might be surprising to see this name on a list like this. Still, it’s important to note that not all versions of Tetris are great. This one has pretty confusing programming choices and a less than impressive item system layout.
Score: 58%
Double Dragon 3: The Arcade Game (Sega Genesis):
One of those games that advertises itself as an arcade game that is actually on a console system. While it is an interesting attempt to spice things up with stores and money, this game ends up being a rather repetitive game that gets old after a while.
Score: 58%
Well, that’s it for this years worst games. Join us tomorrow as we explore what we thought were the most impressive games of the year.
Drew Wilson on Twitter: @icecube85 and Facebook.
