Ladies and Gentlemen, I Present to You... The Worst Game Ever!

"The worst game ever". Calling a title that in this day and age is almost a cliche, considering how lightly this term has been used by angry fanboys who describe every title they aren't completely satisfied with as this.

Big Rigs is one atrocious release that probably deserves being called that, however, considering that it's nearly unplayable and the box art is highly misleading in terms of actual game play.

The box art shows an 18-wheeler being pursuited by a police car. In actuality, however, this title features neither "18 WHEELS OF THUNDER" (the trucks are of the small variety) or high-speed police chases.

That's the least of Big Rig's issues, however, as the game itself is completely broken. Although it's touted as a racing title, your opponents don't move past the starting line (yep, this game is completely devoid of any A.I. whatsoever), you can drive right through walls and obstacles such as trees, and at the end of the title you're presented with a hilarious screen that simply displays, "YOU'RE WINNER!" (which I'm assuming the creators threw in as a joke, as they were most likely aware of how hideous Big Rigs was).

If you want to view an actual video review of this title, check out the video below, presented by Gamespot's Alex Navarro. That is, if you don't want to lose your lunch, I'd recommended engaging in some other activity.

Starcraft II - Why Activision-Blizzard's Decision Makes Sense

Although PC gaming is normally not my forte (this has been, for over two years, a console-centric blog), I felt that this topic was worth commenting on anyhoot.

Yesterday Activision-Blizzard announced that Starcraft II will be released in three separate, possibly full priced segments. The last game contained all of the separate story lines in one box, but this time Activision-Blizzard will split them up because they feel that each version is a full game in its own.

Of course, they're just different paths of the same title. This has drove gaming forums across the 'net into a frenzy, with angry gamers claiming that Activision-Blizzard is selling out its loyal fan base and milking the fans for all they're worth.

However, I have to commend Activision-Blizzard for making such a smart business decision. Blizzard obviously knows that the people yelling the loudest will purchase the product anyway - they'll bitch and moan now but will be there on each individual Starcraft II launch to purchase all three separate versions. After all, years ago Xbox 360 gamers whined and complained about downloadable content and how developers were going to charge for features that normally would be free, but they went on to purchase it anyway. And wasn't everyone supposed to boycott the evil, faceless, money-grubbing corporation known as EA at one point or another?

Gaming is a business, and game companies will always been looking for crafty new ways to make money. Hey, what Blizzard is doing now is not much different from what Nintendo does with each major Pokemon release - seperate versions of the same title. And every time they do that the games sell like hot cakes.

End of story.

Game Ads Guaranteed to Win Your Attention

Regardless of how dull or worthless the actual product displayed may be, a controversial, eye-catching ad will always win your attention. Many game publishers have used this age-old technique over the years, often for lackluster titles that, without an “edgy” ad with shock-value (often depicting violence and sex), you would have just flipped right past. Here are three ads that you’ll definitely garner more attention to than the typical, generic gaming advertisements commonly found in magazines.

Daikatana (PC, Nintendo 64)

This was a highly over hyped and severely disappointing shooter. Produced by John Romero (lead producer of such legendary first-person shooters like Doom, Wolfenstein 3D, and Quake), Daikatana had a troubled development life and was universally panned by critics.

Fear Effect 2: Retro Helix (PSX)

All right, so Fear Effect 2's supposed to be pretty damn good. Unfortunately, more people seemed to be talking about the controversial lesbian ads around the time of release than the game itself. Notice that this ad features absolutely no game play screen shots - who needs 'em anyway?

Spawn: the Eternal (PSX)












Spawn titles have had a history of failing to live up to their source material, and The Eternal is no exception. Just forget about this horrendous action title and lookit that bloody arm! This advertisement is most likely the only memorable quality about this otherwise unworthy product.

Ch-ch-ch-changes

Although this only happens once in a blue moon, game publishers will sometimes change the covers of games that were already released. Sometimes it’s necessary – legal rights might prevent a certain athlete from appearing on the cover of a sports title, but in most cases it’s a total mystery. Here are some games that received unique covers after already being released for awhile (note: the original release is on the left, while later releases are on the right):

Dead or Alive 3 (Xbox)

NHL 2004 (multi platform - pictured: PC)

Street Fighter Collection (PSX)

Sly Cooper (PS2)

Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow (Nintendo DS)



And there are plenty more that exist, but they are not pictured because I either don't know about them or pictures of them were excruciatingly tough to come by.