Top 10 Worst Games of the 7th Generation!

How exactly does someone mess up one of gaming’s most charming and enduring series? In the case of 2006’s “Bomberman: Act Zero”, one way is to forgo depth or quality of play in favour of embracing a needless grim style. Bomberman’s simple, cartoon aesthetic was replaced by garish, over-designed characters traversing uninspired mazes. Every stage has the same textures and overall look, the competitive gameplay never evolves or shifts substantially, and the game is plagued by lengthy load times and poor collision detection. Disinterest in, and disrespect for, the original titles drips from every inch of this game, and it’s all the worse for it.

Borrowing from the likes of “Gears of War”, this third-person shooter fails to deliver anywhere near the same level of charm and polish. “Quantum Theory” follows Syd and Filena in their quest to save humanity by climbing and destroying a living tower. However, its close-quarters shooting is far less creative than the concept present, relying on dull repetition of level layout and subpar presentation for its entirety. Characters lack any real personality or depth and what story is present proves to be utterly formulaic from start to finish. All in all, calling this one a dud would be an understatement.

When this licensed game by developer Silicon Knights starts in earnest, it presents an interesting premise to players: controlling a new mutant with the choice to fight for the X-Men or Magneto’s Brotherhood. Any good will earned, though, is quickly dashed by “X-Men: Destiny” failing to deliver on meaningful narrative choices or engaging gameplay. The game’s combat mechanics are simplistic, fights are repetitive, the platforming segments rely on awkward controls and bizarre level design, and the story is astonishingly brief in length and content. Coupled with the divisiveness of Silicon Knights’ earlier game “Too Human”, this would only serve to bring about the studio’s downfall faster.

This horror game has the titular girl and her guardian Lana trying to survive in a city overrun by zombie-like creatures. In service of that narrative, the game forces onto the player luck-based stealth sections, hit-and-miss melee combat, a forced attachment to Amy to avoid death and generally awkward third-person controls. Its setting is one plagued by low-quality textures, a murky aesthetic and excruciating amounts of slowdown. Capping it off, “Amy” sports a checkpoint system that stands as one of gaming’s most unforgiving. Avoid this one, folks.

This conceptually strange shooter didn’t even find a way to be compelling in its weirdness. Based very loosely on the exploits of ex-Navy SEAL Richard Marcinko, “Rogue Warrior” deals with a fictional mission to North Korea to investigate nuclear arms development. The madness that ensues is riddled with issues; the game is a chore to play, features combat moves that can be abused to great benefit, and astounds with its brevity. Then there’s the brilliant decision to have the game’s version of Marcinko (played by Mickey Rourke) to be a profanity-spewing, casually reckless jerk who quickly wears out his welcome.

Maybe it’s time to let this series go. “Box Office Bust” picks up where its predecessor “Magna Cum Laude” left off, following Larry Lovage as he helps out around his uncle Larry’s film studio. Hypothetically a fun idea, the game instead opts to indulge in witless jokes about physical appearance and a hodge-podge of gameplay styles. Racing segments, platforming, open-world exploration, shooting, fighting – many genres are represented here, none with any care. Add on unresponsive controls and severe technical issues, and what players have is a game that tries to be special yet doesn’t even manage to be competent.

As if the “Alien” franchise didn’t have a hard enough time retaining respect, this past generation dealt fans a grave blow. “Colonial Marines” picks up after the events of the 1986 film “Aliens” and tries to deliver a fanservice-laden horror experience. Unfortunately, due in large part to developer Gearbox Software’s misconduct and poor allocation of funding, the game proper is a visually repugnant and mechanically dated mess. Players battle idiotic AI foes, while contending with plentiful bugs and glitches, ugly and poorly-lit environments, and a haphazard implementation of franchise nods. And we’ll never forget its baffling retcons… such a waste.

Yeah we all knew this one was coming. Released in honor of the 15th anniversary of Sonic’s creation, “Sonic The Hedgehog”, also known as “Sonic 06”, actively shows disregard and wanton disrespect for its mascot’s legacy. This 3D platformer delivers three overlong and poorly designed campaigns, each bogged down by unresponsive control schemes and game-breaking glitches. Further, the game’s story is a mess of melodramatic sentiments and its characters – new and old – are either annoying, one-dimensional or both. On top of everything else, “Sonic 06” also teases the audience with hints of romance between Sonic and the human Princess Elise, which is the epitome of squick.

If there was a game of the seventh generation that illustrated how badly the Kinect peripheral failed, this is it. “Heavy Armor” took the complex mech simulation gameplay of the original “Steel Battalion” and tied it to using both the 360 controller and the motion-control interface of the Kinect. Far from proving a seamless transition, this design choice instead rendered the game virtually unplayable; quick lever pulls and button pushes are necessary to progress, yet the oft-inaccurate nature of the Kinect directly impedes this. Making matters worse, missions had unforgivably short length while demanding precise action and the game’s lineup of characters were criticized for playing into unfortunate stereotypes.

Before we get to our top pick, here are a few dishonorable mentions:

“Duke Nukem Forever” (2011)

“Vampire Rain” (2007)

“DARK” (2013)

No one quite knows how this game got cleared for a physical release, but we all wish it hadn’t. Stuck in development limbo for five years, the so-called game that was “Ride to Hell” proved unbelievably unpleasant on so many levels. Its levels cycled through poor approximations of cover-based shooting, racing and third-person beat-em-up mechanics. Its promised open-world design was eschewed in favour of an uninspired linear mission structure. It treated women as sex objects who were up for anything right after being saved from attackers. It is gross, infantile, vapid and a complete disservice to the medium of games.

Do you agree with our list? What games did you feel were the worst of the seventh generation? For more deprecating Top 10s published daily, be sure to subscribe to WatchMojo.com.