Metacritic Limbo - how low can you go?

[LaoJim]

The game is to post the game you own with the lowest Metacritic score. The winner (for a very loose definition of the word 'winner') is the person who has the most critically panned game.

Rules are fairly simple - you must own the game in question (physical or digitally) and you should state clearly the platform it is on and Metacritic score it received. Don't worry if someone has already posted a lower score than your's. It's the taking part that counts.

If you are moved to, please also say why you brought the game, how much you paid for it, and what your opinion of the game is.

An easy bar to get us started.

Score 43 -> Star Trek (2013) - XBox 360 - £3.75

This was on sale just this past week. I'm not entirely sure why I decided to buy it, except that it looked like it might be fun for a couple of hours and was very cheap. While it is clearly not worth £30-40 pounds, for this price it is actually quite fun - the Kirk/Spock banter generally puts a smile on my face - the environments are nice and appropriately Star Fleety, however the direction is somewhat jarring with most scenes suddenly ended about 5 seconds before you feel they should. Shooting is fine, platforming not so much. I'm playing through on Easy because I heard the main problem was you AI partner dying a lot - this isn't happening at the moment. Overall a good purchase, although I'm only about halfway through.

 

[chromatic fairytale]

Ha, this looks fun! x) Let's have a look...

Game: Dance Factory
Score: 56

I don't remember buying or ever playing this?? I have a lot of TERRIBLE looking games from my childhood (PS1-era 101 Dalmatians + Sabrina the Teenage Witch, for example) but they're so dreadful and old that they're not even reviewed on Metacritic. I'm kind a slave to reviews, so I generally won't get a game unless people have fairly good things to say about it.

 

[Ronald Nand]

Deus Ex: The Fall (PC)- Metacritic Score 45

Brought it because it was only $3 and I think it was in a bundle with Director's Cut. I honestly don't think the game was as bad as everyone said it was, adjust your expectations and its a decent game to finish in a weekend and forget about. The combat was abysmal but the stealth was relatively unscathed, so perhaps everyone else was expecting a decent shooter with good controls.

 

[Skops]

According to Metacritic:

Game: Infestation - Survival Stories [aka. War Z ]
Score: 20
Price: 4.99 (I think thats what I bought it for)

I remember buying this on the pure premise of hearing how horrible it was, I didn't buy it at full price [14.99], I wouldn't sink that low.

DISHONORABLE MENTIONS:

AMY (33)
Tunnel Rats: 1968 (30)
Rogue Warrior (27)
Dementium II HD (37)
Montifgue's Mount (39)
Shell Shock 2: Blood Trails (40)
Sonic '06 (41)

I'll stop there, there's at least 20 more under 50 Score on Metacritic.

 

[baddude1337]

Deus Ex: The Fall (PC)- Metacritic Score 45

Brought it because it was only $3 and I think it was in a bundle with Director's Cut. I honestly don't think the game was as bad as everyone said it was, adjust your expectations and its a decent game to finish in a weekend and forget about. The combat was abysmal but the stealth was relatively unscathed, so perhaps everyone else was expecting a decent shooter with good controls.

Eh, it was a pretty poor port. It was great and suited to the Iphone, but the fact they didn't update any of the basic mechanics for PC was pretty shocking.

Anyway, I'll need a proper look later at my game collection, but for now here's 2 I remember:

Neverdead
Xbox 360
Metacritic: 52.

I believe I picked it up for about £1.50, and didn't think it would be too bad. It's okayish, but I stopped playing after maybe an hour.

Breed
PC
Metacritic: 51

An old PC shooter that was meant to be a Halo killer, but ended up falling far short. Picked it up for mayve £4.99 but was so long ago I don't remember. I thought it was okay but hot damn it's pretty crappy in places, with hillarious voice acting, dialogue, and bugs.

I do have some right crap for PS2, Wii and PC

 

[Maximum Bert]

I pretty much gave up I went through the games I have at hand and when I got to a stinker I looked it up only to find it had not been scored on Metacritic at all.

Shame it doesnt have C64 games and older as well because a lot of those would be pretty low.

