Games They'd Like Us To Forget [Slashdot]

[DP ServBot]

Games Radar has a short piece up talking about some games that otherwise very accomplished developers would probably like us to forget. They call them "Secret Shame" games, and run the gamut from cheesy cash grabs (Shaq Fu and Justice League: Task Force) to notable flops (the Miyamoto-produced Stunt Race FX). From their discussion of Justice League: "Originally, this game was to be published by Sunsoft, but was picked up by Acclaim after Sunsoft went under bankruptcy reorganization. We'd almost say they should have known better than to put this out, but this is notorious sh**-peddler Acclaim we're talking about. Thankfully, the game was rightfully ignored, and due to its relative obscurity, Blizzard is almost never subject to mockery for it. Up until now, at least."Read more of this story (http://games.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=07/06/19/0312205&from=rss) at Slashdot.
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[Vectorman0]

What a surprise, another terrible list. 99 Nights didn't live up to the hype, it was mediocre, but it wasn't so bad it's something they want us to forget. And 18 Wheeler pretends to be nothing more than it really is, an arcade game. With only seven games, you think they would be able to spend more than 5 minutes compiling the list...

[Eggman]

I actually got a copy of Justice League Task Force when I was a kid, when I also had Street Fighter II, and I really enjoyed it. It isn't anything more than a SF knockoff, but I hardly see why it should be seen as an embarassing failure.

[PentiumMMX]

I figured Shaq-Fu would be #1 on the list

[hbkprm]

men in black 2

[Snapple]

Most lists I think people on this board overreact to, but this one really is pretty weak. They don't even seen to have real criteria. They're not claiming this is the "seven worst games ever" or "seven biggest disappointments" or anything like that. They're just throwing out some random games they didn't like, and they don't even mention what they don't like about Shaq Fu.

[Oobgarm]

Terrible list. That's the kind of garbage that's usually reserved for private blogs.

King of Route 66 DID get a console port, much to the contrary of the article.

http://images.rottentomatoes.com/images/games/coverg/37/636337.jpg

[Nintendo Gamer]

.....

[roushimsx]

King of Route 66 DID get a console port, much to the contrary of the article.

I normally don't care for lists, but I do enjoy reading the ones on GamesRadar. That said, I found it interesting that that error found its way into the article. Pretty fun PS2 game...currently working on getting 100% on it :)

edit - looks like the article got fixed

[Push Upstairs]

I'll agree with "Stunt Race FX"

Choppy as hell and I was aware of that when I first played the game.

[DigitalSpace]

Stunt Race FX? Come on. Sure, it wasn't another Starfox, and it doesn't look as good as it used to, but it was a pretty fun game.

[Gabriel]

What's the deal with the sudden game media hatred of Justice League Task Force? First there was the worst fighting games article, and now this. Justice League Task Force isn't very good, but look at the vast majority of the other fighting games of the era.

Is there some new DC licensed game on the horizon which the game publications are doing the groundwork to claim blows everything else out of the water?

[goemon]

Wow, the lists on that site are some of the worst I've ever read. Especially this one (http://www.gamesradar.com/us/pc/game/features/article.jsp?articleId=20070108121528737099&amp;section Id=1003&amp;releaseId=2006032219817514003), where they mock people who like good games instead of lowbrow junk.

EDIT: Not to mention that they also spend one of the entries mocking classic gaming as well. According to them, only new stuff is any good, and the stuff that's new now will suck when the next new stuff comes out. Pathetic.

[Lady Jaye]

Well, that should give you a clue of the age of the writers. Chances are they are in their early 20s (no offense to our younger members, but if you're into classic games, you're the exception, not the rule among your generation).

I'm reading the article goemon linked to, and I don't see why he takes offense... it's a "how you know you're a fanboy" article. So far, I gotta agree with the points being made (I'm not finished reading it). Although I can see how that article would be offensive to many of you guys (for instance, the part about the Greatest Hits packaging or about the popular mainstream games.

[FastRobPlus]

They don’t speak for MGS when they say we’d rather forget N3.

[scooterb23]

I think a lot of people are missing the point of the initial list. It's not the worst games ever or anything like that...it's just a list of games that are disappointing compared to the other games made by that developer.

I mean, Justice League wasn't great...but compared to Starcraft? Yeah, it's a donkey.

Do I disagree with stuff? Yeah, mainly Stunt Race as I liked that game. But it's not like I'm somehow offended because someone else didn't like it.

