# Your vote for worst video game of all time **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [January 4, 2013, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-vote-for-worst-video-game-of-all-time/646077 "2013-01-04T16:49:22Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![chargerrich](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chargerrich/32/5399_2.png) [@chargerrich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chargerrich)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2013, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-vote-for-worst-video-game-of-all-time/646077/1 "2013-01-04T16:49:22Z")
Feel free to select “other” and submit your own! ---
**Author:** ![Jragon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e19b73/32.png) [@Jragon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jragon)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2013, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-vote-for-worst-video-game-of-all-time/646077/2 "2013-01-04T16:51:20Z")
Poll isn’t even up yet, but the correct answer is Big Rigs: Over the Road Racing. You could say Desert Bus, but at least that one is used for charity drives and, y’know, has an actual goal and **works correctly** (not to mention it wasn’t officially released). ---
**Author:** ![Kamino\_Neko](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kamino_neko/32/34_2.png) [@Kamino\_Neko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kamino_Neko)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2013, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-vote-for-worst-video-game-of-all-time/646077/3 "2013-01-04T17:10:01Z")
> [@Jragon](#): > > Poll isn’t even up yet, but the correct answer is Big Rigs: Over the Road Racing. [This, exactly.](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big_Rigs:_Over_the_Road_Racing) First post, thread over. That that thing was released commercially is mindboggling… ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2013, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-vote-for-worst-video-game-of-all-time/646077/4 "2013-01-04T17:13:37Z")
There was a game in the '90s, a 4x type game where you were to build a base/terraform a world, something like that. Reason why I can’t remember it is because the fucker could not install. And when it finally installed, it was buggy as all hell. And it was a major release, not some quick knock-off or never-tested indie release. Then there was the manual, describing game elements that _weren’t in the game_. A little bit of Google-fu brought up this wasted $50: [Outpost](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Outpost_(video_game)). PC Gamer apparently gave it a 93% rating, based on their review of a beta. Oops! I chose “Other” as I’ve only played a couple of games listed. Out of those, “ET” was the worst. ---
**Author:** ![straight\_man](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/straight_man/32/3027_2.png) [@straight\_man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/straight_man)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2013, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-vote-for-worst-video-game-of-all-time/646077/5 "2013-01-04T17:15:19Z")
Perhaps, when this thread has run its course, I should start a “Worse AAA video game of all time” thread — I mean, _Big Rigs: Over the Road Racing_ is appalling and everything, but the fact that it was made by a nobody publisher does sort of mitigate the outrage. But it’s still the obvious answer to the question. ---
**Author:** ![chargerrich](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chargerrich/32/5399_2.png) [@chargerrich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chargerrich)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2013, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-vote-for-worst-video-game-of-all-time/646077/6 "2013-01-04T17:23:40Z")
> [@straight\_man](#): > > Perhaps, when this thread has run its course, I should start a “Worse AAA video game of all time” thread — I mean, _Big Rigs: Over the Road Racing_ is appalling and everything, but the fact that it was made by a nobody publisher does sort of mitigate the outrage. But it’s still the obvious answer to the question. I wont argue that its a horrible game from what I have read (never had the displeasure) but I would argue its not “obviously” the worst. A cursory Google search generally puts it in the top 5 or 10 but I find a few others on the list to be consistently ranked higher… or lower… whatever :smack: ---
**Author:** ![Jragon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e19b73/32.png) [@Jragon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jragon)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2013, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-vote-for-worst-video-game-of-all-time/646077/7 "2013-01-04T17:41:37Z")
> [@chargerrich](#): > > I wont argue that its a horrible game from what I have read (never had the displeasure) but I would argue its not “obviously” the worst. A cursory Google search generally puts it in the top 5 or 10 but I find a few others on the list to be consistently ranked higher… or lower… whatever :smack: I’ll grant that the main travesty of Big Rigs is that it got published and somebody probably paid money for it at some point. The game isn’t even “barely functional”, it’s non-functional. You can’t win (meaning, the lap and winning code isn’t there so it goes on forever), the game crashes all the time, there’s no collision detection. It’s bad, really, really, really bad. But it’s **so** bad it’s kind of a harmless bad. The kind that inspires apathy. There’s not much to say about it, it’s fundamentally broken, big whoop, let’s move on. While Big Rigs was bad, I don’t feel sorry for anybody who played it (bought it maybe, but not **played** it). It’s the kind of game you can play around with for 15 minutes, chuckle about how