I settled on Soul Calibur Lost Swords which has

38 Meta and 2 in user reviews

I feel this score is hugely generous I dont see how it could have gotten over 20 it barely works or at least did and when it did you wished it didnt. I didnt pay anything for it as its free but I still feel robbed from the time I put into it, which was little but much more than it deserved. Its the worst game I have ever played and I have played some pretty bad stuff over the years. This new wave of android tosh reminds me of the old days with the sea of garbage games amongst which a few jewels shine.

Since im such a huge Soul Calibur fan I guess its flaws hit home even harder, its just the biggest middle finger they could have given to fans of the series.

 

[joest01]

Mindjack
PS3
Metacritic 44
More notably --> User score: 1.9
(Both scores are even lower on Xb360 btw.)

I bought it cuz it was cheap and the concept sounded interesting. Reminded me of the 3rd Birthday. On paper.
I actually enjoyed what I played tho. The multiplayer was weird but fun. Other players could inhabit good or bad guys in your game if you allowed it. But yea, never finished it...

Far Cry Vengeance
Wii
Metacritic 38
User score 5.3

I bought this because a funny youtuber back in the day reviewed it and called it good stupid fun. Forgot the guys name. And it is, stupid fun. Had me smiling most of the way with the occasional belly laugh inbetween. I did finish this one.

 

[WhiteFangofWhoa]

Hoshigami: Ruining Blue Earth
PS1
Metacritic 62
User Score 9.1

Huh, not that low compared to some. I thought it would be way lower than that after trying to play it a few times, but after the SNES era I never really bought many bad games, and I don't see any of my worst SNES games on there. Definitely looks like games are judged more favourably on that site than movies- even Hooter's Road Trip got 30, and the user score is higher than that.

I got Hoshigami hoping it would be another Final Fantasy Tactics. Picture that except less plot (in case the title isn't a giveway, it's 'environmentally sensitive' in the way Captain Planet is), there's only one class, and every battle is about ten times harder. Also, permadeath.

 

[Eliam_Dar]

Ok lets see, of my games collection:

Lair (PS3) - Review Score 53 - Paid $10
Duken Nukem Forever (PC) - Review Score 53 - I do not want to admit how much I paid

Golden Axe Beast Rider (XBOX 360) - Review Score 44 - Paid $5

I bought Lair and Golden Axe knowing they were bad games, but I liked the concept. Duke Nukem on the other hand was a nostalgia driven purchase.

 

[Blacklight28]

Legendary
PC
Metacritic: 50
User: 6.6
I paid $0.75USD

I bought this in a steam sale because I liked the concept and many user reviews claimed that the game was not as bad as it's reputation might lead one to believe. It wasn't horrible, and for the price I paid I don't really regret it, but I know I wouldn't try it again.

 

[direkiller]

PC-Post Master
Metascore not listed but so far 25 based on the 2 critic reviews(and I don't think it will get the rest of the reviews)
& No user reviews
Humble Simulator bundle so Price is N/A

and I never played or installed it

 

[Andy Shandy]

I was honestly surprised it wasn't Sonic '06, but no, with a Metascore of 35, it's Dead Space Ignition.

For what it's worth, one of my younger brothers owns Sonic Boom: Rise Of Lyric which beats mine with a Metascore of 32.

 

[Chimpzy_v1legacy]

Big Rigs: Over the Road Racing
PC
Metacritic: 8
User: 3.8
I paid nothing.

A friend of mine gave it to me to get rid of it. I took it just to be able to say I own a copy. Though I do feel Big Rigs is kinda cheating at this.

Also, did you know the producer/programmer of this atrocity, Sergey Titov, is also responsible for War Z (now Infestation: Survivor Stories)? Because he totally is.

 

[CaitSeith]

Score: 56
Pokémon Shuffle (2015) - 3DS
Cost: F2P

And you thought Nintendo wouldn't enter to the F2P race. This is a Pokémon themed Candy Crush clone that imitates some Pokémon mechanics (capture Pokémons, make your team, use type advantages, level them up, etc...). But at the end of the day, it's still a F2P Candy Crush clone (including the option of buying in-game currency with real world money). I play these games sometimes because they are free and I like to see how far I can go without being stopped by a paywall.

Score: 39
Alone in the Dark (2008) - Wii
Cost: $50 estimated (I don't remember)

I played the original 3 games in the PC, and I still remember them fondly. At that time I still didn't have the healthy habit of researching before buying, so when I saw it on the store, I thought it would be a good idea to see how good the franchise had become. The score accurately tells the experience.

