SHELLSHOCK 2: BLOOD TRAILS

Shellshock 2: Blood Trails is maybe not completely without its redeeming qualities, such as its genuinely creepy atmosphere, but it is, at the same time, also a classic case of a game that is as unfun to play as it is conceptually interesting. Broken shooting mechanics and AI, terrible level design, frustrating controls, you name it- the game was riddled with issues that made it an absolute nightmare to play.

DUKE NUKEM FOREVER

Few games deserve a spot on such lists as much as Duke Nukem Forever do. After spending an interminably long time in development hell and changing developers more times than anyone could keep track of, the long-in-development FPS was brought to market by Gearbox, and it. Was. Awful. As broken and bland in its design as it was dated and abrasive with its writing, with a host of technical issues to boot, Duke Nukem Forever was an unmitigated disaster.

XIII (2020)

The original XIII, back when it first came out, may not have been special by any means, but it certainly didn’t deserve a remake as horrific as the one it got in 2020, which may truly be one of the worst games ever made. 2020’s XIII may have had some cool visual flourishes, but from a mess of technical issues to braindead enemy AI to painfully dull shooting to so, so much more, it was an atrocious time. A major overhaul in 2022 did sand out many of its rough edges, but it’s still a tough game to recommend.

MEDAL OF HONOR: UNDERGROUND (GBA)

We understand that Medal of Honor: Underground came at a time when it was common to see completely different versions of the same game for different platforms- but why the hell would you try to develop an actual first-person shooter for the Game Boy Advance? Unsurprisingly, it did not go well. Medal of Honor: Underground looked awful and was frustratingly limited in the gameplay department in ways that an FPS just cannot afford. Other than as a curious novelty (that stinks like week-old socks), there is no reason for this version of this game to exist.

ALIENS: COLONIAL MARINES

Everything about this game was an absolute dumpster fire. Gearbox and Sega made huge promises in the lead-up to Aliens: Colonial Marines’ launch, but the game itself fell spectacularly short in so many ways. Game-breaking AI issues, crippling technical problems (including a huge visual downgrade), and more combined in an experience that failed to satisfy in any real way. Hell, so bad was Colonial Marines that Sega and Gearbox literally got dragged into court over claims of false advertisement.

ROBOCOP (2003)

Coming after an unusually long development cycle of four years (for the time, at least), Titus Interactive’s RoboCop arrived in 2003 on the back of the promise of an authentic FPS based on the beloved sci-fi property, and roundly failed to deliver on that promise even the teensiest bit. Terrible licensed games were far from a rarity in those days, and given how repetitive, generic, and painfully dull it was, it was no surprise to see RoboCop join that list.

REDFALL

Until not too long ago, it would have been impossible to imagine that the studio behind the original Dishonored and 2017’s Prey would end up delivering one o the worst shooters ever made, but the sad and indisputable fact is that Redfall is that bad. Broken, buggy, and uninspired, it exhibits none of the ingenious design that Arkane is typically known for, all in favour of a co-op looter shooter structure that it also doesn’t do any sort of justice to. On top of ending support for Redfall and cancelling its DLC plans, parent company Microsoft also went on to entirely shutter Arkane Austin, which shall always be this game’s unfortunate and tragic legacy.

BATTLE: LOS ANGELES

Coming back to poorly received licensed games, here’s one that you may not even remember ever existed- which would be a blessing in disguise, because boy is this an awful game. Battle: Los Angeles launched in 2011 and was just as bland and forgettable as the movie it was based on. A shockingly short campaign that lasted under an hour and painfully dull level design and gunplay were just a few of its many glaring issues.

THE WALKING DEAD: SURVIVAL INSTINCT

The Walking Dead as an IP has had its ups and downs in gaming. Survival Instinct definitely falls in the latter category, and may even be so bad that it’s its flag-bearer. Focusing on the Dixon brothers, The Walking Dead: Survival Instinct made thin promises of being a genuinely well-made game, before being roundly criticized by one and all upon launch for being a disappointingly shallow and broken experience, to the point of being downright unplayable.

