Next Generation's 1 Star Reviews: The 25 Worst Video Games of 1998

Castrol Honda Superbike World Championships (PC)

#1

“If imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, then Sega should be thrilled that the folks at Intense Simulation liked Manx TT so much that they made their own Superbike game. Unfortunately, Castrol Honda Superbike World Championships lacks what made Manx TT a hit – speed and control. The default controller layout for Superbike has the acceleration and braking functions tied to the up and down positions on the joystick. As anyone who's ever tired to use a setup like this can tell you, it isn't very conducive to racing. Thing is, remapping the joystick buttons just doesn't work. The game will accept the changes, but it won't register any of them. With detailed realism settings, Superbike World Championships had the potential to be a top-not racing simulator. Instead, it's just another racing has-been.”

Command & Conquer: Sole Survivor (PC)

#2

“In the absence of a real sequel to its blistering hot Command & Conquer license, Westwood offered up Sole Survivor as an online-only variant with which C&C junkies could get their fix. Let this be a lesson to everyone involved: Minimizing a current hot game and making it online-only doesn't necessarily make it fun. In this case, it's almost anti-fun. The real flaw in this game is the simple fact that the player only controls one unit. Imagine taking part in an online baseball game where you play as one player – only you're stuck in left field for nine innings. Now, imagine everyone else on the team is also in left field with you, and you begin to get the idea. The best part of the package is the free inclusion of the new Westwood chat ... and that's truly sad.”

Courier Crisis (PC)

#3

“Pedaling through a busy city as a bike messenger could've made an amusing part of a larger game. Perhaps worked as a bonus level in a game involving all kinds of package delivery, something like UPS Strike. But as it stands, with only the bike to ride, Courier Crisis feels like an incomplete game. The Road Rash-like violence featuring the messenger punching and kicking pedestrians is amusing at first, but it quickly becomes a nuisance. Between hassling with the bicycle, the agitated citizens, and the traffic that seems to exist just to piss you off, it's no wonder that all these cyclists in San Francisco protested recently. Imagine if they had play this game as well!”

Deathtrap Dungeon (PlayStation)

#4

“Imagine Tomb Raider in fantastic medieval dungeons. That's what Deathtrap Dungeon is supposed to be. Now, imagine a game that is, in fact, as far from Tomb Raider in a fantastic medieval dungeon as possible in terms of quality. That's what Deathtrap Dungeon is. Sur, the game is a third-person, over-the-shoulder, dungeon-crawling, monster-killing, hack-and-slash fest featuring as one of its characters a “hot polygonal babe,” but the environments are totally boring and repetitive. When you can even see them, that is, since most of the time the players merely find themselves confronted by a black fog everywhere they look. We had a little fun playing this, but the key word here is “little.” The flaws in the game continually distracted us from the fun parts. Overall, there are only three words for this game – Bad, bad, bad.”

Descent to Undermountain (PC)

#5

“First shown more than two years ago, Descent to Undermountain is one of those titles that should have been allowed to die quietly. Or else it should have been sent back for a complete and total rewrite when it became clear technology passed it by, since the game is outdated from the moment you open the box. Playing through the game is nearly as bad. The player interface is poorly laid out and does not lend itself to a first-person style of play. There is nothing new here and it shows. More than once, Descent to Undermountain feels more like a bad Doom clone than a role-playing game. When it comes to graphics and gameplay, most players will end up taking a quick look at this one and then shrugging it aside.”

Dragon Ball GT: Final Bout (PlayStation)

#6

“At some point during the development cycle of Dragon Ball GT: Final Bout, someone should have said, “No.” Bandai Japan should've stopped it from being released there. Bandai U.S. should have stopped it from being brought over. Sony should've never approved it. Why? Because it is inarguably the worst PlayStation fighting game ever made. Control is almost nonexistent. The characters jerk and flop around like mannequins in a wind tunnel and only occasionally seem to respond to any specific controller sequence. Final Bout is a deplorable waste of disc space. If there's any justice in this world, the people responsible for bringing this out will be kept up at night with the cries of disappointed Dragon Ball owners resounding in their heads.”