[FastRobPlus]

I think a lot of people are missing the point of the initial list. It's not the worst games ever or anything like that...it's just a list of games that are disappointing compared to the other games made by that developer.

I mean, Justice League wasn't great...but compared to Starcraft? Yeah, it's a donkey.

Do I disagree with stuff? Yeah, mainly Stunt Race as I liked that game. But it's not like I'm somehow offended because someone else didn't like it.
I think the point the others is making is that GamesRadar is a gaming site that seems more like a freeform blog. None of those games are AAA titles but to say "we think the publishers would rather forget them" makes you immediately think "Wow! What did they dig up?" Did they interview some insiders and find that MegaGame4 was supposed to be published by EA but EA was so embarrassed by it they sub-contracted Majesco to publish it under a different title so it would not be associated with EA?" I wanna read about that!!
But no... just some guy randomly talking about games he thought were poor (and some were and some weren’t.)

[Graham Mitchell]

I really liked Stunt Race FX. There was a lot to do in that game and it was fun. It had really pretty good design for a racing game, despite looking a little clunky.

As for Target:Terror, I admit that when I first heard about the game I groaned. I've noticed Eugene Jarvis has a theme of being over-generalizing and somewhat offensive in his game design. (NARC implies that all drug addicts and dealers should be blown into pieces, and look at Total Carnage's depictions of Arabs...and the obviously pro-patriotism theme of the entire game). But I finally played T:T, and it's actually quite fun, and not really that offensive. I particularly like the "terrorist bitch" female character with the high-heeled boots running around and shooting at you. The characters all look like Americans. If they all had turbans on or something, I'd be a little turned off, but they don't.

[scooterb23]

I always got the feeling that almost all these "games news" sites were more like blogs. Just occasionally they actually get actual info from a company.

I think the point to take away from this...is that it got a lot of us to visit their site, and bandy their name about...so mission accomplished.

I wouldn't mind to get the truth behind what games companies are secretly embarrassed about either, but I doubt we'd ever get those stories.

[diskoboy]

I'm sorry - I thought Ninety-Nine Nights was a pretty good game. Not the greatest in the world, but it still had it's charm.

But the reason I totally think this list is shit - not one mention of Superman 64 or VCS Pac-Man or E.T. (Both the latter mentioned abominations almost brought down the entire industry. I'm amazed Howard Scott Warshaw even admitted he did ET.)

[roushimsx]

What's the deal with the sudden game media hatred of Justice League Task Force? First there was the worst fighting games article, and now this. Justice League Task Force isn't very good, but look at the vast majority of the other fighting games of the era.

I don't know about the worst fighting game article, but it was singled out here because of how dramatically inferior it is to the developer's other works (as are pretty much all of the games in the article). Hell, even if you don't take their PC games into account, JLTF downright sucked compared to Lost Vikings, Rock & Roll Racing, and Blackthorne. On it's own, it was merely sub-average.

The DC universe doesn't really lend itself well to a fighting game, anyway.

[FastRobPlus]

I wouldn't mind to get the truth behind what games companies are secretly embarrassed about either, but I doubt we'd ever get those stories.

We are starting to see this a bit with games from the 1980's. Look at some of the exposes they do in Retro Gamer for example. We're a little early to be talking about missteps made with games from the modern generation of consoles.

You can sometimes see the processes working in the background if you look hard enough...

[Kid Ice]

You guys just don't get it.

SHAQ FU

It's really funny, see? SHAQ FU. It was a fighting game with the basketball player Shaquille O Neal.

HO HO HO.

SHAQ FU...it's automatically funny. Put it at the top or bottom of any list. Oh boy, SHAQ FU is always good for a laugh! There's something that will never stop being funny!

Ready to laugh your ass off again?

BEST GAMES EVAR:

5 - Final Fantasy 7
4 - Metal Gear Solid
3 - Halo 3
2 - Radiant Silvergun
1 - Shaq Fu

Haw haw haw SHAQ FU best game ever! Get it???!!!!

WORST GAMES EVAR:

5 - Final Fantasy 7
4 - Metal Gear Solid
3 - every Army Men game
2 - Radiant Silvergun
1 - Shaq Fu

Ho ho ho SHAQ FU sure sucked!

[j_factor]

I'm amazed Howard Scott Warshaw even admitted he did ET.)

He seems perversely proud of it. I remember at the Atari panel last CGE, he commented that E.T. is the worst game ever. Someone else on the panel immediately chimed in, "no it's not!" To which he replied... "It should be."