broken it is, and delete it forever. The people I feel **bad** for are the ones who played really shitty games that are **barely** functional. Like Superman 64. Yeah, you could play. You could even win, but you would be an incarnation of pure boiling rage by the time you finished it because of the glitches, poor design, etc. Though [The](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ii2Es0lqs3Q) [War](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EWfBcnyHAQ4) [Z](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MGhQwFm6NBk) ([TotalBiscut’s video](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RtKAm3nzg6I)) is up there. An obvious, plagiaristic cash grab that’s barely functional as a response to DayZ. Which… surprise… is made by the guy who made Big Rigs. That said, my hatred for The War Z is tempered by the fact that it is **technically** in Alpha. That said, it’s bad enough that it was listed on Steam for two days and Steam had to pull it and refund people due to complaints (complaints such as “literally under 25% of what the store page advertised is present”). ---
**Author:** ![AClockworkMelon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aclockworkmelon/32/10803_2.png) [@AClockworkMelon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AClockworkMelon)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2013, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-vote-for-worst-video-game-of-all-time/646077/8 "2013-01-04T17:50:01Z")
Fugitive Hunter. Each mission has you going after a different wanted terrorist, who you have to box at the end of the level. The final boss is Osama Bin Laden. I was unfortunate enough to have gotten this as a kid. [Video of the final level and the end fight against Osama.](http://www.g4tv.com/videos/52727/osama-bin-laden-raid-captured-on-video/) There’s no way this is a worse game than something like Big Rigs, which isn’t even playable. But I just feel it deserves mention. ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2013, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-vote-for-worst-video-game-of-all-time/646077/9 "2013-01-04T19:33:26Z")
Other for sure. The Charlies Angels movie game was supposed to be attrocious. Big Rigs, of course. **Action 52** might also be a candidate. 52 games, all terrible, and many not working. ---
**Author:** ![Rubixcube](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Rubixcube](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rubixcube)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2013, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-vote-for-worst-video-game-of-all-time/646077/10 "2013-01-04T19:38:36Z")
Another vote for Big Rigs. The thing really doesn’t even deserve to be called a game, more like some early alpha code that was compiled and tossed on a disc without the developers knowledge. Games like E.T. and Aquaman are broken pieces of shit, but at least they’re actually recognizable as games, they have objectives and gameplay. The simple fact that an actual company actually released Big Rigs as a real product still blows my mind. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_Bravo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_bravo/32/493_2.png) [@Johnny\_Bravo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_Bravo)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2013, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-vote-for-worst-video-game-of-all-time/646077/11 "2013-01-04T19:40:15Z")
Of that list, I have to say Daikatana. I never played the legendarily terrible E.T. game. I don’t think Desert Bus really belongs on that list, since it was designed as a gigantic unplayable joke. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2013, 9:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-vote-for-worst-video-game-of-all-time/646077/12 "2013-01-04T21:49:00Z")
I played E.T. somewhere. For me, playing [Snoopy](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Snoopy_(video_game)) was worse! The entire game consisted of getting Snoopy from the left to the right, jumping over an obstacle in the process. Boring! ---
**Author:** ![mkecane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9e8a1a/32.png) [@mkecane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mkecane)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2013, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-vote-for-worst-video-game-of-all-time/646077/13 "2013-01-04T22:19:35Z")
I haven’t played any of these, so my vote goes to Other, though I’m sure it’s not as bad as some of those in the list. My personal worst game ever is Top Gun for the original NES. It was a miracle to land a plane on the first air craft carrier, and I never made it past the second level. Horrible. Or I was horrible at it. Or both. I can’t wait to get home tonight and watch some of these on youtube. I think it’s hilarious that there was a game called Custer’s Revenge. I’ll have to read about that later, too. ---
**Author:** ![Critical1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/3e96dc/32.png) [@Critical1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Critical1)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2013, 10:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-vote-for-worst-video-game-of-all-time/646077/14 "2013-01-04T22:24:54Z")
criticom some 521348234th rate ps1 fighting game that had a vanishingly distant relationship to modern fighters like Tekken and Street Fighter. awful beyond belief. I did play E.T. once but I have only the vaguest of memories. it was dumb as hell I do remember that. ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2013, 10:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-vote-for-worst-video-game-of-all-time/646077/15 "2013-01-04T22:27:31Z")