Frogger (PlayStation)

#7

“Like the one-hit wonders of past-their-prime rockers usually found touring fairground venues and small bars, some classic arcade games refuse to die a dignified death. Instead, something that may have once been great for its time is reduced to tired mediocrity, self-parody or worse. In the case of Frogger, this refusal to go away results in a vile spawn of hell unleashed on the unsuspecting videogame masses. In the process of reviewing this game, an unlimited live code was used, and this at least allowed some advancement through the levels. If this game were played with the allotted number of lives, it would literally be seconds before the game was over – and actually, in the final analysis, this quick end to the pain would be the only redeeming feature of this otherwise heinous game.”

GT 64: Championship Edition (Nintendo 64)

#8

“GT 64 is not the worst racing game ever made, but it's not far from it. Things are bad right from the start, given there are a whopping three tracks to pick from. Once on the track, the true horror settles in: A slow, barely acceptable frame rate and sloppy control, made even worse by the droning engine sounds. The track design doesn't help, as tracks are made up of nothing but right angles and U-tunrs. Just going straight for a few seconds feels like an accomplishment, and the computer opponents enhance the feeling of helplessness as they glide effortlessly around the track. Overall GT 64 lacks both the technique of technical racer and the speed of a fast racer – in”

Jazz Jackrabbit 2 (PC)

#9

“We're a little confused. We thought Gathering of Developers was going to be releasing the hottest games from the hottest developers, and now its first title is this? After Unreal, Epic may be hot, but Jazz Jackrabbit is as cold as a cadaver. Frankly, this as the launch title for G.O.D. makes us slightly apprehensive about the company's chances. It may be easy to get product on shelf when you can call and say, “We're the guys who did Quake,” but we think it will be a little harder when you're the “Jazz Jackrabbit people.” An unimpressive first release.”

Judge Dredd (PlayStation)

#10

“As a videogame staple, light gun games are relatively innocuous in that they rarely fail to live up to the preconceived expectations of gamers. Pop-up targets and a gun – it's a theme that finds its roots in carnival game booths. Just how difficult can it be to produce another mildly entertaining video game based on the concept? Apparently for Gremlin, it's virtually impossible. Considering the movie license source, perhaps it is to be expected that the game is devoid of any real redeeming value. After all, the only redeeming value of the motion picture Judge Dredd was to reaffirm that Sylvester Stallone's career really is over. Still, in an all-too-common display of galling disrespect toward gamers by the video game industry, a major publisher like Activision has once again tried to slip a gaming travesty past an unsuspecting public.”

Mike Piazza's Strike Zone (Nintendo 64)

#11

“Mike Piazza's Strike Zone caps off this year's spring Nintendo 64 baseball lineup – but having arrived after Acclaim's excellent All-Star Baseball and Nintendo's own Ken Griffey Jr., it does nothing for the genre's image. Shipping first would have been its only saving grace. Let's leave the extremely plain, underwhelming, blurry 3D graphics alone and dig a bit deeper. The only batting perspective is an awkward camera position outside the batter's box, which makes it absolutely impossible to see where the pitches are headed. On top of that, Strike Zone features one of the sloppiest seasons-editing interfaces ever seen in a sports title. There are really only two baseball choices for Nintendo 64 this year – and Strike Zone isn't one of them.”

Mortal Kombat Mythologies: Sub-Zero (PlayStation)

#12

“The Mortal Kombat series hasn't always been at the forefront of video game innovation, but at least it's held its own in the fighting arena. Sub Zero is Midway's attempt to brand out and take the series in new directions. However, why Midway believed MK's new direction should be a side-scrolling action/adventure title, especially one with so little to it, is beyond us. The game's most glaring flaw is its control. Response time is much too slow, and generally, by the time Sub Zero has turned around, his assailant has already jumped over him. After fighting several cookie-cutter enemies and getting killed in unpredictable traps, even the most hardcore Mortal Kombat fans will find themselves frustrated and angry. There's just no excuse for a game like this.”