And it seems in almost every interview he ever gives, he talks about how Yars' Revenge was considered one of the best games, and E.T. one of the worst (sometimes the worst), and so he has the biggest range out of anyone in the industry. I also recall him appearing in an early G4 commercial saying the same thing.

To his credit, doesn't E.T. have some kind of record for fastest-developed game or something? Given that he did it all by himself, in a ridiculously short time span, and was only vaguely assigned to do "an E.T. game" (and therefore had to come up with the entire gameplay and everything by himself), I think it's pretty amazing that it even runs.

In any case, he seems like a pretty cool guy. I bought his documentary.

[diskoboy]

He seems perversely proud of it. I remember at the Atari panel last CGE, he commented that E.T. is the worst game ever. Someone else on the panel immediately chimed in, "no it's not!" To which he replied... "It should be."

Actually - I think Pac-Man should get that credit. Everyone wanted the game, and it wasn't at all, what we were expecting.

ET had some potential, but you were right - It was simply rushed to release. I believe they said he had 6 months to get it ready, before it hit stores... If they had more time, it could've been much better than it was.

Actually, if anyone is to blame at Atari, it's Ray Kassar. He just ran that company into the ground. During the early 80's quality control was something that totally eluded Atari. Not to mention they paid Speilberg several million for the ET name, alone.

[Rob2600]

...not one mention of Superman 64...

That's because Titus hasn't developed any hit video games.

How about The Bouncer (Square/Dream Factory, 2001) for PlayStation 2?

[smork]

Actually - I think Pac-Man should get that credit. Everyone wanted the game, and it wasn't at all, what we were expecting.

And sooo many of us got that at full price when we were kids, because it's Pac Man. Man, what a disappointment. I think that game is why I still don't like playing Pac Man (though I used to as a kid).

I don't get the hate for N3, either. I can understand not liking it becuase you don't like the DW-style of play, but that's like saying SFIII sucks because you don't like 2D fighters.

I'd be more inclined to mention games like Twisted Metal 3 & 4, which took a fun series and made it shit. Or, how about Lunar DS -- made another fun series almost unplayably boring.

[Mobius]

ET had some potential, but you were right - It was simply rushed to release. I believe they said he had 6 months to get it ready, before it hit stores... If they had more time, it could've been much better than it was.

I think it was more like six weeks, which really puts its quality into perspective.

[PDorr3]

hahaa, stretch panic on ps2, I have that game and all I can even remember about it is pulling one some HUGE breasted womans breasts.

[roushimsx]

How about The Bouncer (Square/Dream Factory, 2001) for PlayStation 2?

Or how about Kabuki Warriors for Xbox. How do you do Bushido Blade 1 and 2 and then descend to THAT?

Dream Factory has had an interesting history of games, and I honestly don't think any of them have been all that bad (granted, I haven't played The Bouncer in ~6 years... I need to remember to pick up a copy of it next time I see it at Gamestop). All of their games have been pretty enjoyable, though the hype and expectations for a few of them might have left some fans disappointed (thinking that they were going to get a Final Fantasy fighting game and such).

Oh, how about Soldier of Fortune 2 and Jedi Outcast? Raven had previously developed a nice list of excellent first person action games (and the supremely excellent Heretic 2!), but then wound up tackling JO and SoF2 at the same time. The end result was two games that were pale imitations of their predecessors but with snazzy graphics.

Prince of Persia 3D (PC) is relatively forgettable, considering the quality of its predecessors and sequels (mainly because of the wonky control and camera). The game was rushed out of the door before it was done essentially, and the actual game wasn't "finished" until it was ported to DC. It's pretty telling that while GameTap could include either the PC or DC versions on their service that they opted for the DC one.

[Rob2600]

Or how about Kabuki Warriors for Xbox. How do you do Bushido Blade 1 and 2 and then descend to THAT?

Good point. Also, if Acclaim were still around, I'm sure the people there would want us all to forget about BMX XXX (Acclaim/Z-Axis, 2002). Acclaim had a pretty good run on the Nintendo 64 (the Turok series, the All-Star Baseball series, Forsaken, etc.), but a few years later resorted to releasing a naked bike riding game.

[Poofta!]

list wasnt that bad... basically they picked some industry greats and showed us what crap they made ages ago... that said i like 99nights, prob cause ive never played dynasty warriors. and 18wheeler is a fun little game. T:T is exactly what it aims to be, an arcade gun game, but yes its dissapointing from the guy who made cruisn and narc.