GOLDENEYE: ROGUE AGENT

Rogue Agent was literally announced with the working title GoldenEye 2 back in the day, but the actual game couldn’t have fallen further from those implied heights. Though it hid some fleeting moments of fun in its innards, there was by and large just too much else that dragged the game down, including uninspired levels, lackluster gunplay, and a nonsensical story that was almost hostile in its disrespect for James Bond canon.

007 LEGENDS

We’ll stick with the man with the license to kill a tad longer, because we can’t really talk about bad Bond games and not mention 007 Legends, which may even be one of the worst games ever made, period. Conceptually, its promise of combining all eras of the Bond movies in a single, anthological experience was an intriguing one, but the game seemed much more interested in instead being a poorly made Call of Duty clone that did not even have the shooting mechanics to back up those ambitions.

TERMINATOR 3: WAR OF THE MACHINES

Also often known as the poor man’s Battlefield 1942, Terminator 3: War of the Machines is a rare example of a game where it’s genuinely hard to come up with legitimate redeeming qualities. In almost every way that mattered, this was a game that came up short in significant ways. It was ugly to look at, its awful level design made it a chore to play, it was riddled with technical issues, its multiplayer was downright broken- and that’s just the tip of the iceberg.

FAR CRY VENGEANCE

The Far Cry series has generally maintained an admirable level of quality with its mainline entries over the years, but its spinoff offerings have stumbled in more worse ways. Exhibit A: Far Cry Vengeance, an absolute mess of a remake of a game that wasn’t that great to begin with. Vengeance checked almost none of the boxes that you want a Far Cry game to check, instead coming across as an underwhelming cashgrab with mindlessly repetitive offerings and downright ugly visuals.

ROGUE WARRIOR

How this game was allowed to release in any form, much less as a full-priced $60 release back in the day, will forever remain one of gaming’s greatest mysteries. Releasing in an era that was oversatursated with shooters, Rogue Warrior offered absolutely nothing of value. Rather than focusing on fun shooting and stealth and solid design, the game instead relied on horrible writing and dull mechanics, all delivered in a shockingly short campaign and broken multiplayer modes.

HAZE

Haze was one of several games to be billed as a supposed Halo killer in the lead-up to its release back in the day, and like every single one of them, it did not live up to that billing. On the contrary, in fact, it has rightly gone down as one of the worst games of its era. Though Haze could show fleeting flashes of quality from time to time, it was ultimately far too much of a mess across both its campaign and multiplayer modes to be remembered as anything more than than massive disappointment it was.

I am Alive

Released in 2012, this game sees players assuming the role of a lone survivor in a post-apocalyptic world as he embarks on a quest to find his daughter and wife. I Am Alive starts off strong with its gloomy and dark atmosphere, and the gameplay is also brutal with an ever-depleting stamina bar and violent executions. However, the game starts to feel repetitive as you keep executing the same tried-and-tested tactics over and over again to get out of nasty situations alive. It’s not a bad game by any stretch, but it does fall short of exploring the full depth of these promising mechanics.

Land of the Dead: Road to Fiddler’s Green

Released in 2005, George A. Romero’s Land of the Dead offered strong socio-political commentary in a post-apocalyptic world. It also provided the unique twist that the undead may not be as brain dead as many thought. By comparison, Land of the Dead: Road to Fiddler’s Green by Brainbox Games is an uninspired FPS where players mow down hordes of zombies in a prequel-esque set-up (which ultimately means nothing in the grand scheme of things). Multiplayer is also a thing and while co-op survival makes sense, other modes like Team Deathmatch don’t. Both were horrible anyway so it didn’t matter.