Nam (PC)

#13

“Ask any ‘Nam vet and he'll tell you, the Vietnam experience was an endless tedium of featurless jungles and hidden enemies. Unfortunately, Nam's authors decided that it would be a ripping idea not only to base a game around his ugly, boring conflict, but to make it the world's first war simulation. It's absolutely impossible to make a first-person war game accurate and fun, and this one misses the mark on both counts. Even more unfortunate was the choice to power the game with the Build engine. Yes, the same three-year-old engine that ran behind Duke Nukem 3D, Shadow Warrior and Blood. Problem is, the developers didn't start from scratch. Instead, they performed some minor tweaks on Duke Nukem, made an abortive attempt at designing a few levels, and called it a game. This horrendous Duke Nukem 3D conversion should have stayed on the Net as freeware. The GT logo on the box certainly doesn't warrant the $20 price tag, nor does the game's heavily hyped claim to fame: “Created with the developers of the Doom conversion for the Marine Corps.” We certainly feel sorry for the Marines.”

NBA In the Zone 64 (Nintendo 64)

#14

“When Konami first announced it was porting In the Zone to N64, it piqued the interest of video game basketball fans everywhere. However, what we wound up with is a travesty of a game that has not only tarnished Konami's reputation, but also managed to make the N64 look bad. Granted, In the Zone 64 is the only five-on-five hoops game currently available for N64, but even hardcore basketball fans should take this occasion to remember that patience is a virtue and wait for something better. Even if one looks past the graphics, the play doesn't compare favorably with any other B-ball game on the market. The pace is slow and control can be charitably described as “mushy.” Add in a porous defensive AI and you've got the icing on a very blurry cake.”

Olympic Hockey '98 (Nintendo 64)

#15

“Imagine Midway took the tired Gretzky engine, added Olympic uniforms, replaced trading with “defections,” and released it without tweaking anything but the default ring size. Well, you don't have to imagine, because Midway did it. A waste of plastic and silicon.”

Outwars (PC)

#16

“Taking a cue from Starship Troopers, Outwars is about a war between some alien bugs and humans. Figure in lots of guns, a jetpack, several multiplayer games, and you have the making of a great game, right? Alas, no – Outwars is a faulty mess. First, there's a huge clipping problem, so bad that you can see through walls and at times even walk through them. What else? How about the 3D monsters, which somehow come across in 2D? No idea how they managed to pull that one off. Even the controls are messed up. Remapping them requires first unpalling all the keys and then reprogramming them. Have fun. In short, steer clear of this nightmare in a box.”

Punky Skunk (PlayStation)

#17

“If you've purchased a PlayStation to leave those 16-bit days behind, playing Punky Skunk will yank you right back. The flat imagery as well as the dull playability proves that Jaleco's platformer is just as much a stinker as this new “mammal with an attitude.” One can't help but ask why. Why in the days of powerhouse hardware must someone design and release such a derivative side-scrolling platformer as Punky Skunk? Nuts to this – you might as well hook up your SNES and play Zero the Kamikaze Squirrel.”

Revenge of Arcade (PC)

#18

“This is a travesty. Why would anyone pay $35 to play Microsoft's officially sanctioned Namco arcade emulators when free emulation of every old arcade machine is still available on dozens of web sites? Granted, such emulators are illegal, but they're also, by and large, a lot more stable than this load of crap, which slows down, takes up an unbelievable 36mb of hard drive space and needs at least a Pentium 90 to perform at all. Add to the fact that all these games are sort of past their sell-by date and you have an unmitigated disaster, callously cashing in on people's misremembered childhood memories.”

SaGa Frontier (PlayStation)

#19

“SaGa Frontier seems like someone's idea of a bad joke, especially when you consider Square's sort of untouchable status due to the monstrous success of Final Fantasy VII and its solid reputation for producing some of the highest quality games for any system. The real letdown is the minimal development of the storyline and the characters. There's minimal personality granted to each character and dull dialogue throughout – not a good thing for any kind of RPG, and a severe disappointment from a powerhouse of melodrama like Square. With the potential for a deep and involving adventure, SaGa Fronteir is a depressing misfire from a company praised for its innovation and high-end titles.”