 

[LaoJim]

Big Rigs: Over the Road Racing
PC
Metacritic: 8
User: 3.8
I paid nothing.

A friend of mine gave it to me to get rid of it. I took it just to be able to say I own a copy. Though I do feel Big Rigs is kinda cheating at this.

Well from what I can see Big Rigs is officially the lowest scoring game on Metacritic so we've gone straight to the bottom, and on that basis I think we have a winner - unless anyone knows differently. However keep fighting it out for second place - anyone want to admit to owning "Family Party 30 Great Games Obstacle Arcade" (for the Wii U) or "Elf Bowling 1 & 2" for the DS - the next two lowest entries.

 

[w23eer]

Game: Pokemon Dash
Platform: Nintendo DS
Score: 46
I have no idea what I (or more accurately, my parents) paid, but do I vaguely recall buying it second hand. Regardless, any amount was too much. I guess the reason I bought it was because I was a stupid Pokemon fanboy (probably still am).

My memory of this game is very fuzzy, but I'll do my best to describe it: It was a racing game where Pikachu was the only playable character. You controlled Pikachu by swiping the touchscreen in the direction you wanted to move. Now, the controls actually worked alright. The problem was everything else; the stages were nearly identical and were very boring. The game was insanely repetitive with little to no variation in anything. The worst part was how easy it was. I'm usually against 'rubberbanding' in racing games, but in this game, the AI make no effort at all. One swipe accelerated Pickachu to a speed far beyond your opponents'. With a little elbow grease, you could consistently finish a track before your opponents are even halfway, even on the later stages.

Really, the best way to describe it was an utter waste of time.

 

[FPLOON]

At first, I was going to choose Sonic 06 for the PS3 until...

Score: <color=red>33
Beyblade VForce: Super Tournament Battle (GC)
~$40

This has a lower score than Sonic 06 somehow... I don't even...

Anyway, I originally bought it because I already had the Strategy Guide for it (since both this game and the BeyBlade VForce GBA game were covered in the same guide). Plus, I was loving the fuck out of Beyblade VForce: Ultimate Blader Jam... Honestly, this was the first game I ever played where "level scaling" was a thing in my gaming history... Basically, you start off at Level 1, use your base Bey (depending on which one you choose at the beginning of the game) in the Tournament, fight other Bladers who are a couple or so levels higher than you (mostly), and then you either loose in the tournament (both the winner and looser bracket) while, "hopefully", leveling up or you win the tournament "somehow" and start all over again from when you were Level 1, only now you're at a higher level as well as some [extra] currency obtained from the matches to use to purchase upgrades to your Bey and shit... There's probably a proper ending to this game, since every time you beat the tournament the in-game credits begin to roll, but I stopped fucking caring after realizing that no matter what you do, your opponents in the tournaments would always be stronger than you, last/spin longer than you, and charge up their Bit Beast [special attack/defense] faster than you...

You know what? Fuck this game! At least Sonic 06 was more unintentionally fun than Super Tournament Battle being intentionally fun...

 

[Raggedstar]

Game: The Legend of Spyro: The Eternal Night
Platform: PS2
Score: 54
Paid: Received for Christmas gift

I admit that I asked for it out of curiosity. Not sure if 54 is too far, but even though it is functional, it's really repetitive, dry, and bland (moreso than the other Legend of Spyro games. First one was ok for baby's first God of War, third was pretty good for what it was. Actually, that 59 is pretty harsh). I tried going into this trilogy with an open mind, but it's...not great. Hell, even the VOICE ACTING doesn't work (oh Billy West).

Game: The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring
Platform: GBA
Score: 51
Paid: Received for Christmas gift

I don't even know. The game is terrible and I don't know how it even works. Haven't played it in nearly a decade. My mom liked LOTR and I liked video games. So...that happened.

Otherwise, I don't ask for or take a lot of games that aren't good (or I'm sure I won't enjoy). Everything else I have is either good or mediocre. I have a few others that aren't great, but they don't have a Metacritic score

 

[baddude1337]

Alright, after getting home I found a pretty good contender:

Gods and Generals
Metascore: 30
Payment: Birthday gift.

Yeah, this is a dogshit of a game. It plays and looks a game a decade older than it's actual release, is buggy, poorly designed, and generally just awful.