The gameplay is painfully slow, whether you’re attempting to bash zombies to death or dealing with the clunky gun play. The visuals, from the environments to the zombies themselves, are awful but still somehow better than the audio with its horrendously repetitive music and mundane voice-acting. Sadly, in terms of movie tie-ins, it was par for the course for games released in 2005.

15. Past Cure (2018)

There’s sordid plot, shoddy action and oddly ilfitting puzzles in a supernatural third person shooter…and then there’s Past Cure. The development team was small and fairly inexperienced, thus resulting in uneven AI and performance. However, that doesn’t excuse the story which was just a meandering mess when it wasn’t outright dull.

The Walking Dead: Survival Instinct – Group Hug

Also known as that other game starring Norman Reedus, The Walking Dead: Survival Instinct can be excruciatingly annoying to play. Should you find yourself saddled with it, you can at least unlock one of its easiest Trophies/Achievements. Basically, get close to a group of at least four zombies. A grapple sequence will start, which involves moving the right thumbstick and then stabbing them when the R2/RT prompt comes up. Do this with four zombies, one after the other, and you get the Group Hug Trophy/Achievement.

According to a recent Facebook post by former developer Jesse Sosa, Terminal Reality has been shuttered. The developer has been around for 10 years and recently released The Walking Dead: Survival Instinct for current-gen platforms.

“For those that have known me for a long time know that I was at TRI for 10 years. TRI seems to have finally shut down. A lot of different emotions are passing through me at the moment. I left there when I saw things going downhill but I have always kept up with them and hoped for the best.

“Now that they’re gone, I’m just kind of feeling nostalgic it seems. I hope they all land on their feet. Most of those guys are still like family to me. I know a good amount are on their way to Austin, so at least I’ll be seeing them soon.”

Though Survival Instinct was panned, Terminal Reality is known for the iconic BloodRayne series. We wish the studio members all the best to finding new positions in the gaming industry soon.

Heck, even the original voice actors for Daryl and Merle, namely Norman Reedus and Michael Rooker are on board to help provide authenticity to the game.

Initial reviews haven’t been very kind though – the shooting mechanics have been criticized and the overall necessity of having a game where you really don’t learn anything new or interesting about the the protagonists isn’t very enticing.

The show and the game are both inspired by Robert Kirkman’s phenomeonal comic book series, which has been running with Image Comics since 2003.

The Launch Trailer.

As a prequel to the events of the first season, Survival Instinct arms you with a crossbow for silent killing. Of course, there’s plenty of equipment for going loud as well, such as handguns and shotguns. You can also use a knife for close encounters to completely lobotomize foes.

The game features way more action than Telltale Games’ The Walking Dead, and that’s just fine. It’s not a bad thing to see each game trying something different. Published by Activision, The Walking Dead: Survival Instinct releases on March 19th for Xbox 360, PC, Wii U and PlayStation 3.

At least an air of authenticity is present, as a new behind the scenes video features actors Norman Reedus and Michael Rooker, who play Daryl and Merle Dixon respectively talk about their roles in the game.

Daryl, one of the more appealing characters, will be traveling with his brother Merle across the Georgia countryside, in a prequel story that occurs before they meet up with Rick and the group. You can take a look at Reedus and Rooker reprising their roles, along with new footage of the game itself.

The Walking Dead: Survival Instinct is set to release for Xbox 360, PS3, PC and Wii U on March 19th in North America and March 22nd in Europe.

Because zombies and end of the world. Do we need to do the math?

Today, Activision announced that those who pre-order the game on PS3 and Xbox 360 from GAME UK or GameStop in the Republic of Ireland will receive the Walker Herd Survival, which essentially adds a new Horde-like mode for fending off waves of the undead.

The twist is that ammo is scarce so you’ll be relying more on melee weapons like machetes, kukri, hachets and more to take down the undead. These same weapons carry over into the main game (but when you start from scratch).

The Walking Dead: Survival Instinct is currently scheduled for release this March on Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Wii U and PC