Shadow Master (PlayStation)

#20

“Maye Psygnosis should stay away from the word “Shadow.” This game has more in common with the bad old days of Shadow of the Beast than the Psygnosis that brought us G.Police. There's no reason it should've released this except for a lesson in humility. The game is graphically slick, but the gameplay and level design are a monument to mediocrity (not unlike Shadow of the Beast). This this playable? Yes. Desirable? No. Everything about Shadow Master screams “second rate.” Pass on it and wait for the Psygnosis “A” team to publish its next time.”

Spawn: The Eternal (PlayStation)

#21

“There are many reasons not to buy Spawn: The Eternal. Most of these involve the kinds of flaws and problems typically found in licensed games, like terrible gameplay, abysmal control and sub-par graphics. It would appear that in releasing this game, Sony has not learned from others' mistakes. Spawn fans will be especially disappointed with the way their hero has been presented. His cape only appears during combat, and when walking, he looks like an overly large circus freak, complete with a hunchback and slight limp. Dishearteningly, Spawn: The Eternal will probably sell just because of the attached license, proving that we haven't learned a damn thing in all the years of movie-licensed games, from E.T. up to this atrocity. Shame on Sony.”

Star Trek Pinball (PC)

#22

“Ask pinball purists why a pinball game is better than a video game and they'll explain that pinball takes more skill because it relies on real-world physics. Therein lies the main problem with Star Trek Pinball: It does not behave as a real pinball game should. The balls have a strange attraction to the flippers and the side drains are rarely hit. Worse, it's seemingly impossible to “tilt” the machine, and as a result, the game loses all sense of challenge. Were a lousy physics model the only thing wrong with Star Trek Pinball, it may have been excusable – unfortunately, there's more. Each of the three tables has a unique soundtrack. While two of them are great, the third is full of click and popping noises that make us wonder how this ever made it past QA. In the end, Star Trek Pinball is one to be avoided – at least until it hits the bargain bins.”

Streets of SimCity (PC)

#23

“Whenever a well-known license is used to launch a new game, the editors here at Next Generation cringe. At times the result can be wonderful software, but more often than not, it's a poorly conceived notion that manages to get shelf space on name recognition alone. Streets of Sim City falls into the latter category. Realism is a problem that seems to plague the game. Granted, any game that has players doing little more than driving around blowing things up should be taken with a grain of salt, but one would think that a combat game would handle damage in an intelligent way. When all is said and done, Streets of Sim City is better left on the store shelves. Even if your system can handle it, it isn't worth the cash. Pass on this one and dig out Interstate '76 instead – same idea, much more fun.”

Team Losi RC Racer (PlayStation)

#24

“On the surface, Team Losi RC Racer looks promising, with multiple tracks, plenty of cars and hidden secrets to discover. Unfortunately, though, Team Losi fails to deliver on just about every level, suffering from a case of split identity – it doesn't know if it wants to be a full-on RP racing sim or a cutesy racer complete with power-ups and special teams. The resulting mishmash doesn't fill out either category very well. The most noticeable problem with Team Losi is the horrendous visual pop-up. Whether this is caused by a poor engine, bad track design, or a combination of both is unknown, but the end result is a game that actually draws the course on screen just barely in time to be driven over. Simply put, there isn't a single positive thing to say about Team Losi. It's about as much fun as Gremlin's last PlayStation game (Judge Dredd), and that absolutely says it all.”

X-Men vs. Street Fighter (PlayStation)

#25

“Capcom has always had problems converting its memory-hungry, sprite-based fighting fests to PlayStation due to the low system RAM, and X-Men vs. Street Fighter should convince the company that it's time to stop. The real problem in converting this title, more so than previous titles, comes from the fact that in the arcade version, a single player could swap between two different characters with the flick of a button. Unfortunately, that one feature, which was really the whole draw of the game, was omitted from the PlayStation version due to RAM. If you've never seen a Capcom fighting game before, this might be fun for a few minutes, but there is not one single positive thing to be said for the trade-offs that Capcom made to get this game to PlayStation. Ouch!”