> [@mkecane](#): > > I haven’t played any of these, so my vote goes to Other, though I’m sure it’s not as bad as some of those in the list. My personal worst game ever is Top Gun for the original NES. It was a miracle to land a plane on the first air craft carrier, and I never made it past the second level. Horrible. Or I was horrible at it. Or both. That may be my vote for the worst game that I’ve played more than a couple times. But it wasn’t the worst in single-player mode, as landing wasn’t really all that bad. The two player mode is what made it the worst. It was a dogfight where the two of you made one pass at each other’s planes and then were constrained to circle each other until the kill was acheived. Trouble is, after the first pass, the winner was pre-ordained because one person would immediately be at an advantage, with no way for the other person to get in their rear and take a shot as long as you had a bare minimum competency with the game. But the loser could still drag out the action for 10 minutes or more before they died. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2013, 10:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-vote-for-worst-video-game-of-all-time/646077/16 "2013-01-04T22:29:54Z")
I’ve played several games that had wide release that essentially did not work. More intriguingly, the video game “Patriot,” a land-based version of the famed “Harpoon,” worked, but there was no game to it. It was a simulation of the Gulf War, but you really couldn’t change anything. You’d go through a hideous series of menus that were as complicated as running a real army, and then the simulation would start and the Allies would win, just as they in fact did. ---
**Author:** ![mkecane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9e8a1a/32.png) [@mkecane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mkecane)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2013, 10:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-vote-for-worst-video-game-of-all-time/646077/17 "2013-01-04T22:31:08Z")
> [@Ludovic](#): > > That may be my vote for the worst game that I’ve played more than a couple times. But it wasn’t the worst in single-player mode, as landing wasn’t really all that bad. The two player mode is what made it the worst. It was a dogfight where the two of you made one pass at each other’s planes and then were constrained to circle each other until the kill was acheived. Trouble is, after the first pass, the winner was pre-ordained because one person would immediately be at an advantage, with no way for the other person to get in their rear and take a shot as long as you had a bare minimum competency with the game. But the loser could still drag out the action for 10 minutes or more before they died. If I ever tried the 2-player version with my brother, we cut that out pretty quickly. I (now) love the idea of being the eventual loser but still trying to win a war of attrition by testing the opponent’s patience. With reason, we focused our NES time on Super Mario Bros, Zelda, Double Dragon, Contra, etc. ---
**Author:** ![Harborwolf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/c89c15/32.png) [@Harborwolf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harborwolf)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2013, 11:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-vote-for-worst-video-game-of-all-time/646077/18 "2013-01-04T23:14:33Z")
I had the old school NES Friday the 13th game. That was the worst game I ever played by far. Trying to get to whatever location Jason was attacking with a map and direction system that DID NOT WORK!! You see Jason attacking a camper off to your left so you head left only to check the map and discover that you’re in Alaska somehow. Your main weapon that you use to fight zombies, wolves, and Jason himself? Rocks. Fucking rocks. Y’ever try to take out an unstoppable evil killing machine with rocks? It doesn’t end well. ---
**Author:** ![Rubixcube](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Rubixcube](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rubixcube)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2013, 11:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-vote-for-worst-video-game-of-all-time/646077/19 "2013-01-04T23:41:53Z")
> [@Harborwolf](#): > > I had the old school NES Friday the 13th game. That was the worst game I ever played by far. Trying to get to whatever location Jason was attacking with a map and direction system that DID NOT WORK!! You see Jason attacking a camper off to your left so you head left only to check the map and discover that you’re in Alaska somehow. Your main weapon that you use to fight zombies, wolves, and Jason himself? Rocks. Fucking rocks. Y’ever try to take out an unstoppable evil killing machine with rocks? It doesn’t end well. And the worst part IIRC was that the rocks arced, so that every time you tried to attack anything the projectile flew right over their heads, making combat nigh impossible. Not quite as annoying as that wave gun in Fester’s Quest though, the one that not only went around all the enemies but also stopped firing when it hit a wall. And you were always hanging around in tight passages so the gun **never** worked. ---
**Author:** ![G0sp3l](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c68b51/32.png) [@G0sp3l](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/G0sp3l)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2013, 12:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-vote-for-worst-video-game-of-all-time/646077/20 "2013-01-05T00:57:32Z")
:(Every time I see the words _BattleCruiser 3000_ it makes me want to kick Derek Smart in the 'nads. Go back and look at some of the previews and quotes. It was going to be the greatest game ever and probably killed _Computer Gaming World_ magazine all by itself. That’s when I stopped trusting review mags. So much awesome promised. So much suck delivered. :mad: Now I’m sad ☹ [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-vote-for-worst-video-game-of-all-time/646077.md?page=2)