The 5 Best Bad Games of This Generation


Editor's note: A word of warning: Do not pay full price for any of the titles on Oren's list of so-bad-they're-good games. But if you find one of them while digging through the bargain bin, try it out. You may be pleasantly surprised. -Brett

Sonic Unleashed (360, PS3, Wii)

In Short: Sonic the Hedgehog in yet another adventure. This time, he has a split personality!

Why It's Bad: God-awful nighttime Werehog levels, frame-rate issues. Did I mention the god-awful nighttime Werehog levels?

Why It's Worth Playing: Daytime levels make you believe a 3D Sonic game might actually work, Super Sonic, beautiful visuals (during the day).

Final Thoughts: Yes, this is yet another Sonic revival. And yes, it once again fails to revive the hedgehog we all know and love (or love to hate). However, the daytime levels are a ton of fun, even if they aren’t perfect. Give it a shot, but be prepared to trudge through the GOD-AWFUL WEREHOG LEVELS!

Sonic Unleashed


Eat Lead

Eat Lead: The Return of Matt Hazard (360, PS3)

In Short: A parody of old and new games, featuring a fake old-school video-game character called Matt Hazard.

Why It's Bad: Bland environments, repetitive gameplay, horrible music, ridiculous story.

Why It's Worth Playing: Some entertaining humor, voice acting by Will Arnett and Neal Patrick Harris, a variety of locations.

Final Thoughts: Eat Lead is by no means a good game. But if you can get past the repetitive gameplay, you'll find a few good laughs. Plus, did I mention Neal Patrick Harris provides one of the voices?

Alone in the Dark

Alone in the Dark (360, PS3)

In Short: Fight against evil in this survival horror game.

Why It's Bad: Lousy character models, horrible controls, frustrating combat, tons of bugs.

Why It's Worth Playing: Old-school horror feel, unique episodic story delivery, interesting play mechanics, lighting zombies on fire.

Final Thoughts: If you're an old-school survival horror fan, I recommend giving Alone in the Dark a shot, especially the enhanced PS3 version. Also, you can find it for dirt cheap.

Deadly Premonition

Deadly Premonition (360)

In Short: Twin Peaks meets old-school survival horror.

Why It's Bad: PS2-quality graphics, poorly written dialog, tank controls a la Resident Evil 1.

Why It's Worth Playing: Weird, quirky characters and story, $20 budget pricing, 20 hours of gameplay.

Final Thoughts: I highly recommend trying out Deadly Premonition. There's frankly no other game like it out there. Plus, you’ll fall in love with the town's theme song.

Earth Defense Force 2017

Earth Defense Force 2017 (360)

In Short: A nameless soldier with tons of guns battles giant aliens, giant robots, and other very big things.

Why It's Bad: Low-resolution textures, bland environments, frame-rate issues, and a nonexistent story.

Why It's Worth Playing: Pure, mindless fun and splitscreen co-op.

Final Thoughts: If you can find Earth Defense Force 2017 in a store near you, don’t hesitate to pick it up. You won’t regret the purchase. Make sure you recruit a buddy for some fantastic co-op on the couch.

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